Kentmere, Westmorland

Historical Description

Kentmere, a village, a township, and an ecclesiastical parish in Kendal parish, Westmorland, on the river Kent, 4 miles N by W of Staveley station on the L. & N.W.R., and 8½ NNW of Kendal. Post town, Kendal; money order and telegraph office, Staveley. Acreage, 6613, of which 66 are water; population, 172. The surface is a glen, commencing in a mountain pass, flanked on the W by the High Street range of mountain, on the E by a lower and moorish mountain ridge, and gradually widening and softening into vale. A marshy lake, about a mile long, called Kentmere tarn, formerly lay in its bottom, surrounded by swamps, and frequented by wild ducks, but this has been drained and made arable. A reservoir on the hillside regulates the supply of water-power to mills at Kendal. An ancient tower here, four storeys high, and now a farmhouse, was the birthplace of Bernard Gilpin, the " Apostle of the North." The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Carlisle; net value, £162 with residence. Patron, the Vicar of Kendal. The church is ancient, and was restored in 1866 and the tower rebuilt.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Kentmere from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Kentmere)

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Westmorland is available to browse.