In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Hawkshead like this:
HAWKSHEAD, a small town, a township, a parish, and a sub-district, in Ulverston district, Lancashire. The town stands in a sheltered valley, at the head of Esthwaite water, 2 miles W of Windermere lake, 4 E by N of Coniston r. station, and 5 SW by S of Ambleside; is surrounded by a picturesque country, with many of the finest features of the Lake region; dates from very ancient times; was long the capital of Furness, and a seat of the courts of justice of Furness abbey; has a compact form, with a rather spacious market place; contains a number of old, quaint, picturesque houses; is a seat of petty sessions, and a polling place; and has a post office‡ under Windermere, a good inn, a modern town hall, a church, a Baptist chapel, a grammar school, a national school, and some charities. ...
The church was founded about the time of the Conquest; retains the piers and arches of its original masonry; was rebuilt, in the time of Elizabeth, by Archbishop Sandys; has a massive square tower; contains effigies of Archbishop Sandys' parents; and stands on an elevation, with a fine view. The churchyard contains the grave of the distinguished Miss Elizabeth Smith. The grammar school was founded by Archbishop Sandys; has an endowed income of £210, and a good library; and numbers, among its pupils, Dr. Walker, Dr. Wordsworth, the poet Wordsworth, Lord Abinger, Sir Frederick Pollock, and Dr. King. A weekly market is held on Monday; and fairs, on Easter Monday, the Monday before Holy Thursday, and 2 Oct.-The township bears the name of Hawkshead-with-Monk-Coniston and Skelwith; and includes the hamlets of Borwick, Henakin, and Gallowbarrow. Acres, 9, 152. Real property, £6, 720. Pop., 1, 144. Houses, 234. The manor belonged formerly to Furness abbey; and belongs now to the Duke of Buccleuch.—The parish contains also the townships of Claife and Satterthwaite, and comprises 19, 252 acres. Real property, £13, 219. Pop. in 1851, 2, 283; in 1861, 2, 081. Houses, 415. The property, in many parts, is subdivided. Much of the land is hilly pasture. Slate and building stone are quarried; copper ore is worked; and iron ore and other useful minerals occur. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Carlisle. Value, £150. * Patron, the Duchy of Lancaster. The chapelries of Satterthwaite, Brathay, and Low Wray are separate benefices. There are chapels of ease in Skelwith and Claife, and a Quakers' chapel at Colthouse.—The sub-district contains also part of Ulverston parish. Acres, 30, 132. Pop., 3, 599. Houses, 717.
Hawkshead through time
Hawkshead is now part of South Lakeland district. Click here for graphs and data of how South Lakeland has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Hawkshead itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Hawkshead, in South Lakeland and Lancashire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/10316
Date accessed: 01st November 2024
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