For unexplained deaths today, we have autopsies and coroner’s reports, but back in the 17th century all sorts of weird and wonderful reasons were given to explain a death. In the Parish Registers of Lamplugh in Cumbria, a remarkable document has survived. It lists the deaths of 112 individuals between 1658 and 1663, of which [...]
Many thanks to Friends of the Lake District for organising a fascinating exercise about connecting with Lake District landscapes. We were asked to identify the various elements of a landscape and to consider their effect on us. What were the dominant features? How did the landscape made us feel? What issues might threaten that landscape? [...]
A wet day in the Lakes generally invites indoor exploration for a Blue Badge Tourist Guide - so it was a perfect time to consider life on the Lake at Windermere Jetty! My destination was the newly re-vamped former Steamboat Museum. It holds a large array of craft that once plied the waters on Windermere [...]
High on the flanks of Coniston Old Man is a little-known yet important industrial archaeological site - Coniston's power-house. Historically, Coniston was known for two main industries: copper and slate. Copper was worked from the mid-1500s up to the 1890s; its presence given away by the reddish-coloured spoil heaps that dot the landscape in the [...]
Have you ever heard of Burnswark? This prominent hill once supported a sizeable Iron Age fort. At the base of the hill are two Roman camps - one to the north; one to the south. It is thought the Romans pincered the fort in order to mount an attack on the Iron Age tribe living on top of [...]
