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Vernacular Architecture in Cumbria |
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Mr. Andrew Lowe, the Buildings Conservation Officer with the Lake District National Park Authority, was the speaker at our September monthly meeting. A large group of members heard a wonderful talk, illustrated by excellent slides of traditional architecture in Cumberland. He took us on a journey from the 14th century onwards, beginning with Glencoyne Farm by the side of Ullswater.
The ancient method of building with crucks
was described. A Pele Towers (see picture of Newton Arlosh Church below) were early fortified towers into which local people could retreat, with their animals, at the approach of an attack from the Reivers. We were shown a variety of very old squat chimneys, with examples in the Hawkshead area. There were round chimneys and very tall chimneys. A devil chimney had a flat stone on top to keep the devil out. The warmest place in the old farm houses was the fire with its hearth. Cooking was done on the fire and the family would gather round the hearth. In the chimney joints of beef, mutton or pork were hung to dry in the smoke from the fire. Every farmhouse had its fire window which illuminated the hearth.
Date stones above a door generally had the
initials of husband Windows of different shapes and sizes were of much interest: mullioned windows, sash windows, even an early eighteenth century Yorkshire window with a horizontal sliding design which did away with the need for ropes and pulleys. Altogether a fascinating talk, and more information can be obtained from a book by R.N. Brunskill entitled Traditional Buildings of Cumbria. Annabel Forbes
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tree trunk was split down the middle
( see diagram) and held
together with a Tie Beam. It carried the weight of the building from the
ground. There are not many cruck buildings left; some may be found in old
barns, and some may also be found in barn conversions.
and wife, with the surname on top. In one instance the
wife's initial was on top, indicating that she had probably brought a
considerable dowry into the marriage. Askham, Troutbeck, Hawkshead and
Hartsop are particularly interesting villages from an architectural point
of view. Much of Hawkshead is owned by he National Trust, as is Townend
at Troutbeck, which Mr. Lowe referred to as an exceptional piece of
architecture.