Читать книгу Britain: The Lake District - Vivienne Crow - Страница 20

Very little of Cumbria, except the far south, made it into the Domesday Book; in fact, it wasn’t until 1092 that the Normans, under William Rufus, decided to take control of the area by building a castle at Carlisle. The son of William the Conqueror, he brought in English settlers who owed their allegiance to the Normans and divided the region up among his barons, who built castles in the Eden Valley (e.g. Brougham) and on the coastal plain (e.g. Egremont). The monasteries soon followed – the Benedictines at Wetheral some time between 1106 and 1112, Augustinians in Carlisle and Lanercost and, one of the most powerful monastic houses, the Furness Cistercians in 1127 (see here).

Meanwhile, throughout the 12th century and the early 13th century, the stronghold of Carlisle passed from Scottish to English hands and back again several times. It wasn’t until 1216 that the English finally gained control and, except for a brief interlude when Bonnie Prince Charlie captured the city, it has remained in English hands ever since.

The 13th century marked a period of relative peace and prosperity. The wealth of the monastic houses grew tremendously as they acquired huge tracts of land. The monks farmed sheep, giving birth to the area’s woollen trade. Packhorse routes and bridges, still in use today as part of the county’s immense network of public rights of way, started appearing. The monks also knew about coppicing – for timber and for charcoal destined for the growing number of iron-smelting bloomeries – and they were keen brewers.

Sadly, the peace didn’t last long; Edward I’s determination to impose English sovereignty on Scotland marked a resurgence in border difficulties, which continued long after his death at Burgh by Sands in 1307 (see here). In the early part of the 14th century, Scottish raiders, led by Robert the Bruce, ransacked much of the county – towns were burned, churches destroyed and villagers slaughtered. It was a truly grim century for the area, which also had to cope with famines and the Black Death. And, as if all that wasn’t enough, this was also the time of the Border Reivers – the clans that carried out cross-border raids, looting and pillaging and bringing new, bleak words to the English language such as ‘bereaved’ and ‘blackmail’. These families of the border’s ‘Debatable Lands’ owed their allegiance to neither England nor Scotland; their loyalty was to their clan names – names that still dominate local phone books: Beattie, Armstrong, Little, Storey, Graham…

A period of great instability, the fear and insecurity engendered by these bloody times is reflected in the architecture of the era. The wealthy families built themselves stout, sturdy refuges attached to their homes. Known as peel towers, these had walls up to 10ft thick and would be inhabited by entire families – and some of their livestock – in the event of attack. There are examples of peel towers all over Cumbria. Some, such as Kentmere Hall, are used mostly for agricultural purposes; others, such as Muncaster Castle, have been incorporated into large stately homes.

Powerful families, known as the Wardens of the Marches, were installed by the English and Scottish monarchs to deal with the Reivers, but it wasn’t until the border effectively ceased to exist – with the coronation of James I as the first joint ruler of England and Scotland in 1603 – that the people of Cumbria could begin to relax their guard.