The hamlet, manor & chapelry of Wasdalehead - 1
INTRODUCTION
This paper has been written to provide some background information concerning the parish for those family historians whose ancestors have lived at Wasdale Head at one time or another. The first documentary evidence showing people living at the Head was an Inquisition dated 1322 when there were 4 families in residence. It is more than likely that they were living in this isolated community to service the Baron of Egremont’s hunting grounds in the Forest of Copeland.
DESCRIPTION of WASDALEHEAD
Descriptions of the valley head are few and far between prior to the invention of tourism by the early Victorians, in the valley this was the Ritson family. There are descriptions quoted in some of the early local histories & travel guides, all doom and gloom (Wastwater screes), precipices, sheep, deer and eagles. The deer in Wasdalehead have been the subject of much literary argument since their mention in Hutchinsons History of Cumberland by Nicholson & Burn - but later denounced as inaccurate in the Houseman account.
If there were no deer in Wasdale why was there a deer keeper (William Jackson and 52 deer) living at Wasdalehead in 1632? Had they all disappeared before 1770?
Today Wasdalehead is a hamlet of farms, holiday accommodation, Hotel and a house situated at the top-end (east) of the Wasdale valley & situated within the Lake District National Park. It is surrounded by England’s tallest mountains on three sides & the lake Wastwater on the fourth. In 1851 there were seven farmsteads at the head. Here there is a reasonably flat area of valley bottom grass land surrounded by mountains. The area of ground that makes up Wasdalehead is given as 7,000 acres most of which is fell side, the grass land is said to amount to 400 acres. The church is situated in this area where, in the past, the farmers carried out the standard communal arable farming practices & using the fells or high intacks for their sheep. Today the valley bottom is covered with a patchwork of small fields enclosed by dry stone walls - which would come into existence at the time of the ‘enclosures’.
This field system and farming methods at Wasdalehead have been often described, and they give an excellent description of the land usage in this area. This part of the lake district will have been used for sheep farming since the introduction of sheep into Northern England by the Norse people. The fact that Wasdalehead was situated at the eastern end of an important cross-mountain track between the west coast and the hinterland would mean that it would have importance as a resting place for travellers. The route over the fells from Wasdale via Sty head to either Borrowdale or Langdale would have made this area important to people on the move either on foot, on horse back or using pack horse trains. This route connects with the other main west coast north-south trade route that crosses the Wasdale valley at the foot of Wastwater lake [Strands] and goes north towards Ennerdale bridge over Stockdale Moor and south to Eskdale over Tongue Moor and Mitredale.
The hamlet of Wasdalehead was built between the two becks that run off the fells to the lake below. There is no documentary evidence to show that any use was made of this water power unlike the streams that flowed down the fell sides into Eskdale valley next door. The various farms that made up the scattered hamlet were grouped in three places within the valley. Nearest the lake was the largest group called Down-in-the-Dale or Downy dale. Today all that is left standing is one modernised stone built building to the south side of the road near Down-in-the-dale bridge over Mosedale beck. The ruined outline of some of the original buildings can still be seen in this area.
Further away from the lake but still on the side of Mosedale beck is the collection of farms or tenements at Row. The relatively modern Wastwater Hotel (c.1880) is at Row foot or Low Row followed by Middle Row and High Row as you follow the beck upstream. Finally on the side of the track over Styhead, and furthest from the lake, is Burnthwaite Farm which is close to Fogmire beck that runs down from Styhead tarn.
Today it is difficult to imagine that this area was covered by forest in the not to distant past, the trees surrounding Burnthwaite farm give some impression of what the area must have been like 300-400 years ago. Modern science concludes that the original tree line extended up to the 2,000 foot contour before man needed the timber. The Leconfield papers contain many pleas to the Lord of the Manor for permission to cut down timber for building purposes. This was not popular with his Lordship and they had to pay a lot of money for the privilege, this led to wonderful descriptions of the poor quality of the tree that was being proposed for felling. No doubt the requirement for firewood would also take its toll as well as the need for charcoal for the smelting of the local iron-ore in the nearby bloomeries. In times past there was an enclosed area of land called ‘Fences’ at the S.E. end of the lake, the name ‘Fences’ is derived from the fact that this area was originally a deer enclosure. In this area today is the farm named Wasdale head Hall farm, this farm was built circa,1810 and had not existed as a farm prior to the 19th.century. It was built on the land that had been a Deer Park in an earlier existence.
Nev. Ramsden, January, 2009