Explore the history around Kirkland

Explore the history around Kirkland. . Kirkland - the church land - is where Kendal's story began. There may have been a small settlement around an early church by the river, but it was the arrival of William the Conqueror, with his Norman knights, who laid the foundation of the Kendal of today., One of William's early acts was to establish a system of baronies, to replace the local land lords with his most favoured followers. These barons were powerful and mighty men but under royal control. Cherchebi - or Kendal as it came to be known - was conferred on Ivo de Toillebois who become the first Baron of Kendal. A motte and bailey castle was erected on Castle Howe, which dominated the valley. William Rufus succeeded William the Conqueror. He was a close friend of the Baron who, in thanks for the grant of the Barony, presented to the new Benedictine Abbey of St Mary's in York "the church of Kircabi in Kendale with its land." A house for the Abbot was built to the north of the church., The little township began to grow up around the church, with a flourishing market. The Abbot extracted fees from the market traders, fined offenders and had his own Manor Court. The Baron, by this time, was Gilbert Fitzreinfred. He saw how profitable the market was, kind gained Kendal's first Market Charter of 1189 from the King, which granted the right to hold a weekly Saturday market., So Market Kendal was born and prospered over the centuries, separate from the old church town of Kirkland on the opposite side of Blind Beck., Kirkland remained a distinct township with its own Manor Court until it was absorbed into the Borough of Kendal in 1908., A church was built here early in the 13th century on the site of an earlier one recorded in the Domesday Record 1086. Most of the present church was built about 1400 - 1600 when Kendal was growing rich and prosperous through the woollen and cloth trade. A complete restoration in the 1850s resulted on the parish church we see today, but at the time many fine architectural treasures were thrown out or replaced. It is a magnificent church and said to be the second widest in the country. in the 1800s, there lived in Kirkland an ironmonger, Thomas Braithwaite, and his wife Margaret, who was famous for “dispensing blessings unbounded by her Genuine Black Drop”. This was a famous cure-all “capable of allaying all pain and of stimulating the drooping energies as well as reducing excessive activity when unduly excited”. Brewed in secret to secret recipe which involved a long process at blending opium, quince and spices, it did not come cheap at 10 shillings (50p) for a four ounce phial. It was still available at a chemist's in Kendal in the 1950s.