KESWICK, Cumberland - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"KESWICK, a market town in the parish of Crosthwaite, ward of Allerdale-below-Derwent, county Cumberland, 13 miles S.E. of Cockermouth, 18 S.W. of Penrith, and 22 from Wigton. It is situated in the Vale of Derwentwater, on the river Greta, and is regarded as the capital of the Lake district. The township is included in the manor of Derwentwater, which formerly belonged to the Earl of Derwentwater, but was forfeited by him, and passed into the hands of the Governors of Greenwich Hospital. The manor with the lands was purchased by the late John Marshall, Esq. The town is very ancient and well built, the houses being chiefly of stone. It has a market, originally granted to it by charter of Edward I., and is governed by a local board of health. It is well paved, lighted with gas, and plentifully supplied with water, the, latter from the celebrated mountain of Skiddaw, which crowns the lofty range of mountains that bounds the northern extremity of the vale. Petty sessions are held weekly, and the board of guardians meet fortnightly. County courts are held once a month. It is a polling place for the western division of the county. There are several good inns and first-class lodging houses for the accommodation of the numerous parties that make the town the principal station in their tour of the Lakes. The inhabitants are principally employed in the coarse woollen, hardware, and blacklead pencil manufactories. Brewing and tanning are also carried on. It contains a townhall, market house, in which there is a very ancient bell, formerly belonging to the Ratcliffe family, a public library and lecture ball, mechanics' institute, bank, savings-bank, and a museum, in which is stored a vast quantity of minerals and curiosities. In the townhall is exhibited a model of the mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers, tarns, &c., for many miles round. A court-baron is held on the 22nd of May. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Carlisle, value £220, in the patronage of two trustees. There are two churches for the town - the old parish church of Crosthwaite, and that of St. John. The former is at a short distance to the N. of the town; the latter, dedicated to St. John, is situated at the southern extremity of the town, and was erected in 1839, including the parsonage house, at an expense of over £12,000, defrayed by the late John Marshall, Esq., M.P. for Leeds, and since endowed by his representatives. It has an embattled tower surmounted by a spire. There are chapels for Wesleyans and Independents. There is a free grammar school endowed with £100 per annum, and open to all the children of the parish. There are also day and Sunday schools. Lord Chief Justice Banks, whose wife so valiantly defended Corfe Castle, was a native of this place; and Southey, the poet, and Green, the painter, were residents. Within less than a mile of the town, and separated from it by rising ground, is Lake Derwentwater, nearly 3½ miles in length, by 1½ mile in breadth, remarkable for the transparency of its waters. On the lake are several islands, of the richest verdure, mostly covered with luxuriant foliage; also an island called the Floating Island, which occasionally rises from the bottom, but constantly adhering to the earth beneath, never changes its position; this last is covered with reeds and rushes, interspersed with a variety of aquatic plants. To the S. of the lake is the valley of Borrowdale; and near the south-eastern extremity are the falls of Lowdore, with the terrific crags of Gowder and Shepherd's, in the fissures of which are found almost every variety of forest trees, plants, and flowers, growing with wild luxuriance. Within this concave range of rugged cliffs is a powerful echo, so numerous in its reverberations that the discharge of a single cannon in this situation produces the effect of a park of artillery, the successive reverberations continuing with diminished force until they gradually die away. Among the many interesting places in the neighbourhood are the mountains of Skiddaw, 3,022 feet; Saddleback, 2,787 feet; and Helvellyn, 3,057 feet; Ulleswater, Thirlemere, Borrowdale Fells, Buttermere, and the Vale of Newlands. Copper, garnets, and other stones are found in the mountains. At Castle Rigg is a Druidical circle of forty stones, some upwards of eight feet high. R. D. Marshall, Esq., is lord of the manor. Saturday is market day. Fairs are held on the 11th October, the first Thursday after the 1st May, and two subsequent alternate Thursdays, for cattle and horses; also on the Saturday after the 29th October for rams and cheese. A statute fair for hiring servants is held at Whitsuntide and Martinmas." "CROW HOLME, (and Crow Park), in the county of Cumberland, 1 mile W. of Keswick. It is situated on Derwentwater, and commands fine views of the lake."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]