Families of the Lyth Valley
Flodder Hall
Flodder Hall gets its name from being near to flooding water. This is one of the largest farms in the valley with probably the oldest farm house. An inscription on the porch is still in evidence as follows: –
SI SEPIENS FORE VIS
SEX SERVA QVOE TIBI MANDO
QVID LOQVERIS ET VBI
DE QVO CVI GVOMODO QVANDO
Which when translated is –
IF YOU WISH TO BE A WISE MAN
OBSERVE THESE SIX THINGS WHICH I COMMAND YOU:
WHAT YOU SAY, AND WHERE, OF WHOM, TO WHOM. HOW AND WHEN.
Deaths
William Knipe 1652
Tobias Knipe 1656
Mary Knipe 1666
Isaac Knipe 1667
Mary Knipe 1699
John Knipe 1734
Margaret Knipe 1740
John Knipe 1741
John Layfield 1742
Peter Layfield 1743
Ellen Layfield 1745
John Biggins 1764
Edward Briggs 1766
Isabel Briggs 1767
Patience Benson 1769
Thomas Allan 1772
Margaret Allan 1784
Francis Benson 1796
Elizabeth Robinson 1809
Baptisms
Mary Knipe 1649
Ann Knipe 1700
Knipe 1704
Knipe 1706
Knipe 1708
Margaret Knipe 1710
John Knipe 1716
Isaac Knipe 1717
Elisabeth Noble 1739
Thomas Biggins 1762
Hannah Briggs 1766
William Moon 1785
Betty Benson 1788
Frank Benson 1791
Sally Benson 1794
Patience Benson 1796
Mally Benson 1797
Thomas Robinson 1797
Richard Robinson 1799
Jane Robinson 1801
John Robinson 1803
Elizabeth Robinson 1806
Robert Robinson 1808
Ellen Robinson 1811
Flodder - Tenants and Owners
| 1535 | Evidence of Knipe family living at Flodder |
| 1606 | Carving above the fireplace with Knipe name incorporated |
| 1639‑1682 | Tobias Knipe lived at Flodder |
| 1645 | Samuel Knipe buried at Crosthwaite Church |
| 1649‑1727 | Mary Knipe lived at Flodder |
| 1653 | William Knipe buried at Crosthwaite Church |
| 1669 | Seating in the Chapel allocated to Knipes of Flodder |
| 1675 | Mary Knipe married James Hodgson |
| 1700 | Mary, wife of William Knipe, died |
| 1700 | John Knipe married Margaret Symson of Flookburgh |
| 1711 | Marriage bureau or cupboard dated 1711 in the bedroom at Flodder |
| 1727 | In James Hodgson’s will he left Johnscale’s Farm to John Knipe of Flodder |
| John Knipe and Margaret’s family | |
|---|---|
| 1702 | Mary born 1702 and married Thomas Dennison from Laithwaite at a date unknown |
| 1704 | Tobias Knipe born |
| 1706 | Jane Knipe born and married Thomas Harrison from Hundhowe at a date unknown |
| 1708 | William Knipe born |
| 1710 | Margaret Knipe born and married James Inman from Sedbergh at a date unknown |
| 1711 | Susanna Knipe born and married John Bracken from Redman Tenement (address unknown) |
| 1716 | John Knipe born |
| 1718 | Isaac Knipe born and later took Holy Orders |
| 1734 | John Knipe (father) died |
| 1741 | Margaret Knipe (mother) died |
| 1743 | Tobias Knipe sold Flodder Hall to William Yeats for £1,307 – 10s – 0d but he refused to sign. The tenant was Matthew Layfield, rent £40. |
| 1764 | Tobias Knipe died |
| ------------------------------- | |
| 1770 | William Long tenant |
| 1807 | Crosthwaite records - John Robinson owner died |
| 1809 | Crosthwaite records – Elizabeth Robinson died. Purchased by Mr Adam. |
| 1815 | (From Argles papers) John Wakefield purchased Woodlands 850 acres bordering Flodder Hall for £902. |
| 1815 | (Kendal Chronicle – 1st February) to be sold on the premises at Flodder Hall. 20 spring and 12 backend calvers, 38 young stock, long horned bull, 4 good working horses, one colt, one filly, 2 foals, horsegear, hay, corn, straw and household furniture |
| 1827 | Purchased by the Wakefields for £3,600 |
| 1827 | William Long tenant |
| 1841 | (Census) John Bennett tenant |
| 1850 | John Bennett died |
| 1865 | Tablet on porch inscribed WHW (William Henry Wakefield) |
| 1871 | (Census) Thomas Bennett tenant (son of John Bennett) |
| 1874 | Argles purchased Flodder Hall |
| 1881 | (Census) Thomas Bennett wife and nine children farming Flodder Hall 148 acres |
| 1881 | Report of an early harvest at Flodder Hall cut oats July 29th |
| 1890 | John Bennett tenant, farmed at Flodder until 1922 (he was a Chairman of the Lyth Drainage Committee) |
| 1890 | James Bennett (aged 24) of Flodder Hall married Agnes Phillipson (aged 20) |
| 1922 | (Westmorland Gazette) to let Flodder Hall 138 acres tenant John Bennett |
| 1922 | (Westmorland Gazette) sale of 60 cattle, 4 horses, 7 pigs, implements and furniture for John Bennett |
| 1922 | William Cottam tenant followed by Smith’s Brewers (Mr Gibson was farm manager) |
| 1933 | To let, tenant G Smith, 118 acres |
| 1942 | Thomas Wilson tenant. Had 4 sons – Thomas, Arthur, William and Alan, and 2 daughters – Doris and Iona |
| 1942 | 14 tons of damsons sold £28 a ton, pickers received 2s. 0d per score (20 lbs) |
| 1944 | (Farmer and Stockbreeder) picture of Lyth Valley floods – cornfields under water |
| 1947 | 22nd February – heavy snow fall 6” - froze for 6 weeks. |
| 1949 | Sale of farming stock for Thomas Wilson - dairy shorthorns up to £210 guineas |
| 1951 | Wilsons vacated Flodder Hall |
| 1951 | Mr Stephen Barnes tenant, had three sons Kellet, Fred and Thomas. The Barnes family were the owners of a very successful Ayrshire cow herd. Mr and Mrs William Sharp were the next tenants. Edward Sharp in partnership with his father are present tenants of Flodder Hall. |