Families of the Lyth Valley
Houses and Farms on the Howe
INDEX MAP
Click on the name below to jump to the relevant section.
Howe Lodge
The present house, built in the 1800s, replaced an older one.
| 1844 | William Braithwaite re-roofed a building used for storage. |
| 1871 | Mary Braithwaite farming 15 acres (Census) |
| 1881 | William Wilkinson, farmer and gamekeeper (Census) |
| 1874 | Sold by Exors of Thomas Braithwaite – purchased by Rev. Canon Argles for £1,700. |
| 1914 | John Jackson, tenant farmer. |
| 1926 | John Jackson - sale of farming stock. |
| 1926 | Sold by the Argles family – purchased by Hartley Trotter Senior for £1,250. |
| 1926 to 1960 | Hartley Trotter Junior tenant farmer. |
| 1960 to 1965 | John Hartley Trotter tenant farmer. |
| 1965 | John Hartley Trotter became owner (re. will of Hartley Trotter Senior). |
| 2010 | Tenants Gary and Mandy Parsons. |
Howe Lodge Barn
Howe Lodge Barn was converted in 2000 from a bank barn which was originally built in the early 1800s.
Owner 2010 John Hartley Trotter.
Tenants 2010 – Phil and Tessa Jefferson.
Orchardene
It was built in1969 for J H Trotter as a retirement home for V M Trotter. Violet Trotter spent some years in a care home in Kendal before she died on the 23rd June 1997. The property was then used as a holiday home, let through Country Holidays, up until 2006. The bungalow was then extended and Hartley and Margaret Trotter made it their retirement home, moving into the bungalow on 20th December 2007.
High Barn
Converted by Mr Black from a bank barn, the barn had been built early 1800s and was used by Howe Farm tenants for cattle and fodder housing.
Crosthwaite Church, the owners, were granted planning permission to Convert the barn to a single dwelling that at the time was a semi derelict barn. It was sold by auction in The Town Hall, Kendal 10th July 2000 and fetched £161,000. After completing the conversion Mr Black lived in it for about six months before selling to Mr Brian Anderson who had the garden landscaped, a double garage built, the outbuildings made into a granny flat and the drive surfaced with patterned concrete.
The present owners Mr and Mrs Jim Mitchell purchased High Barn January 2006.
Howe Cottage
| Pre 21st February 1903 | Mr Richard Prickett owner |
| From 21st February 1903 | Mr William Prickett owner |
| 1940s | Frank Looker tenant |
| From 30th November 1949 | Mrs Laura Agnes Park owner |
| 1950 | Alan Nelson tenant |
| From 24th June 1952 | Miss Young owner |
| From 11th June 1956 | Mrs Sheila Margaret Bigham owner |
| From 27th November 1983 | Mrs Jennifer Elliot and Mr Michael Bigham joint owners |
| From 23rd May 1983 | Mr Michael Bigham owner |
| From mid 1990 | Mr Michael and Mrs Christine Bigham tenants in common. |
Howe Farm
| 1825 | The sale of Howe Farm was advertised and Thos Whitwell, the tenant "will show the property which has a nearly new barn". The barn was constructed in about 1820. |
| 1835 | "Howe Farm To Let" - house, buildings, 2.5 acres of pasture, plus 58 acres of arable. |
| 1841 | Matthew Walling was tenant farmer until 1871 |
| 1888 | Sale of farming stock for Mrs M. Walling |
| 1890 | John Walling tenant farmer |
| 1901 | Stricklands farming at Howe Farm |
| 1914 | William Strickland tenant farmer |
| 1925 | Sale of farming stock for J & M Strickland |
| 1926 | John Airey tenant farming 62 acres rent £110 p.a. |
| 1926 | Sale of Howe Farm for the Argles family – not sold – later sold to Major L S Hoggarth |
| 1930 | William Walling tenant farmer |
| 1946 | James Walling moved to Mislet Farm, Windermere He was William Wallings son |
| 1950 | Hannah Walling died aged 78 |
| 1955 | William Walling died aged 87 |
| 1955 | Sale of furniture for William Walling deceased |
| 1957 | Les and Ann Park moved from Howe Farm House to Rusmickle Farm, Leslie Park having been farm servant for the Wallings |
| 1965 | Mr & Mrs Hallas moved from Howe Farm House to Crosthwaite. Reg Hallas had been employed as a farm worker by George Walling |
| 1970 | Mr & Mrs Bainbridge tenants |
| Roy Bainbridge their son worked at Howe Farm and Dawson Fold | |
| 1985 | Sold by Crosthwaite Church to Mr & Mrs Somerville for £70,000 Mrs Somerville sold to Michael Naminsky |
| 2010 | Stephen Walling from Dawson Fold tenant of Howe Farm land which is owned by Crosthwaite Church |
Low Howe Farm
| 1815 to 1949 | Owned by the Prickett Family |
| 1851 | James Strickland farming 10 acres |
| 1920s | Mr and Mrs Greaves Tenants (market gardening) |
| 1930s | Mr and Mrs Rockliffe Tenants (farmer stonemason) |
| 1949 | Purchased by Mrs Laura Park from the Pricketts |
| 1950 | Mr and Mrs Plumber Tenants |
| 1953 to 1959 | Mr and Mrs Alan Nelson Tenants (farmer Builder) |
| 1959 to 1982 | Mrs Laura Park Owner Occupier |
| 1982 | Purchased by Mrs L Smith who sold the House with adjoining Barn and small orchard to Mr Mike Whelan. He converted the barn and cow sheds into a Holiday Flat and then sold the estate to Mr and Mrs Beaton |
Lyndale
Built 1974 for Mr and Mrs Chris Smith
Thornrigg
Built 1969 for Mr and Mrs Colin Park
Highfield
A bungalow built in 1964 for Dr Knowles and Miss Whitaker on land that had been part of Cragg Farm.
Miss Whitaker died in 1968 and the property was then purchased by Mr and Mrs Stubbs who had an interest in Accrington Brush Company. Mr and Mrs Eric Smith were the next owners before selling to Mr and Mrs Rob Pemberton.
The Pembertons added an ensuite bedroom to the bungalow, changed the garage to a garden room before having a new double garage built. Rob Pemberton was involved in the manufacture of meat products. When the Pembertons moved to Spain Mr and Mrs Armstrong purchased the Bungalow but only used it as a weekend retreat.
The present owners are Mr and Mrs Baker.
Howe Fell Cottage. Also known as Howe Cottage and School House
| 1863 | Mr Kemp occupied the cottage |
| 1900 | The Argles family owned the property |
| 1900s | Mr and Mrs Looker Tenants ( tile drainage expert) |
| 1926 | Mr Charles Looker Tenant Rent £7 |
| 1940 | Miss Mary Davidson (lodger - schoolteacher) |
| 1949 | Mr Edward ( Ted ) Looker purchased from the Argles |
| 1954 | Mr Charles Looker died |
| 1960 | Cottage let for holidays |
| 1963 | Purchased by Mr and Mrs Cuff £2,500 |
| 1972 | Purchased by Mr and Mrs Brian Priestley £10,250 |
| 1978 | Purchased by Mr John Doodson £30,000 |
| 2008 | Mr John Doodson died |
| 2010 | Cottage bid to £370,000 at auction in the Lyth Valley Hotel. Not sold |
Howe School
| 1870 | Frank Atkinson Argles gave the land to build Howe School which had to be capable of seating 30 – 40 Pupils |
| 1871 | Advertising for a headmistress |
| 1872 | Miss Jane Firther appointed headmistress salary £35 |
| 1873 | Miss Margaret Park headmistress salary £40 |
| 1879 | Miss Harriet Maurey headmistress |
| 1882 | Miss Mary Cranshaw headmistress |
| 1883 | Miss Esther Morgan headmistress to be followed by Miss Isabella Metcalf and Miss Cornthwaite |
| 1888 | Miss Emma Stone salary £80 |
| 1894 | Miss Newson who was asked to resign |
| 1900 | Mr Mark Hatfield salary £60 (the only male teacher) He was followed by Miss Agnes Jackson Miss Ellen Clark and Miss Jane Wood (sewing mistress) |
| 1902 | The school was running at a loss resulting in the threatened closure and sending the Pupils to Crosthwaite School |
| 1906 | There was no appointed teacher; Miss Crawford teaching on a temporary basis 31 children |
| 1907 | Miss Bertha Coles salary £65 teaching 38 children |
| 1907 | School dental service started |
| 1908 | School optician service started |
| 1911 | Miss Kate Abrahms teaching 16 children |
| 1911 | School leaving age increased from 12 to 13 |
| 1915 | The School was closed for 6 weeks due to a measles epidemic. Also coughing sickness croup chickenpox and.ringworm were also affecting the pupils |
| 1917 | School closed again due to an outbreak of Scarlet fever |
| 1918 | School leaving age increased from 13 to 14 |
| 1919 | Miss Hariet Wolfe became headmistress |
| 1919 | Influenza at epidemic level in the school |
| 1923 | Miss Mildred Hallam headmistress |
| 1925 | Miss Binns headmistress and Miss Carson her assistant |
| 1926 and 1936 | The school suffered measles outbreaks |
| 1933 | Free school milk for the pupils was started |
| 1933 | Miss Agnes Whitwell headmistress resigned but Howe School continued |
| 1935 | Miss Mary Davidson appointed as headmistress and remained as teacher until the schools closure 1946 when the 7 children were transported by taxi to Crosthwaite School |
| 1936 | School leaving age raised from 14 to 15 due to start 1939 |
| 1938 | Scarlet Fever was a recorded illness in the school |
| 1939 | School Pupil numbers doubled as a result of Evacuees arriving from Newcastle |
| 1942 | Electricity was installed in the school |
| 1949 | Dan and Vera Shepherd purchased the school buildings and surrounding woodland. They raised the roof on the school and converted it into a two storey dwelling |
| 2001 | Mr Chris Smith was the successful purchaser paying £195,000 when the Property was auctioned in the Town Hall Kendal |
Barn Howe
Originally known as Parks Cottage and changed to Barn Howe by Mr Fred Thomas.
| 1851 | Thomas Cummings occupier |
| 1863 (Westmorland Gazette) | Sale of cottage with 2 acres occupier Thomas Cummings |
| 1859 December 10th (Kendal Mercury) | Report of a brutal assault at Lyth. Thomas Cummings beat James Strickland with a stake, both residents of The Howe. |
| 1878 (Westmorland Gazette) | Sale of cattle and effects for Mr Cummings |
| 1880 | Jonathan Walling tenant. He left to farm at Fellside Farm |
| 1926 | Argles sold to the Millburns for £425 |
| 1950’s | Mr & Mrs Robertson purchased the cottage. Mr Robertson had retired as Governor of Borneo |
| 1960’s | Mr & Mrs Fred Thomas became the new owners. They left to live with their daughter, Nancy, in Jersey |
| 1988 | Professor Idris & Kathleen Williams purchased Barn Howe |
Cragg Howe and Home Cottage
A small farm originally known as Cragg farm
Deaths
Jane Briggs 1733
Jane Briggs 1734
Hannah Dickinson 1756
Baptisms
Thompson 1705
| 1733 | Report of death of Jane Briggs of the Cragg |
| 1836 (Westmorland Gazette) | Cragg Farm to let 18 acres |
| 1840 | Mr Martindale tenant |
| 1858 | James Maudsley tenant 30 acres |
| 1867 | To let James Maudsley tenant owner Canon Argles |
| 1871 | Mr Philipson tenant 27 acres |
| 1899 | Sale of farming stock for Mr Philipson |
| 1900 | Sale of farm produce |
| 1908 | Mr R Strickland tenant |
| 1914 | William Medcalf tenant rent £52 |
| 1926 | Sale of 14 cattle 2 horses poultry and potatoes |
| 1926 | Sale of Cragg Farm with vacant possession for the Argles family but no bid received. |
| 1927 | Sale of 2 carts 2 horses lorry and effects (rent arrears) |
| The property was eventually purchased by Mr and Mrs Brooks.who developed a water worn rockery business removing large pieces of limestone from Whitbarrow and transporting them to Milnthorpe Station to be taken by rail to far away places. | |
| 1939 | At the outbreak of war Cragg Farm became the operating centre for machinery owned by the War Agriculture Commitee to be used for food production in the Lyth Valley and surrounding districts. |
| Mr and Mrs Coleman were the next owners they had the first TV on The Howe and invited locals to view the Royal Wedding.The Colemans were followed by Mr and Mrs Hope then Mr and Mrs Webster. Mr Webster was a writer who left the Cragg to pursue his ambition of becoming an MP. Mr and Mrs Whitaker then purchased the Cragg. They had retired from the cotton spinning industry and had the kitchen extension built. | |
| 1985 | Adrian and Penny Parr converted Cragg barn into a house for themselves naming it Home Cottage and have since made the stable into a flat for their daughter Victoria. |
| 2009 | After the deaths of Mr and Mrs Whitaker the house was put up for auction in the Town Hall Kendal and sold to Tony and Heather Marshall in May 2009 for £530,000.They also purchased 5 .5 acres of grazing land for £18,000 |
Overholme
Built 25th April 1968 for James and Cuthbert Inman.
James died 11 November 1970 – Cuthbert died June 1978.
The bungalow was then willed to Grenville and Alice Howes. Grenville died January 2002.
Alice Howes still lives in the bungalow (2010).
Whitbarrow Cottage
A stone built Cottage owned by the Landowners of Crosthwaite and Lyth with outbuildings and Damson orchard
| 1851 (census) | William Braithwaite occupier |
| 1897 | ov 17th (Westmorland Gazette) Death of James Strickland who was living at Whitbarrow cottage. |
| 1901 | Mathew Walling living at the cottage, his wife was formerly Mary Strickland of Whitbarrow Cottage. |
| 1908 (Westmorland Gazette) | R Strickland working in the quarries on Whitbarrow. At least two generations of the Strickland family lived at the Cottage. A George Moss, who was a Stonemason, was also a tenant of the Cottage. The Metcalf family were also tenants of the property in the 1940s. Robert, the son, worked at Ashes Farm, Staveley. Margaret Metcalf, the daughter, was house servant to Major and Mrs Hoggarth of Dawson Fold. Another daughter (Jinny)married James Walling of Dawson Fold and one married Mr Walker who was Licensee of the Hare and Hounds Bowland Bridge before moving to the Plough at Selside. |
| 1950 | Mr and Mrs Frank Looker became tenants. |
| 1996 | Mr and Mrs Mathew Park were chosen to be tenants. |
Draw Well
Deaths
Frances Garnett 1661
Margaret Garnett 1667
Ellina Garnett 1692
Jane Varay 1724
Jane Fisher 1732
Robert Crossfield 1734
Mary Redhead 1734
John Dixon 1734
Hannah Kilner 1735
John Philipson 1756
Richard Inman 1812
Baptisms
Ann Garnett 1669
Robert Bell 1724
William Taylor 1744
Mary Huertson 1748
Chris Philipson 1757
Robert Noble 1758
Robert Philipson 1761
Ann Wright 1771
Betty Cloase 1775
Richard Inman 1811
| 1669 | John Garnett of Draw Well mentioned in seating arrangement in Chapel |
| 1734 | Mary Redhead Burial |
| 1758 | James Noble Burial |
| 1800 | Richard Inmans parents farming |
| 1812 | Richard Inman Burial |
| 1830 | Will of Robert Harrison late of Nether Levens states that he was the owner of Draw Well and Agnes Philipson had been the previous owner |
| 1851 | John Inman farming 48 acres |
| 1858 | Edward Inman farmer |
| 1898 | Thomas Inman farmer |
| 1900 | James Inman farmer |
| 1916 | Sale of potatoes at Toll Bar Lyth for James Inman |
| 1918 | Sale of Cattle Hay and Straw for James Inman |
| 1926 | Argles Estate sale James Inman purchased Draw Well for £1,900. He had been paying £90 rent per annum for 49 acres |
| 1968 | Sale of farming stock and furniture for Inman brothers |
| 1969 | Sale of Draw Well farmhouse attached barn washhouse and two small orchards. Purchased by Mr and Mrs Arnold for £13,610. Dutch Barn piggery shippon and adjoining orchards purchased by Mr Peter Bracewell. 10 Acres Savin Hill Toll Bar purchased by Mr J H Trotter 16 Acres Savin Hill purchased by Mr Desmond Holmes 6 Acres Swan Nest field purchased by Mr Edgar Park 1.5 Acres Peat Moss purchased by a private buyer |
| 1989 | The Arnolds sold Draw Well and attached barn (with planning) to Mrs Jenny Cartwright |
| 1990 | Jenny Cartwright moved into the barn conversion (Inman Howe) selling Draw Well to Mr and Mrs Satchell. The Satchells sold to Peter and June Robinson and they sold to Alistaire and Penny Mutch who have had a garage and store built. |
| 2001 | Jenny Cartwright sold the barn conversion to Mr and Mrs Keith Taylor. They have since had a single garage built |
Greenacre Barn
Originally a Dutch Barn used by the Inman Family of Draw Well to store hay. Converted to a house by Peter Bracewell in the 1970s, they also had two greenhouses erected which they used to root Leylandii Tree cuttings. The house and adjoining land with cottage was put on the market and sold to Mr and Mrs Thornley who sold it to Mr and Mrs Richardson who had part of the garage altered for use in their Photographic business. Mr and Mrs Bevan were the next owners and they had a new double garage built and sold the piggery building with planning permission to Mr Adrian Baker. He converted this building into a one bedroom flat naming it The Field Barn.
Greenacre Barn Cottage
This property, belonging to Draw Well, was converted from a cowshed by Peter Bracewell in the 1970s. After living in the cottage for a short time the Bracewells sold it to Mr and Mrs Thornley who gave it to their daughter. The cottage was again put on the market in 1988 with offers over £99,500 and was purchased by Mr and Mrs Clements. Their son John Clements now owns the property and has it let to Mr and Mrs Franklin.
Greenacre Bungalow
Built in the 1960s for Mr and Mrs Bracewell, on a field sold by Mrs Laura Park, the field had planning permission for a dwelling and was sold for £1,150 to the Bracewells. The Bungalow has had several owners since the Bracewells sold it to Mr and Mrs Ascough. They were followed by Mr and Mrs Lang then Mr and Mrs Barton and the present owners are Mr and Mrs Saul.