Lorton & Derwent Fells Local History Society

This site introduces you to the Lorton and Derwentfells Local History Society, L&DFLHS, its activities, its publications, and historical resources. For more about the Society's role, please scroll down. To see a poster for our next event please click here.

Whether you live locally or not, you can join as a member for £12 annually or £20 for two at one address. Your membership will include the streaming of our Cumbrian history talks through 2024 on this page , or at the Yew Tree Hall in Lorton. To join the Society or to supply your email address for Zoom talks, please contact the Membership Secretary, Lena Stanley-Clamp.

Our Digital Archive and Catalogue - February 2024

An image linking to https://derwentfells.org.uk.

In February 2024 the Society launched its new Digital Archive and Catalogue on https://derwentfells.org.uk. This site has been established to provide an enduring archive of the publications of the Society over its thirty-plus years, and to make available much of its collection of archival material, such as digitised photographs. Search facilities are provided.

You will find that all of our publications currently on this site are now available on the new archive site, and we will continue for the time being to upload new publications on both sites. However, only the new archive site will contain the photographic images, society records, and other archival material which will be uploaded through 2024 and beyond.

For further information about our Digital Archive and catalogue please see the article in Wanderer No.51, February 2024. We are looking for volunteers to upload and catalogue our photographs on the new site.

Our Digital Archive and Catalogue is hosted on webspace provided by the Cumbria Local History Federation, which is available to member societies as content providers. The archive catalogue system has been developed by and will be supported by Tim Haldon. The project has been supported with funding by the Westmorland Dales Heritage Lottery Fund and the CLHF.

Our 'Digital Archive of Historical Sources' is now available

February 2023 the Society made available a large collection of digitised primary sources relating to its area of interest. Copies can be borrowed by Society Members on a flash drive/memory stick and by other UK researchers for projects in the Local History of our area. The content and how to obtain is given on this page.

Follow us on Facebook

The Society has a Facebook page where you can keep up to date with our activities and publications, follow links to relevant material and join the discussion about the local history of our area. You do not need a Facebook account to read the material, but you do if you wish to contribute. Go to our Facebook page by clicking LortonLocalHistorySociety.

Our area in the County of Cumbria

The Society has its principal focus in the area of the English Lake District to the west of Keswick and the south of Cockermouth. The map shows this area of Cumbria, formerly Cumberland. The old townships covered are Brackenthwaite, Buttermere, Embleton, Lorton, Loweswater, Mosser, Pardshaw, Whinfell and Wythop.

'New Domesday' digital resource -May 2020

In 2020 the Society created a digital resource containing the records for our area of the land valuation survey undertaken during 1909-15. This resource of images held at Cumbria Archive Centre, Carlisle, and The National Archives, is not an online resource, but images for particular properties can be requested and sent by email. The content and how to access is given on this page.

The Greenwood maps

The Society provides the Greenwood county maps of Cumberland and Westmorland at the original scale to view, download, and use freely. These maps were surveyed in 1821-3 at one inch to the mile. Click the image above to go to the Greenwood page.

What does the Society do?

The Society is a membership organisation, run by an elected committee.
It organises a programme of events for its members and visitors, primarily a series of bi-monthly talks. Additionally it organises historical visits and occasionally walks and exhibitions.
It publishes a quarterly booklet called the Wanderer, has previously published The Journal, and occasionally publishes books and other material.
Additionally it organises historical visits and occasionally walks and exhibitions.
It keeps an archive of historical material related to the area, and provides support to other local and family historians.
The Society is a member of the Cumbria Local History Federation, a founder member of the Cumbria County History Trust, and a member of the British Association for Local History.

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