Lorton & Derwent Fells Local History Society

Our publications are now also available on https://derwentfells.org.uk

The Society has a number of publications. The Wanderer is sent to members as a part of the benefit of membership.

Click on the images below for further information.

The Wanderer

The Wanderer is published four times a year, in February, May, August and October, is emailed to all members and posted to all members wishing to have a printed copy. It contains news and information about the Society and membership, activities and relevant local history issues. It now contains short articles on the local history of our area. The latest issue is available as a PDF (click the image above). The Wanderer is archived from the start of 2018.

Historical Walk Booklets Lorton & Loweswater

An image of the Loweswater Walk Booklet.

These two publications by Derek Denman cover a history of Lorton and Loweswater from the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries. They take the form of two walks of approximately 5km each . They show the development of land use and the village buildings from the viewpoints of lordship, yeoman farmers and the Church and monasteries. It is not necessary to do the walk.

These historical walks are published by the Society. You may see and download a copy for personal use by clicking on the relevant image. Subject to the creative commons licence included.

These walks are available to purchase as a more convenient twelve-page booklet, cover price £3. If you can please purchase copies from Lorton Village Shop, or at Society meetings, or by post from Derek Denman (see Society page)

Historical Walk Booklet Pardshaw & Mosser

An image of the Pardshaw and Mosser Walk leaflet.

This publication created by Sandra Shaw describes a circular historical walk around Pardshaw and Mosser, of about four kilometres. The route is on minor public roads, and footpaths through open land, with several stiles.

The title of the walk, 'Exploring Isaac Fletcher's World; from Pardshaw Hall to Mosser and back', points to the source of much of the content, the diaries of the eighteenth century Quaker diarist and man-of-business, Isaac Fletcher. He lived at Underwood in Mosser. The walk covers the history of the area through houses and landscape features from his day to ours.

This historical walk is published here by the Society. You may see and download a copy for personal use by clicking on the relevant image. Subject to the creative commons licence included.

They Lie in Foreign Fields

The booklet They lie in Foreign Fields was published by the Society in October 2018. Authored by Walter Head and Sheila Gordon, this booklet gives the personal histories of all the men who died in World War One and are remembered on the war memorials within the area covered by the Society. The booklet is not for sale, but a copy may be downloaded for personal use as a PDF (click the image above).

The Greenwood maps online

An image indicating a link to the Greenwood Maps page.

The Society provides the Greenwood county maps of Cumberland and Westmorland on this site to examine and download at the original scale. These maps were surveyed in 1821-3 at one inch to the mile. This edition is the second, from 1844, with the railways overlaid. Click the image above to go to the Greenwood page.

The Journal

The Journal, formerly the Newsletter, was published twice a year up to 2017, and all sixty issues are available on this website. It contains articles related to the history of our area, or of general interest, mostly written by members of the Society. Click the image above for access to archived copies.

A Cumberland Valley A History of the Parish of Lorton

by Ron George

A Cumberland Valley is a history by the late founder of the society, published in 2003, and covering the parochial chapelry of Lorton. This included Brackenthwaite, Buttermere and Wythop. From the earliest time to the twentieth century. Click the image to see or download as an e-book, subject to the Creative Commons licence included.

240 pages 232x156mm

Life in Old Loweswater

by Roz Southey

edited by Derek Denman

Life in Old Loweswater is a series of historical sketches originally published by Roz in the 1970s and 1980s. Published in book form with additional material and illustrations by the Society in 2008, and now available online. Click the image to see or download as an e-book, subject to the Creative Commons licence included.

144 pages 232x156mm

Wordsworth and the famous Lorton yew tree

edited by Michael Baron and Derek Denman

This book was published by the Society in 2004 to commemorate the visit to the tree by William and Dorothy Wordsworth in 1804, in connection with the poem 'Yew-trees'. The long history of the ancient tree is traced and supported by many notable contributors. Click the image to see or download as an e-book, subject to the Creative Commons licence included.

80 pages 16 colour 216x138mm

The Township Maps

The Township Maps were created by society members for our tenth anniversary exhibition in 2003. They are available on this site as display maps of six local townships around 1840, Buttermere, Brackenthwaite, Embleton, Lorton, Loweswater and Whinfell, showing all farms and fields, other properties, ownerships and all those resident in 1841. Click the image above to go to the Township Maps page.

Society Publications