Human settlement in England
Hawkshead
is a village and
civil parish
in
Westmorland and Furness
,
Cumbria
, England. It lies within the
Lake District National Park
and was
historically
part of
Lancashire
. The parish includes the hamlets of
Hawkshead Hill
, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) to the north west, and Outgate, a similar distance north. Hawkshead contains one primary school and four public houses.
Geography
[
edit
]
Hawkshead Parish Church
, built in 1300 and rebuilt in the 16th century
Hawkshead is just north of
Esthwaite Water
, in a valley to the west of
Windermere
and east of
Coniston Water
. It is part of
Furness
, making it a part of the ancient county of
Lancashire
.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The township of Hawkshead was originally owned by the monks of
Furness Abbey
; nearby
Colthouse
derives its name from the stables owned by the Abbey. Hawkshead grew to be an important wool market in medieval times and later as a market town after the
Dissolution of the Monasteries
in 1532. It was granted its first market charter by King
James I
in 1608. In 1585,
Hawkshead Grammar School
was established by Archbishop Edwin Sandys of York after he successfully petitioned Queen Elizabeth I for a charter to establish a governing body.
[3]
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Hawkshead became a village of local importance.
Hawkshead Market Hall
was completed in 1790.
[4]
William Wordsworth
(afterwards poet laureate) was educated at
Hawkshead Grammar School
, whilst
Beatrix Potter
lived nearby as did William Heelis, a local solicitor, in the early 20th century.
[5]
With the formation of the
Lake District National Park
in 1951, tourism grew in importance, though traditional farming still goes on around the village. Hawkshead has a timeless atmosphere and consists of a characterful warren of alleys, overhanging gables and a series of mediaeval squares. It is eloquently described in William Wordsworth's poem
The Prelude
.
[6]
Much of the land in and around the village is now owned by the
National Trust
. The National Trust property is called
Hawkshead and Claife
.
[7]
Governance
[
edit
]
Hawkshead Market Hall
There are two tiers of local government covering Hawkshead, at
parish
and
unitary authority
level: Hawkshead Parish Council and
Westmorland and Furness Council
. The parish council meets at
Hawkshead Market Hall
.
[8]
For elections to Westmorland and Furness Council, Hawkshead is part of the
electoral ward
of Coniston and Hawkshead.
[9]
Administrative history
[
edit
]
Hawkshead was historically a
chapelry
within the
ancient parish
of
Dalton-in-Furness
in Lancashire. Hawkshead became a separate parish in 1578.
[10]
The parish of Hawkshead then contained four
townships
, being
Claife
,
Colton
,
Satterthwaite
and a township called 'Hawkshead and Monk Coniston with Skelwith' covering the north-western part of the parish, including the village. Colton was made a separate parish in 1676; the other three townships were all also made
civil parishes
in 1866.
[11]
When elected parish and district councils were established in 1894, it was decided to split up the civil parish of Hawkshead and Monk Coniston with Skelwith. The Monk Coniston area was added to the parish of
Coniston
, and the rest was split between new civil parishes called
Skelwith
and Hawkshead.
[12]
Hawkshead was included in the Ulverston Rural District, which renamed itself
North Lonsdale Rural District
in 1960.
[13]
Hawkshead was transferred to the new county of
Cumbria
in 1974, forming part of the
South Lakeland
district.
[14]
In 2023 it became part of the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness.
[15]
Parliamentary representation
[
edit
]
Hawkshead is part of the
Westmorland and Lonsdale
parliamentary constituency and is represented in parliament by
Tim Farron
MP.
[16]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Hawkshead
.
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Major settlements
(cities in italics)
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Characters
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