25. Sedbergh Town and St Andrew's Church, Pendragon Castle

1. Sedbergh Town

2. St Andrew's Church

3. Pendragon Castle

Scenes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, North Yorkshire and East Cumbria

 Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines Index

Rambles-ramblers-rambling-walks-walking-footpaths-bridleways

The Town of Sedbergh lies below the southern end of the Howgill range of hills

See 26. A great walk over the Howgills (1) - Sedbergh - Cautley Spout to the Calf summit

and 27. Another walk over the Howgills (2) from Howgill Church to the Calf and Arant Haw

* *

1. Sedbergh Town

The small market in the car park at Sedbergh.

The Dales @ Lakes Book Centre and Tourist Information centre in Sedbergh.

The main street in Sedbergh

The Haddock Paddock Fish & Chips Cafe and the Three Hares Cafes in Sedbergh.

Powells, good old fashioned grocer's shop in Sedbergh.

Left: ? in Sedbergh, dated 1903 and established in 1826. Right Sedbergh's Sleepy Elephant Books and Country Walking Shop.

The Sedbergh Cafe and above it the Amilah's Indian Restaurant and Takeaway.

The White Hart Sports & Social Club, and The Red Lion pub in Sedbergh.

The Dalesmen Country Inn in Sedbergh

Left: The Bull Hotel in Sedbergh. Right: Smatt's Duo Cafe

There is a handy little car park just down from St Andrew's Church, Sedbergh, on the road to Dent.

The Main Street, Sedbergh, a pleasant and friendly little market town with a fine parish church (see above and below).

After a little refreshment in Sedbergh a visit to the parish church before beginning a long walk over the Howgill Fells.

Sedbergh Notes From Wikipedia

Sedbergh (/ˈsɛdbər/ SED-bər or locally /ˈsɛbər/ SEB-ər) is a small town and civil parish in Cumbria, England. The 2001 census gave the parish a population of 2,705, increasing at the 2011 census to 2,765. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies about 10 miles (16 km) east of Kendal,[3] 28 miles (45 km) north of Lancaster and about 10 miles (16 km) north of Kirkby Lonsdale, just within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It stands at the foot of Howgill Fells, on the north bank of the River Rawthey, which joins the River Lune 2 miles (3 km) below the town.

Situation

Sedbergh has a narrow main street lined with shops. From all angles, the hills rising behind the houses can be seen. Until the coming of the Ingleton Branch Line in 1861, these remote places were reachable only by walking over some steep hills. The line to Sedbergh railway station ran from 1861 to 1954.

The civil parish covers a large area, including the hamlets of Millthrop, Catholes, Marthwaite, Brigflatts, High Oaks, Howgill, Lowgill and Cautley, the southern part of the Howgill Fells and the western part of Baugh Fell.

George Fox, a founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), spoke in the churchyard of St. Andrew's Church (which Quakers of the day called a "steeple house") and on nearby Firbank Fell during his travels in the North of England in 1652. Briggflatts Meeting House was built in 1675. It is the namesake of Basil Bunting's long poem Briggflatts (1966). Sedbergh School is a co-educational boarding school in the town; Settlebeck School is its main state-funded secondary school.
History

Sedbergh's parish church, dedicated to St Andrew, dates from the 12th century, although restored periodically since then. There is at least one house in the village dating from the 14th century, and there are remains of a motte and bailey castle believed to date from Saxon times.

Sedbergh's main industries for many years were farming and the production of woollen garments. Wool was taken to mills for spinning into yarn, from which people in their homes knitted clothing such as hats and socks. The garments were sold, for instance, to the coal miners of the North-East England. This trade of long ago is remembered at Farfield Mill,[4] just outside the town, which has an exhibition of weaving equipment and workshops for a number of artists and crafts workers.

Historically, Sedbergh was part of the Ewecross wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire. From 1894 to 1974 it was part of Sedbergh Rural District. In 1974 it became part of the new county of Cumbria.
Governance

Sedbergh belongs to the Westmorland and Lonsdale parliamentary constituency, of which Tim Farron is the current Liberal Democrats member.[6] Before Brexit, it was in the North West England European Parliamentary Constituency.

For local government purposes Sedbergh is in the Kirkby Lonsdale ward of South Lakeland District Council, which covers towns and surroundings with a combined population of 6,369 at the 2011 Census. It belongs to the Sedbergh + Kirkby Lonsdale Division of Cumbria County Council.

Sedbergh has its own parish council.

Economy and amenities

Personal incomes now come from a range of sources: the schools are major employers. Sedbergh is also England's official book town (like Hay-on-Wye in Wales and Wigtown in Scotland). Though smaller than these, it has several independent bookshops and dealers. It is possible that the employment in small to medium manufacturing and wholesale companies matches or exceeds that of schools – a growing feature of the economy. Other major sources of income are farming, retail and tourism. The profile of Sedbergh rose considerably after it featured in a BBC documentary series, The Town that Wants a Twin, airing for twelve episodes in January and February 2005. One result was for Sedbergh to twin with Zreče in north-eastern Slovenia.

The town suffered an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001. As livestock farming declined, it has been promoted as a destination for walkers and ramblers. In 2015 the town was accepted as a Walkers are Welcome town.

The town golf club is located at Catholes-Abbott Holme.

A monthly booklet "Sedbergh and District Lookaround" gives details of events and activities in the town and its organisations, along with times of buses and religious services. It is available at local shops for a suggested donation of £1. Online copies are available from its website.

2. St Andrew's Church, Sedburgh

St Andrew's Parish Church, Sedbergh

The south porch entrance to Pendragon Castle, Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria.

The well kept garden and graveyard of Pendragon Castle, Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria.

The path down to Pendragon Castle, Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria.

St Andrew's Church, Sedbergh, East Cumbria, founded around 1130, is well worth a visit and PLEASE leave a donation or purchase the excellent guide booklet for the church. It has much 12th and 13th century work and was restored in 1886.

Looking east down the nave into the chancel and alter. The pulpit has a fine 18th century tester.

A relatively recent carving of St Andrew, backed by his traditional diagonal cross, is seen over the Norman north porch entrance and the stained glass east window (~100 years old) over the alter of St Andrews Church, Sedbergh. The window depicts the call of Christ to Andrew and his brother and fishing partner Peter: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men".

The ? chapel in Pendragon Castle, Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria.

The fine stained glass windows in Pendragon Castle, Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria.

A general view down the nave to the chancel, alter and east window of Pendragon Castle, Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria.

The organ and rebuilt Norman arches in the nave of St Andrew's Church. The tower was probably added in the 14th century, and further rebuilding and additions in the 16th and 19th century.

The graveyard of St Andrew's Church, Sedbergh

St Andrew's Church, Sedbergh Notes From Wikipedia,t

St Andrew's Church is in Main Street, Sedbergh, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Kendal, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with those of St Mark, Cautley, and St John the Baptist, Garsdale, to form the benefice of Sedbergh, Cautley and Garsdale. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.
History

The present church dates mainly from about 1500, but fabric from earlier churches has been incorporated. A major restoration was carried out in 1885–86 by the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin. This included rebuilding the south aisle, its arcade and parts of the walling, lowering the floor, and removing the gallery. A new pulpit, altar and altar rails were added, which were made by Gillow. The restoration and the additions cost £4,200.

Architecture
Exterior

St Andrew's is constructed in rubble stone with sandstone quoins and dressings; it has a green slate roof. Its plan consists of a five-bay nave with a clerestory and a porch, a north aisle with a vestry at the east end, a south aisle with a chapel at the south end and a porch, a chancel, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages, with the top stage slightly corbelled out. At the summit is an embattled parapet with pinnacles at the corners. It has buttresses on the west side, a three-light west window, and three-light louvred bell openings. Along both sides of the clerestory are five three-light windows. The aisles have embattled parapets and four-light windows. The south porch is gabled with a niche above the entrance, and a coped parapet. In the wall of the south chapel is a priest's door with a sundial above it, and a three-light window. The north porch is smaller than the south, and is also gabled. It has a round-headed entrance, above which is a small niche containing a statue, and a large carved stone finial. The inner doorway is also round-headed, and is said to be Norman. At the northeast corner of the north aisle is a flying buttress. The east end contains three windows; the vestry and chancel windows have three lights, and the chapel window has four lights.
Interior

The two arcades differ, the south arcade having six bays, and the north arcade eight bays. Most of the piers are cylindrical, and most of the arches are round-headed. The church contains wall memorials, and a 19th-century pulpit with a restored 18th-century sounding board. The two-manual organ was built in 1895 by Norman Brothers and Beard, and repaired and overhauled in 1986 by Rushworth and Dreaper of Liverpool. There is a ring of eight bells, all cast in 1897 by John Taylor and Company of Loughborough.
External features

The churchyard is said to contain a yew tree under which George Fox preached and contains the unmarked grave of poet, American loyalist and Anglican missionary to colonial South Carolina, Revd. Charles Woodmason (ca. 1720–1789).

The Church of Sedbergh School, the famous public school founded in 1525. The famous geologist Adam Sedgwick was a former pupil (see Dent page 28)

A splendid array of 'potted' flowers opposite Sedbergh School, but onwards to the Howgills!

The trip to Sedbergh, The Howgill Fells and Dentdale  - The return home via Pendragon Castle

After the page 29 walk we left the A683 Sedbergh-Kirkby Stephen road, to take a minor road at OS ref 756038 (the so-called 'Tommy Road') across to the B6259 road, which you join near Pendragon Castle. So, more spectacular driving as you head towards Mallerstang Edge.

View north from the mound (motte) of Pendragon Castle, Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria.

View south from the walls of Pendragon Castle, Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria.

Pendragon Castle, standing on its defensive mound, is a 12th century Norman Keep with a 14th century garderobe turret.

The mound motte and defensive ditch of Pendragon Castle, Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria.

The highest remaining walls stand proud but look a little fragile!

The slope down from the mound with the Nab of Wild Boar Fell in the distance-left.

Sheep happily graze around the castle ruins, which are on private land, but access is allowed.

The limestone ridges of Mallerstang Edge runs right across the western view from the castle.

Looking down to the road bridge, a river crossing that would be defended by Pendragon Castle.

View north from Pendragon Castle, Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria towards Kirkby Stephen,

Defensive ditch of Pendragon Castle, Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria.

The peak of Wild Boar Fell on the distant horizon and then off south on the B6259 to join the A684 and head east for home.

Pendragon Castle - notes from Wikipedia

Pendragon Castle is a ruin located in Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria, south of Kirkby Stephen, and close to the hamlet of Outhgill, at grid reference NY781025. It stands above a bend in the River Eden, overlooked by Wild Boar Fell to the south-west and Mallerstang Edge to the east. It is a grade I listed building.

Legend
Pendragon Castle, looking down on the River Eden

According to legend, the castle was built by Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur, who is said to have unsuccessfully tried to divert the river to provide its moat, as is recalled in a well-known local couplet:

Let Uther Pendragon do what he can,
Eden will run where Eden ran.

Uther (if he was indeed a real person) was possibly a 5th-century chieftain who led resistance to the invading Anglo-Saxons. According to another local legend, Uther and many of his men died here when the Saxons poisoned the well (but other legends give St Albans as the location for his death). There are several other "Arthurian" sites in Cumbria – for example King Arthur's Round Table, near Penrith – and many names in the North-west, such as Penrith and Cumbria, have Celtic origins.

History
Pendragon Castle, ca 1740

Despite legend (and the discovery of a Roman coin) there is no evidence of any pre-Norman use of this site. The castle was built in the 12th century by Ranulph de Meschines, during the reign of King William Rufus. It has the remains of a Norman keep, with the later addition of a 14th-century garderobe turret, and some further additions in the 17th century.

One of its most notable owners was Sir Hugh de Morville, Lord of Westmorland, one of the four knights who murdered St Thomas Becket in 1170. A nearby high point on Mallerstang Edge is named after him, as Hugh Seat. Another owner was Lady Idonea de Veteripont who, after the death of her husband (Roger de Lilburn), spent much of her remaining years living in the castle, until her death in 1334. Lady Idonea founded the church of St Mary in the nearby hamlet of Outhgill, ca 1311.

The castle was attacked by Scots raiding parties in 1342 and again in 1541. After the latter attack it remained an uninhabitable ruin until it passed into the hands of Lady Anne Clifford, who rebuilt it in 1660, also adding a brewhouse, bakehouse, stables and coach-house. It remained one of the favourites among her many castles until her death in 1676 at the age of 86.

Lady Anne Clifford

Lady Anne's successor, the Earl of Thanet, had no use for the castle and removed anything of value from it, including the lead from the roof. By the 1770s much of the building above the second storey had collapsed, and it has since gradually decayed further to become the romantic ruin seen today.

In 1962, the castle was sold at auction by Appleby Castle Estate to Raven Frankland, a landowner and archaeologist, for £525. During the Second World War, Frankland's father, Edward, had written a book about the Arthurian legends associated with the castle.[5][6] The current owner, John Bucknall, inherited the castle following the deaths of his cousin Raven in 1998 and Raven's wife Juliet in 2013.

In recent years some of the rubble has been cleared, some consolidation of the crumbling walls has been undertaken, and a limited archaeological survey has been carried out by the Lancaster University Archaeological Unit published in 1996.

The castle is privately owned and on farmland. There is public access to the outside of the building, with a warning that the castle walls should not be entered. It appears that some remedial work has been carried out with the aid of a grant.
Etymology

The name Pendragon was first recorded in 1309 and is likely to have been a product of later medieval enthusiasm for Arthurian romance.[10] It is less likely that the name is derived from Brittonic pen, meaning "head, top, summit", and dragon, "dragon", honoratively "prince, warlord" (Welsh pen draig).

Watch out as go further west towards Sedbergh as the landscape gets higher and wilder and engineering-architectural gems like the viaducts on the Settle-Carlisle railway (near Garsdale Head in this case) and finally onto Sedbergh in East Cumbria 'signposted' when the Howgill Fells (the object of the trip) come into view.

A quick call in to the Wensleydale Railway whose starting point is at Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire, must come back for a steam trip to Bedale and Leyburn, but no time, so driving on to Castleton on the North York Moors, and so, back from visiting one national park, to return home to live in another, brill!!!!

"Phil Brown's docspics take on Sedbergh and Pendragon Castle"

previous page <-> next page

 Yorkshire Dales Index

Northern England docspics images photos © Phil Brown Tourist information, Walks, Holidays in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, North Yorkshire England, Top tourist attractions, luxury hotels, self-catering holiday cottages, B&B, friendly pubs, eating out in fine restaurants, walking holidays, touring coach tours, pretty villages, historic towns, museums, local art galleries, guided walks, excellent fell hill walking in limestone country docspics images photos of Sedbergh © Phil Brown Tourist information on Sedbergh, Walks in the Sedbergh, Holidays in Sedbergh, England, Top tourist attractions of Sedbergh, luxury hotels in Sedbergh, self-catering holiday cottages near Sedbergh, B&B near Sedbergh, friendly pubs near Sedbergh, cafes near Sedbergh, eating out in fine restaurants near Sedbergh, weekend breaks near Sedbergh, wining & dining weekends near Sedbergh, walking holidays around the Sedbergh, touring coach tours including Sedbergh, pretty villages near Sedbergh, historic town/village of Sedbergh, museums near Sedbergh, local art galleries near Sedbergh, guided walks from Sedbergh, excellent fell hill walking around Sedbergh, rambling, exploring the landscape near Sedbergh. good places to eat near Sedbergh tourist attractions near Sedbergh tourist information for places near Sedbergh good places for wining and dining near Sedbergh good walks near Sedbergh properties for sale near Sedbergh, renting a flat of house near Sedbergh, property for rent near Sedbergh, houses for sale near Sedbergh, lettings near Sedbergh places to rent near Sedbergh holiday cottage accommodation near Sedbergh docspics images photos of Sedbergh northwest England © Phil Brown Tourist information on Sedbergh, Things to do in Sedbergh, What to see in Sedbergh, Walks in Sedbergh, weekend breaks in Sedbergh holidays in Sedbergh, Top tourist attractions of Sedbergh, luxury hotels in Sedbergh, self-catering holiday cottages in Sedbergh, B&B in Sedbergh, friendly pubs in Sedbergh, cafes in Sedbergh, eating out in fine restaurants in Sedbergh, bargain holiday breaks in Sedbergh, wining & dining weekends in Sedbergh, touring coach tours including Sedbergh, pretty villages in Sedbergh, historic towns in Sedbergh, visiting museums in Sedbergh, local art galleries in Sedbergh, guided walks from Sedbergh, history of Sedbergh, architecture of Sedbergh trains to Sedbergh historic houses in Sedbergh historic churches in Sedbergh historic buildings good places to eat in Sedbergh tourist attractions in Sedbergh tourist information for things to do and see in Sedbergh good places to eat out in Sedbergh good walks from Sedbergh tourist attractions properties for sale in Sedbergh, renting a flat of house in Sedbergh, property for rent in Sedbergh, houses for sale in Sedbergh, lettings near Sedbergh places to rent in Sedbergh holiday cottages accommodation in Sedbergh