Limefitt Park - Around Troutbeck

Troutbeck village is in fact a string of hamlets - Town-End, Town-Head, High-Green, Cragg, and High-Fold

These hamlets stretch along the hillside of the Troutbeck Valley north of the town of Windermere in the direction of the Kirkstone Pass.

The township is divided into three divisions, called Hundreds, each of which has 600 cattle gates, of two acres each, on the extensive common, and had a common bull, constable, and bridge, from which it was wittily said "Troutbeck has three hundred bulls, three hundred constables, and three hundred bridges."

Hugh Hird, the Troutbeck Giant, was, according to the fabulous tales of tradition, a man of wonderful strength and appetite, who, at the building of Kentmere Hall, lifted a beam, which ten men tried in vain to move, and when sent by Lord Dacre with a message to the king, he astonished the royal household by eating up a whole sheep to his dinner, having previously ordered it to be cooked for him, under the name of "the sunny-side of a wether." Source - edenlinks.co.uk

Another story has Hugh Hird despatching a band of marauding border cattle raiders single handed and being rewarded by the king by being granted the right to stay in the farm that he was illegally squatting in. It sounds as though it might have been rather hard to get him out!

Herdwick Sheep

Beatrix Potter used to live in the village at Troutbeck Park Farm, where she bred Herdwick sheep. This is the breed shown in the picture on the left. The property, and the sheep are now the property of the National Trust. Troutbeck was designated a conservation area in the 1980’s

The Troutbeck (after which the valley and the village are named)

Troutbeck is one of the main sources of replenishment for Windermere. Its name comes from Old Norse and appears in documents from 1292 as Trutebyk. The river rises between the peaks of Stony Cove Pike and Thornthwaite Crag in the High Street range, at a height of about 1970 feet (600 m). From its source the Trout Beck descends some 1840 feet (560 m) in a distance of about seven miles (11 km). The river is a trout fishery where brown trout can be caught. Anglers should enquire locally about licences (an Environment Agency Rod Licence is required).

Troutbeck Church (Jesus Church)

is a beautiful place. It is a beautiful place to stop and contemplate the world for a while.

C of E services are held on Sundays - see notice board for more details.

The church has a long history - it is first mentioned as long ago as 1562

“1562 18 July. Whereas Troutbeck is distant and remote from the parish church of St. Martin's Windermere, the space of three myles soe that they cann neither bring the bodyes of the dead to be buryed att their parish church without their great and extraordinary cost and discommoditye nor carrye their children to be baptized without great danger of soul and bodye, nor can they by any means come to to hear Divine Service, to receive the Sacrament nor to be instructed in the word of God as becometh Christians, without their so great cost, travel, danger and incommodity, William Downham, Bp. of Chester, licenced the newly rebuilt Chapel of Jesus at Troutbeck for the celebration of the Sacraments etc., with the consent " of that worshipful man Mr. Adam Carehouse," rector of Windermere. Browne MSS. vol. III, n. 3.”

From: 'Supplementary Records: Troutbeck', Records relating to the Barony of Kendale: volume 3 (1926), pp. 192-99. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=49368. Date accessed: 29 October 2006.

Church Daffodils The present church was built in 1736 on the site of this earlier chapel and was renovated in Victorian times. It has a window which was designed by the painters Sir Edward Burne-Jones and Ford Madox Brown and was made by William Morris and Co.

The churchyard is also notable for its yew trees, its three lych gates and its war memorial made from a single large slab of Lakeland stone. In spring the churchyard is a covered in a fantastic display of daffodils

Troutbeck Village

Town End is now a National Trust property - a traditional house and barn which is a fine example of typical Lakeland vernacular architecture. “Largely 17th Century it belonged to a wealthy “statesman” farming family and contains carved woodwork, books, papers, furniture and fascinating domestic implements from the past, largely accumulated by the Browne family who lived here from 1626 to 1943” (NT Guide 2007)

The barn is still part of a working farm. As I was taking this picture a farmer on a quad bike, carrying a crook and a collie and towing a small trailer carrying two sheep drew up and opened up the barn.

The Post Office is roughly half way along the village

There are two wells following the spring line and built in to the wall by the side of the road, which were much used by horses making their way up to the Kirkstone Pass - St John's Well

and St Margaret’s Well St Margaret's Well

Old house date

There are many old buildings remaining in Troutbeck. Several have dates on them. The oldest one I have seen is this one.

Applethwaite Quarry on the other side of the valley is a source of Chalcopyrite and Dolomite. You can see it amongst the trees on the side of the fell in the picture on the right.

The Troutbeck Biannual Garden Trail

On May 28th 2007 the village hosted the biannual garden trail. We were very fortunate that the weather held for most of the day, and the gardens were beautiful. The walk along the village stopping off to view the houses and gardens is a really pleasant way to spend an hour or three, and you are helping the village at the same time.

Here is a gallery showing some of the sights. Mostly very pretty, but I thought the contrast between the two different types of scarecrow was interesting enough to include the crow hanging upside down near Thwaite