Sedbergh ( or ) is a town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

, England. The 2001 census gave the parish a population of 2,705, increasing at the 2011 census to 2,765.

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, it lies about east of Kendal, north of Lancaster and about north of

Kirkby Lonsdale Kirkby Lonsdale () is a town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. Historically in Westmorland, it lies south-east of Kendal on the A65. The parish recorded a population of 1,771 in the 2001 ...

, just within the

Yorkshire Dales National Park The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England covering most of the Yorkshire Dales. Most of the park is in North Yorkshire, with a sizeable area in Westmorland (Cumbria) and a small part in Lancashire. The park was designa ...

. It stands at the foot of

Howgill Fells The Howgill Fells are uplands in Northern England between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, lying roughly within a triangle formed by the towns of Sedbergh and Kirkby Stephen and the village of Tebay.

, on the north bank of the

River Rawthey The River Rawthey is a river in Cumbria in northwest England. The headwaters of the Rawthey are at Rawthey Gill Foot, where Rawthey Gill meets Haskhaw Gill. The source of Rawthey Gill is unclear, but is either on Knoutberry Haw or near to the ...

, which joins the

River Lune The River Lune (archaically sometimes Loyne) is a river in length in Cumbria and Lancashire, England. Etymology Several elucidations for the origin of the name ''Lune'' exist. Firstly, it may be that the name is Brittonic in genesis and der ...

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 Sedbergh railway station was located in the West Riding of Yorkshire, serving the town and locale of Sedbergh on the Ingleton Branch Line. The town now lies in Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North We ...

ran from 1861 to 1954. The civil parish covers a large area, including the hamlets of

Millthrop Millthrop is a hamlet in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, Northern England and the Yorkshire Dales. Millthrop lies on the south bank of the River Rawthey close to the town of Sedbergh Sedbergh ( or ) is a town and civil parish in ...

, 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 are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

(

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

), spoke in the churchyard of St Andrew's Church (which Quakers of the day called a "steeple house") and on nearby

Firbank Fell Firbank Fell is a hill in Cumbria between the towns of Kendal and Sedbergh that is renowned as a place where George Fox, the founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), preached. Fox described what happened there on 13 June 1652 in t ...

during his travels in the North of England in 1652. Briggflatts Meeting House was built in 1675. It is the namesake of

Basil Bunting Basil Cheesman Bunting (1 March 1900 – 17 April 1985) was a British modernist poet whose reputation was established with the publication of '' Briggflatts'' in 1966, generally regarded as one of the major achievements of the modernist traditio ...

's long poem ''

Briggflatts ''Briggflatts'' is a long poem by Basil Bunting published in 1966. The work is subtitled "An Autobiography." The title "Briggflatts" comes from the name of Brigflatts Meeting House (spelled with one "g" in Quaker circles), a Quaker Friends meet ...

'' (1966).

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. I ...

is a co-educational boarding school in the town; Settlebeck School is its main state-funded secondary school.

History

Sedbergh's

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

, dedicated to

St Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...

the Apostle, dates from the 12th century, although restored periodically since. There is at least one house in the village dating from the 14th century. The remains of the motte and bailey castle are believed to date from Saxon times. Sedbergh's longstanding industries were farming and production of woollen garments.

Wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

was taken to

mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Uni ...

for spinning into

yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manu ...

, from which people in their homes knitted clothing such as hats and socks. These were sold, for instance, to coalminers of

North-East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authority ...

. This trade of long ago is remembered at Farfield Mill, 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 The historical area of Ewecross or Ewcross is a district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It included the parishes of Bentham, Clapham, Horton in Ribblesdale and Sedbergh and parts of Thornton in Lonsdale. Ewcross was split from the S ...

wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, ...

in the

. 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 Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

parliamentary constituency, of which

Tim Farron Timothy James Farron (born 27 May 1970) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2017. He has also served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005, before which he worked in ...

is the current Liberal Democrats member. Before

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...

, it was in the North West England European Parliamentary Constituency. Sedbergh lies in the ''Kirkby Lonsdale

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

'' of South Lakeland District, covering towns and surroundings with 6,369 inhabitants at the 2011 Census. It belongs to the ''Sedbergh + Kirkby Lonsdale Division'' of

Cumbria County Council Cumbria County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in the North West of England. Established in April 1974, following its first elections held the previous year, it is an elected local government body respon ...

. Sedbergh has a parish council.

Economy and amenities

Personal incomes come from a range of sources: the schools are major employers. Sedbergh is also England's official book town (like

Hay-on-Wye Hay-on-Wye ( cy, Y Gelli Gandryll), simply known locally as "Hay" ( cy, Y Gelli), is a market town and community in Powys, Wales; it was historically in the county of Brecknockshire. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as "the to ...

in Wales and

Wigtown Wigtown ( (both used locally); gd, Baile na h-Ùige) is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart. ...

in Scotland). Though smaller than these, it has several independent bookshops and dealers. Employment in small to medium manufacturing and wholesale companies may match or exceed that of schools – a growing feature of the economy. Other major sources are farming, retail and tourism. The profile of Sedbergh improved after it featured in a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Situation

History

Governance

Economy and amenities

Landmarks

Twin towns

Location grid

See also

References

External links