Gleaston is a village with a population of around 400 in the

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria, England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, Historic counties of England, historically an exclave of Lancashire. On 1 April 2023 it became part of the new unitary author ...

area of South

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, situated between the towns of

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

Dalton-in-Furness Dalton-in-Furness is a town in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England, north east of Barrow-in-Furness. Along with the rest of the Furness peninsula, it was historically part of Lancashire. It is in the parish of Dalton Town with Newton, a ...

and

Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few miles south of the Lake District Lake District National Park, National Park and j ...

Historically History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, the history of the village can be traced as far back as the

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

period and it was the centre of the manor of

Muchland Muchland is a medieval manor in Low Furness in the county of Cumbria in northern England. The manor was the seat of the Lords of Aldingham, and included at its peak the villages of Bardsea, Urswick, Scales, Stainton, Sunbrick, Baycliff, G ...

in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Today it is largely a commuter village for the nearby towns, but its past is still visible in the remains of

Gleaston Castle Gleaston Castle is a medieval building in a valley about north-east of the village of Gleaston. The village lies between the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness in the Furness, Furness peninsula, Cumbria, England. Gleaston Castle has a qua ...

and Gleaston

Water Mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

, which is open as a tourist attraction. Lonnin

Etymology

The

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 records Gleaston as ''Glassertun''. Joan Lee suggests that this could mean 'farm by a stream' from the Brythonic ''glas'' and

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

''tun'', as there is a swift stream or ''

beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

'' running through the village. Alternatively it could mean 'green hill farm' from the

words ''glas - haugr - tun''. It has also been proposed that the name was derived from the British words, ''glas'', green, ''er'', fallow or ploughed land, and ''ton'', a town or village. Cites ''Mannix & Co., History, Topography and Directory of Westmorland, 1851'' Beacon Hill from Hart Carrs Beck

Gleaston and its Water Mill
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Pre-history

Archaeological digs in the 1990s brought to light the ancient history of the village.

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

artifacts were found and the position of a prehistoric lake, which once covered a field between the castle and the mill, was discovered, proving that the local area has been inhabited for thousands of years. Since the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

Gleaston would probably have been inhabited by the

Carvetii The Carvetii (Common Brittonic: *''Carwetī'') were a Brittonic Celtic tribe living in what is now Cumbria, in North-West England during the Iron Age, and were subsequently identified as a ''civitas'' (canton) of Roman Britain. Etymology The ...

tribe who were based at

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

and covered most of modern Cumbria, or possibly the

Setantii The Setantii (sometimes read as ''Segantii'') were a possible pre- Roman Briton people who apparently lived in the western and southern littoral of Lancashire in England. It is thought likely they were a sept or sub-tribe of the Brigantes, who ...

tribe from Lancashire. Both were later incorporated by the

Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geog ...

. Successive waves of Norse,

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

and

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

invaders and settlers have all added to the history of the local area.

Gleaston Castle

In the 13th century the Lords of the Manor of

moved their seat of residence from nearby

Aldingham Aldingham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness Unitary Authority of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is situated on the east coast of the Furness p ...

to Gleaston and probably built a wooden hall on the site of the present castle, about 0.5 km north of the village. The building that stands today was begun in the 14th century by the first Baron of Aldingham, John de Harrington. The castle consisted of a quadrangular courtyard surrounded by high curtain walls, with substantial towers at the four corners. The north western tower would have contained the great hall and lord's apartments. The castle was abandoned in 1458 when the family line died out and the manor eventually passed to the crown.

Gleaston Water Mill

Just north of the village is Gleaston Water Mill. Now a tourist attraction, the mill would once have been used to grind

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seeds ...

s for farmers throughout the Furness area. The present mill was built in 1774 on the site of an earlier one and its water wheel and milling machinery are still in working order. The Mill is privately owned and was restored in the early 1990s and preserved for posterity. Also on the site are the Dusty Millers restaurant and Pigs Whisper country store.

The village now

Much of the village that can be seen today is 20th century. Since the 1960s the village has experienced a small scale population explosion. Previously there were five farms within the village itself as well as a pub, post office,

Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

and police station, most of which were 19th century buildings. The oldest remaining buildings all date from the 17th century and there are numerous 18th century buildings. Today, all the amenities and the five farms have disappeared and all the buildings have been converted into dwellings as Gleaston gradually became a commuter village for nearby Barrow and Ulverston. Most of the fields and large gardens in the village were also given over to development as pressure rose in the 1970s and 1980s to provide the growing number of workers at

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

(now

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

Glaxo GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham, wh ...

and

Furness General Hospital Furness General Hospital (FGH) is a hospital located in the Hawcoat area of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. It is managed by the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital, which replaced four local hos ...

with homes. Gleaston even has its own small estate called ''Mounts Meadow''. The village has its own large

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

, a small football pitch which was made by Bryan Hindle and brothers Paul and John Clarke, a community hall and a children's playground, which are all owned and run by the villagers themselves. Every year a sports day and barbecue is held to raise funds and for locals to meet and enjoy themselves and the village has its own

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve. Etymology The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling i ...

and

fireworks display Fireworks are low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices in an outdoo ...

every

November 5 Events Pre-1600 *1138 – Lý Anh Tông is enthroned as emperor of Vietnam at the age of two, beginning a 37-year reign. * 1499 – The '' Catholicon'', written in 1464 by Jehan Lagadeuc in Tréguier, is published; this is the first B ...

. In the year 2000, to celebrate the

millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

a short walk was created in a small piece of woodland adjacent to the green, behind the beck.

References

*Lee, Joan ''Place Names of Cumbria'' (Manchester Free Press, 1998)

External links

Cumbria County History Trust: Aldingham
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
Gleaston Village website
{{authority control Villages in Cumbria Furness Aldingham