Muchland is a medieval manor in

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

in the county of

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 ...

in northern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The manor was the seat of the Lords of Aldingham, and included at its peak the villages of Bardsea,

Urswick Urswick is a civil parish that includes the villages of Great Urswick and Little Urswick. It is located in the Furness area of Cumbria, England. The villages are situated to the south-west of the town of Ulverston. In the United Kingdom Census ...

Scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

, Stainton, Sunbrick, Baycliff, Gleaston,

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 ...

, Dendron, Leece and Newbiggin. The area also features the historic remains of Gleaston Castle, Aldingham Castle, Gleaston Water Mill, the Druids' Temple at Birkrigg, plus many prehistoric remains around Urswick and Scales.

The Place

The area that became Muchland 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 ...

is situated on the eastern side of the Furness Peninsula in southwest Cumbria. On its eastern side, it is bounded for its entire length by the sands of

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is an estuary in north-west England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second largest ga ...

, the shore of which has eroded considerably since the manor was created. Along the coast lie the villages, from north to south, of: * Bardsea * Baycliff *

* Newbiggin *Goadsbarrow Muchland derives its name from Michael's Land after Michael le Fleming who was granted the lands by Henry I sometime between 1107 and 1111. These lands lay eastwards of Abbey Beck and southwards of the moors of Birkrigg and Swarthmoor and stretched right down to the southernmost tip of the peninsula at Rampside.F Barnes, Barrow and District, 1968 At that time the southern limit of the manor was Walney Channel, but it was later moved inland to follow the line of Sarah Beck or Roosebeck. This land became the new manor of Aldingham. Aldingham is home to the Church of Saint Cuthbert, who was laid here after death on his journey to be buried. A little further down is the remains of Aldingham Moat and Aldingham Motte, both homes to the Lords of Aldingham in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Newbiggin was once home to Sea Mill, one of the three mills of the manor. The western boundary of the manor is now the Borough 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 ...

, which was originally land belonging to

Stephen of Blois Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne ''jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 un ...

, but belonged to

Furness Abbey Furness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness, is a former monastery located to the north of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second-wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the country, behi ...

from 1127 until 1536 when

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

dissolved the monasteries. There were numerous debates over the hunting rights between the Lords of Aldingham and the Abbots of Furness in places like Leece and Stainton, which lay at the western boundary of the manor. The small village of Dendron, also on the western boundary, is home to the seventeenth century Saint Matthew's Church where the artist George Romney went to school for a time. Further east from Dendron is Gleaston, the geographical and administrative centre of the manor from the mid-thirteenth century. The village is dominated by Beacon Hill to the northeast, which legend says was used to signal danger to

Piel Castle Piel Castle, also known as Fouldry Castle or the Pile of Fouldray, is a castle situated on the south-eastern point of Piel Island, off the coast of the Furness Peninsula in north-west England. Built in the early-14th century by John Cockerham, ...

to the south, which can clearly be seen from the top of the hill. The village boasts the remains of Gleaston Castle and Gleaston Water Mill, the second corn mill of the manor. Gleaston Beck runs through the valley here from Urswick Tarn in the north to the coast at Newbiggin. North of Gleaston are Scales and Little and Great Urswick. Little Urswick is now home to Low Furness Primary School, but was previously home to a seventeenth-century grammar school. Great Urswick, built around two sides of Urswick Tarn, boasts the ancient Church of Saint Mary and Saint Michael. It would seem this area was of considerable activity in the Iron Age. To the east of Urswick is Birkrigg Common, so called because it was shared in common with the men of Urswick and Aldingham. This rocky hill has a number of archeological sites, including an ancient stone circle, and has views across Morecambe Bay, Furness and the mountains of the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

. On the edge of the common lies the small hamlet of Sunbrick, which is now little more than a few farms and houses, but shelters a small walled Quaker graveyard where leading

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

Margaret Fell Margaret Fell or Margaret Fox ( Askew, formerly Fell; 1614 – 23 April 1702) was a founder and leading member of the Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Prot ...

, who lived at nearby

Swarthmoor Hall Swarthmoor Hall is a mansion at Swarthmoor, in the Furness area of Cumbria, North West England. Furness is part of the historic county of Lancashire. The Hall was home to Thomas and Margaret Fell, the latter an important player in the founding ...

, is buried. The northern boundary of the manor generally follows the line of the road leading from Lindal-in-Furness in the west to Conishead Priory on the coast. Beyond it is the market town of

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 ...

and the manor of Pennington.

The Lost Villages of Muchland

It is known that several villages which once existed in Muchland have since disappeared off the map. Local legends are full of tales about villages on the coast being swept away by the encroaching tides, although there is little to substantiate the tales. It is certain that the gravelly coastline must have suffered considerable erosion over the past centuries and that any village too near the shore might have fallen victim to its advances. Aldingham, for example, may once have been up to a mile in length, stretching out into what is now Morecambe Bay with the church at its centre. Besides those villages lost to the sea, several others have disappeared. Perhaps the most interesting is Hart, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book as ''Hert''. There was later a mill named Hart Mill which is known to have been in the vicinity of Gleaston. Archeological investigations have taken place to discover the site of this early mill around the valley where Gleaston Water Mill now stands, but they have yielded little evidence. The name Hart was probably shortened from Hart Carrs, which means 'marsh of the harts'. To the south of Gleaston, at the end of Carrs Lane, there is a large flat area which has been drained, through which still flows Hart Carrs Beck. It is possible that the village once stood in this area. Two other villages named in the Domesday Book have also disappeared, but are even more difficult to track down. Crivelton probably stood on the coast between Rampside and Roose but has since been washed away by the sea. The name is recorded as ''Clivertun'' in the Domesday Book, which suggests a location on a cliff. Fordbootle was probably situated somewhere around modern-day Stank, although its name suggests a location beside a watercourse, possibly further west on the River Yarl. Both Clivertun and Fordbootle were listed in the Domesday Book as vills or townships forming the Manor of Hougun held by Earl Tostig. Around 1153 Roose, Crivelton and Fordbootle were part of an exchange of land between Muchland and Furness Abbey, suggesting that it was certainly situated in that area. A final village to be mentioned in the Domesday Book is Alia Lies, meaning 'another Leece'. The position of this lost village is by no means certain, but it may have been in the area of Old Holbeck, to the west of present-day Leece, or nearer the coast to the south of the village.

History

Before the Manor

The area later named ''Muchland'' has been inhabited since at least 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 evidence of

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...

habitation has been found in caves at Scales. Remains of prehistoric settlements from the Mesolithic to the

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 ...

have been found at Gleaston and Scales, including a bronze sword and axe head, and human bones. It is believed that a post-glacial lake near Gleaston would have provided food and resources for a small community from the end of the last ice age to the Bronze Age. There is a small stone circle on Birkrigg Common known locally as the Druids' Temple which revealed a Bronze Age burial urn during excavations L6 292741 In the Iron Age, when 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 ...

and, later,

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 ...

tribes inhabited the region, there was a great deal of activity on the rocky ground surrounding present-day Urswick and Scales. There are visible remains of a fort to the north of Great Urswick L6 274753 a settlement northwest of Little Urswick known as Urswick Stone Walls L6 260740and a homestead to the east L6 275734as well as numerous tumuli and burial chambers in the area. The Romans may also have been present in Urswick during their occupation. Recent archeological investigations in the area may have uncovered the presence of a Roman fort (a claim which has been criticised by leading local archeologists) and it is believed that the parish church of St Mary and St Michael may contain remnants of a

sub-Roman The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...

church which could have been the centre of a monastery, although all of these claims are yet to be substantiated by solid evidence. It is possible that the Romans exploited the rich iron-ore resources of the area, which had been utilised in previous times and provided the catalyst for a booming industrial economy in the area in the 19th century. In the 4th century AD this part of England belonged to the kingdom of

Coel Hen Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman Britain, Ro ...

, known as Northern Britain or Kyle, but was later in a division of that kingdom known as

Rheged Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ('Old North'), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and bardic sources, ...

. Little is known about the local history at this point, but it is known that the area would have remained Celtic until around the 8th century when Rheged was annexed to

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

and English

Angles Angles most commonly refers to: *Angles (tribe), a Germanic-speaking people that took their name from the Angeln cultural region in Germany *Angle, a geometric figure formed by two rays meeting at a common point Angles may also refer to: Places ...

began to filter in. In 685AD land in south Cumbria was granted to Saint Cuthbert and it was recorded that the area still had a significant British population. Part of an early English cross bearing a

runic Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets, known as runic rows, runic alphabets or futharks (also, see '' futhark'' vs ''runic alphabet''), native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were primarily used to represent a sound value (a ...

inscription from around this period is available to view in Urswick church. The English slowly displaced or assimilated the native

Cumbric Cumbric is an extinct Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North", in Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands. It was closely related to Old Welsh and the ot ...

Celts, although they may have remained in pockets around the region (as is evidenced by place names such as Walney, meaning 'Isle of the British' from Old Norse ''walna''+''ey''). In 925AD Norsemen began landing on the local shores from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

via

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Man A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

but they seem to have been peaceable farmers rather than vicious warriors and they settled amongst the English and British in the region, although part of a Norse sword was found in nearby

Rampside Rampside is a village in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is located a few miles south-east of the town of Barrow-in-Furness, in the north-western corner of Morecambe Bay on the Furness peninsula. History There is evidence th ...

. The Norse influence on the area was a significant one, shown not only by the large number of Norse placenames in the area, but also by the discovery of a 12th-century inscription at Loppergarth near

, which contained a curious mix of both Norse and English runes.

The Lords of Muchland

The le Flemings

After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

in 1066 the small manor of Aldingham was granted to

Roger de Poitou Roger the Poitevin or Roger de Poitou (mid-1060s – before 1140) was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat possessing large holdings both in England and through his marriage in France during the early 12th century. He was the third son of Roger of Montg ...

as part of a much larger holding which included land across much of the north of England. At that time the area was on the very fringe of Norman England. When 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 ...

was compiled in 1086 Aldingham had been confiscated from de Poitou for his part in a plot against

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

, but it was returned to him shortly after. By 1102 Aldingham had been confiscated from de Poitou once again, but before this he had built a ringwork near the coast at Aldingham. Around 1107 Aldingham was granted to Michael le Fleming ( Latinized to ''Flandrensis'', "of Flanders") and it was he who gave his name to the manor, literally "Michael's Land". At this point the manor stretched from Walney Channel around Rampside and Roose north to Sunbrick and Great Urswick. It was Michael or one of his sons that erected the motte at Aldingham on the site of

's ringwork L6 278698 In 1153, the second Michael le Fleming agreed an exchange of land with Furness Abbey, giving up Roose, Fordbootle and Crivelton for Little Urswick and part of Foss, near

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, so that the Abbot could get greater access to his port at Piel. By the early 13th century the wealth and importance of the manor had increased significantly and the Lord of the manor was granted the right to hold his own courts

Leet Leet (or "1337"), also known as eleet or leetspeak, or simply hacker speech, is a system of modified spellings used primarily on the Internet. It often uses character replacements in ways that play on the similarity of their glyphs via refle ...

and

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

. The manor of Bardsea was also added to the le Fleming estate. Around this time the seat of the manor of Muchland was moved from the motte at Aldingham to a nearby moated site L6 279700 probably due to the advance of the sea and the erosion of the hill on which the motte stands. In 1227 the overlordship of Muchland was changed from the

Duke of Lancaster The dukedom of Lancaster is a former Peerage of England, English peerage, created three times in the Middle Ages, which finally merged in the Crown when Henry V of England, Henry V succeeded to the throne in 1413. Despite the extinction of the ...

to Furness Abbey. This seems to have been an unwelcome decision for the Lords of Aldingham, as the Abbot began claiming rights to lands within the bounds of Muchland. Over coming years, William le Fleming (''alias'' de Furness) got into several disputes over hunting rights with his neighbour the Abbot of

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 ...

which eventually resulted in William being exempt from formal attendance at the Abbots Court and the men of Muchland being banned from entering the Abbot's town of

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 ...

The de Haringtons

In the mid 13th century Michael de Furness - direct descendant of the first Lord of Aldingham - died crossing the Leven Sands in

after dining at Cartmel Priory and the manor passed to the Cansfield family from Lancashire through Michael's sister Alina de Furness. It was probably Richard de Cansfield who initiated the move inland from Aldingham to Gleaston, where a wooden hall was probably built about 0.5 km north of the present village L6 262715 When Alina and Richard's son William de Cansfield was drowned in the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

the manor passed again through a female heir to the de Harington family from north west Cumbria. The son of that marriage, John de Harington (1281–1347) was knighted in 1306 and was created Baron Harington upon being summoned by

writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...

to Parliament in 1326. It was he who was responsible for the building of Gleaston Castle on the site of the previous hall, which was begun before 1325 and finished around 1340. The 1st Baron seems to have been quite a contradictory character. Not only was he a member of Parliament, he sat on councils, was a Commissioner of array for eight years, sat on various commissions in the north of England, and completed his obligatory military service with Edward, Prince of Wales and Andrew de Harcla. But he was also involved in a faction opposed to

Piers Gaveston Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall ( – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England. At a young age, Gaveston made a good impression on King Edward I, who assigned him to the househo ...

and complied in his murder, for which he received a pardon in 1313 and was pardoned again in 1318. His activities with Andrew de Harcla in the

Scottish Marches Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border during the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern era, characterised by violence and cross-border raids. The Scottish Marches era came to an end during the first decade of the 17 ...

led to his being outlawed in 1323 on discovery of Harcla's treason, but he was pardoned upon surrender then awarded as custodian of the truce with

. During their time as lords of the manor of Muchland the de Harringtons increased their estate greatly through marriage to heiresses, gaining lands in Devon, Cornwall, Leicestershire, Ireland, and further lands in

and

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

. In 1460 the only male heir to the manor, William Bonville was killed at the age of 17 along with his father and grandfather at the Battle of

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

leaving behind a new born baby girl, Cecilia. She later married Thomas Grey, 1st Marquis of Dorset, who was grandfather to

Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset (17 January 151723 February 1554), was an English courtier and nobleman of the Tudor period. He was the father of Lady Jane Grey, known as "the Nine Days Queen". Origins He was born on 17 ...

, who was father of

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...

who became Queen of England but was beheaded after nine days by Queen Mary. And so the manor passed to the crown in whose hands it remained until it was given to the Cavendish family of

Holker Hall Holker Hall (pronounced Hooker by some) is a privately owned country house located about 2 km to the southwest of the village of Cartmel in the ceremonial county of Cumbria and historic county of Lancashire, England. It is "the grandest ...

in the 18th century who held it until 1926 when it was sold.

Genealogy

Descendants of Michael le Fleming. Lords of Aldingham are highlighted in bold. Michael le Fleming, Lord of Aldingham , ''(d.1150)'' , Michael le Fleming m. Christiana de Stainton ''(d.1186)'' , , William de Furness m. Ada de Furnys - Workington Osulf of Flemingby ''(c.1150-1203)'' , , , , Michael de Furness m. Agatha Fitz Henry Robert of Hafrinctuna ''(1197-1219)'' , , , , William de Furness Thomas de Harrington , , , -----------------------------, , Michael de Furness Alecia m. Richard de Cantsfield Michael de Harrington ''(d.1269 crossing Leven Sands)'' , , , ------------------------, , William de Cantsfield Agnes m. Robert de Harrington ''(drowned in R. Severn)'' ''(d.1293)'' , ''(d.1297)'' , Joan m. John de Harrington, First Baron of Aldingham , ''(1281-1347)'' , Robert de Harrington , ''(d.1334)'' , Joan de Birmingham m. John de Harrington , ''(1328-1363)'' , Alice de Greystoke m¹. Robert de Harrington m². Isobel Loring , ''(1356–1406)'' , ----------------------------, John de Harrington William de Harrington m. Margaret ''(d.1418)'' ''(1390-1457)'' , , William Bonville m. Elizabeth , , William Bonville m. Katherine Neville ''(c.1443-1460)'' , , Cecile m. Thomas Grey , , Thomas Grey , , Henry Grey m. Lady Frances Brandon , ,

Toponymy

Muchland was originally 'Michael's Land', which changed to 'Mickle Land' from the local version of Michael, which was confused with another local term from the

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 ...

''mikkel'' meaning 'great' and so became 'Much Land' Adgarley means 'Eadgar's slope' from Old English ''Eadgars hlið'' Aldingham means 'home of Alda's people or descendants' from the Old English ''Alda+inga+ham''. omesday ''Aldingham'' Bardsea ?unsure. Possibly 'bard's resting place' from Celtic ''bard eisteddfa'' omesday ''Berretseige'' Baycliff ?unsure. There are no notable cliffs in the area, despite the village overlooking

. arly form ''Belleclive'', 1212 Birkrigg Common 'ridge with birch trees' from Old Norse ''birkr hryggr'' Bolton probably 'farmstead with a shelter' from Old Norse ''boðl tun'', the Domesday Book records this as ''Bolton-le-Moors'' Crivelton ?unsure. Domesday records this lost village as ''Clivertun'', which probably means 'village on a cliff' from OE ''clif+ton''. There may be an additional Old Norse element meaning 'hill', ''klif+haugr+tun'' Dendron Probably clearing in a valley from Old English ''denu+rum''. omesday ''Dene'' Fordbootle 'dwelling by a ford' from ''ford+boðl'' omesday ''fordebodele'' Gleaston means 'green hill farm' from Old Norse ''glas+haugr+tun''. omesday ''Glassertun'' Goadsbarrow means 'Godi's or Gauti's burial mound' with the Old English ''beorg'' Harbarrow There are several explanations. The second element is certainly 'hill' from Old English ''beorg''. The first is probably 'hare' from Old English ''hara'' (there is a Hare Hill nearby), but may also be 'herd' from ''heord'', 'oats' from Old Norse ''hafri'', or 'grey' from Old English ''har''. Hart now lost, this probably just means 'hart' or 'stag' from Old Norse ''hjortr''. It seems likely this is a shortening of the name Hart Carrs, which means 'marsh where harts live' with Old Norse ''kjarr''. Hart Carrs Beck flows through an area of flat, often boggy land. omesday ''Hert'' Holbeck 'stream in a hole' from Old Norse ''hol-bekkr'' Leece means 'glades' from Old English ''leahs''. omesday ''Lies'' Newbiggin means 'new building' with Old or Middle English ''biggin'' Rampside either 'Hrafn's shieling' from Old Norse ''Hrafns saetr'' or 'ram's head' from Old English ''ramms heofod'', referring to the shape of the coast Roose 'moor' from the Brythonic Celtic ''ros'' Scales means 'huts' from Old Norse ''skalis'' Scarbarrow ?unsure. Possibly 'hill with huts' from Old Norse ''skali berg'', but may also be 'hill with a scar' - there is a small stream which has eroded the hill into a steep gully. Skeldon Moor possibly ridge or ledge from a local word ''skelf'', or 'shell midden' with Old Norse ''skel dun'' and Old English ''mōr'' Stainton means 'farm by stones' from Old Norse ''steinn+tun'' omesday ''Steintun'' Sunbrick means 'pig slope' from Old Norse ''svin+brekka'' omesday ''Suntun'', meaning 'pig farm' Urswick ?unsure. '-wick' could either be related to

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''vicus'' meaning 'town', which is a common feature of places along Roman roads (there's evidence of one to the north); or it could be from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''wick'' meaning 'farm'

References

{{Reflist Furness