Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, Autumn
Here’s something a little different.
Here’s something a little different.
Every September volunteers for Heritage Open Days organise events and open up usually private buildings to celebrate the culture and heritage of England. Best of all, all of these events and visit are free.
We did some scouting on the Heritage Open Days website and found that a lot of usually closed off/private buildings in Appleby-in-Westmorland were opening up for talks and tours of these historical buildings. Armed with an ultra-wide 14mm lens and my steady 28–70mm, we set about to explore and document.
It turned out to be a fascinating morning and afternoon. Appleby-in-Westmorland is already steeped in history, and has managed to retain a lot of its architectural heritage. Being able to enter some of these buildings, some of which were 400+ years old, and document them as best I could was a joy and an honour.
All photos taken on my Sony α7ii using my Sony FE 28–70mm f3.5–5.6 OSS zoom and Rokinon 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF UMC prime lenses. RAWs developed in Capture One, then finalised in Photoshop.
Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
This is the study room of the Colour Makers House, on High Wiend in Appleby. This building was rebuilt in 1677 CE and has the datestone to prove it. It is currently undergoing a full refurbishment.
The kitchen, retaining the original range and oven, complete with oak beams.
The building has become home to a unique Artist Colourman's Shop making pigments and paints from naturally foraged earth and rocks from Northern England. A gentleman there was demonstrating techniques used for over 4,500 years.
Inside the Council Chamber of Appleby’s Moot Hall. “Moot” comes from the Old English word mōt, meaning a meeting place. The Moot Hall was built in 1596 CE. Unlike many similar Moot Halls up and down the country, Appleby’s is rare in that it’s still used for its original purpose as a Council Chamber. The walls are lined with paintings and photos of all the mayors that have served Appleby over the centuries.
Appleby Moot Hall is also one of the earliest purpose-built Moot Halls in England. It’s had alterations made in the 18th and early-19th centuries, and was recently restored in 2022.
The Crown & Cushion, formerly listed as the Crown and Cushion Hotel and Wilson's Stores, was probably constructed from an earlier building in the mid-1700s.
The way to St. Lawrence’s Church. It retains a significant amount of its architectural heritage, with an early 12th century foundation in addition to a reset Norman entrance and the lower parts of a defensive Norman west tower.
St. Lawrence’s Church includes a 13th-century porch, and a 14th-century nave and aisles, restored in the 17th and 18th centuries with 19th and 20th century alterations.
St. Lawrence’s bridge, built in the late 19th century to replace a much earlier structure. Every May/June Appleby sees thousands of people from the Gypsie/Traveller community, who come from all over the UK and Ireland for the Appleby Horse Fair. A custom at the Fair is to take their horses down to the Sands, pictured above, and into the River Eden where the horses are washed.
Looking up the historic Boroughgate from the near the junction with Low Wiend. Now that Sunday Service was finished, it was time to check the interior of St. Lawrence’s church.
Inside the church, medieval traceried Gothic screens with a variety of stained glass window illustrations attest to the historical interest of this building.
The nave of the church. The pews were installed in the 1700s, and the nave ceiling was plastered in the early-mid 1800s.
Ascending Boroughgate, our next stop was St. Anne’s Almshouses. Inside the courtyard we were delighted with what we found; a different world tucked away from the ongoings of the main road.
St. Anne’s Hospital was founded by Lady Anne Clifford in 1653 CE and for more than 350 years, ageing, widowed, or single ladies have lived there rent free. The upkeep of the almshouses has been paid for by Holme Farm, which was gifted by Lady Anne for the benefit of the almshouse.
There is space to the rear where the ladies were each given a strip of land on which to grow their own produce.
The grounds include a small private chapel, which retains some original 17th century fittings and wall paintings.
The coat of arms over the archway belongs to Lady Anne and her mother, and the others around the yard represent Lady Anne's noble connections.
I was amazed at how immaculately kept these 350+ year old almshouses were. A true testament to their original purpose.
In the mid-1800s, one of the houses (number six) was demolished to create a wider opening from the courtyard to the rear gardens; the former communal hall was converted to a house by way of replacement.
At the top of Boroughgate is High Cross, a 17th-century stone Tuscan column on a square base and with a square top. It bears the inscription "Retain your loyalty Preserve your rights". A windvane was added on top in 1936.
Further south from Boroughgate, beyond Appleby Castle, is Castle Bank House. Privately owned, we were allowed a wander of the grounds, stables, and art gallery. Built in the 18th century, these stables were particularly fine.
The walled garden below the house was chock full of bugs and insects enjoying all the flowers and plants.
Slap bang in the middle of the walled garden, an apple tree, brimming with fruit.
We took the minor road north east from Castle Bank House and over the River Eden via a footbridge. Halfway across the bridge, Bongate Mill caught our eye. An 18th century former corn mill.
Across the bridge and by the riverside we could see that there were river gauges. This means that, yes, you can technically ford across the river in your car to continue along the “road”. No thank you.
The appropriately named Rock Cottage, built on top of a giant crag of red sandstone.
Near the old Church Institute buildings, we spotted this wee little door built right into the sandstone crags along the road. What is it’s purpose? What is it for? Who knows?
A final shot looking down the historic Boroughgate towards St. Lawrence’s church, before making our way back to the car.
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Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, Autumn
In all my time of living in Cumbria I’ve never properly checked out Appleby-in-Westmorland.
In all my time of living in Cumbria I’ve never properly checked out Appleby-in-Westmorland.
Today we rectified that.
Appleby-in-Westmorland is a small town located in the northeast of the historic county of Westmorland. Whilst Kendal was the major trade town of historic Westmorland, Appleby was the county town and administrative centre where the Assize Courts met.
As a result, Appleby has a different atmosphere compared to Kendal; the latter feels more modernised whereas the former is much quieter and has maintained a lot of its historic charm.
We took the route to Appleby via Tebay, stopping off at the Lune Gorge M6 Viewpoint as well as the Lune Gorge itself, before arriving at Appleby for lunch and a solid potter around. We also checked out the grounds of Appleby Castle, which was founded in the early 12th century.
On the way back home we diverted off the main road to get another Bucket List item ticked off: Rutter Falls.
All photos shot on a Fujifilm X-T2 with a Fujinon XF 18–55mm f/2.8–4.0 lens using a customised Classic Chrome film profile.
The M6 was the first motorway constructed in the UK, and a serious feat of engineering was required to route the M6 through the Lune Gorge here.
Just before reaching Tebay you can stop off and scramble around the Lune Gorge. Here the River Lune turns south and drastically narrows, cutting out this fine gorge before broadening out again near Kirkby Lonsdale.
There’s a layby off the A685 that allows one to enjoy the views of the Lune Gorge and the surrounding fells with the M6 running through it.
We scrambled down the sides of the gorge to get close to the roaring water for better photos. My lovely Lisabet, here, providing a sense of scale and colour contrast.
As close to the rapids of the Lune as I dare.
A sign of the times: masks everywhere at Appleby-in-Westmorland town centre.
A simple composition of the pillar in Appleby town centre called Low Cross, itself a copy of High Cross just up the road near the castle.
Cumbria is quickly transitioning into autumn and the trees are starting to look real nice.
This is High Cross near the gates of Appleby Castle, framed by some lovely autumn trees.
Inside the grounds of Appleby Castle the views open up and we can peep over the trees towards the North Pennines.
Much like in Wetheral, a lot of the geology around the River Eden—which runs through Appleby—consists of deep red sandstone carved into fantastical shapes.
Up into the grounds of Appleby Castle, lots of reconstruction and landscaping going on.
The way to the castle from the Moat Walk.
Inside the well-kept courtyard of Appleby Castle you get a clear view of Caesar’s Tower, a largely intact Norman-era keep built around 1170AD.
The keep is currently in the process of being made structurally sound again by Historic England after years of neglect.
Appleby Castle was founded by Ranulf le Meschin in the 12th century. Perhaps its most notable resident was Lady Anne Clifford, who took up residence in the mid-17th century. She made a number of improvements and expansions to Appleby Castle as well as other properties that her family owned, such as Skipton Castle, Pendragon Castle, and Brough Castle.
Slap-bang in the middle of Appleby town centre, an area known as Boroughgate, is the Moot Hall, which dates from the late 1500s. The Moot Hall was made to conduct the business of the Borough of Appleby, established by royal charter in 1179. It is one of only a few early town halls that still serves its original purpose of conducting the business of the borough.
Everywhere you look in Appleby you are surrounded by historic buildings retaining a lot of their original forms and features. In fact the town contains 143 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England: 6 are listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, 10 at Grade II*, and the others are at Grade II.
A decorative date stone attached to the Moot Hall, giving the year when Appleby-in-Westmorland was granted its Market Charter: 1179AD.
On our way back from Appleby we took a small diversion to check a beauty spot we’ve been wanting to see for a long time: Rutter Falls. The waterfall is situated on Hoff Beck in an impossibly idyllic location alongside a picturesque old mill that was once used to grind corn. In fact the nearby village of Great Asby was still powered by electricity generated from this waterfall until 1952, when the National Grid finally arrived.