THE HISTORY OF STORTH
Storth
Storth is an Old Norse name signifying a woody place. The whole surrounding district appears to have gone under the name of “Woodland” at one time, but this name, in later years applied only to Storth and eventually died out completely. Included with Storth are:
Sandside
Lying along the estuary to the north and formally of some importance as a port.
Hazelslack
Previously known as “Helslack”, lying about a mile to the south of the main part of the village, consisting of an old ruined tower and a cluster of farm buildings. Slack is an old word meaning a gully or ravine while hazel bushes are a common feature of the district.
Carr Bank
A residential district situated between the village center and Hazelslack and of such recent origin as to possess little of separate historic interest. It was originally “Scar Bank”, the name being taken from the scar or ridge lying behind it and running from north to south.
Haverbrack
A name familiar to local people as that of the wooded hillside which lies to the east of the village, but belonging more properly to an ancient manor which included most of Sandside and extended through Dallam into Beetham village. It contained much farmland and “haver”, a Saxon word meaning oats, seems to indicate this was a chief crop. All the above were part of the ancient parish of Beetham, which was bounded “on the north by Heversham, south by Warton, East by Burton, and west by the sea and part of Cartmel.” It had a circumference of twenty-four miles and included the surrounding villages of Farlton, Hale, Arnside, Witherslack and Meathop. Storth remains today as a part of the civil parish of Beetham, though for ecclesiastical purposes, most of it has now been placed under Arnside.
In prehistoric times the whole area must have lain below sea level, as some of the limestone on which it lies is rich in fossil shells. Ice pressure at a later period, must be held to account for the many ups and downs of the district and at “Fishcarling Head”, half a mile north of “Summerhouse Point” may been seen the last in a line of glacial mounds which can be traced up the valley to Kendal and thence to the summit of Shap. Among the boulders found here, are pink granite, dark porphyry, blue slate and grey limestone.
The country around is now largely woodland and pasture, but much more land must previously have been cultivated, probably up to about 1900, as evidenced by the number of small farmhouses now used only as residences. Dallam Park was planted about 1720 when the first part of the present house was built.
The estuary was once much narrower and deeper and the “Repository” tells us that in 1700 a stone could be thrown from Fishcarling Head to the opposite shore. “Summerhouse Point” was once known as “Bowling Green Point” and near this spot once stood a little house on a rock with a good bowling green near it. Later, there was built a round stone tower that is said to have been an early customhouse. This has been demolished. Between St. Johns Cross and Friar cote lay a small inlet known as “Bummesha” or “Bummesha Bay.” Little is known of the early inhabitants. After the departure of the Romans in 410, Danes and Norsemen, in turn, held sway in this part of England where the counties of Cumberland, Westmoreland and Lancashire formed a district known as Cumbria. By the time of the Norman Conquest, the Saxons had gained the upper hand and the Saxon word “ham” meaning a village, is found in Heversham, Beetham and Dallam. They lived in small self-contained communities, raising cattle and sheep with a few crops. Trade is largely by barter of goods and services.
From the earliest recorded history, we learn that Tostig, Earl of Northumberland owned land in Beetham at the time of the conquest. Tostig, however, was in rebellion against his brother, Harold, Saxon King of England and was defeated and killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. In the same year, Harold was defeated and killed at the Battle of Hastings and William the Conqueror came to the throne. William parcelled out the country to his followers and Roger of Poictou became owner of most of Westmoreland and Lancashire, taking up his residence in Lancaster Castle. Roger, however, soon fell out of favour and his lands were forfeited. A large part of Westmoreland and part of Lancashire down to the Lune passed to Ivo de Tailbois, an Angevin, who became first Baron of Kendal. Westmoreland at this time was divided by the Normans into four wards, one of them being the Kendal ward, which included all of this part of the country.
In 1076 Ivo of Tailbois gave the Church at Beetham and certain land in Haverbrack to the monks of St. Mary’s Abbey, York. From this time onwards, various Religious Houses held them, in turn, until the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII about 1539.
William of Haverbrack, to quote the “Repository” granted to Conishead Priory “the privilege of grinding corn at his Miln, multure free, with as much sand as they pleased and a house for erecting a salt work between the two roads below the wood.” This must have been about Dixies. It should, perhaps be explained that the “sand” would be required in the recovery of the salt from seawater. “Multure Free” means free of all charge.
Under the crown ownership, the above properties were dealt with under two headings, the “Manor”, mainly land in Haverbrack; and the “Rectory” with an income derived from tithes, rents and other similar rights and privileges obtained from a much wider area covering the old parish of Beetham. The “Manor” passed through various hands and a large part of it was eventually purchased by Edward Wilson of Nether Levens in whose family it still remains, the present owner being Sir Maurice Bromley Wilson Of Dallam Tower.
The “Rectory” was firs let by the Crown at £25 per annum in twenty-one year leases, but in 1612 James I granted it to Sir Frances Ducket, the said £25 per annum to be paid to the crown forever. Later members of the Ducket family seem to have met with financial difficulties and sold many of the tithes to farmers and other landowners of the district. Amongst these were the “tithes of corn, grain and sheaves, hemp and line and hay yearly arising etc within the fields, territories and precincts of Helslack and Storth.” These were sold in 1646 by Anthony Ducket, a son of Sir Frances to John Tomlinson of Helslack for £140 and a yearly rent of 10 Shillings. About 1730, what was described as “the skeleton of the Rectory, the once opulent Rectory of Beetham” was sold for £2,500 to Daniel Wilson of Dallam Tower by Thomas Shepard, who had married a great, great granddaughter of the above Sir Frances. In 1756 certain “small tithes” were purchased for £120 to augment the salary of the Beetham vicar, the amount being raised by public subscription. The “Repository” gives the names of fourteen inhabitants of Storth, Arnside and Helslack who gave in all £2.19-6d towards the above. It should perhaps be stated that the vicar’s share of the income from the rectory was originally £13 per annum.
As an indication of the value of money at this time, the following items are of interest:
Butter - 3d per 1b
Eggs - About 1d for 6
Young Ducks – 4d each
Chickens – 2d each
Beef and Mutton – 2d per pound
Salmon – 2d per pound
A labourer earned 4d a day with food or 10d a day without.
A Carpenter earned 6d a day with food and 1 Shilling without.
As is usual in a limestone area, streams are almost non-existent, and early inhabitants relied for their water supplies upon a number of springs and wells. Among the later, were School Tarn Well near the site of the present day School: a well in Trough’s Lane described as having many steps down to it and being sixteen feet deep from the road. Kell Well in the garden of “Kellet Cottage” used to give great quantities of water and Rev. Wm. Hutton relates that he once saw it run up to “Bowling Green Point” and there join the River Bela, the name may be taken from the Saxon word “Kell” or “Keld” meaning a well, or it may be just an abbreviation of St. Michaels. Many of these wells dried up in the summer, but there was a never failing source of supply in a well at the foot of Guard Hill at the spot where it joins the main road.
Up to about two hundred years ago packhorses were used for transport. There were no roads such as exist today, but numerous tracks and pathways, many of which survive in the footpaths of today. From Storth, people went by Through’s Lane over the stile on the right of the Beetham Road across to Fairy Steps and so on to Beetham where there was one shop. There was an iron ring in the rock face near the steps and to this was attached a rope by means of which sacks of flour and other parcels were lowered on the return journey. The old “Church Path” from Arnside to Beetham passed close to Hazelslack Tower and from there to Underlade Wood and on to Fairy Steps and Windy Scar. The timber used for the building of Beetham Church is said to have originated from Underlaid.
The building of the Arnside railway viaduct about 1857 brought about many changes. The railway company undertook to maintain a swing bridge over the Kent Channel but in consideration of not having to fulfill this obligation it agreed to make and maintain a road from Arnside to The Dixies. The first part of this road was constructed in 1859 from Arnside to St. Johns Cross. The second part from Sandy Bank (Storth Road End) to the Dixies followed in 1867. The remaining part was not built until 1880 and agreement had to be made with Mr. Holden of Arnbarrow, around whose land it lay. The Arnside to Hincaster branch railway line with its station at Sandside was also built about 1867; road and rail thus cutting off what had been part of the estuary. Owing to the development of the bus service, this branch line ceased to carry passengers in May 1942, but remained open to through traffic until 1963. The last train ran on the Arnside to Sandside stretch of line in 1972.
Isabelle Chosalland e me!
The earlier road from Arnside followed the sands and went by way of Green Lane up to Kellet Close Hill from where it passed through Crow Wood and between Dallam Tower and the kennels to join an old turnpike road which followed the course of the river on its south side and reached Milnthorpe by the old bridge at the entrance to the village. This bridge is almost the only surviving remnant of the old road and still serves as a way into Dallam Park.
The principal roads leading into and out of Storth have nearly all been constructed within the last hundred years. The one exception is the road passing north to south through the center of the village and on to Hazelslack Tower, a road which was much used at one time for the carting of iron ore, from the pier at Sandy Bank to the Leighton Furnace. Along this road must have passed in 1745 a detachment of the Young Pretender’s Army, which was bound for London but destined to reach only as far as Derby, from where it returned to Scotland in some disorder. They seized a number of horses belonging to Leighton Furnace and, to their credit, it must be said, paid a sum of money by way of compensation at a later date.
Some of the old roads were quaintly named, the present Shaw lane being known as “Auld Cockle Loan” and the road from the “Old House” past Thorny Hill was “Jan’s Loan”. There were several thatched houses and one of these Hazel Bank still stands. Many of the old houses bear the names of former residents, such as “Bouskell Cottage”, “Crozier Cottage” and “Dixies”. The village pond is said to have been behind the cottages, which lie along the main road near the center of the village and opposite to the garden of the “Old House”. Up to a hundred years ago, the center of the village was a group of farm buildings with a few old cottages. The head of Green Lane near where “Green Bank” now stands, was known as “Hatler’s Close” and was the site of a farmhouse.
