Click a century tab below to view and compare significant or curious events here and elsewhere.
C14 & Earlier
| KENDAL PARISH CHURCH | KENDAL & CUMBRIA | UK & WORLD |
| 1087: Ivo de Talebois (1st Baron of Kendal) gave the Church of Kerchbi in Kendale to the Abbey of St Mary in York. 1189: Inhabitants of Kendal massacred in church by Duncan, Earl of Fife. Kendal under dominion of Malcolm, King of Scotland. 1190: Acard de Kirkebi-Kendale, vicar for 38 years. 1201: Present building constructed – arch over piscina found carved with this date during Victorian restoration (1829). 1228: Nicholas Son of Robert, vicar for 18 years. 1246: Roger Pepyn, vicar for 40 years. 1286: Alan de Esyngwald, vicar for 15 years. Early Cl4: Parr Chapel built, with chantries to St Mary, St Anthony and St Christopher. 1301: Walter de Madestan, vicar for 11 years. 1312: Roger de Kirkbi, vicar for 54 years. 1366: Thomas de Leynesbury, vicar for 30 years. 1396: Thomas Greenwode, vicar for 25 years. Late C14: South Aisle added. |
945: Dunmail, last Celtic King, defeated by Edmund of Northumbria. 1086: Kendal referred to as ‘Cherchbie’ in Doomsday Book. 1092: William Rufus established castle at Carlisle. Ivo de Taillebois granted area including Kendal. 1196: King Richard sends ‘Dickie Doodle’ to Kendal with a Royal Charter. He gets drunk and is punished in Kirkland. Escapes across Stramondgate ford. East bank folk welcome him and king jokingly suggests he sets up Doodleshire in Kendal. ‘Mayor of Doodleshire’ appointed till 1827. 1216: Carlisle captured by Scottish King Alexander II but occupation short-lived. Kendal castle surrendered to King John. |
1066: Normans invade Britain. House of Normandy. William I, reigned 11 years. 1086: Compilation of Doomsday Book. 1087: William II, reigned 13 years: 1096: Stephen, reigned 60 years: 1099: First Crusade under Godfrey of Bouillon takes Jerusalem. 1100: Henry I, reigned 33 years: 1154: House of Plantagenet. Henry II, reigned 35 years: 1161: Explosives used in warfare in China. 1170: Murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury. 1189: Richard I, reigned 10 years. 1199: John, reigned 17 years. 1216: Henry III, reigned 56 years. 1272: Edward I, reigned 35 years. 1307: Edward II, reigned 20 years. 1314: Battle of Bannockburn. Bruce secures Scottish independance. 1327: Edward III, reigned 50 years. 1338: Beginning of 100 years War between Britain & France. 1348: Black Death reaches Europe (England 1349). 1377: Richard II, reigned 22 years. 1381: Peasants Revolt under Watt Tyler. 1399: House of Lancaster. Henry IV, reigned 14 years. |
C15 & C16
| KENDAL PARISH CHURCH | KENDAL & CUMBRIA | UK & WORLD |
| C15: Clerestory added to nave to give more light. (10 windows each side – only 8 now.) 1421: Richard Garsdale, vicar for 18 years. 1439: John Bryant, vicar for 56 years. 1495: William Abbot of St Mary’s York, vicar for 25 years.1520: Thomas Maynes, vicar for 30 years. 1533: Roger Bellingham built chapel. 1537: Sundry persons and parish priest, Sir Walter Brown, on Sunday 4th February bid beads in church and prayed for the Bishop of Rome as Pope against the will of 24 appointed for the weal of the Church. The previous month 300 persons threatened to throw the other priest (Sir Robert Applegate) and the 24 into the water for refusing to name the Bishop of Rome as head of church. 1541: Kendal Parish transferred to Chester Diocese from York. 1550: James Pilkington B.D., vicar for 1 year. 1551: Nicholas Ashton, vicar for 11 years. 1562: Ambrose Etherington B.D., vicar for 29 years. 1591: Samuel Heron B.D., vicar for 1 year. 1592: Ralph Tirer, vicar for 35 years. 1580: Ceiling of Bellingham Chapel erected. North aisle added. |
1405-64: Sir William Parr possessed Kendal castle and town . 1405: Act of Parliament requires every town and village to set up stocks for ‘the punishment of disorder’. 1461: Henry VI found wandering near Muncaster Castle after Battle of Towton, Yorkshire. 1529: Katherine Parr, aged 20, living at Sizergh. 1543: Grant to W Thompson of Kerchbi in Kendale of mansion called Abbot Hall and the Abbot Garth adjoining the church following dissolution of St Mary, York. 1557: Cartmel burials: “One little mann Rownd faced wch was Drouned at Grainge.” 1597 – 1598: Died of plague in Kendal about 2,500 persons. 1550: Kendal cloth still downmarket. ‘A serving man is content to goe in Kendall cote in summer’. 1594: John Boste, Catholic martyr from North Westmorland, hung drawn and quartered at Tyburn. |
1400: Death of Chaucer. 1413: Henry V, reigned 9 years. 1415: Battle of Agincourt. Henry V the victor. 1422: Henry VI, reigned 39 years. 1454: First printing from movable types in Europe. 1461: House of York. Edward IV, reigned 22 years. 1476: Caxton sets up his press at Westminster. 1483: Edward V, reigned 1 year. Richard III, reigned 2 years. 1484: Inquisition becomes active in Castille. 1485: Battle of Bosworth Field. House of Tudor. Henry VII, reigned 24 years. 1492: Columbus discovers the West Indies. 1498: Vasco do Gama finds sea route to India. 1509: Henry VIII, reigned 38 years. 1517: Luther nails up his 95 Theses – beginning of the Reformation. 1534: Act of Supremecy: Henry V asserts ccontrol over English Church. 1535: Execution of Thomas More & John Fisher. 1536: Ann Boleyn executed. Dissolution of smaller monastries. 1543: Death of Copernicus. 1547: Edward VI, reigned 6 years.: 1549: First English Book of Common Prayer. 1553: Mary I, reigned 5 years. 1555: Latimer & Ridley burned at stake by Mary. 1556: Cranmer burned at stake. 1558: Elizabeth I, reigned 45 years. 1564: Birth of Shakespeare. 1588: Spanish Armada defeated. |
C17
| KENDAL PARISH CHURCH | KENDAL & CUMBRIA | UK & WORLD |
| 1627: Francis Gardener B.D., vicar for 13 years. 1640: Henry Hall B.D., vicar for 5 years. 1645: Henry Massey M.A., vicar for 1 year. Cl7: Robin the Devil rode into church on horseback. Cl7: Church beautified with scripture sentences, cherubim and seraphim, hissing serpents and dragons. 1646: John Strickland, vicar for 13 years. 1659: William Brownsword, vicar for 15 years. Publishes book denouncing Quakerism as popery. 1661: Tower in ruins – repaired. 1664: George Wilkinson employed as dog-whipper, swine remover etc. . ( A farm was adjacent at Nether Bridge so animals tended to stray into church.) 1674: Michael Stanford M.A., vicar for 9 years. 1683: Thomas Murgatroyd M.A., vicar for 16 years. 1699: William Crosby M.A., vicar for 35 years. |
1607: Hard frost Nov – March 1608. 1632: Locally produced snuff thought to ward off plague. 1635:18 Oct.: The River Kent came into the vestry. 47 wedding guests drowned in Windermere ferry sinking. 1651: Charles II retreats through Kendal. 1661: Savage frost November 1 to March 8th 1662. “Common to draw timber over the ice on Windermere” Mid 1670s: A dozen Quakers in Appleby goal. 1687: Declaration of Indulgence. Quaker Meeting House founded in Kendal tannery at cost of £50. 1698: Miss Fiennes refers to Cumbrian cottages as: “sad little huts made up of drye walls, only stones piled together and the roof of same slatts, there seemed to be little or noe tunnels for their chimneys and have no mortar or plaister within or without…”. |
1603: House of Stuart. James I, reigned 12 years. 1611: Authorised Version of the Bible in England. 1614: Napier publishes his explanation of logaritms. 1642: Outbreak of English Civil War. Death of Galileo: 1649: Charles I executed. England governed as Commonwealth for 4 years. 1653: Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, lasted 5 years. 1658: Protectorate of Richard Cromwell, lasted 1 year. 1660: Restoration of the Monarchy. Charles II, reigned 25 years. 1668: Great Fire of London. 1669: Death of Rembrandt. 1685: James II, reigned 3 years. 1687: Isaac Newton sets out Laws of Motion. 1689: William and Mary (jointly), reigned 5 years. 1692: Massacre of Glencoe. 1694: William III (sole ruler), reigned 8 years. |
C18
| KENDAL PARISH CHURCH | KENDAL & CUMBRIA | UK & WORLD |
| C18: Old open pulpit replaced by three decker. C18: Ring 0′ Bells built for wardens to brew their ale and have meetings. 1703: Organ erected at West End – enlarged 1804 and 1824. 1734: William Cuthbert M.A., vicar for 11 years. 1745: Scottish army halted their march north to attend divine service. Vicar frightened away and service taken by Mr Crackenthorpe, Master of Grammar School. 1745: Thomas Symonds vicar for 44 years. 1756: George Romney, painter, married in church. 1760: Churchyard overrun by children. Grammar School boys throwing stones through the windows. Glazier’s bill for year £3.7s. 1762: Lead fell through roof during divine service. A month later a tower pinnacle fell through roof and broke woman’s leg. So all 8 pinnacles reduced by half. (Pieces now lying outside vestry entry.) 1775: Whole of communion plate stolen from original vestry (outside east end of church.) Box containing it returned to church in 1942. (Now situated near entrance.) 1789: Henry Robinson M.A., vicar for 17 years. 1792: Music Festival held for three days in August. Handel’s Messiah in the morning followed by a ball in the town at night. |
C18: Ring 0′ Bells built for wardens to brew their ale and have meetings. 1716-17: Howgill colliery, Whitehaven gets a Newcomen atmospheric engine for pumping – the third or fourth pumping engine in the world. 1739: Turnpike movement begun in the Whitehaven area. 1745: Bonny Prince Charlie slept in Stricklandgate, Kendal: Duke of Cumberland (in hot pursuit) slept there 3 nights later. Last battle on English soil at Clifton Moor 1775: ‘Flying machine’ stage coach boasts only 3 days from London to Kendal (255 miles). 1786: First mail coach. 1788: Obelisk on Kendal, Bowling Fell celebrates “The Glorious Revolution” – arrival of William of Orange and abdication of James II. |
1702: Anne, reigned 12 years. 1714: House of Hanover. George I, reigned 13 years. 1715: Jacobite rising defeated at Preston & Sheriffmuir. 1727: George II, reigned 33 years. 1743: John Kay invent Flying Shuttle Loom. Industrial Revolution begins: 1746: Culloden: Jacobites destroyed by Cumberland. 1760: George III, reigned 60 years. 1774: Watt & Boulton in partnership in Birmingham. Priestley discovers oxygen. 1775: American Declaration of Independence. 1777: Battle of Saratoga: surrender of British army to Americans. 1779: Crompton invents Spinning Mule. 1783: Montgolfier (hot air) and Charles (hydrogen) balloon flights. 1789: Outbreak of French Revolution. 1793: Louis XVI beheaded. 1796: Edward Jenner develops small-pox vaccination. |
C19
| KENDAL PARISH CHURCH | KENDAL & CUMBRIA | UK & WORLD |
| Cl9: Mr Hudson, Vicar, erected new temporary pulpit – destroyed next day by Joseph Lambert of Wattsfield since it blocked entrance to his pew. C19: Archdeacon Cooper built new vicarage and Kirkland Schools. C19: Organ voluntary played during service to enable congregation to walk about and meet friends – then they settled down again for the rest of the service in high backed, velvet lined pews studded with brass nails. C19: Strickland Chapel – coat of arms with cockle shells showing that family went on Crusades. Sinners dressed in white robes had to stand under pulpit for one to three Sundays and their misdeeds were read out to the congregation. C19: Glazier appointed full time to replace glass in north side of church – boys going to Grammar School broke windows continually. C19: Church living given to Trinity College, Cambridge by Queen Mary after death of Henry VIII and dissolution of monasteries. 1806: Youths seen sitting on tomb in churchyard. Top found to wobble. Bales of cloth discovered inside awaiting collection. 1806: Mathew Murfitt M.A., vicar for 9 years. 1815: John Hudson M.A., vicar for 29 years. 1829: Leaning pillars in chancel restored. Two clerestory windows removed so lengthening the chancel and shortening nave. 1841: Chinese flag captured in battle at Tinghai. (Now displayed in cabinet) 1844: John Watkins Barnes M.A. vicar for years. 1847: Organ moved to east end and rededicated. Candles for lighting borrowed from dissenting chapels. 1850 – 1852: Church closed for restoration – roof of nave replaced, floor paved at a much lower level, pulpit, lectern and pews installed. Old pulpit and Strickland pew transferred to Sizergh Castle. 1852: Hot water heating pipes installed in air ducts under floor grilles. 1856: Kendal transferred to Carlisle Diocese. 1858: John Cooper M.A., vicar for 38 years. 1860: Trinity College offered £200 for Ring of Bells. Asking price £600. Church wardens resisted as they brewed their ale there. 1864: South roofs restored. 1868: Outer and inner north roof restored. Bellingham Chapel west wall rebuilt – bottle of beer cemented in by workmen when nearly caught drinking it. 1871: 3,000 present when church first lighted with gas. 1877: Willis organ built at east end. 1896: William Robert Trench L.I.M. vicar for 13 years. 1897: Abbot Hall Park given to town, so footpath extended to Nether Bridge. 1897: Canon Trench tries to keep “Dogs, ducks, children, catapaults” out of the newly designed churchyard and to prevent “lying about and smoking”. 1898: Font cover carved by John Kirkbride of Sedbergh and given in thanksgiving for ministry of Archdeacon Cooper which lasted nearly 40 years. |
1812: Kendal: “a man whipped through the town for tumbling and fighting Tommy Morrice the flogger – a great crowd. A sailor whipt out of town over Stramondgate Bridge for kicking up a row in Chaple on Sunday.” 1818: Westmorland Gazette first published. 1819: Kendal, Lancaster & Preston Canal opened. 1822: Punishment stocks removed from Kendal after 417 years. 1838: First rail line in Cumbria linking Carlisle and Newcastle. 1844: Reported that “The bobbin trade in Westmorland is so brisk that not enough hands can be got for the orders coming in..”. 1846: Main railway line through Kendal opened. 1847: Railway to Windermere opened. Wordsworth opposed extension. 1850: Death of William Wordsworth. 1862: 5 foot shark found near Kendal bridge. 1886: June 28, Walter Haskett-Smith solos Napes Needle. Arguably the start of rock climbing as a sport. 1889: Westmorland County Council formed. 1895: Arctic weather. Frozen Lake Windermere attracts huge numbers of people. 1897: Abbot Hall Park given to town, so footpath extended to Nether Bridge. 1898: Great flood. |
1805: Battle of Trafalgar. British navy defeats French and Spanish fleets. 1807: Slave trade abolished in British Empire. 1808: Peninular War begins. 1812: Retreat from Moscow: destruction of Napolean’s Grand Army. 1815: Napolean escapes from Elba: defeated by Wellington at Waterloo. 1820: George IV, reigned 10 years. 1825: First passenger rail service opens – Stockton to Darlington. 1826: First crossing of Atlantic under steam by the Dutch ship Curacao. 1827: Death of Beethoven. 1830: William IV, reigned 37 years. 1836: Kent Police Constabulary begins. 1837: Victoria, reigned 64 years. 1840: First postage stamp issued. 1841: Hong Kong acquired by British. 1859: Darwin publishes ‘On the Origin of the Species by Natural Selection’. 1878: Grey squirrel introduced to Britain starting decline of red. 1885: Khartoum captured: General Gordon slain. 1895: Marconi sends first wireless signals. |
C20
| KENDAL PARISH CHURCH | KENDAL & CUMBRIA | UK & WORLD |
| 1901: 2,000 people attended memorial service for Queen Victoria, with 2,500 at musical event at night. C20: Tapestry depicting cross thrusting its way through the troubles of the world designed by Theo Norman, inspired by a visit to Brimham Rocks, near Harrogate. C20: Corona is a gift of the Gilpin Trust commemorating Bernard Gilpin, the Prophet of the North, who was born in Kentmere. 1909: H.P.M.Lafone M.A., vicar for 3 years. 1912: Ronald Symes M.A., vicar for 13 years. 1924: Electric light installed. 1931: J.R.Lee Nicholls M.A., vicar for 7 years. 1934: Parr Chapel restored after used as vestry. New vestries built and dedicated. 1938: Bertram Jones M.A., vicar for 14 years. 1952: George Needham M.A., vicar for 19 years. 1956: 1,500 members of the Mothers’ Union in church. 1971: John Hodgkinson M.A., vicar for 20 years. 1960 – 1980: Altar brought forward. Choir and organ moved to west end of church, Bellingham and Chambre Chapels restored. 1991: George Alexander Howe B.A., vicar for 9 years. |
1911: Local haymakers die of sunstroke. 1916: More than 100 ‘Kendal Pals’ killed on the Somme. 1919: Provincial Insurance moves its head office to Kendal. 1934: Oswald Mosley, leader of British Union of fascists, visits Kendal. 1936: First red telephone kiosks in Kendal. 1956: Queen Elizabeth visits Kendal. 1967: Campbell killed just after reaching 300mph on Lake Coniston in speedboat Bluebird. 1971: Kendal by-pass opened. 1974: Cumbria created from Cumberland, Westmorland and part of Lancashire. 1981: K Shoes bought by C & J Clark Ltd. 1999: Axa Insurance announce plans to leave Kendal. |
1901: House of Saxe-Coburg. Edward VII, reigned 9 years. 1903: Wright brothers complete first flight in a powered aeroplane. 1910: Amundsen beats Scott to South Pole. House of Windsor. George V, reigned years. 1914-18: First World War. 1936: Edward VIII, (abdicated). George VI, reigned 16 years. 1939-45: Second World War. 1952: Ascent of Everest. Elizabeth II crowned. 1969: Man landed on the moon. |
