Natland
| Natland | |
| Westmorland | |
|---|---|
 The village green and St Mark's church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SD521892 |
| Location: | 54°17’46"N, 2°44’13"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 796 (2011) |
| Post town: | Kendal |
| Postcode: | LA9 |
| Dialling code: | 01539 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Westmorland & Furness |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Westmorland and Lonsdale |
Natland is a village about two miles south of Kendal in Westmorland, close to the village of Oxenholme. At the time of the 2011 census it had a recorded parish population of 796.
The parish church is St Mark's Church, built in 1910. This is the third church built on the site and an example of the work of the Lancaster architects Austin and Paley). Close by is St Mark's Church of England Primary School
There is a Village Hall and the Village Store & Post Office (formerly a public house called the Horse and Farrier).
On the village green is the Coronation Oak, a tree planted in 1952, and also a picnic table and two memorial seats.
The Village Green and Helm are both common land owned by the Strickland family, who live nearby at Sizergh Castle.
The Lancaster Canal ran through the west of the parish until its closure in 1947. Plans are now afoot to restore the canal and link it to the national waterways network.
History
Signs of the earliest occupation of the parish include earthworks on the summit of Helm, which could be an Iron Age fort. It is likely that the Romans used The Helm in conjunction with the Roman fort at Watercrook, situated on the banks of the Kent, at the most northerly tip of the parish. This 4-acre site was occupied by the Romans from the 1st century to the 4th century AD and many Roman artefacts have been found.
Opinions differ as to the origin of the name Natland. The English Place Names Society gives the derivation of Natland as the Old Norse Natlundr, meaning 'Nati's wood', Nati being either a mythological name or a proper name and lundr meaning 'a small wood, a sacred grove'. However Nicolson and Burn's 1777 History and antiquities of the counties of Westmorland and Cumberland describes Natland as "a small manor or lordship, containing only about 30 families. It seems to have had its name from the Nativi or bondmen probably placed there, as attendant upon the capital lord at Kendal castle to do servile offices." Another possibility is the Old English neat land, meaning 'ox land'.
The earliest recorded use of the name is in 1164. Natland Hall farm was granted permission for a chapel in 1246 and is probably the oldest building in the village. Natland Abbey, an agricultural community and a sub-branch of Furness Abbey, is another 14th-century building. Watercrook Farm, Natland Mill and Cracalt Farm are also of early origin. In 1674, the Dissenter Richard Frankland founded the Natland Academy which tutored more than three-hundred-and-fifty students until 1693.[1]
Treacle mines and caves
There is a long-standing legend that Natland has a Treacle Mine. What is certain is that there is a cave system running under the village from Helm to the river although the precise route is not known.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Natland) |
References
- ↑ Ebenezer Latham; Preparation for Death, and Fitness for Heaven...A sermon preached at Uttoxeter...on occasion of the death of the Rev. D. Madock. To which is annexed...a catalogue of the students educated under Mr. Frankland; London, 1745.
