Kendal

From Free net encyclopedia

This article is on the English town. For other places see Kendall.

Template:Infobox England place with map Kendal is an ancient town in the traditional county of Westmorland, in the South Lakeland district county of Cumbria, England. It stands on the River Kent from which it partly takes its name (Kent-Dale, meaning valley-of-the-river-Kent). (Some say the town's name has another origin: "Kendal" is a Celtic name, meaning "from the bright valley.") At one time time the town was known as Kirkby Kendal, Kirkby is a Norse word meaning village with a church. It is listed in the Domesday Book as part of Yorkshire with the name Cherchbi.

It is where Kendal mint cake was originally invented. Currently with a population of 27,521 (2001 estimate), Kendal was pronounced the best place to live in England by an eight-year long survey undertaken by the University of Strathclyde, and those who live there.

1 Location
2 History
3 Local attractions
4 Mint cake
5 Local government
6 Famous residents of Kendal
7 See also
8 Geography
9 External links

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Location

Kendal is situated on the edge of the Lake District National Park. Local scenes have long been inspiration for poets, writers and musicians, and a relatively large number of famous faces reside or have holiday homes in the area. Kendal is an important town in a largely rural area.

Kendal railway station is situated on the Windermere Branch Line and gives connections to Windermere to the north, and Oxenholme (change at Oxenholme Lake District for the West Coast Main Line) and Lancaster to the south.

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History

A chartered market town, the centre of Kendal is structured around a highstreet with fortified yards off to either side which allowed the local population to seek shelter from the Anglo-Scottish raiding parties known as the Border Reivers. The main industry in these times was the manufacture of woollen goods — indeed the town's coat of arms features several icons associated with the woollen industry and the town's latin motto "Pannus mihi panis" is literally translated as "wool is my bread". "Kendal Green" was hard-wearing wool-based fabric specific to the local manufacturing process, and was supposedly sported by the Kendalian archers who were instrumental in the English victory over the French at Agincourt.

The site of several (ruined) castles, the most recent one constructed in the late 12th century, Kendal has a long history as a stronghold of one kind or another. King Henry VIII's sixth wife Katherine Parr is believed to have been born at Kendal Castle.

More recently, Kendal's major industries included the manufacture of shoes, but the closure of local factories indicated the almost inevitable move towards a tourism-based economy.

On February 26, 2003, Kendal was granted Fairtrade Town status.

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Local attractions

The Kendal Museum of Natural History and Archaeology is one of the oldest in the country. It includes an exhibition on the geology of the Lake District, and a stuffed polar bear.

Other attractions include the Abbot Hall Art Gallery and the Lakeland Museum of Rural Life.

Kendal has a fair share of attractions, including the Brewery Arts centre with its three-screen cinema, one of which, the "Academy Screen" shows independent film, and a large number of public houses and restaurants.

Kendal has some interesting views, many of which can be seen from the ruined castle or high on the hillsides that make up the valley.

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Mint cake

The most famous product of Kendal is mint cake, a glucose-based product reputedly accidentally discovered by one Joseph Wiper during his search for the clear glacier mint.

Used on numerous expeditions to mountaintops (including Mount Everest and K2) and both poles of the Earth, its popularity is mainly due to the very astute decision of the original manufacturer's great nephew to market it as an energy food, and to supply Ernest Shackleton's 1914–1917 Transarctic Expedition.

By the time the business was sold to competitor Romney's in 1987 there were a whole host of rival mint cake producers, many of which are still in business.

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Local government

The municipal borough of Kendal was created in 1835 and until 1894 the town was also an urban sanitary district. The borough boundaries were altered in 1935 by gaining a small part of South Westmorland Rural District under a County Review Order.

The civil parishes of Kirkland and Nether Graveship were abolished in 1908 and became part of Kendal Civil Parish whose boundaries were after that the same as the borough.

The borough was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 to become a part of South Lakeland district whose administrative centre Kendal is. The town remained a civil parish with a town council.

Kendal was from 1888 to 1974 the administrative centre of Westmorland although Appleby is the traditional county town.

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