History

Past to Present

The landscape of the Rusland Horizons area has been created through centuries of change and development. It tells a story about the past and provides the local distinctiveness that gives people a sense of place and historic identity.

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Geology

The Rusland Valleys and Fells sit almost entirely within an area of relatively soft Silurian Slates laid down some 400 - 450 million years ago. The slow, southward movement of glaciers created long, straight U-shaped valleys now occupied by the large, deep lakes of Windermere and Coniston Water.

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Archaeology

The area is rich in archaeology, containing a large number of sites dating from the prehistoric period to the recent past. The Lake District Historic Environment Record holds 564 records of sites within the scheme area, ranging from Bronze Age burial cairns to World War II pillboxes. The woodland, in particular, holds a wide range of archaeological features such as walls and pack horse routes, potash kilns, charcoal burning platforms and bark peelers huts.

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Place names

Names ending in –thwaite (clearing), like Satterthwaite, Ickenthwaite and Finsthwaite are Scandinavian in origin whilst other Norse words include beck (stream), dale (valley), fell (hill or mountain) and gill (ravine). Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the monks at Furness Abbey created ‘parks’ by clearing areas of woodland for sheep farming or deer at Low, Middle and High Dale Park, Oxen Park and Abbot Park.

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Landscape features

Dotted throughout the landscape, there are other features which are associated with farming practices, including shard walls, gate stoops, hog-holes and milk stands. Whilst these may be considered relatively humble elements of the landscape, they are a subtle, but vital part of the visual and cultural essence of the area.

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Coppicing

Coppicing is a traditional method of producing a regular ‘crop’ of timber from broad-leaved trees. Trees are cut almost to ground level and new shoots allowed to sprout from the stump. The poles grow to a diameter of 5-6 inches in around 15 years and are then cut so the whole process can start again. Coppicing was well-established in the area by 1510 and it continued until the early twentieth century when an increase in the use of coke and coal brought with it a slowing of demand for charcoal.

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Rusland Horizons Rusland Horizons Trust. Registered Office: Pipistrel House, Finsthwaite Lane, Backbarrow, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 8QD. Tel: 07908 986795 Email: hello@ruslandhorizonstrust.org

Rusland Horizons was a Landscape Partnership funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund until July 2019. It is now being delivered by The Rusland Horizons Trust Limited. Company No. 2133450; Charity No. 519410; Registered Office: Pipistrel House, Finsthwaite Lane, Backbarrow, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 8QD.

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