The Yards of Kendal

• A detailed series of images of the years, many previously unpublished
  
  
• The story of the yards from their inception in Norman times, through history, to the present day
  
  
• The full story of Collin Croft, one of Kendal’s most famous yards
  
  
• An in-depth account of life and work in the yards

The yards, crofts ginnels and lanes are found in many northern towns. Kendal’s yards are special and fascinating to residents and visitors alike. They are a characteristic feature of the town and demonstrate the lively history of the people who lived and worked in them.

Originating in the burgage plots of Norman times, they developed over the centuries into a maze of bustling little communities lined with cottages and workshops. Their old names tell of many interesting characters associated with them.

With the slum clearances of the 1960s and other town developments, their number has been drastically decreased. Today, they have become more of a tourist attraction, but are still living and working places, and tell engaging stories of their interesting past.

In this book, the full story of Kendal’s yards is told for the first time in fascinating detail – their history and development, the origins of their names, life in the old yards, locations and much more.

The illustrations in the text and the extensive gallery of photographs provide 200 illustrations of most of the old yards, which show better than mere words the atmosphere and character of the yards and lives of their inhabitants.

[custom_html] An in-depth study of Kendal’s historic yards detailing their history and development, location, and the origins of their names.[/custom_html] 

[smallDescription]An in-depth study of Kendal’s historic yards detailing their history and development, location, and the origins of their names.[/smallDescription]



[tabs] [tab title="AUTHOR(S)"]Trevor Hughes is an executive council member of Kendal Civic Society and a guided historical walks leader around Kendal. He now gives illustrated talks and lectures about Kendal’s history and has helped Kendal Town Council with their publications and exhibitions. He has published several books about the town and collaborated with local authors such as Historic Kendal, Kendal: A History & Celebration (both 2005), Images of Kendal (2006), The Oxenholme Hounds (2009) and many others published by the Kendal Civic Society.

Arthur Nicholls is the Vice President of the Kendal Civic Society. A prolific author with many titles in his portfolio covering various subjects, he regularly contributes articles on local history to the Westmorland Gazette, a commitment he has done over many years. He has published numerous booklets on all aspects of Kendal, which in 2016, was compiled into a 489-page volume by Trevor Hughes to be sold to members, the Library, the Cumbria Archives, and the general public.

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