Packhorse History

Rosgill Packhorse Bridge

The Fell Pony is the native pony of northwest England, including the Lake District.  However, the Fell is often not recognized for its many and diverse roles in the history and landscape of the northern hills.  For instance, in the nomination documents for the Lake District for recognition as a World Heritage Site, the Fell was absent despite its ancestors being the primary mode of transport of goods during the packhorse era and the Fell being a native dweller of the fells like its better-known brethren the Herdwick Sheep.  While packhorse bridges are often recognized as historic and picturesque parts of the region, the many other features that harken back to the packhorse era, including the ponies themselves, are not recognized as such.

In case you’re wondering, I use packhorse and pack pony interchangeably in my writing.  While packhorse is the common term, during the packhorse era, equines were smaller than now, so large ponies such as the Fell would have been indistinguishable by height from other equines used for packing goods.

In the course of my research on packhorse history, I have found more published information on the northern Pennines than I have on the Lake District, so my focus has been on filling in the holes regarding the Lake District. Occasionally, though, a new bit about the northern Pennines comes across my desk, so when that happens, I’m adding that to this collection as well.

The poet William Wordsworth, in his Guide Through the District of the Lakes in 1835, encouraged his reader to imagine themselves suspended like a cloud above the Scafells where they would see diverging from their feet numerous valleys “like spokes from the nave of a wheel.” In the illustration below, the nave or hub of Wordsworth’s wheel is shown in red.  In hatched green are areas whose packhorse history I have so far explored.  Below the illustration are links to those articles.

Clockwise from Morecambe Bay at center bottom, here are links to articles on packhorse history of each area of the Lake District and western Cumbria that I have researched so far:

  • Packhorse routes often went across the sands south of the Lake District to cut off miles and avoid dust in summertime . To read more, click here.

  • The Furness region of Cumbria has always been connected in my mind with the working history of Fell Ponies. And while the region is best known for its monastic period, pack pony use continued after the dissolution of the monasteries. To read more, click here.

  • The Lickle Valley has a high density of pack horse bridges that were used to service the farms and mills in the area. Click here to learn more.

  • The Duddon Valley in the southwestern part of the Lake District in England is a place where the Fell Pony’s history is both visible and invisible at the same time. It is visible via features associated with packhorses and the industries that packhorses supported that are numerous in the valley. The Fell Pony’s history in the Duddon Valley is invisible in the sense that stories of this valley sometimes ignore the presence of agriculture and industry and the early horsepower that made it possible. Click here to learn more. I have also written articles about Thrang Farm (click here to learn more) and Grassguards, Stonythwaite and Wallabarrow (click here to learn more).

  • The southwestern coastal plains lie between the valley of the River Esk on the north and the Duddon Valley at the southeast, with the Irish Sea to the west and the high fells to the east.  Millom is at the southern end of the region and is the largest town. Millom and vicinity were left out of the Lake District National Park because they were heavily industrialized. Several natural features of the area influenced historic transit routes.  The Black Combe massif is one, at the southern tip of the fell area.  The estuary of the River Esk and the Duddon Sands are two others. Because of the industrial history of the area, there hasn’t been much attention paid to the packhorse history that preceded it. However, there is abundant on-the-ground evidence to be discovered. Click here to learn more.

  • The valley of the River Esk is extraordinarily rich in packhorse-related features and history. Since the River Esk penetrates deeply into the Lake District, transit through its valley naturally occurred as early as humans were moving about.   Recorded history says that first defense and then trade were the primary reasons for travel through the valley. Click here to learn more.

  • Burn Moor between Wasdale Head and Boot has a route over it with two known pack horse associations. There is a pack horse bridge in Boot at the end. To read more, click here.

  • The valley of the River Mite in the Lake District of England is said to have three sections, each with its own distinct character.  The lower portion runs through fields on its way to Ravenglass harbor, with Muncaster Fell on its southern side.  The middle section is a woodland river, with more grade and faster water.  In its highest reach, the river is a mountain stream running through a narrow valley.  All three sections of Miterdale were historically traversed by important packhorse tracks. Click here to read more.

  • A recent discovery about packhorse carriage of candles from Appleby to Coalcleugh and Allenshead has shed more light on how the ancient corpse road between Kirkland and Garrigill may have once been used. Click here to read more.