Regular Talks on Local History

Celebrating its 40th year, the Caldbeck & District Local History Society’s objective is to promote and explain the domestic, industrial, and social history of the Caldbeck area. Every year the Society holds an active programme of events featuring speakers from across the local area, Cumbria, and beyond.

Our annual programme begins with talks on Zoom, bringing speakers from beyond the region to present on local, national, and sometimes international history topics of interest to the Caldbeck area. We host monthly in-person events at Caldbeck Parish Hall from March to October. Our programme concludes with an AGM and dinner each November.

From the Romans to the Railways

Recent topics have included ‘The Rise & Fall of the House of Dacre’, ‘A History of the Cumbria Air Ambulance’, ‘Mining in the Caldbeck Area’, ‘The Carlisle to Maryport Railway and the proposed Caldbeck railway’, ‘A History of Cumbrian Dance & Music’, ‘Roman Carlisle’, and ‘Eighteenth Century Gravestones in Cumbria’.

Previous excellent speakers including Ivan Day, Sue Allan, Mark Hatton, Jim Cox, and Maks Loth. The Society also runs a variety of local history projects and operates a reference library and archive. 

The 2026 programme can be seen opposite. Details are advertised on Parish noticeboards, the Parish News, and through local Facebook groups. Entry to each event is £2 for members and £4 for non-members. No charge for accompanied children. Free refreshments available after each talk.

Contact:

For further information, contact caldbeckdlhs@gmail.com.

Matt Warren (Secretary)
Sarah Scoffield (Programme Coordinator)

2026 Programme of Events

Held at Caldbeck Parish Hall 7.30pm unless stated.

21st January: MAKSYMILIAN LOTH - Nations, Frontiers and Culture: Poland, Ukraine and Russia, 1569 to the Present (Zoom meeting)

18th February: LORNA RICE - Old Norse Cumbrian Place names (Zoom meeting)

18th March: MARK HATTON - History of the Borrowdale Wad Mine

15th April: SUE ALLAN - May Day, Merrie England and more: Morris dances in Cumbria in the early twentieth century

20th May: JEAN SCOTT-SMITH - Cumbrian Dialect

17th June: CHRISTINE CRAGHILL - Cumbrian Farmhouse Odyssey

15th July: TREVOR GRAHAMSLAW - “Dear Jane” letters sent from Jane Mathews of Wigton Hall to her friend Jane Clarke between 1791 and 1821 as featured in "Wigton & the Solway: times of change"

19th August: MEMBERS’ DAY - Members’ Archives and Afternoon Tea with Caldbeck & District WI.

16th September: NATALIE HAWKRIGG - Northern Fell Running Club

21st October: IVAN DAY - Magic, Medicine and Marmalade - Commonplace Books in the Lake Counties 1550 - 1800

18th November: AGM & SUPPER - Details TBC.

Become a Member

Annual membership is just £4. New members can join at any event or directly through an online payment to:

"Caldbeck & District Local History Society"
Sort code 16-52-21 / account 53955383, giving your surname as reference.