Maulds Meaburn & Surrounding Area

Have you heard the peace of Maulds Meaburn........
as written by J.H.B. Peel in his Daily Telegraph column........Country Talk.

Maybe not absolutely quiet, as you are in the midst of traditional village life at the Brew House.

Mauld's Meaburn is a small, attractive Cumbrian village near the Eden Valley. Its two narrow lanes of cottages are set in quiet pastoral countryside on both sides of Lyvennet Beck. Located near the village of Crosby Ravensworth, Mauld's Meaburn is a special little Cumbrian hideaway.

The village lies on the banks of the Lyvennet River, in the midst of rich pastureland. The name of the village originates from the mother of Henry II, Maud, who fought over the right to the English throne with Stephen, who won the throne and became king in 1135.

The Meaburn estate was owned by the de Morville family but, when Maud's brother, Hugh, participated in Thomas á Becket's murder in 1170, his half of the estate was forfeited to the king. As a result, the other village in the area assumed the name King's Meaburn while Maud's part of the estate with its village became known as Mauld's Meaburn.

The River Lyvennet's course was changed in the 1600's, to flow through the village, and a water mill which was constructed. The mill was in operation until 1948. Near the mill were two pubs.

The Dent family, well knownin the area, built single arched bridges across the river and provided a safe water supply for the village. On the riverbank they constructed, in 1851, a Palladian style white stone villa known as Flass House, the footpath to Crosby Ravensworth passes right along side this architectural masterpiece, built from the proceeds of the opium trade.

The Jacobean Meaburn Hall, built in 1610, belonged to the Lowther family - the earls of Lonsdale. The first Earl had the body of his second wife (or mistress, according to one source) embalmed and placed in a glass-lidded coffin.

Mauld's Meaburn regularly holds an annual cattle fair, first established in 1829. The village green is common grazing land.

Within two miles of the village, on the moorland, are 9 prehistoric village sites. Iron Age Ewe Close, a large site of more than an acre, had six foot high walls. The Romans often took advantage of these sites for their own use, and a Roman road runs nearby.