Tirril

Tirril and Sockbridge are sister villages, sitting on the edge of the Lake District National Park near Ullswater and beside the River Eamont. The poet, Wordsworth, described this area of the Lakes as "the loveliest spot that man hath ever known". He was familiar with the area because his grandfather lived at the historic 15^th century Sockbridge House to serve as "clerk of the peace" and a managing agent for Lowther Estates.

Wordsworth's brother, Richard, also lived in Tirril and once owned the local pub, the Queen's Head Inn. On Richard's death his young son, John, inherited it, and Wordsworth helped manage it until John came of age. It was eventually sold by John to pay for his education. The indenture hangs on the pub wall. With its two-foot thick stone walls and inglenook fireplace, the 1719 pub boasts an unbroken record of serving beer to the public. Original flagstone floors and beams add to the atmosphere along with interesting odds and ends. It offers local ales from its Tirril Brewery (in the early 1800's there were two breweries in the village) and is listed in the Good Beer Guide. Adjoining cottages date from 1733.

Thomas Wilkinson was a well-known local poet and a friend of Wordsworth. Tirril was an important centre in the Quaker movement and Wilkinson was one of its advocates. The Quaker Meeting House (now a private home) was built in 1773. Next to the house is a graveyard containing the burial place of Charles Gough, killed while climbing a mountain. His dog stayed by his master's body on the fell until it was discovered three months later. The dog's memory was immortalized by Wordsworth in a poem, Fidelity.

A barking sound the shepherd hears
A cry as of a dog or fox
He halts-and searches with his eyes
Among the scattered rocks:
. . . . . . . . .
This Dog, had been through three months' space
A dweller in that savage place.
Yes, proof was plain that, since the day
When this ill-fated Traveller died,
The Dog had watched about the spot,
Or by his master's side. . . . . .

Tirril was once a seat of learning for mathematicians, who flocked here in the early 1800's to an academy formed by John Slee, a celebrated mathematician. An early mill in Sockbridge is now a fish farm.

Narrow lanes, sandstone cottages, quiet byways-Tirril and Sockbridge, home to past celebrities, are historic Cumbrian villages.

Location Map of Tirril
Tirril and Sockbridge
2½ miles from Penrith

Queens Head Inn
Site of Cumbrian beer and sausage festival in August
Email: enquiries@queensheadinn.co.uk
Tel. 01768 863219

Photos courtesy of Ann Bowker and Queens Head Inn

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