The Village

Natland is a village and civil parish in the former county of Westmorland, now part of Cumbria (and from 2023, the Westmorland and Furness unitary authority). It lies approximately two miles south of Kendal, on the eastern bank of the River Kent.

The parish covers 3.61 km² (361 hectares) of open countryside, and is home to around 800 residents. The village retains its rural character, surrounded by farmland and with views towards the Lakeland fells and the Howgill Fells.

Panoramic view of Natland village green
The village green, looking across the heart of Natland. For a rotating ground-level view, see the Street View on the Maps page.

History

The name Natland is believed to derive from Old Norse or Old English, with theories pointing to "Nata's land" (a personal name) or a derivation meaning "cattle land" or "wet land." The parish has been settled since at least the medieval period, with records in the Domesday-era surveys linking the area to the barony of Kendal. A chapel was recorded at Natland as early as 1246.

The Lancaster Canal ran through the western edge of the parish. Authorised by Act of Parliament in 1792, its Northern Reaches opened in 1819 to connect Preston with Kendal, passing through Natland on its way. The Kendal section was closed in 1941–42 due to leakage and formally ceased operation in 1947.

A local curiosity, the so-called "Treacle Mine," is described in village legend, with documented cave systems beneath the village.

Timeline

  1. 1086Area recorded in the Domesday-era barony of Kendal.
  2. 1246First recorded chapel at Natland.
  3. 1717Chapel described as "ruinous and unused."
  4. 1735Chapel rebuilt.
  5. 1777First school building constructed in the village, endowed by a local bequest.
  6. 1792Lancaster Canal authorised by Act of Parliament; would eventually link Preston with Kendal via Natland's western parish.
  7. 1819Northern Reaches of the Lancaster Canal opened, extending the waterway from Tewitfield through Natland to Kendal.
  8. 1825Church rebuilt; school rebuilt in the same year.
  9. 1879Church and school both enlarged to accommodate a growing population.
  10. 1882St Mark's Home for Boys founded.
  11. 1894The Children's Society takes over St Mark's Home.
  12. 1909–10St Mark's Church rebuilt to its current form by architects Austin and Paley of Lancaster.
  13. 1914–18First World War — 17 men associated with Natland and St Mark's Home gave their lives.
  14. 1939–45Second World War — nine men from Natland are remembered on the memorial.
  15. 1947Lancaster Canal ceases operation.
  16. 1967A new St Mark's Primary School opens; the old school is demolished in 1969.
  17. 1974Natland becomes part of South Lakeland district, Cumbria. St Mark's Home ceases full-time residential operation.
  18. 1994St Mark's Home closes permanently.
  19. 2008A second plaque added to the war memorial, recognising 11 further men with connections to St Mark's Home.
  20. 2018Armistice centenary exhibition held in St Mark's Church.
  21. 2023Westmorland and Furness unitary authority created, replacing South Lakeland.

St Mark's Church

The parish church of St Mark stands at the heart of the village. A chapel is first recorded here in 1246; the present building was rebuilt in 1909–10 by the noted Lancaster architects Austin and Paley, replacing earlier chapels on the site. It serves the parish of Natland and Oxenholme, and is home to the village war memorial — a stone cross in the churchyard accompanied by bronze plaques inside the church.

Architectural plan of the rebuilt St Mark's Church, Natland, by W.J. & W. Whitley of Lancaster, October 1908. Drawn in blue ink with cyan wash.
Plan of Natland Church (rebuilt), by W.J. & W. Whitley of Lancaster, October 1908. The current building, completed by Austin & Paley 1909–10, follows this scheme — note the chancel, the nave with its rows of fixed pews, the south porch, and the small octagonal vestry on the north side.

Visit the St Mark's Church website →

St Mark's Church of England Primary School

Natland has had a village school for generations. According to the Cumbria County History Trust, a school building was first constructed in 1777, endowed by the will of Charles Shippard. A new school was erected in 1825 and enlarged in 1879 and again in 1909 to keep pace with a growing population. The school moved to its current site and building in 1967; the old school was demolished two years later.

Today St Mark's Church of England Primary School is a small, family-oriented village school serving children aged 4 to 11. It operates as a Voluntary Aided school within the Church of England education framework.

John Chandler — whose research underpins this site's war memorial section — served as Headteacher from 1985 to 2005.

Visit the St Mark's School website →

St Mark's Home for Boys

From 1882 to 1994 Natland was home to a children's home with a profound impact on the village's history. Founded by the Rev. Charles Whitaker and taken over by the Children's Society in 1894, St Mark's Home housed around twenty-five boys aged 7–15 at its peak. It later accepted girls from 1960 before closing as a full residential home in 1974, operating as a holiday centre until 1994.

The Home plays a central role in the Natland war memorial story: eleven of the seventeen WW1 names on the memorial were "inmates" (as residents were called) at St Mark's Home. Many were sent onward to sister homes in Canada and subsequently joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

The Home installed running water and drainage in 1899, enabling swimming lessons, and ran an active Scout Troop. Its boys regularly won regional swimming medals.

Read more about St Mark's Home on Hidden Lives Revealed →

Historical maps

Natland appears on Thomas Jefferys's The County of Westmoreland of 1770, the south-west sheet of which covers Kendal and the surrounding parishes. The village sits a short way south of Kendal on the road to Lancaster, with the River Kent to the east and the powder works at Sedgwick a little further south.

Detail of Thomas Jefferys's 1770 map of Westmoreland showing the Kendal area, with Natland just to the south.
Thomas Jefferys, The County of Westmoreland (south-west sheet), 1770. View full interactive map →
Reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Scotland under CC BY 4.0.

Maps

For walking routes, a ground-level Street View, aerial imagery, Ordnance Survey reference, and photographs of the area, see the dedicated Maps page →