The Droving Tradition of the Upper Eden Valley

Court rolls, family papers, titles, maps and the actual landscape have provided some proof of our own fair and droving tradition.  In some instances a little colour and vitality have been added from the wider field and with the help of reputable authors.  In all cases, the search engaged the imagination of those who pursued the topic and we have been richly rewarded by the many insights we gained into customs which have shaped our area and which were of immense importance in the lives of our predecessors.   

This leaflet, produced in 2001 by local residents, is our first attempt to tell something of the droving tradition and its relationship to our surrounding countryside.  It prepares the way for those who want to walk the routes, and we suggest that you do.  Two route cards have been prepared to augment this leaflet, they are available at the Kirkby Stephen TIC.

 

Main sources:
Haldane, A. R. B., The Drove Roads of Scotland, Birlinn Limited, Edinburgh, 1997 Miller, E. (ed),  Agrarian History of England, vol iii, Cambridge University Press, 1991
Cameron, D.K., The English Fair, Sutton Books,1998
Bonser, K. J., The Drovers,  MacMillian, 1938
Farrer, W., Records Relating to the Barony of Kendale, Trans. Cumb & West Antiq & Archaeol Soc. Vol. v. ed. J.F. Curwen, 1924
Raistrick, A. Green Tracks on the Mid- Pennines, Moorland, 1978
 
A full archive of the sources is lodged in the Kirkby Stephen Library.
 
Kirkby Stephen Town Forum acknowledge with gratitude the work of many volunteer contributors and the funding for this research provided by: