Welcome

Welcome to the website of the Mourholme Local History Society

Mourholme is the name of the castle that used to stand in the old parish of Warton. It was the home of the mediaeval lords of Warton, and its ruins lie beneath the Borwick end of the Pine Lake resort (that is, under the artificial lake that is in the centre of the picture above - taken from Warton Crag).

Until the nineteenth century the Warton parish contained the townships of Borwick, Carnforth, Priest Hutton, Silverdale, Warton, Yealand Redmayne and Yealand Conyers. They lie in the extreme north-west of Lancashire, abutting modern day Cumbria.

Our studies concern the history of these seven villages – one of which, Carnforth, grew into a small town. Most of the 11,100 acres (4,500 hectares) consists of a thin layer of soil over carboniferous limestone, which was suitable only for pasture, although arable crops could be grown on scattered areas around the parish, where the retreat of glaciers at the end of the last ice age about 13,000 years ago left rich deposits of clay, sand and gravel – particularly on the low ground between Carnforth and Milnthorpe. In general therefore, the agriculture was not particularly prosperous, but the parish does boast its share of manors and other fine halls and houses.

The coming of the industrial revolution brought change on an unprecendented scale – iron and steel works, mills, canals and railways, and the beginnings of tourism. Yet, apart from Carnforth, the villages have retained their individual characteristics, and many of their old buildings.

Mourholme Local History Society

We look at all aspects of local history - agricultural, manorial, social, industrial, - as well as an examination of some of its prominent families. Some of the results of our study are on this website and are free to all. Please keep visiting the website as we plan to continually add items from our archives – photographs, maps, and articles from over 60 magazines published by the Society.

On these pages you can find out more about the society; its guest lectures and field trips; its publications and its archives. 

And we warmly welcome all new members!

Mourholme News 

New Publications

Sketches of Yealand which is a pamphlet covering the early 1900s in the parish by Mrs Ford.

In and Around Silverdale by David Peter 

Publications Click here.  and Research Papers Click here

The talk by Brian Jones  was accompanied by his recent publication Old Roads and Trackways Through Carnforth, which is available by emailing him

Free Access to Mourholme Publications. 

The Mourholme Society has published a range of books covering various periods of our history. The full range can be seen here. However, some are out of print. We have therefore decided to provide free-of-charge access to the entire range, through digital copies (pdf file format). All can easily be downloaded to your device by following the link here.

Mourholme Archive.

The Society possesses an extensive archive. From time to time we will post an interesting item. A recent find was this copy pen and ink sketch of the Silverdale chapel as it was before conversion to a dwelling. Both the date and the artist are unknown - can you help?

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MOURHOLME LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY
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