The Bailiwick of Ennerdale Est 1251 - Hon. George Mentz JD MBA CWM

The Manor and Forest of Anenderdale (Ennerdale) Bailiwick

A Celtic, Norse, and Medieval Heritage in the Heart of Coupland

In 945 AD, King Edmund I of England “laid waste all Cumberland and gave it to Malcolm I of the Scots, on condition that he be his ally by land and sea” (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, annal 945). This treaty effectively placed the whole of Cumbria, including Ennerdale, under Scottish suzerainty.

The Manor and Forest of Anenderdale, now known as Ennerdale, forms part of the ancient district of Coupland in Cumbria. It was granted by Ranulph de Meschines to the Church of St. Bees during the reign of Henry I, around 1135 AD. (See: Oxford Archaeology Report ; Monasticon Anglicanum)

Early History — The Kingdom of Cumbria

Before the Norman conquest, Ennerdale lay within the old Kingdom of Cumbria (Strathclyde) — a Brythonic Celtic realm that stretched from southern Scotland into what is now northern England.

Norse Settlement and Cultural Blending

Between 1020 and 1050, Norse settlers from Ireland and the Isle of Man colonized the western valleys — Wasdale, Eskdale, and Ennerdale — leaving a linguistic legacy of Old Norse place names:

• dalr (valley) fell (mountain) beck (stream)

By 1050, Ennerdale was under the control of Earl Siward of Northumbria, yet remained culturally Scandinavian and semi-independent. Siward (d. 1055) was a powerful Anglo-Danish nobleman, probably of Scandinavian (Danish or Norwegian) descent, who became Earl of Northumbria under King Cnut (Canute) the Great around 1033–1034. He ruled over an enormous region stretching from the River Humber to the Solway Firth, which included modern Cumbria, Yorkshire, and Northumberland — and thus Ennerdale in the western fells.

Ennerdale in Cumbric and Scottish Law

In this period, southern Strathclyde (later Cumberland) was ruled by the King of the Cumbrians, who recognized the overlordship of the King of Scots, showing the region’s hybrid identity before Norman integration.

The Norman and Monastic Period (1135–1250)

The earliest known record of Ennerdale appears around 1135 AD in the Register of St. Bees, where it is listed as Avanderdale, Anenderdale, or Ananderdale. The name derives from the Old Norse Anundar-dalr, meaning “Anund’s valley.”
(See: Oxford Archaeology Report; Monasticon Anglicanum)

By the reign of Henry II (1154–1189), Ennerdale was a recognized part of the royal demesne forest, managed by royal foresters under the jurisdiction of the Forest of Cumberland. The Treaty of York (1237) permanently defined the border between England and Scotland, placing Ennerdale securely within England.

The History of The Forest and Manor of Ennerdale

By 1322, Ennerdale was firmly established as both a manor and forest. Records from that year describe “Eynerdale within the free chase of Coupland fell,” mentioning two vaccaries (cattle farms) within its boundaries — evidence of its economic use and integration into the medieval manorial system.
(Reference: Google Books – History of Cumberland and Westmorland)

Medieval Ownership and the Crown Period

After its original monastic grant, Ennerdale’s ownership becomes clearer in the 14th century:

• 1321/2 – Thomas de Multon died seized of “Eynerdale within the free chase of Coupland fell.”

• 1334 – The manor passed to the Harringtons of Aldingham, later to the Bonvilles, and eventually to the Greys.

In 1554, following the execution of Henry Grey, father of Lady Jane Grey, the lands were forfeited to the Crown under Queen Mary I.
From that time until 1822, the manor remained under Crown administration, managed by bailiffs, stewards, and greaves. Ennerdale is  the northern bailiwick of the Free Chase of Copeland, the section between the Rivers Ehen and Derwent.

Modern Consolidation under the Lowther and the Mentz de Fief Blondel Family

In 1822, the Crown and King of England and Hanover sold the Manor and Forest of Ennerdale to William, Earl of Lonsdale with sanction from Parliament's Commission, integrating it into the Lowther family estates. This marked the beginning of its modern ownership and the end of nearly eight centuries of shifting political and ecclesiastical stewardship.  The Seigneur of Fief Blondel acquired the Bailiwick of Ennerdale in recent years, and has published the good tidings in the London Gazette.

The Kingdom of Cumbria, also known as the Kingdom of Strathclyde, was at various times an independent Brittonic kingdom, a Scottish client state, and eventually a province under Scottish control.
Here’s how that happened, step by step:

🏰 1. Origins — The Brittonic Kingdom of Rheged (5th–7th centuries)

After the Romans withdrew from Britain around 410 AD, the northwest region (modern Cumbria and southwest Scotland) became the Kingdom of Rheged, ruled by Celtic-speaking Britons — the same ethnic group as the Welsh.

• Its kings, such as Urien Rheged and his son Owain, are celebrated in early Welsh poetry (Y Gododdin, The Book of Taliesin).

• Rheged’s people spoke Cumbric, a Brythonic Celtic language closely related to Old Welsh.

By the late 7th century, Rheged was gradually absorbed into the expanding Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, though the old Cumbrian people remained.

🛡️ 2. The Rise of the Kingdom of Strathclyde (7th–10th centuries)

As Northumbria’s power waned, a new Celtic kingdom centered on Dumbarton Rock on the River Clyde rose to prominence — the Kingdom of Strathclyde, also called Cumberland or Cumbria in English sources.

• It included southwest Scotland and much of present-day Cumbria.

• Its kings were Brittonic, not Anglo-Saxon or Gaelic.

• For centuries, Strathclyde acted as a buffer kingdom between Scotland and England.

⚔️ 3. Submission to Scottish Suzerainty (10th century)

The decisive moment came in 945 AD.
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:

“King Edmund [of England] harried all Cumberland and gave it to Malcolm, king of the Scots, on condition that he be his fellow-worker both by sea and land.”

This means that:

• King Edmund invaded and devastated Cumbria, which was still largely Brittonic (not Anglo-Saxon).

• He ceded it to Malcolm I of Scotland as a vassal or client territory, not as an outright gift.

• The idea was strategic — the Scots would guard the northern frontier for England in exchange for control over the region.

Thus, from 945 AD onward, Cumbria was under Scottish overlordship, though its native Cumbrian rulers (kings or princes) continued to govern locally under Scottish authority.

👑 4. Cumbric Princes under the Scottish Crown (10th–11th centuries)

Between 945–1050, Strathclyde/Cumbria remained semi-independent but recognized the Scottish king as overlord.

• The Annals of Tigernach (Irish chronicle) mention a “King of the Cumbrians” in this period.

• In 1018, the Cumbrians fought alongside the Scots at the Battle of Carham, confirming their alliance.

• By 1030, the Cumbrian monarchy had died out or been absorbed, and the kings of Scotland assumed the title “Rex Cumbrorum” (King of the Cumbrians).

This is when the southern part of Strathclyde, including Ennerdale, Copeland, and Carlisle, came effectively under Scottish royal control.

🗺️ 5. Transition to English Rule (11th–12th centuries)

• Around 1050, Earl Siward of Northumbria (under the English crown) extended his control westward over what’s now Cumbria, including Ennerdale.

• In 1092, King William II (William Rufus) of England conquered Carlisle and formally annexed Cumbria into England.

• The Treaty of York (1237) later fixed the Anglo-Scottish border roughly where it remains today.

📜 Summary Timeline

✅ In Summary

The Kingdom of Cumbria was under Scotland because in 945 AD, King Edmund I of England formally granted Cumberland to the King of Scots, making it a Scottish client kingdom.
For about a century afterward, it remained a semi-independent Cumbrian realm under Scottish overlordship — until the Norman kings of England reconquered it in the late 11th century.