⚖️ The Bailiwick of Ennerdale

The Only Privately Owned Bailiwick in the World

📜 Legal and Historical Summary

Sale and Authority of the Bailiwick, Liberty, and Forest of Ennerdale

The Bailiwick, Manor, Liberty, and Forest of Ennerdale is a unique jurisdiction in England and, indeed, the world. Unlike other manorial estates, Ennerdale was formally conveyed from the Crown into private hands through a legally recognized process conducted by the Commissioners of His Majesty’s Woods and Forests in 1822.

This conveyance was executed in fee simple, alienating not only the land but also the courts, franchises, and liberty rights from Crown ownership. The result is the creation of a fully private seignory, distinct from ordinary manorial holdings and endowed with autonomous rights and authority.

📑 Primary Documentary Evidence

1. DLons/W/8/28/12 – Leconfield Archive Collection

This archival record provides a continuous history of Ennerdale, including:

• 1650 Survey of the Manor and Forest

• Court Orders (1703) confirming jurisdiction over tenants and goods

• Crown Grant (1765) to Sir James Lowther

• 1769 Wordsworth Enquiry Evidence on forest law enforcement

• 1792 Land Revenue Commissioners Reports

• 1820 Formal Valuation leading to sale

• ✅ Final Sale in 1822 by Commissioners of HM Woods and Forests

2. DLEC/3/11/10/416 – Deed of Sale (1822)

This definitive deed conveys not only the land but also:

• Court Leet and Court Baron

• Liberty and jurisdictional rights

• Forestry and mineral rights

• Manorial rents and customary tenancies

• Fisheries and waters

These documents demonstrate that the Crown did not simply sell land — it conveyed a jurisdictional liberty with its own courts and officers, making Ennerdale a private bailiwick with continuing legal and ceremonial powers.

🛡️ Jurisdictional Implications

By virtue of this alienation, the Lord of Ennerdale holds powers that include:

• Appointment of Bailiff, Warden of the Forest, Verderers, Foresters, Rangers, and ceremonial officers

• Maintenance of Court Leet and Court Baron

• Recognition of forest law traditions

• Authority to create seals, arms, and dignities

• Autonomy from Crown interference since 1822

Ennerdale thus operates as one of the most independent private jurisdictions in England.

🏰 Ennerdale as Feudal Holding and Fief

• Feudal in Origin: Ennerdale functioned historically under Crown forest law, manorial customs, and liberty jurisdiction.

• Fief in Nature: The 1822 sale in fee simple alienated sovereign-like powers permanently, akin to a heritable Norman fiefdom.

Key Characteristics:

Thus, Ennerdale is both feudal and a fief, standing as a rare living relic of England’s medieval system.

📚 Historical References

Ennerdale’s unique bailiwick status is recorded in:

• The History and Antiquities of Westmorland and Cumberland (Nicolson & Burn, 1777)

• A Topographical Dictionary of England (Samuel Lewis, 1848)

• Calendar of State Papers – Elizabeth & James I

• Cumberland Lay Subsidy Rolls & Manorial Surveys

• Records of Algernon Percy, Earl of Northumberland (1633), who served as Bailiff of the Liberty and Keeper of the Forest

🗺️ Timeline of Ennerdale

• c.1251 – Royal Forest & Free Chase established under Henry III

• 1554 – Barony of Copeland forfeited; Ennerdale reverts to Crown

• 1633 – Earl of Northumberland appointed Bailiff & Keeper

• 1650–1765 – Crown surveys confirm bailiwick structure

• 1822 – Crown sells Ennerdale to Earl of Lonsdale (DLEC/3/11/10/416)

• Today – Remains a private bailiwick with ceremonial and manorial jurisdiction

⚖️ Conclusion

The Bailiwick of Ennerdale stands alone in the modern world as:

• The only privately owned bailiwick

• A liberty alienated from the Crown with fee simple authority

• A living quasi-feudal jurisdiction with rights of court, appointment, and ceremonial governance

Supported by definitive archival records, Ennerdale represents the last surviving example of a private liberty and bailiwick alienated by the Crown into full private hands.

It remains not only a natural treasure of England but also a juridical rarity of world legal history.

Ennerdale – Historic Lordship and Bailiwick in Cumberland

Overview

Ennerdale lies within the ancient parish of St Bees, in the Allerdale above Derwent Ward of historic Cumberland. The area encompassed the townships of Ennerdale and Kinniside, together with the extra-parochial waste of Copeland Forest or Stockdale Moor.

Covering an impressive 22,407 acres (9,068 hectares), the lordship was historically divided as follows:

• Kinniside Township: 6,722 acres (2,720 ha)

• Ennerdale Township: 13,178 acres (5,333 ha)

• Copeland Forest / Stockdale Moor: 2,507 acres (1,015 ha)

The Ennerdale Fell (7,637 acres / 3,090 ha) was enclosed in 1872, while Kinniside Common (5,189 acres / 2,100 ha) and Stockdale Moor (2,495 acres / 1,010 ha) remain open and unenclosed to this day.

Population

Records estimate Ennerdale’s population at 395 in 1688. During the early 19th century, Ennerdale held around 190 inhabitants, with Kinniside ranging between 200–250.
The combined population reached a high of 666 in 1871, before gradually declining to 240 residents by 2001.

Landownership and Heritage

Once part of Copeland Forest, Ennerdale was assigned to the Harrington share during the 1338 partition of the Barony of Egremont. The estate later passed to the Grey family, before escheating to the Crown in 1554.
It was subsequently leased to Sir James Lowther in 1765 and purchased outright by the Earl of Lonsdale in 1822.
Kinniside formed part of the Fitzwalter share of the barony’s “Middleward” and descended with the Barony of Egremont from the 16th century onward.

These transitions tie Ennerdale to some of England’s most powerful medieval and noble families, underscoring its enduring significance as a lordship, liberty, and bailiwick.

Economy and Industry

Ennerdale’s economy has long centered on hill farming and forestry.

• A sheep fair was held at Ennerdale Bridge during the 19th century.

• A medieval bloomery once operated at Smithy Beck, with iron mining recorded from 1688 and lead mining in Kinniside from the late 18th century—peaking in the 1820s before closing around 1855.

• Lead smelting was active in the 1820s.

• Ennerdale Water became a key source of clean water for Whitehaven in 1885, with expanded works completed in 1995.

• Meadley Reservoir, built in the 1880s to supply Cleator Moor, was drained in 2010.

• In the 20th century, a youth hostel and field centre were established at Gillerthwaite, near the head of the valley.

Religion and Community

The chapel of ease at Ennerdale Bridge was first recorded in 1534 and rebuilt in 1856 as St Mary’s Church.
Wesleyan Methodists worshipped locally from before 1800, possibly at How Hall.
A Catholic chapel is also thought to have existed in the area, noted in 1847.

Education

A parochial school operated at Ennerdale Bridge by the mid-19th century and was rebuilt in 1878. It continues today as Ennerdale and Kinniside Church of England Primary School, serving the community within the scenic valley.

Legacy

Once forming part of the Free Chase of Copeland, the Lordship and Bailiwick of Ennerdale remains one of the most historically significant and expansive private domains in northern England — a landscape defined by ancient rights, royal forests, and centuries of stewardship.