Westmorland and Furness

Westmorland and Furness is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. It covers Westmorland, the Furness peninsula, and the areas around Penrith and Sedbergh. It is bordered by Cumberland to the north and west, Northumberland, County Durham and North Yorkshire to the east, and the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire to the south. Its largest town is Barrow-in-Furness and its administrative centre is Kendal. The unitary authority area was formed on 1 April 2023 during local government restructuring which saw the abolition of the former non-metropolitan county of Cumbria and its six districts; Westmorland and Furness has the same area as the former districts of Barrow-in-Furness, Eden, and South Lakeland. It remains part of Cumbria for ceremonial purposes. Prior to the local government reforms of 1974, the area was split between the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland, Lancashire and Yorkshire. Westmorland and Furness is a single-tier local government area, being both a non-metropolitan county and district. Its sole local authority is Westmorland and Furness Council, which provides the services of both a county council and a district council. The first elections to the new authority took place in May 2022, with Westmorland and Furness Council acting as a "shadow authority" until the abolition of Cumbria County Council and the three district councils on 1 April 2023. The economy is mainly focused on tourism around both the Lake District and Cumbria Coast, shipbuilding and the Royal Port of Barrow, and agriculture in the rural parts of the area.

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Kendal

Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness area of Cumbria, England, just outside the Lake District. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived. In the Domesday Book of 1086, the area was collected under Yorkshire. The area came under the Honour of Lancaster before the barony split. The town became the Barony of Kendal's seat, in 1226/7 this barony merged with the Barony of Westmorland to form the historic county of Westmorland with Appleby as the historic county town. In 1889, Kendal became the county town. Under the 1974 reforms, it became the administrative centre of the South Lakeland district. The town became Westmorland and Furness district's administrative centre in a 2023 reform. It is 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Windermere and 19 miles (31 km) north of Lancaster. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 28,586, making it the second largest town in Westmorland and Furness after Barrow-in-Furness. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 29,593. It is renowned today mainly as a centre for shopping, for its festivals and historic sights, including Kendal Castle, and as the home of Kendal Mint Cake. The town's grey limestone buildings have earned it the sobriquet "Auld Grey Town".

Kendal Town Hall

The Town Hall is a municipal building in Highgate, Kendal, Cumbria. It is a Grade II listed building. It serves as the headquarters of Kendal Town Council and also forms part of the complex of buildings which serves as the headquarters of Westmorland and Furness Council.

Queen Katherine Street drill hall, Kendal

The Queen Katherine Street drill hall is a former military installation located on Queen Katherine Street, off Aynam Road, in Kendal, Cumbria, England.

Barony of Kendal

The Barony of Kendal is a subdivision of the English historic county of Westmorland. It evolved from one of two ancient baronies that make up the county, the other being the Barony of Westmorland (also known as North Westmorland, or the Barony of Appleby). In 1974, the entire county became part of the modern county of Cumbria and ceased to have an administrative function. At the same time, Kendal borough along with some other rural and urban districts in Westmorland was merged with the neighbouring parts of Lancashire, Furness and Cartmel, and also the Sedbergh Rural District of the West Riding of Yorkshire into the new South Lakeland district of the new county. The barony is the remnant of the feudal barony whose caput was at Kendal castle. The feudal barony had its own complex evolution, determined by the evolution of the families that owned it. For some purposes, it was therefore once considered to include parts of the Barony of Westmorland that were possessed by the original lords of Kendal, such as at least parts of the ancient parishes of Barton St Michael, and Morland. In modern times, before it was scrapped, the barony came to be divided into two administrative wards, Kendal and Lonsdale, centred on the old church towns of Kendal (sometimes referred to historically as Kirkby Kendal), and Kirkby Lonsdale, which are respectively geographically centred on the valleys ("dales") of the rivers Kent and Lune. The parishes of the two wards are as follows: Kendal ward: Ambleside, Burton-in-Kendal, Grasmere, Grayrigg, Kentmere, Kendal, Windermere. (The parish of Kendal itself was large and contained 20 townships.) Lonsdale ward: Kirkby Lonsdale