In the northwest corner of England, just to the south of the rugged hills and fells of the Lake District, a peninsula juts out into the Irish Sea. Centuries ago, this peninsula was known as Fore-ness, which can be roughly translated as meaning 'further promontory', today it is called Furness, and Dalton is situated almost exactly in the centre of this fertile plain. Historians generally believe that Dalton's early rise to pre-eminence in Furness was entirely due to its geographical position. In the lawless days of the first millenium A.D., piracy around the coasts of north-west England was commonplace, and many people left their vulnerable settlements near the sea and moved inland for their own safety. Dalton, situated on a hill, and as far from the sea as any other villa in Furness, must have been an obvious choice for most people.

A Photo of Furness Abbey Taken in 1894.

The Founding of Furness Abbey

AFTER WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR had been crowned king of England at Westminster on 25 December 1066, the next five years were spent in subjugating the rebellious inhabitants, particularly in the north of the country which was mercilessly devastated. Despite its remoteness, Furness did not escape the Norman onslaught and considerable areas of land were laid waste, and presumably many of its inhabitants put to the sword. At this time, Furness belonged to Roger de Poictou, a Norman lord, and had been granted to him as a reward for services rendered to William during the Conquest; but because he opposed the succession to the throne of Henry -- William's third son - Roger was banished from the kingdom, and his possessions in Furness were bestowed upon Stephen, Earl of Boulogne and afterwards King of England. Although the Normans were fierce warriors, they were also superstitious, and believed they could help to guarantee the safety of their souls by means of generous donations of property and land to the monasteries. In 1127, Stephen, unashamedly admitting his motive, gave part of his 'forest of Furness' to Ewan d'Avranches, abbot of a small Benedictine monastery at Tulketh near Preston. The only land in Low Furness excluded from Stephen's gift was that which belonged to Michael le Fleming, which extended from Aldingham along the southeastern side of the peninsula. Abbot Ewan, together with 12 monks from Tulketh, moved to Furness and chose to erect their monastery in the beautiful, secluded valley then known as Bekansgill, at a point just about a mile from Dalton. The actual events which took place in this valley just over eight and a half centuries ago have not been recorded, but it is reasonably certain that the first buildings to be erected would be temporary structures for prayer, and to provide shelter while the monastery was being constructed. Just over four centuries later, at the time of the dissolution in 1537, the monastery was still expanding, and what had begun as a simple Benedictine abbey had by then become the second largest monastery in the kingdom, a glittering symbol of monastic industry and endeavour, and the source of Dalton's pride and prosperity.

Customs of the Manor

The Effect of the Monastery on the Population and Town

The feudal conditions which existed in Furness immediately after the Conquest are now impossible to determine in detail, but following the foundation of the abbey it appears that the population of Furness was divided into three classes. The most honourable of these were the free homagers (socmen), who were exempt from villein service and were bound to the lord by homage only and the payment of rent. The next class down were the copyholders who possessed a court roll copy confirming their tenancy. For this they paid 4d. and an annual rent, but were excused all other obligations except military service. The third class, to which most people belonged, were the customary tenants who were originally serfs, and thus banned from any tenure of property. Under the abbots they were granted the right to property, for which they paid rent and an admission fine and were bound in homage and other services to the abbot. Members of all these classes swore an oath of fealty to the abbot to be true to him against all men except the king. Most of the manorial customs were concerned with tenure of property, the tenants' obligations to the lord and the settling of disputes and grievances. For example, it was stated that 'If any tenant should die not having an able son to serve the king, but a daughter, then she to have the tenement right; always provided that she shall not bring to the said tenement any person but such as the abbot shall be content with' and that 'if any tenant should find himself grieved at any time, he should abide by the judgement of the said abbot and steward, and xii men indifferently chosen within the said lordship; so that if the said tenant was not content, he should have another jury, paying 6s. 8d. If the latter jury found him guilty as the other jury had done; and if he would not thus do, he should be discharged and voided thence'. On admittance to a tenement, each customary tenant had to pay a fine of 1d. (known as 'God's penny'), and an annual rent which varied in amount from one place to another. They also had to supply the monastery with certain provisions, such as wheat, barley, sheep, hens and geese; and they had to agree to provide a certain number of armed men, bowmen and billmen, horsed and harnessed or on foot, to defend the abbot's harbour at Piel, or for use against the traditional enemy, the Scots. Towards the end of the monastic era, the town of Dalton had to provide six armed men out of a total of 60 for the manor of Plain Furness. Other obligations on the part of some of the tenants included the supply of 160 cart loads of peat every year from Angerton Moss, and providing labour for the repair and maintenance of Biggar Dyke, a barrier erected on Walney Island to protect the farmlands against encroachment by the sea. In return for these services, the tenants enjoyed certain privileges granted by the abbey. These included security of tenure in their property, their individual weekly share of about 600 gallons of single beer or ale which was distributed at the monastery, together with 30 dozen loaves of coarse wheat bread. They also received sufficient iron for the manufacture and repair of their ploughs and other utensils of husbandry, and timber for repairing their houses; they paid only one penny for their fine, and they were entitled to send their children to the monastery school. All things considered, it may be said that the benefits the tenants received from the abbey more or less equalled their customary obligation to the abbot.