Feather Bed and Shive of Cheese

Feather Bed and Shive of Cheese records hundreds of names of fields and woods in a group of villages at the south-west foot of Lake Windermere. The authors have used archives and local tradition to build up a fascinating picture which echoes both ancient and modern farming and woodland working practices.

Hatter Parrock, Justice Scar, The Prison Field, Bell Intake, Sourbutts, Washhouse Hill and the Cuckoo Bridge are just some of the names of fields, woods, and minor landscape features documented by the authors. As volunteers on Mapped Histories – a local history initiative within the community-led programme Rusland Horizons in South Cumbria – they became fascinated by what was revealed behind the names and how this wealth of detail illuminated the past and present.

Sophia, Pat and Liz built on their original survey to write this book, explaining the archive work and interpretation of names. Short histories of the villages of Finsthwaite, Lakeside, Stott Park and Ealinghearth are included, with photographs and 50 maps pinpointing every field and wood.