History of Rosley

There are two theories, both are attractive and neither can be conclusively established.  The Celtic interpretation is that the name is a conjunction of Rhos, meaning moor and le, indicating a place: hence a place on the moor. A more recent and commonly given meaning is an amalgamation of the Scandinavian word for horse, Hross, and the old English for clearing, leah: thus we get a clearing where horses are kept.

The first people to inhabit the area, possibly as early as 4000B.C., eked out their existence by hunting, fishing  and gathering wild fruit and nuts. They were displaced by the Gaels, a Celtic race from mainland Europe, who were in turn displaced by another Celtic race, the Ancient Britons. Settlements gradually developed with small plots of enclosed land. Evidence of such a settlement has been found on the ridge near Sandy Brow.

The A595 at Jenkin's Cross

The Normans arrived in Cumberland in 1092 and the land was divided into large baronial estates. The manor (which is now Westward) was forest ground in Allerdale and it was given by Alan, second lord of Allerdale  to Henry II who annexed it to his Royal Forest of Inglewood, as it formed the western ward of the forest it received the name Westward. It continued to be held by the Crown until 1344 when Edward II granted it to Thomas Lucy on his marriage to the King?s cousin. It subsequently passed to the Earls of Northumberland (the Percy family) and descended through to the Earls of Egremont.

The centuries following the Norman Conquest were marked by frequent border raids and wars as successive Scots and English kings laid claim to the border lands. It was not until after the Jacobite rebellion was finally put down in the late 18^th century that times became more settled.  

Before the Enclosure Acts of the early 1800?s there were only small areas of enclosed land around the settlements at Rosley, Curthwaite, Brackenthwaite, Craggs, Woodside and the Heights, the rest was open common land with tracks between settlements. The Enclosure Acts completely changed the look of the landscape to the layout of the fields much as we see them today.  

The Second World War Comes to Rosley

Rosley, had a satellite landing ground at Wath Head.  There was grass landing strip which was created by the removal of hedges and the land of the fields being compacted with the aid of three steam rollers pulled up and down by a caterpillar tractor.  As the land continued to be used sheep had to be removed from the landing strip before a plane could land.  Once the planes had safely landed they were towed into Spain wood, so called because its shape resembles a map of Spain, and covered in camouflage nets so that they would not easily be seen.  The strong wires holding these nets could still be seen some forty years after the last plane had been hidden in the wood.