Staveley (grid reference SD469981) is a village in the District of South Lakeland in Cumbria, England. It is situated 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Kendal where the River Kent is joined by its tributary the Gowan.
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Historically within the county of Westmorland, it became part of the new non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in 1974. The village is strategically placed at the junction of the rivers Kent and Gowan, at the mouth of the Kentmere Valley. Three hills overlook the village; Reston Scar on the north side on which much of the village is built, Piked Howe to the northeast known to the locals as Craggy Wood and Lily Fell to the south in the direction of the village of Crook on the opposite side of the A591 bypass. Piked Howe and Reston Scar sit either side of the opening into the Kentmere Valley. Both mark the beginning of a larger horseshoe chain of hills known as the Kentmere Round.
The nearest village to the west is Ings, a small settlement which now shares schools and parish minister with Staveley. To the south of the village is Crook, and to the north Kentmere which can only be accessed by passing through Staveley village centre, meaning that the two villages have had a close relationship with each other for many centuries. But the village which had the strongest links to Staveley in more recent years is Burneside which is the next stop on the railway line to the east on the way to Kendal. Due to the majority of trade and industry passing along the railway lines in the 19th century the two villages grew in size and status and increased contact with each other.
Above the village on the east side is the Craggy Plantation, which covers much of Spy Crag. This area was used in the 1990s for testing various measures to control the spread of North American Grey Squirrels into the native Red Squirrel habitats.
Gowan beck comes in to the village from the west after passing through the village of Ings. It is difficult to determine where the river got its name. In Scottish, gowan the name for the common daisy or occasionally the buttercup. It is derived from the original form gollan which is the marsh marigold, the name was made famous by Robert Burns in a poem originally entitled "The Gowan" which is now known as "To a Mountain Daisy". The Lakeland poet William Wordsworth also uses the word gowan to refer to a common wayside flower indicating that the name was used in the area and therefore it is possible that the river got its name from the fact that it flows through many flower meadows on the valley floor. In Gaelic Gowen/Gowan can also mean "blacksmith". The name may therefore otherwise have come from the Scots Gaelic or from Irish missionaries who are known to have travelled in Cumbria during the Anglo-Saxon period and have given many words to the local dialect.
The area has been inhabited since around 4000 BC (evidence of which can be seen close to High Borrans) when Celtic speaking Britons established farms. The Romans arrived in 90 AD building a road that passed to the south of where the village is now, linking Kendal to Galava (their main fort at Ambleside). The line of this road is still roughly followed today by the A591. Staveley is one of a very few locations in the Lake District to have a railway station on the Windermere Branch Line from Windermere to Oxenholme as laying down railway lines was deemed detrimental to the unique Lakeland landscape.
The area of Staveley is divided into three civil parishes; Nether Staveley, Over Staveley and Hugill (after Hugill Fell). Williamson's Monument is situated on the fell above this section of the parish.
Weekly markets and a three day annual fair were held from 1329 when the village was granted a market charter. The village got its name from the woodworking industry that thrived in the area due to the forests that originally covered the surrounding hills, and the close proximity of two rivers for processing the wood. Staveley means literally the 'field of staffs' (from the Middle English plural stave for staf OE stæf and the ME leye meaning pasture from Old English leah; akin to Old High German loh thicket, Latin lucus grove).
In the middle ages the mills at Staveley produced cloth, but they were converted to work wood. By 1850 bobbin turning was the main industry in the valley. At Staveley Mill Yard visitors can water is drawn from the River Kent at a weir, originally powering a waterwheel, replaced in 1902 with turbines. The site houses various businesses including "Wilf's Cafe".
A conservation area protects much of the centre of Staveley. Staveley has a number of listed buildings of which the oldest is a church tower called St.Margret's. In 1338 the then Lord of the Manor, Sir William Thweng agreed to build a church dedicated to St Margaret. Before this the villagers had been expected to travel 7 miles to Kendal each Sunday for services. The church was completed in 1388 and stood on High Street surrounded by its graveyard. Only the tower remains to this day. On it is a plaque commemorating the Staveley men of F Company, Second V B Border Regiment, who served in the South Africa Campaign of 1900-01 under Major John Thompson. The new parish church; St James, was built in 1864-65 by J. S. Crowther. Its east windows were designed by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones and depict the Crucifixion and Ascension of Christ surrounded by angels and stars. One of the angels was used for the second class Christmas stamp in 2009.
Other places of worship include a small Catholic church situated on Station Road and two former Methodist chapels, one of which has been converted into housing.
Staveley CE Primary School was founded in 1755 and moved to its present position at Brow Lane on Reston Scar in 1840. A new building was built 30 years ago to house the infant classes. The school also caters for children from the nearby villages of Crook, Kentmere and Ings. Before the modern-day school that exists now, the school used to be housed in a small cottage on the main street next to St.Margrets Tower.
Every year in August residents put on an art exhibition for regional artists at the Roundhouse on Main Street, which includes lectures and demonstrations by notable British artists.