Dawson Ground
Believed to be the location now occupied by the Woolpack Inn. Map reference NY190000. From the web-site www.woolpack.co.uk :-
"1578 – 1682
Little has been researched about this time. The is a number of entries in the “Percy” survey relating to Nicholas Wilson and Roger Tyson who where then “tenants at will”. These two characters are also mentioned in the “Eskdale 24” book.
Nearly a century later in 1687 there is a will relating to “Tyson, Wilson – Dawson Place”. This will has not yet been examined although it is known to reside at Whitehaven archives. It is assumed that the will is that of a Wilson Tyson which would suggest that this person is a descendant of both parties mentioned a century before. It seems unlikely that the will relates to two people one called Tyson and one called Wilson. But either way it is looking likely that the same family or families resided at Dawson Place.
The fact that the will is in the record office is evidence that “Wilson Tyson” died that year. The fact that the will was also invoked might suggest that the property was passed to another party, perhaps related, or perhaps the estate was split between members of the family and so was sold. The fact that there was a will suggests a wealthy person who owned the property rather than him being a tenant as was the case with his for fathers.
1682 – 17271
If we assume that the property was not kept in the Tyson/Wilson family then we have a gap of 41 years. Viewing the will may give further evidence, as might more detailed inspections of the church records.
1727 – 1751
Here we are entering a very interesting and formative time in the history of Dawson Ground. In 1727 we have a record of the baptism of Margaret Vickers, daughter of John Vickers of Dawson Ground. In 1729 follows William, 1730 Elizabeth, 1732 John, 1735 Mathias and 1738 Hanah. There is some doubt about if John the father moved into Dawson Ground in 1727 or just gets married then. No record of his marriage has yet been found. Maybe he moved from a different parish or married a girl from a different parish. It is also likely that he had been married for several years and already had children before he moved to Dawson Ground.
There are only a few Vickers prior to 1727 in Eskdale and then they seem to be prolific. It is suggested that the original John noted here is possibly ancestor to most Vickers in Eskdale. Certainly there are around 20 born at Dawson Ground and probably more as some baptism records fail to detail where the child resides.
The William above appears to have a single daughter Dinah in 1744, he then probably moves out of Dawson Ground.
It is also interesting that all references to the property prior to 1727 call it Dawson Place and after that it is called Dawson Ground. This indicates an increase in size of the estate or possibly a change of name of the building but still keeping the estate with the Dawson name. Could it be that at this time the house changes to The Woolpack Inn?
There are no records at all prior to 1751 of Alehouses in Cumbria. Alehouses prior to this time tended to be exactly that – houses where ale was brewed and sold. A farmer’s wife would brew the ale and so supplement the family’s income by the sale to passers by and locals. Equally many farm houses would happily take in travellers feed water and house them, feed and rest their horses. Although there is no record of there being an inn at the property prior to 1759 it is possible there was. Indeed a favourite theory of the current landlord is that due to the remote location of the Inn it escaped the attention of the law for a while and was then forced to comply.
So we still have no evidence of when the building became an Inn. We have to use 1759 as its birth date until we get better information.
John (born 1732?) then has John in 1758 and Mary in 1759
1759 – 17712
Continued registration as an Alehouse by John Vickers.
During this period we have only one church record that of the baptism of Daniel son of John.
1772 – 1791
There are no records during this period to prove that the Vickers where in residence or the property was an Alehouse. However future records would indicate no reason to suspect that either are not true.
1791 – 1836
Lots of evidence of Vickers here including births, marriages and deaths. There is also a reference to “Wool Pack Inn” in a county record dated 1817. The earliest actual written reference to The Woolpack Inn."
Further notes
George Haile took over Roger Tyson's tenancy and passed it to his younger son Edward in 1635.
William Tyson of Dawson Place was one of the apprizers of William Dickinson's inventory in 1661. He also signed the tuition bond for William's son William.
1 In 1721 Thomas Hartley died at Dawson Ground leaving a widow, Dorothy, and a son, John, who had been born there one year earlier. Thomas may have been the 'Customary Tenant' (i.e. with the right to pass the tenancy to his heir) or a sub-tenant. However see note 2.
2 In his will William Dickinson left Dasson Ground to his daughter Sarah in 1763. Did he acquire this through his wife Elizabeth whose first husband had been Henry Hartley? (Henry might be Thomas's brother). Sarah married Isaac Nicholson of Randlehow, probably around 1769. Hannah was born to Henry and Mary Dickenson at Dawson Ground in 1786.
3 A Thomas Hartley married a Maria Tyson on April 28th 1713. A Maria Hartley was buried on March 11th 1713, ie 10 1/2 months later. Is this the same Thomas Hartley and had his wife died in child-birth? It seems likely and this might be how Dawson Ground came into the Hartley family. Manorial records might prove/disprove this link.