Tebay is a long rambling village situated midway between Penrith to the north and Kendal to the south, close to the junction of the Birkbeck River and the Lune.
The hamlets in the parish are Ellergil, Gaisgill, Redgill and Roundthwaite. At Redgill at one time lived a man known as William Farrer who had two professions...surgeon and magician. He could apparently read the stars, cast horoscopes and possessed the power of circumventing witches and, of course, casting out evil spirits.
Several places of historical interest hereabouts. In the Galloper Field of Old Tebay is the Brandery, or Brandreth Stone, where it was customary at one time to brand the cattle. Near Low Borrow Bridge are the ruins of a Roman fort, which appears by its size that it could have been an area of considerable strength. Also here is a rounded hill or mound called 'Castlehow', so called because it is thought that a castle stood here at one time..though no record of it can be traced. Strangely enough the field nearby is known as Castle Green.
The round turret and conical spire of its church standing below Langdale Fell on the road from Appleby to Kendal is seen afar off. The building was provided by railwaymen for the men who lived and worked on the lines among the fells and is faced with local Shap granite with brick lining the interior walls. There is a large apse at the west end and very substantial timbers in the roof. Its stalls, pulpit and reading desk are made from American walnut, and its handsome font is carved out of a single block of granite, richly ornamented.
The old school which was endowed by a Robert Adamson in 1672 is now closed, and these days the building is a County Venture Hostel.
In the middle 20th century, in the hayday of steam trains, assistance locomotives were held here to help heavy trains up the dreaded Shap Incline. Now, new Electric locos haul express trains up the same tracks at 150mph without assistance.
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