Keswick

Keswick, a market town in the Penrith parliamentary division of Cumberland, England, served by the joint line of the Cockermouth Keswick & Penrith, and London & North-Western railways. Pop. of urban district (1901), 4451. It lies in the northern part of the Lake District, in an open valley on the banks of the river Greta, with the mountain of Skiddaw to the north and the lovely lake of Derwentwater to the south. It is much frequented by visitors as a centre for this famous district—for boating on Derwentwater and for the easy ascent of Skiddaw. Many residences are seen in the neighbourhood, and the town as a whole is modern. Fitz Park, opened in 1887, is a pleasant recreation ground. The town-hall contains a museum of local geology, natural history, &c. In the parish church of Crosthwaite, ¾ m. distant, there is a monument to the poet Southey. His residence, Greta Hall, stands at the end of the main street, close by the river. Keswick is noted for its manufacture of lead pencils; and the plumbago (locally wad) used to be supplied from mines in Borrowdale. Char, caught in the neighbouring lakes, are potted at Keswick in large quantities and exported.