Ravenstonedale is not in Domesday, as it was part of Cumbria. The Earl of Dunbar was driven out by William Rufus in 1092. The manor was assigned under Henry II to Watton Priory, and acquired several privileges, including a right of sanctuary. After the dissolution of 1535, it was sold in 1539 to Sir Thomas Wharton. (E.P. Frankland: C&WAAS Transactions XXIX p276
Ravenstonedale Parish Boundary - grant by Thorphin
From the head of Bowersdale as the water descendeth into the Water of Tebay and from thense through Hanscua to Bleatarn and to Kellate and Cowlinstone? and then as Scandale Beck runs into Smardale Beck,
to Smardale Flatt to Ashfell to Tarnwath Hole and then as Kirkby Way goes to Scandale Beck and so up the water till it come at a pathway that goeth to Mallerstang Scarth,
to the top of Willbright Fell to the rising of Ullandale and then as the Water of Ullandale floweth unto Ratha till it cometh twixt Weshenham and Keldon, and from thence as the road goes by the Burntashills to the Goose Dub to the head of Bowersdale and c.
(Later bounds mention Wandelle Wath or Warth)(and so to Burnt Hills upon the Ben End).
The bounds were last ridden on 17 June 1887, when 'an encounter ensued at the ford crossing the river Rothay near the public house, now a temperance hotel'.
The Manor was granted to Archbishop Holgate of York for his lifetime in 1539, and in 1546, the reversion was sold to Thomas Wharton for £935/16/8d. (J.C. Curwen: Later Records of North Westmorland)
Thomas, 1st Baron Wharton, d. Sept. 1538
Thomas, 2nd Baron Wharton, d. June 1572
Philip, 3rd Baron Wharton, d. March 1625
Philip, 4th Baron Wharton, d. Feb. 1696
Thomas, 1st Marquis of Wharton, d. April 1715
Philip, Duke of Wharton, outlawed April 1729, sold manor 1730, d. May 1731
Sir Robert Lowther
When the manor was sold to Sir Robert Lowther, the tithes were sold to the occupiers and merged with the land by a settlement of 20th April 1734.
The manor was sold in 1920 by Lord Lonsdale's executors to G.E. Thompson, and subsequently to Captain R.P. Hewitson, Stobars Hall.
The Grand Jury of Ravenstonedale had the following members from Fell End on February 20th, 1667 (the earliest list extant): Richard Fothergill, Simon Alderson Stephen Dent, William Fothergill, James Rogerson, Chris. Fawcett.
The bridge at the bottom of Sally Brow is called Bow Bridge. (Nicholls: History & Traditions of' Ravenstonedale, 1877)
There was a house in the south corner of the field south of the junction of Street and Dovengill Lane. The long field south of the lowest part of Dovengill Lane was called Martin's Field, after Martin Hodgson (Census 1861 qv). There was a wall half way up this field which marked the boundary between Low Sprintgill and Low Dovengill. (from Nathan Burton)
On the 1872 Electoral Roll, Robert Thexton, owner of (?)Low Sprintgill, is described as of 204 Tottenham Court Road, London.
Robert Thexton was taken on by Thomas Hewetson, Upholsterer & Bedding Manufacturer, in December 1835. (HWITH Henry William John Thomas Humphrey - was built in 1868 with the profits). On July 26, 1887, the business was amalgamated as Hewetson, Milner and Thexton Ltd.
On March 31, 1730, Stephen Fawcett of Green Slack was given 6/10 poor relief to last him until Christmas.
Elmpot in 1787 was a smithy.
In 1768 Richard Rennison was living at "Stone House" (unidentified).
Copyholders were enfranchised in 1808 by an Act of 16 Geo III.
Nicholls (1877) says the Friends Meeting House dated from 1670, but had not been used within living memory, though burials were sometimes held in the yard. At that time, Mr. Thomas Handley of Narthwaite held meetings on his farm in a barn.
The lead mine was worked by the London Lead Co. in the early 19th century.
Mannex's Directory (1849) says Ravenstonedale Market Day was Tuesday.
Luke Walmsley, blacksmith, figures in Kelly's Directory 1897-1914.
Kelly's Directory for 1897 lists Mrs. Elizabeth Thexton, High Sprintgill,
Mr. William Thexton, Low Sprintgill.
Fell End Parochial School was built in 1872 for 44 children. In 1897, average attendance was 17. Miss Annie Clark was mistress. (In 1914, Miss Fanny Jackson),
The Turnpike Act was passed in 1761.
There are also some Sprintgill-related Parish Register entries and a few will extracts.