The River Crake winds behind the buildings of Spark Bridge and plunges beneath the distinctive stone bridge. Spark Bridge lies in the Crake Valley and developed near a bridge over the River Crake. Many old coppiced trees still stand in the woods around the village. The river, bridge and woodland frame the landscape; at the same time, the history of milling tells of a long period of industrial use.
Iron, water and changing uses of the mills
The first blast furnace in Spark Bridge was built in 1710 by John Russell of Force Forge. Spark Forge closed in 1850. In the 1850s, Thomas Philipson converted the buildings of an old iron furnace into the Spark Bridge Bobbin Mill. This mill remained in operation for more than 130 years and closed in 1983. These dates make the different stages of local industrial history clear: early iron smelting was followed by a long period of milling. The history therefore cannot be reduced to a single building or date.
Crake Mill is also part of this history: it was the first industrial mill built in Spark Bridge. Over the centuries, there were several significant mills. A fulling mill used the water of the River Crake to clean woven woollen cloth and remove lanolin oils and impurities. This brings a working process into focus as well as the history of the buildings: the river water was part of the landscape and was also used to clean the cloth. Nature and industrial history in Spark Bridge are therefore not separate topics.
Buildings and historical traces
Many of the buildings associated with the mills still stand today and have often been converted into private homes. They are part of the historic village scene, but should not be regarded as visitor attractions. This distinction is useful when planning: mill history is part of the village, but private homes are not the same as publicly accessible exhibition spaces.
The history of the buildings also includes a Wesleyan Methodist chapel, built in 1864 and later closed and put to a different use. The Farmer's Arms Public House is an inn with a short section of building dating from the 17th century. The date refers to this short section of the building. Together, the chapel and inn add further traces of local history to the chronology of the mills. Travellers interested in how a place has developed will find several themes side by side here: industrial use, religious architecture and older pub architecture.
Bringing the landscape and industrial history together
If you are considering Spark Bridge as a place to stay, you can assess its character through two specific interests: the landscape along the River Crake and the history of its industrial use. One particularly striking feature is that the river both shapes the village scene and provided water for the work of the fulling mill. The chronology of the mills, the historic buildings and the old trees in the surrounding woods reveal different sides of Spark Bridge. You can choose the area based on whether you are interested in riverside scenery, industrial heritage or a combination of the two.
Discover more destinations: How, Westward, Penruddock, Kirkoswald, Coniston, Kirkby Stephen, Bewcastle, Egremont.
For the wider travel overview: Cumbria.
