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Lowther family archive

The Lonsdale archive is one of the largest and most important family archives in the UK. The Lowther family (the Earls of Lonsdale) had such huge landholdings, wealth, interests and influence that their archive shows local and national life from the 12th century onwards and evidence for the history of much of north west England.

The family acquired extensive estates and titles, often working closely with the royal family. The first Sir Hugh de Lowther (c.1250-1317) was Attorney General to Edward I who granted to Sir Hugh the licence to ‘impark’ land at Lowther. The deed and seal are in the archive.

The archive includes a very fine collection of architectural drawings for the family houses and gardens from the 17th century onwards, including several sets of plans by Capability Brown and Robert Adam. Most were never executed, indeed Robert Adam’s plans for a new Palladian-influenced Lowther Castle were rejected in favour of the medieval design by Robert Smirke which stands on the site today.

The ‘Lonsdale Pals’ archive documents the creation and administrative records of the First World War Lonsdale Battalion, many of whom who were killed in the first 15 minutes of the battle of the Somme. They came from Estate families who still live and work at Lowther.

The 7th Earl of Lonsdale deposited approximately 2300 boxes of documents plus numerous maps and volumes at Cumbria Record Office Carlisle between 1963 and 2006.

The majority of the archives are held at the Record Office, and may be viewed with permission from the Lowther Estate. Further information and catalogues can be found on the website.

Illustrations (top to bottom): a royal pardon for Sir Hugh de Lowther, 1314; a medieval bestseller, a book on the Trojan Wars, contains a strange cipher (middle right); the 'Lonsdale Pals'.