Rural Industries of the Lune Valley

T he Lune Valley is generally portrayed today as a tranquil, picturesque landscape seemingly untouched by the ravages of industrialisation. Yet appearances and reputations can be deceptive. There was once extensive coal mining and quarrying in the valley, and all the major settlements along the Lune and its tributaries - Caton, Halton, Hornby, Wray, Bentham , Ingleton, Burton in Lonsdale, Kirkby Lonsdale and Sedbergh - were home to textile mills engaged in spining a variety of materials or to significant colonies of weavers .

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