The Corpse Roads of Cumbria

by Alan Cleaver, Lesley Park

Criss-crossing the Cumbrian landscape are are many ancient corpse roads. The enigmatic name hints at their curious origins. These paths were used until the 18th Century to transport the dead from the remote villages to the 'mother' church for burial. Eventually villagers petitioned for their own churches and burial rights but the corpse roads remained. Alan Cleaver and Lesley Park have researched these ancient paths and the stories surrounding them. The book also explores the county's surviving coffin rests as well as Cumbrian funeral customs and superstitions.

Genres: Nonfiction

212 pages, Paperback

Published October 29, 2018

Reviews

[Cynthia Raleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book brimming with information about the many documented and unproven corpse roads. I so much enjoyed reading this book. Each chapter is full of the known history of each road with photographs, citations from documents or books, and maps. The inclusion of pointers for walking each road and amenities available in the area make it a good guide book for those who want to explore.

[ctrandall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that mixes folk-lore and funerary customs with a walker's guide to several trails in Cumbria. If you aren't into walking or will never make it to the Lake District, the trail descriptions won't be of much use to you but if you want to find out about "Telling the Bees" and coffin rests, you may find this to be a perfect little gem.

[Steve Chilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great lightweight read. I didn't know some routes I had done were corpse roads. I enjoyed reading this book, as it was very informative for if you fancy walking the quieter ways in the Lake District. Cleaver's book is a follow-up to the Lonnings of Cumbria and both are to be recommended.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book from The Cabin in Portinscale. We have often enjoyed walking along the Corpse Road from Rydal to Grasmere and I was keen to find out more about the route and to discover some new ones.
The book is so interesting and entertaining and on our next visit we walked from Grasmere to Church Stile, from Portinscale to Newlands church and from Castle Crag to St John’s in the Vale. All great walks with incredible scenery and lots of interest and the book brought the journeys to life. I could really imagine the villagers from days gone by struggling along with their coffins to the mother church.
So the book 100 % delivered on its promise and we will hopefully complete more.
Thank you to the authors for producing such a well researched and fascinating book.
To follow up I bought The story of St John’s in the Vale by Geoffrey Darrell which I shall read before our next visit in April 2025

[Will Templeton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and entertaining, it does exactly what it says on the tin 😁 A bit of colour on the inside pages would have been nice but I imagine that would have put the price up prohibitively so I can understand the lack thereof 😉 Yeah , good book.

[Rosemary Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

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