Mawbray

According to the local historian, Francis Grainger, Mawbray has been in existence since 1150. It is a village of some 40 houses right on the Solway coast.

In former times the inhabitants were mostly farmers and a few fishermen.

Now the village has changed quite considerably; gone are the bacon and ham curer, the shoemaker, the blacksmith, the joiner and the dressmaker. Today, many villagers work with computers and include a journalist, an artist and a television presenter.

The Lowther Arms was mentioned in the 1847 Cumberland Directory and is still open for business. In 1847, the landlord was one Joseph Messenger. Elsie Pigg was the host in more recent times.

There are dates on several door lintels, one of the earliest, 1778, being that on the cottage next to Mawbray Farm.

Now derelict, this was the home of the Willis family. Old Mrs Willis was a dressmaker. Her son and daughter, John James and Maggie were both born and both died in the cottage. John James was a tailor – he always called his iron his goose. Maggie used to sell small items of haberdashery from a small window in the gable end.

The Joiner’s Shop stood at the end of the village, on the road to Holm St Cuthbert Church. The joiner was Job Osborne. This sketch was made in 1975 by Malcolm Sears who bought the property for conversion to a private house.

The Blacksmith’s shop was in the middle of the village. The smith was Tom Graham, who was also landlord of the Lowther Arms. He is in the centre of this picture with Fred Blackburn, on the right, and young Mr Bell, holding the horse.

The village is now home to some very different craft workers. Annette Gibbons is a popular presenter of cookery programmes on Border TV. She often appears here, in the kitchen of her own home in Mawbray Yard.