Lupton places cultural emphasis on architectural and local history. A listed building, a church, a bridge, farmhouses and a milestone reveal different forms and periods. If you enjoy comparing architectural details when choosing a destination, you’ll find examples here ranging from an L-shaped building to an inscription on a road marker.
Architectural Forms and Historic Buildings
The listed Boxtree Farmhouse and Lupton Tower is Grade II listed. Its L-shaped structure has gabled wings facing east. Lupton Tower is a rendered, three-storey tower with a projecting, battlemented parapet. The building’s layout, gables and tower shape give it a layered architectural character.
Greenlane End adds to the picture as a farmhouse dating from the late 17th or early 18th century. Foulstone’s architectural layers span a longer period: a datestone bears the inscription “EBA/1655”, with additions from the 18th and 19th centuries. The central porch has quoins and a ball finial. Inside, notable details include a stone staircase with iron balusters and a large, segmental-arched fireplace recess with masons’ marks.
The barn southwest of Foulstone has a lintel inscribed “SS/1830”. Its gables have coping stones and ball finials. In this compact area, different architectural details stand side by side: dated inscriptions, worked stone and distinctive roofline features.
Church, Bridge and Mill Machinery
The Church of All Saints has a nave, a north vestry and a chancel apse. Inside is a simple octagonal font, believed to date from 1686. It is said to have been brought from the parish church in Kirkby Lonsdale. Its tentative dating and reported origins give the font a story of its own within the church’s architecture.
Lupton Bridge can also be described by its construction: it has a segmental ashlar arch and a straight parapet with coping stones. Lupton Cornmill is a house believed to date from the early 19th century. Most of the machinery inside, including millstones, is preserved. On the southwest façade is a projecting wheelhouse with an undershot waterwheel made of iron and wood.
Local History and Getting Around
An archaeological landscape feature is also part of Lupton’s history: an irregularly curved enclosure lies on the summit of Kitridding Hill. Its shape provides a different contrast to the layouts and façades of the houses. The road from Kirkby Lonsdale to Milnthorpe was mentioned at Spittal in Lupton in 1687.
A milestone stands about 200 metres north of Hornsbarrow and probably dates from the early 19th century. It gives the distances as 10 miles to Kendal and 6½ miles to Milnthorpe, and bears a benchmark at the top. The stone combines a precise location with the distances recorded on it, setting it apart from the building inscriptions on the houses and barn.
There is also a practical landmark for getting here: a bus stop or shelter is located in Lupton at the junction where the A65 branches off towards Hutton Roof. If you plan to travel by bus, check the current services in advance.
Discover more destinations: Killington, Backbarrow, Kirkoswald, Scotby, Askam-In-Furness, Crosby Ravensworth, Kirkby Stephen, Penruddock.
For the overview of the wider region: Cumbria.
