Early signs of occupation include a
Neolithic stone circle on Casterton Fell and remains of Celtic settlements at
Barbon,
Middleton and
Hutton Roof. During the Roman period, a
Roman road followed the
River Lune, linking forts at Low Borrow Bridge near
Tebay and
Over Burrow, south of Kirkby Lonsdale. A
Roman milestone unearthed in 1836 and described as "the best in the country" was re-erected on a hill near Hawkin Hall (SD 623 859), close to where it was found. Kirkby Lonsdale developed at a crossing over the River Lune, where drovers' and pack-horse routes converged. It is one of few Cumbrian towns mentioned in the 1086
Domesday Book, where it is called Cherchibi (village with a church). An earlier church was rebuilt by the
Normans, who erected an artificial mound or
motte on nearby
glebe land. A wooden tower or keep is thought to have surmounted the stronghold as a base for controlling the surrounding area. In later years, the mound was used for
cockfighting, hence the current name of Cockpit Hill. In 1093, Ivo de Taillebois (
Baron of Kendal) granted the
church at Kirkby Lonsdale to St Mary's Abbey in York, which held it until the
Dissolution. Thereafter the abbey and its possessions, including St Mary's Church, passed to
Trinity College, Cambridge, which retains the
patronage to this day. In 1227, the town gained a
market charter and the right to hold an annual fair every September. Each week stallholders gathered in Market Street to sell their wares, as did horse traders in the Horsemarket and pig sellers in Swinemarket. Thursday was as now the scene of great activity. Kirkby has an annual festival called the Victorian Fair. ==19th century onward==