The information board is located on Finkle Street in Kendal town centre.
The board is displayed on the reverse side of a'You Are Here' map. It shows photographs and gives the following information about the Finkle Street area.
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Explore the history around Finkle StreetFinkle Street probably derives its name from the old Norse word for elbow - 'Vinkle' - since it has a bend in the middle.This has been a busy street since the 16th century when several 'shoppes' were recorded and until Sandes Avenue was opened in 1887, it was the main road to Scotland and the north.
The street was widened several times in the 19th century, when property was demolished and set back, so the buildings you see are much older to the rear. With the coming of the motor car, a speed limit of 10mph was set in Finkle Street in 1911 to slow down the traffic.
Many of the shops in Finkle Street ave been established here for many years, some for over a century. Waterloo House is said to be the first shop in Kendal to have had plate glass windows. In 1901, the building was occupied by Dawson's the drapers who were one of the first to hold a January sale, advertising ..." underclothes in calico, chemises, drawers and knickers, nightdresses, Irish and machine made lace, bodices and corsets ... immense reductions"
Henry Robert's book shop was established in Finkle Street in 1903, moving to its present site in Stramongate in 1985. James Blacow, hatters and tailors, served Kendal people from the 1880s for over a century. R.W.& T.K. Thompsons, gentlemen's outfitters, opened in 1879 and closed in the 1970s. Musgroves, opening in 1879, as destroyed in the gret fire of 1965. The Co-op had its headquarters from 1862 in Waterloo House until it, too, closed in the 1970s.
These long established firms have gone in the last few years, to be replaced by new businesses in Finkle Street, which is still a street full of 'shoppes'.
The New Shambles follows an ancient path called Watt Lane. Before the days of freezers, slaughtering and butchering were done in many places in Kendal. In 1804, the New Shambles was re-developed as twelve butchers' shops, replacing the Old Shambles off Highgate which had proved to be very unsanitary. The butchers' shops were here for about fifty years until a purpose built abattoir was developed at Canal Head. The New Shambles has changed remarkably little in appearance over the years, you can still see some of the original butchers' shop fronts, one even retaining its wooden shutters.
In 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie and his army entered Kendal in retreat to Scotland. A fight broke out between the townspeople and some of the soldiers in Finkle Street, in which one of the Scottish soldiers and three local mem were killed and several townspeople wounded. Prince Charlie fined the town heavily in retribution for the loss of his soldier. A highlander's purse was picked up after the skirmish and is now in Kendal Museum.
Photographs of Finkle Street shown on the board have the following captions.
Decorations at the top of Finkle Street celebrating the coronation of King George V. The occupiers of the shops have changed and the shop fronts have been modernised, but the Liberal Club remains the same.
The Pump Inn stood across the top of Finkle Street from the 17th century. It was demolished in 1879.
Arthur Simpson and his son Hubert were craftsmen in wood in Kendal from 1885 to 1952.
R.W.& T.K. Thompson set up as a gentleman's outfitters in 1878.
In 1804, Th New Shambles was re-developed as twelve butchers' shops.
The Fish Market was behind the ancient Pump Inn for many years.
A Highlander's purse was picked up after the skirmish in 1745."
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