Sedbergh (pronounced Sedber or even, by the locals, Sebber) is a small town in Cumbria, England. It lies about 7 miles (11.3 km) east of Kendal and about 10 miles (16.1 km) north of Kirkby Lonsdale. The town lies just within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It lies at the foot of the Howgill Fells on the north bank of the River Rawthey which joins the River Lune about 2 miles (3.2 km) below Sedbergh.
Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Sedbergh has a narrow main street lined with shops. From all angles you can see the hills rising behind the houses. Until the coming of the railway in 1861, these were remote places that it was possible to reach only by slogging over some fairly steep hills. The railway to Sedbergh was closed in 1965.
George Fox, a founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), spoke in St. Andrew's Church (which he called a "steeple house") and on nearby Firbank Fell during his travels in the North of England in 1652. Nearby Briggflatts Meeting House was built in 1675. It is the namesake of Basil Bunting's lauded long poem, Briggflatts (1966). Sedbergh School is a co-educational boarding school in the town.
Sedbergh's parish church, St Andrew's, dates from the 12th century, though restored periodically since then. There is at least one house dating from the 14th century, and there are the remains of a motte and bailey castle believed to date from Saxon times.
Sedbergh's main industries for many years were Sedbergh School (founded 1525), farming and the production of woollen garments.
Wool sheared from the many sheep was taken to local mills where it was turned into yarn from which people in their homes, would knit clothing, including hats and socks. The garments were then sold by local merchants to, among other places, the coal miners of the North East of England. This trade has long since disappeared. It is remembered at Farfield Mill, just outside the town, where there is an exhibition of weaving equipment, and workshops for a number of artists and crafts workers.
