140 
the town on the eat fide, and in its courfe 
gives motion to feveral mills, for the pur- 
potes of fulling and frizing woollen goods, 
ra/ping and grinding dying woods, anaking 
gunpowder, and.for cutting and polifhing 
marble, which is procured near the town, 
and preferred, by many, for its great va- 
ricty of beautiful colours, to any other 
_ kind. 
The church, which is a fpacious Gathic 
pile, dedicated to St. George, has four 
aifles, and four rows of pillars. Near the 
charch is a free-fchool, with prefentations 
in Queen’s College, Oxford. The people 
called Quakers, the Methodifts, and the 
Prefbyterians, have each their re(pective 
meeting-houfes ; there is alfo a chapel be- 
longing to the Roman Cathelics. 
The cafile, which has braved the forms 
almoft fince the Conqueft, is fituated eaft 
of the town, on a beautiful eminence, 
which commards a highly picturefque 
view of thé adjacent country ; however, 
little now remains to fhew the caftle’s for- 
mer ftate, but thick mafly.walls. -On the 
other fide of the town, oppofite the caftle, 
fiands an artificial cone-fhaped mount, 
called Caftle Jaw-hill, on the fummit of 
which an obelifk was ereéted in 1788, in 
commemoration of the Revolution in 1688. 
Several charitable inftitutions have been 
eftablifhed at different periods, particu- 
~lariy Blue-coat Boys and Girls Schoals, 
» Sunday and Induftry Schools, anda Lying- 
* jn-Charity. The workhoufe is a commo- 
dious edifice, extremely well adapted for 
the purpole. There are five womens’ and 
fifteen mens* benefit-focieties. 
The town-prifon, when vifited by the 
philanthropic Howard, was merely two 
dungeons, under the chapel, but fince that 
time, there has been built a new houfe of 
eorrectioa, with cells under it: the fitua- 
tion is falubrious, and it is alfo well fup- 
plied with water. 
A mufeum has lately been opened. by 
William Tedbunter, for public infpeétion, 
which will afford entertainment to the cu- 
rious, and the mineralogift will examine 
it with pleafure. 
~ The manufaétures are chiefly a coarfe 
ftuff, called Kendal cottons, linfey-wool- 
fey, knit worfted fockings, a confiderable 
tannery, and hook making. 
Though great improvements have been 
made in moft manufafturés, they. have 
been very partially introduced here, which 
- is probably owing co the little encourage- 
ment given to artifts, who may occafion- 
ally pais through the town; they can fel- 
dem obtain employment, as none of the 
mercantile houfes have any buildings in 
Account of Kendal. 
f March 2, 
which empty looms are kept for their ac- 
commodation. 
. A book-club was eftablifhed in Kendal, 
by the fub{criptions of the principal inha- 
bitants, in 1761; but admiffion being 
made as weighty a matter as the decifion 
of a jury, the capricé of a fingle member 
will, and has, occafioned the rejeétion of 
feveral, who were in every refpec& worthy 
of being admitted. This fcheme may, 
perhaps, have fome advantages, though 
the much greater preponderance of the dif- 
advantages has been the efficient caufe of 
inftituting two other book-clubs. 
However, libraries fuch as thefe are not 
always acccflible to men who may be as 
defirous of availing themfelves of their’ 
ule, as thofe who have the means more in 
their power: another book-club has there- 
fore been eftablifhed, called the Economi- - 
cal Library, on entering which, each per- 
fon pays. fix-pence the firft month, and 
three-pence every fucceding one. The 
books are ordered by retation, fo that 
each meiabder has an opportunity of pro- 
curing what he is moft defirous of feeing, 
with this limitation, that if the price of 
the book exceed one guinea, the confent 
of another member is neceffary. All pe- 
riodical works are ordered by a majority 
of the whole members. The accounts are 
kept by a treafurer and librarian, and are 
examined at a general meeting, which is 
held yearly, to be in unifon with the ge- 
neral defien. ahs Sone 
A book-club, fimilar to the above, 
would, perhaps, be an eligible plan to 
eftablith in other places, and might be ren- 
dered refpectable by the patronage of ho- 
norary members, which hath, in fome de-: 
sree, been the cafe with this. 
That the principal inhabitants of Ken- 
dai, whilft immertfed in the concerns of bu- 
finefs, do not forget the fufferings of their 
lefs fortunate fellow-townfmen, the cha- 
ritable inftitutions will evince; -that a 
tafte for the pleafures of literature pre- 
vails, more or lefs, amoneft all claffes, 
may be adduced from the fupport given to 
the libraries; and that there are many who 
unite the man of bnfinefs and the accem- 
plithed gentleman in the fame perfon, the 
traveller will experience, at the fame time 
that he will generally meet with punc-’ 
tuality to agreement. 
Kendal, Feb: 2, 1801. James SMITH. 
N.B. Houfmamfays, that the Kent runs» 
on the. eait fide of the towa;-the fact, how-— 
ever, is, that 2 little above the town it in-— 
clines to the north, @md, when nearly paft tne 
town, runs rather to the fouth, though for 
at leaft five-fixths of the length of the town 
it runs due eaft. 
Ta 
ae ee ee ee “TS 
