Kendal historian Arthur R. Nicholls recounts the history of Bowling Fell.

Bowling Fell is a spur of Kendal Fell known as Castle Howe, named after the Norman castle that once dominated the township of Cherchebi Kentdale (Kirkland).

Castle Howe was constructed on a circular, artificial mound known as a motte and the flatter land below it was called the bailey.

William the Conqueror built forts to subdue his new kingdom in 1066. At the time of the castle's construction Kendal was on the very border of Strathclyde (Scotland).

The Normans brought with them prefabricated forts "shaped, framed and pierced to receive the pins brought with them, cut and ready in large barrels" and teams of carpenters with their tools ready to put up a simple means of defence. With local labour such a castle could be built in just two weeks.

On top of the mound was a wooden fence or palisade inside which were living quarters for soldiers. Buildings in the bailey below housed those who served the castle.

The castle was probably built by Ivo de Tailbois of the French House of Anjou, Kendal's first Baron, who came with Duke William about 1100 and he used it as his seat of baronial control although he actually lived in Lincoln.

The reason for naming the castle "Howe" is unclear, but old maps used the name Castle Law; Law being a Scots word for a hill and it was built on hilly ground.

The name "Bowling Fell" was first used in the 1767 Kendal Fell Trust Act but could have been used much earlier as bowls had been a popular pastime since the 13th century. A bowling green is seen on Jeffreys map of 1770. Bowling greens shown on subsequent maps indicate that there had been other bowling greens on the Fell.

The motte is the only part of Castle Howe to survive the centuries in a recognisable form and there are now 31 steps up to the top, divided by two landings. There had been 39 steps in 1938.

Prominent on the top of the mound is the obelisk bearing a reproduction of the original plaque with the words, "Sacred to Liberty". It celebrated "The Glorious Revolution" when the protestant William and Mary of Orange acceded to the throne of Britain in 1688, replacing James II who had sought ruthlessly to advance Catholicism.

"Liberty" stood for freedom from the power of the Pope, from injustice, including the abolition of tithes, electoral reform, the right for non-conformists like the Quakers to vote and, to the Whigs, opposition to the Tory Lowthers.

In 1788 the Whigs celebrated the revolution by setting up the obelisk, designed by Francis Webster and constructed by William Holme. It was known locally as Bill Holme's Bodkin.

The Tory Thomas Bateman of Tolson set up an obelisk in a field near Plumgarths roundabout on the Windermere road celebrating the defeat of Napoleon in 1814.

Unfortunately, he escaped from imprisonment in Elba and continued the war with Britain so the obelisk became a mere folly and is seldom noticed today.