Appleby developed as the market town of Westmorland after the Norman Conquest, having a strategic
position in the Eden valley. It is an attractive market town with a great deal of interest and charm. The remarkable Lady
Anne Clifford devoted much of her time to restoring the neglected estates, castles and churches in the area. Here work is
much in evidence at Appleby, - Appleby Castle was her home for a period of time. Both Lady Anne and her mother, Lady Margaret,
are buried in St Lawrence's Church and commemorated by splendid tombs. In her time there were many beggars, and her concern
for those old women in dire need led her to build the almshouses, now called the Hospital of St Anne, near the Castle entrance.
Appleby developed as the market town of Westmorland after the Norman Conquest, having a strategic position in the Eden valley.
It is an attractive market town with a great deal of interest and charm. The remarkable Lady Anne Clifford devoted much of
her time to restoring the neglected estates, castles and churches in the area. Here work is much in evidence at Appleby, -
Appleby Castle was her home for a period of time. Both Lady Anne and her mother, Lady Margaret, are buried in St Lawrence's
Church and commemorated by splendid tombs. In her time there were many beggars, and her concern for those old women in dire
need led her to build the almshouses, now called the Hospital of St Anne, near the Castle entrance. The High Cross outside
the Castle entrance Appleby's uncommonly wide main street, Boroughgate, has been described as one of the finest in England.
It runs from the north end, by the cloisters which were designed by Sir Robert Smirke in 1811, to the south end, by the Castle
entrance. At the north end is the Moot Hall, with a plaque above the door dated 1596, and now used as the Tourist Information
Centre. The beginning and end of Boroughgate is marked by the 'Low Cross' and the 'High Cross'. The High Cross bears the inscription
'Retain your loyalty, preserve your rights', and dates from the 17th Century. The Low Cross is an 18th Century copy. The avenue
of mature lime trees, planted in the 1870's is flanked by well-kept properties dating from the 17th to the 20th Centuries.
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