Hartley

Hartley is a village and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. It is about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) east of Kirkby Stephen. The area has many old lead and copper mines that are now abandoned as well as a large quantity of iron haematite, ironstone and ore. At the highest peak in Hartley stand nine obelisks referred to as "Nine Standards". Nobody knows the true purpose of the "Nine Standards" although some believe that they were used to create a sense of a forthcoming army to scare the enemy forces. However, it is more widely believed that they were placed as geographical aid to help outline the borders between the two neighbouring counties, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Hartley is also home to Hartley Castle. It was originally built as a "tower house circa 1353 and extended circa 1600" and then re- developed in the 18th century. The castle was built at the southern point of Hartley. In the 1870s, Hartley was described as: Hartley, a township in Kirkby-Stephen parish, Westmoreland; 1 mile SE of Kirkby-Stephen. Acres, 3, 350. Real property, with Winton, £4, 159. Pop., 215. Houses, 45. Hartley Castle stood on an eminence; belonged to successively the Veteriponts, the Hartleys, the Nevilles, and the Musgraves; and was demolished in the early part of the 18th century. The township is mountainous; includes Hartley fell; and contains coal, lead, and copper