The History Of The Ship
According to the datestone over the door, The Ship Inn was built in 1691. It was, primarily, a farm, with several acres of surrounding fields. Over the years it was also listed as an alehouse, an inn and a hotel. Its name dates from the days when the estuary was deeper and ships could anchor in it to collect the slate from Burlington Quarry above the village.
The first census record of it is in 1841 when it was recorded as a farm on Askewgate, occupied by the Shephards, (father James aged 70 & son John aged 40), and four labourers/servants. At this time there was no mention of it being an inn.

In 1851 James and John were still occupying the farm but had aged 14 years (!), still had two of the previous workers and a third different one. James was listed as an innkeeper and farmer of 38 acres at 136 Askewgate.
By 1861 a Richard Shephard had taken over the property which was now listed just as the Ship Inn on Sandside. He was born in Kirkby and so may have been from the same family. He had a wife, 5 sons, 1 daughter (Agnes Kendall), a son-in-law (John Kendall) and a kitchen servant living with him. It would have been very cosy given the size of the original building.
By 1871 Richard Shephard was listed as retired and the Kendalls had taken over the inn. They lived with their 4 very young children, father, brother-in-law and 1 servant. There is no mention of agricultural labourers by this time, so it is possible that the selling off of the land had started.
The 1881 census records the Kendalls still in charge but only of 30 acres. 8 acres have disappeared, presumably some of this being the land sold off for the building of a row of houses called The Villas, which overlook the pub from the hillside. Living with the Kendalls are 5 children, 2 servants and a boarder.

During these years the tenants were not always the owners. In 1872 it was owned by a Hannah Benson of Chester, and in 1886, by Henry Martindale, County Treasurer of Netherall. In 1896 the ownership passed to Matthew Hartley of Kirkby.
No further census records are available at present, but a legal dispute occurred in 1904 when the owner, Matthew Hartley, was demanding £20 back rent and the vacating of the premises from George Casson the licensee. The property is listed as The Ship Hotel and 18 acres or thereabouts of land, so it would seem that another 12 acres had been sold off. Matthew Hartley sold the property in 1907 to J. H. Brockbank of The Croft Brewery, Kirksanton, who kept it until 1952.

Present Day
Tony and Judith purchased the property in January 2003 from Robinson’s Brewery. At this time all that was left of the land was the small, steep field behind and above the pub. The pub itself had been closed for a few months and was in need of complete renovation inside and out. The aim was to restore the pub by removing the 1970s fireplace, false ceilings and decor. This was started immediately, and the pub reopened on Easter weekend 2003 as a non-smoking Lakeland village inn. Over the ensuing months the development of the site continued, with the addition of an extension to provide adequate living, food preparation and public areas, and the building of the 16-bed hostel. The most recent developments are the improvement of the hostel's cooking, dining and lounge facilites. All that now remains to be done is the final tidying up of the gardens and field.