Recordings of Dialect

To hear the voices of many characters speaking dialect, search for "Lakeland Dialect Society" on YouTube.

There are Lakeland Dialect Society church services available to see as well as our performances of both John Peel's Awake and The Shepherd's Feast, a 1930s radio play written by Harry Lamb of Caldbeck, Cumbria, and recorded again in April 2014 at Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzmImiPDncs&t=11s (John Peel's Awake)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HNX1qBTbRQ (Rydal Hall, 2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vV4TuNqH3Q (The Shepherd's Feast, 2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W_P3RfFv0Y (Dialect Service at Lanercost, 1989)

Shorter items include:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2uFutYUlZM&t=81s (BBC News)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqpBwi594Ug&t=1s (Ted Relph on speaking dialect)

and 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9go8PDKtRAA (Jean Scott-Smith reciting a poem in dialect)

Grasmere Dialect Plays

These three short podcasts showcase the Grasmere Dialect Playswritten and produced by Eleanor Rawnsley (neé Simpson), almost annually for nearly 40 years. Rawnsley’s aims were to celebrate local (Westmorland) dialect and customs, and to foster a sense of community among the Grasmere villagers.

The podcasts, created by Sue Wilkinson, feature dialect readings from LDS President, Jean Scott-Smith and long-term member, John Campbell. (Phillip Gate and Linda Scott also have small parts.) They were recorded at the University of Cumbria in November 2024.

1. ‘Pace-egging’ in the Grasmere Dialect Plays (6 mins)

2. Three marriage proposals from the Grasmere Dialect Plays (13 mins)

3. ‘The Mistress of Mosshead’: An extract from one of the Grasmere Dialect Plays (18mins)

Click on the scripts below to open the Youtube Channel!

CDs / Physical Media

The Society has also compiled CDs, including:

T' Crack Was Good, and Lakeland Gems (currently sold out but hope to have fresh stock soon).

To check availability, prices and current postage rates etc, contact secretary Phillip Gate at pg-cumbria@gmx.com or through the form on our front page.