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Kirkby Lonsdale is a small and relatively unspoilt market town situated on the River Lune in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, close to the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the Forest of Bowland.

Kirkby Lonsdale developed at a crossing over the River Lune, where drovers' and pack-horse routes converged; it is one of few Cumbrian towns mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book, where it is called Cherchibi (village with a church).

In 1227, the town gained a market charter and the right to hold an annual fair. Stallholders gathered in Market Street each week to sell their wares, as did horse traders in the Horsemarket and pig sellers in Swinemarket. This led to Kirkby Lonsdale becoming a bustling town, with 29 inns and alehouses, of which eight remain today. By the early 19th century, the old market area was becoming too congested and a new marketplace was built in 1822.