Sedbergh, pronounced Sedber or even, by the locals, Sebber, is a small town in Cumbria, England, lying about 7 miles (11.3 km) east of Kendal and about 10 miles (16.1 km) north of Kirkby Lonsdale. The town is just in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is found at the foot of the Howgill Fells on the north bank of the River Rawthey which joins the River Lune about 2 miles (3.2 km) below Sedbergh.
Historically a part of West Riding, Yorkshire, Sedbergh has a narrow high street lined with shops. From all angles you can see the hills rising beyond the houses. Until the coming of the railway in 1861, these were remote places that it was possible to reach only by trudging over some fairly steep hills. The railway to Sedbergh was eventually closed in 1965.
George Fox, a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, more commonly known as the Quakers, spoke in St. Andrew's Church, which he called a "steeple house" and on nearby Firbank Fell during his travels in the North of England in 1652. The Briggflatts Meeting House nearby was constructed in 1675 and is the namesake of Basil Bunting's lauded long poem, Briggflatts, 1966. Sedbergh School is a co-educational boarding school located in the town.
Sedbergh's parish church, St Andrew's, dates from the 12th century, although has been restored periodically since then. There is at least one house dating from the 14th century, and there are also the remains of a motte and bailey castle believed to date back to Saxon times.
Sedbergh's main industries for many years were Sedbergh School, founded 1525, farming and the production of various woollen garments.
Wool sheared from the extensive stocks of sheep was taken to local mills where it was turned into yarn from which people in their homes would knit clothing, including hats and socks. The garments were then sold by local merchants to, amongst other places, the coal miners in the north east of England. This trade has long since gone but is remembered at Farfield Mill, just outside the town, where there is an exhibition of weaving equipment, and workshops for a number of artists and crafts workers. There are still numerous sheep in the surrounding fields some of which are now raised primarily to protect the breed, notably the Rough Fell sheep.
Income now comes from a variety of sources: the schools are still the main employer in the town, but Sedbergh has recently become known as England's book town with six independent bookshops and many more dealers who operate from the Dales and Lakes Book Centre. It is also possible that the turnover of small to medium manufacturing and wholesale companies matches or exceeds that of the schools - a changing feature of the economy. Other major sources of income are farming, retail and, of course, tourism. It is envisaged that tourism will increase after the efforts of Sedbergh to find a twin town were featured in a BBC documentary, The Town That Wants A Twin, in January 2005 and subsequently the town was twinned with Zrece in north eastern Slovenia.
There is another school in Montebello, Quebec, Canada named Sedbergh School. One of its founders, Frank Duxbury, attended Sedbergh School, U.K. and was a 3 timer winner of the Wilson Run.
Sedbergh resident, Sam Rusling was filmed as a contestant on the TV quiz show, the Weakest Link in 2006 but the episode was never broadcast after he allegedly called the host, Anne Robinson, "dog breath", whilst she was reading a question.
