Hawes Water (Silverdale)
lake in Silverdale, Lancashire, England, UK
Hawes Water, sometimes called Hawes Tarn, is a lake in north west Lancashire, England, in the parish of Silverdale, the Arnside and Silverdale AONB, and the Gait Barrows National Nature Reserve (NNR). It is one of only two natural fresh-water lakes in the county, along with Marton Mere. It is a marl lake and the focus of an eponymous Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and has been the subject of several research studies. Little Hawes Water is a smaller lake to the north east. To the south of the lake, and included in the SSSI, is the area of Haweswater Moss.
The footpath along the eastern side of Hawes Water is accessible for wheelchairs, and a car parking place is provided which can be accessed with a RADAR key.
Fiona Reynolds, writing in Country Life, described Hawes Water as "a mysterious, low-lying marl lake, where ... we are told of riches, bitterns and lady's slipper orchid, that can be seen when the time is right".
It has been recorded that a serpent was believed to live in the lake, emerging occasionally to devour local sheep.
In 2020 Natural England published a Summary guide to the management of Gait Barrows National Nature Reserve, Silverdale, Lancashire 2020–2025 and a Grazed Habitats Management Plan: Gait Barrows National Nature Reserve 2020-2025 describing their plans for Hawes Water and the rest of the Gait Barrows NNR.
References
Further reading
Wiik, Emma; Bennion, Helen; Sayer, Carl D.; Clarke, Stewart J. (1 October 2014).
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Hawes Water (Silverdale)” as lake in Silverdale, Lancashire, England, UK. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as lake in Silverdale, Lancashire, England, UK. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q105562167. Authority coordinates are 54.183, -2.802. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2020, 2025 and 2014.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hawes Water (Silverdale)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hawes Water (Silverdale) primary sources, Hawes Water (Silverdale) archive and Hawes research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hawes Water (Silverdale)”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Hawes Water (Silverdale)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.