An old house can be admired for the uniqueness of its design. What makes it important, however is the history behind the façade, the people that have lived there, how and why it was built. Take Cornish House in Upper Lonsdale for example. Half timbered roughcast stucco walls sit beneath a gabled roof. One enters a hallway decorated in wainscotting and timbered ceilings, perhaps unknowing of the family whose name describes the property.