 |
|
Simon Ledingham flies from Mallerstang in south east Cumbria along the line of the Pennines, to Brampton in North Cumbria, passing many small villages most of which are little known to the visitor to Cumbria.
Outhgill
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 782015
 |
Outhgill is a small and scattered hamlet, lying in the beautiful Mallerstang Valley, below Mallerstang Edge in the Vale of Eden.
James Faraday, father of Michael Faraday (1791-1869), one of our greatest scientists, was for many years a blacksmith in Outhgill. Faraday Gill in Mallerstang, and Farday Road in Kirkby Stephen are named after Michael. Although Michael was not born in Outhgill, the family cottage is now known as Faraday Cottage.
St Mary's Church is a 17th Century church, partially restored by Lady Anne Clifford.
Nearby are the ruins of Pendragon Castle, a late Norman pele tower which was also restored by Lady Anne Clifford.
Kirkby Stephen
Map - Google
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 775088
Hartley
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 782088
 |
 |
Hartleys main claim to fame lies in the history of its castle site. Hartley Castle was built in the 13th century and was home to Sir Andrew de Harcala, a soldier serving Edward II. He later became Earl of Carlisle. Only a fragment of the medieval castle wall now remains in the farmyard.
The Stainmore Railway walk passes through Hartley along the route of the old railway line.
The village is a welcome break for walkers on the Coast to coast walk which crosses over Hartley Becks bridge. The path leads up to the Nine Standards, which are nine cairns high on the fell, reputed to have been constructed by the Roman army to look like troops from a distance.
The village is ½ miles east of Kirkby Stephen.
Wikipedia - Hartley Castle.
Winton
Winton is situated a mile north of Kirkby Stephen and is a pleasant village with preserved rural
character. In the centre is a three-storeyed manor house that was formerly a boys school run on similar
lines to that at Bowes. The pupils were treated like prisoners and were not allowed to return home until
the end of their education in case they told of life at the school!
Soulby
Soulby is small but spacious village on the banks of Scandal beck, a tributary of the River Eden.
On the wide village green adjacent to the beck is the village pump, erected in 1887 to commemorate Queen
Victoria's Golden Jubilee. The parish church of St Luke was
sponsored Sir Philip Musgrave, lord of the manor, in 1663.
Great Musgrave
Great Musgrave sits atop a hill near the river Eden and Swindale Beck. Its location provides views over
the vale of Eden and the nearby northern Pennines. Burke's Peerage states that Musgrave was named after a
war-like family that lived there for several years - the first being Peter Musgrave c. 1150
The stone church of St Theobald, on the edge of the village, dates from 1845-46.
Warcop
Warcop lies on the east side of the River Eden where two rivulets converge. The name of the area was, in
ancient times, Warthecoppe or Wardecop. A 'coppe' means the 'top of a hill'.
On St Peter's Day, June 29, Warcop, like nearby Great Musgrave, participates in an ancient
Rush Bearing ceremony. A procession of children bearing rushes leaves the
village reading room and makes its way to the church of St Columba, built on an
ancient Roman campsite.
Near the church is Warcop Hall - described here by A Wainwright in 'An Eden Sketchbook' -
'The facade displays three periods of architecture: the original Elizabethan manor house, a formal
Georgian extension and a fanciful Victorian Wing'.
Great Ormside
Great Ormside - 'Orm's hill or headland' - is named after Orm, a Viking governor of Appleby Castle.
Apparently, one of Great Orton's claims to fame is that it was one of the least important stations on the
Settle to Carlisle line, as it never generated much traffic. The village church of
St James is situated on a hill close to the
River Eden.
There is a large sycamore tree growing out of the centre of a flight of steps, which is throught to
replace a preaching cross. Nearby is the 10 arch Ormside Viaduct
carrying the Settle to Carlisle Railway across the River Eden.
Hilton
To the East of Appleby is Hilton, which until 1853 held all its church services
in private houses. Ordinary services could be held, but weddings and funerals had to take place in Appleby.
Murton
Further down the valley are the three settlements of Murton, Dufton
and Knock, with three distinctive conical hills nearby, each named after their village, and all with
superb view points. Between Murton Fell and Dufton Fell is is a classic U-shaped valley High Cup Nick.
The small community of Murton is a typical Pennine limestone village, at the foot of Murton Fell, approached
along narrow lanes. Murton Fell forms part of the Warcop Military Training Area.
St John's church is situated between the villages of Murton and Hilton,
Knock and Silverband Knock consists of many farms at the foot of the Pennines. The road past the Christian Centre eventually
reaches the top of Great Dun Fell and the NATS radar station.
Farmers use the road for access to the their sheep on the fellside slopes. It is possible to drive about
half way up before the road becomes privately owned and then continue on foot. The views across the Eden
Valley, towards the Lakes and towards the Solway Estuary can be magnificent on a clear day.
Long Marton
Long Marton village, once known as Merton, was owned by one family, the Veteriponts, in the 1200s.
Eventually it came into the hands of Henry VIII.
The red sandstone church of St Margaret & St James, south of the
village, dates from the 11th-12th centuries. It was restored in 1880, but much of Norman origin survived
including the nave and half of the chancel. Close by is the five-arched
viaduct crossing Trout beck along the
Settle-Carlisle railway line.
Between Long Marton and Blencarn is the fortified village of Milburn.
Culgaith
Culgaith is a modest sized village in the shadow of Cross Fell, with views east to the Northern Pennines,
and west to the fells of Lakeland.
All Saints church was founded at an early period, by a lord of the
manor, as a chapel-of-ease to Kirkland. The old building having become very dilapidated, was taken down in 1756,
and the present one erected on the site. It is a plain but neat cruciform structure.
The village developed with the coming of the Settle-Carlisle railway
in the 1870s. The third longest tunnel on the line (660 yards) was constructed through the hill on which the
village stands. At Culgaith is one of only two level crossings on the line.
Between Culgaith and Newbiggin, the Crowdundle viaduct crosses Crowdundle Beck.
Between Culgaith and Temple Sowerby is the National Trust property, garden and mill - Acorn Bank.
Blencarn Cross fell looms over Blencarn village, giving the place its name, which means ‘the summit crag’.
Fly fishing in 15-acre Blencarn lake is a favourite sport.
Kirkland
Kirkland is a small widespread village at the foot of Cross Fell. In the village is the church of
St Lawrence, an attractive and interesting church of some antiquity.
Just outside the village are the 'Hanging Walls of Mark Anthony', three low artificial cultivation terraces,
of no great interest, and without explanation of the name.
Skirwith
Skirwith is a most attractive village on both sides of Skirwith beck, and in the shadow of
Cross Fell.
The old manor house of Skirwith Hall was demolished in the 18th century, but Skirwith
Abbey, known as a 'modern mansion', still stands, built on land once held by the Knights Templar.
The church of St John is an
attractive church built in 1865 on the south side of the beck.
Ousby
Continuing north is Ousby, with its church of St Luke lying outside
the village, to the East. It is built of local stone and dates from the 12th or early 13th century.
Glassonby
Glassonby is a small village in lovely countryside alongside the Vale of Eden. Its name means "Glassan's Settlement".
The Church of St Michael and All Angels, Addingham, is situated about a mile south of
the village of Glassonbury. Although Addingham is an Anglo-Saxon settlement, there hasn't been a village here
since the 14th Century, when the River Eden changed its course and washed the village away.
On a hill just north of the village is a small stone circle which contains decorated stones, similar to
Long Meg at nearby Little Salkeld.
Renwick
Renwick is an attractive farming village at the foot of the high North Pennine summits.
Most of the properties in the village date from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The church of All Saints is built on the site of an earlier church,
probably founded by Celtic missionaries around AD600.
Croglin
Croglin is a small pleasant village where Croglin Water flows down from from Black Fell.
It is an ancient village, attacked by Scottish raiders in 1346, and has had a church
since Norman times. The present church of St John the Baptist
was rebuilt in 1878 on the site of the Norman church, and opposite is the old rectory
pele tower.
Newbiggin Cumrew is a small farming village concealed among winding lanes on the edge of the North Pennines,
and the ancient Royal Forest of Geltsdale. The church of St Mary
is rock faced, rebuilt in 1890, and stands on the site of an earlier church dating from 1291.
On nearby Cumrew Fell is a large prehistoric cairn, which was partially excavated in the 19th century,
and found to contain a number of cremation burials in urns.
Castle Carrock
The village of Castle Carrock is built on rising ground on the edge of the North Pennines,
and has fine views across the Eden Valley. This view may have influenced the early settlers,
because there is evidence of a Bronze Age burial site on Cardunneth Pike, north of the village.
The church of St Peter was rebuilt in 1828 on the
site of an earlier church. It is suggested that a large stone in a field near the village is all
that is left of a pele tower, with the stones probably used to build the church.
Talkin
Talkin Tarn Country Park lies nine miles east of Carlisle and two mile south of
Brampton on the B6413 Castle Carrock road. There is a 65 acre lake set amid 120 acres of farmland and woodland.
The tarn is an ideal place for active recreation or a quiet stroll through the mature woodlands.
Hayton
Hayton, whose name means 'hay farm', is a quiet and delightful village now mainly a commuter village for those working in Carlisle.
In former times it was a thriving farming community, centred on its church.
St Mary Magdalene's church, 1780, has several stained
glass windows. There is a raised family pew for the Graham family of nearby Edmond Castle. The castle was
designed by Sir Robert Smirke.
To the east in Gelt Woods - with its inscription carved by a Roman soldier in the 3rd Century.
A little north is the town of Brampton.
Aerial photos by Simon Ledingham.
See also :
Page created 24 Feb 2006. Last changed 26 Sep 2006.
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 784104
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 748111
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 767133
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 743157
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 701174
St James Church is on the right, by the River Eden, with the Railway Viaduct above.
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 734208
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 728216
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 667246
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 611297
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 646326
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 618326
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 620350
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 576390
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 597437
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 574473
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 543555
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 549574
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 508577
Map - Google
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 528610
Cumbria Main Menu
East Cumbria Menu
North Cumbria Menu