HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Outhgill is a hamlet in Mallerstang,
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...
, England. It lies about south of Kirkby Stephen. It is the main hamlet in the dale of Mallerstang (a
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
) which retains the Norse pattern of its original settlement: a series of small hamlets and isolated houses, with no village centre. In the 19th century, as the main hamlet at the centre of the dale, Outhgill had an inn, a post office, a smithy, the parish church and a Methodist chapel. Of these, only the church survives. St Mary's Church was founded by Lady Ideonea de
Veteripont Vipont (''alias'' Vieuxpont) is the name of a prominent family in the history of Westmorland. According to Thomas the name originated in France before 1066 as Vieuxpont ("Old Bridge"), Latinized to ''de Vetere Ponte'' ("from the Old Bridge"), ...
in the 14th century (possibly 1311) but was restored, in fact more or less rebuilt, in 1663 by
Lady Anne Clifford Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, '' suo jure'' 14th Baroness de Clifford (30 January 1590 – 22 March 1676) was an English peeress. In 1605 she inherited her father's ancient barony by writ and became '' suo jure ...
, as the plaque above the door relates. The simple, dignified interior contains an 18th-century font, a faded coat of arms of Lady Anne from the year she restored the church, a set of shelves that used to hold the loaves of bread distributed weekly under Middleton's Charity, and kneelers embroidered by ladies of the dale. The stained glass windows all date from Victorian times or later. In the churchyard there are the unmarked graves of 25 of the builders of the Mallerstang section of the Settle-Carlisle Railway, and members of their families, who died during the construction of the line. A monument to them, marking the area where they are buried, was dedicated in 1997. Almost opposite the church is the former
Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...
Chapel, built in 1878. There are about a dozen houses, including one where the father of the great scientist
Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...
was the blacksmith in the late 18th century (moving to London in the year Michael was born). The old
pinfold An animal pound is a place where stray livestock were impounded. Animals were kept in a dedicated enclosure, until claimed by their owners, or sold to cover the costs of impounding. Etymology The terms "pinfold" and "pound" are Saxon in origi ...
contains a sculpture by
Andy Goldsworthy Andy Goldsworthy (born 26 July 1956) is an English sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist who produces site-specific sculptures and land art situated in natural and urban settings. Early life Goldsworthy was born in Cheshire on 26 Ju ...
. There is a replica of the "Jew Stone" on the village green. The original monument was set up by the rather eccentric William Mounsey in 1850 on Black Fell Moss below Hugh Seat, to mark the source of the River Eden. It got its name from the inscriptions in Greek and Hebrew. Pendragon Castle, reputedly founded by
King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as ...
's father,
Uther Pendragon Uther Pendragon ( Brittonic) (; cy, Ythyr Ben Dragwn, Uthyr Pendragon, Uthyr Bendragon), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons in sub-Roman Britain (c. 6th century). Uther was also the father of King Arthur. A few ...
, is a mile or so to the north at . A smaller hamlet, Shoregill, is half a mile to the southwest at .


See also

* Listed buildings in Mallerstang


References

*Hamilton, John ''Mallerstang Dale'', Broadcast Books, 1993 (reprinted 1999)


External links

{{Commons category
Mallerstang Dale webpageSheepfolds & Pinfolds - Cumbrian sculpture project by Andy Goldsworthy
Hamlets in Cumbria Eden District Mallerstang