Ravenstonedale is a village and large

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, on the watershed between the

River Lune The River Lune (archaically sometimes Loyne) is a river in length in Cumbria and Lancashire, England. Etymology Several elucidations for the origin of the name ''Lune'' exist. Firstly, it may be that the name is Brittonic languages, Brittonic ...

and River Eden. The village lies south west of Kirkby Stephen. The parish includes the village of

Newbiggin-on-Lune Newbiggin-on-Lune is a village in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Westmorland it is about south west of Kirkby Stephen, and lies on the main A685 road, A685 route from Brough, Cumbria, Brough to Tebay. Nearby ...

and several smaller settlements including

Bowderdale Bowderdale is a hamlet in Cumbria, England, southwest of Kirkby Stephen. It is also the name of a dale in the Howgill Fells, the valley of Bowderdale Beck which rises on the western slopes of Yarlside and flows north to join the River Lune ...

Brownber Brownber is a hamlet surrounding Brownber Hall near Newbiggin-on-Lune in Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, No ...

, Greenside, Stennerskeugh, Wath and

Weasdale Weasdale is a small hamlet in Cumbria, England, above sea-level on the northern flanks of the Howgill Fells. It is located approximately south-west of Kirkby Stephen Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, Englan ...

. Large areas of moorland lie within the parish, extending south west of the village to the northern side of the

Howgill Fells The Howgill Fells are uplands in Northern England between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, lying roughly within a triangle formed by the town of Sedbergh and the villages of Ravenstonedale and Tebay.

. The parish had a population of 570 in 2001, increasing to 594 at the 2011 Census. Historically also known as "Russendale", the parish is divided into four parts (known as 'angles'): Town, Newbiggin-on-Lune, Bowderdale and Fell End. The origin and etymology of the name are obscure. An alternative spelling may be Rausyngdale The parish was historically in the county of

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

. Since 2016 it has been within the

Yorkshire Dales National Park The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England which covers most of the Yorkshire Dales, the Howgill Fells, and the Orton Fells. The Nidderdale area of the Yorkshire Dales is not within the national park, and has instead ...

Village

The village is centred on a single main street, though there are many scattered dwellings on the periphery. Slightly to the south east of the village centre are the buildings of the former Ravenstonedale Endowed School. It closed in 2015. There are two inns in the village, and one about two miles outside at Fell End.

St Oswald's church

The parish church, dedicated to St Oswald, dates mainly from the rebuild in the 18th century. The tower dates from 1738, and the rest is of 1744. It has an interesting interior where rows of box pews face a central aisle in the collegiate style. There is a very good example of a three-decker pulpit. To the north of the church are the excavated remains of a Gilbertine priory built in the 12th century, which can still be viewed. There is an interpretation board

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

in the same name exists. This ward stretches north to

Great Strickland Great Strickland is a village and civil parish in the Eden Valley between the Cumbrian mountains in the west and the Pennines in the east. It is south east of Penrith, and is in the former county of Westmorland. At the 2011 Census Great St ...

and has a population taken at the 2011 Census of 976.

Transport links

The village is just off the A685 which runs from Junction 38 of the M6 at

Tebay Tebay is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, within the Historic counties of England, historic borders of Westmorland. It lies in the upper River Lune, Lune Valley, at the head of the Lune Gorge. The parish had a population of 728 ...

through

Kirkby Stephen Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, England. It lies on the A685 and is surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about from the nearest larger towns, Kendal and Penrith. The River Eden rises away in the pea ...

and connects with the A66 at Brough. The village was served by

Ravenstonedale railway station Ravenstonedale railway station was situated on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway (SD&LUR) between Tebay and Kirkby Stephen East. It served the villages of Ravenstonedale and Newbiggin-on-Lune. History The station was built by the SD ...

(located to the west of Newbiggin-on-Lune), but it closed to passengers in 1952, and to goods traffic in 1962. The nearest station is

Kirkby Stephen railway station Kirkby Stephen is a railway station in Cumbria, England, on the Settle and Carlisle Line, which runs between and via . The station is situated south-west of the market town of Kirkby Stephen, just within the civil parish of Wharton, and als ...

which is about 4 miles away by road, and is on the main Settle-Carlisle Line. Ravenstonedale is currently the northern terminus of the

Pennine Bridleway The Pennine Bridleway is a National Trail in Northern England. It runs roughly parallel with the Pennine Way but provides access for horse riders and cyclists as well as walkers. The trail is around long, extending from Derbyshire to Cumbri ...

Notable people

* Thomas Dixon, senior

Gallery

File: Ravenstonedale St Oswald's church.jpg, St Oswald's church File:Ravenstonedale_priory_interior_east.jpg, St Oswald's church interior east File:Ravenstonedale_priory_interior.jpg, St Oswald's church interior west File:Ravenstonedale_Methodist_Church,_Ravenstonedale_-_geograph.org.uk_-_224678.jpg, Low Chapel Methodist church File:Ravenstonedale_village_school_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1408146.jpg, Village Endowed School File:The_Black_Swan,_Ravenstonedale_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1408142.jpg, The Black Swan File:The_King%27s_Head,_Ravenstonedale_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1248139.jpg, The King's Head File:High_Chapel_URC,_Ravenstonedale_-_geograph.org.uk_-_224680.jpg, High Chapel, formerly the United Reformed Church, now the Community and Heritage Centre.

References

External links

Cumbria County History Trust: Ravenstonedale
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page) *

Ravenstonedale Priory Ravenstonedale Priory was a Gilbertine priory in Cumbria, England. It was founded in the reign of Henry II, when Torphin, son of Robert, son of Copsus, assigned the manor and advowson of Ravenstonedale to Watton Priory Watton Priory was a ...

Ravenstonedale community website

Ravenstonedale Priory & St Oswald's Church
{{authority control Villages in Cumbria Westmorland Civil parishes in Cumbria