Ainstable is a village and

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 ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

county of

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 ...

. Historically part of the traditional county of Cumberland, it is now in the unitary authority area of Westmorland and Furness. The parish stretches from the banks of the River Eden to the summits of the

North Pennines The North Pennines are the northernmost section of the Pennines, a range of hills which run north–south through northern England. They run along the border between County Durham and Northumberland in the east and Cumbria in the west, and are ...

where it borders

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

and includes the villages of

Croglin Croglin is the name of a village, former civil parish, beck (stream), and grange now in the parish of Ainstable, in the Westmorland and Furness district, Cumbria, England. Croglin is a quiet picturesque fellside village between the Pennines and ...

and Newbiggin as well as the hamlets of Dale, Walmersyke,

Ruckcroft Ruckcroft is a hamlet in the English county of Cumbria. It neighbours the larger settlements of Armathwaite and Ainstable. In the past Ruckcroft had a pub but this is now a private home. See also *Listed buildings in Ainstable Ainstable is ...

and Longdales and part of the village of

Armathwaite Armathwaite is a village in the English ceremonial county of Cumbria. Historically within the county of Cumberland, Armathwaite lies on the River Eden, forms part of the Westmorland and Furness district and is served by Armathwaite railway st ...

. Ainstable was the site of a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

convent (the manor of "Nunnery"). This is said to date from the reign of

William Rufus William II (; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third son of William the Co ...

. However, Pevsner says that "the earliest reference is 1200. The nuns were so harassed by the Scots that in 1480 they had to reinvent their own charter, spuriously dating their foundation to 1089 and William Rufus." After the closure of the monasteries, the convent building became a private home, held for many years by the Aglionby family, and is now a guesthouse. Eden Valley Woollen Mill is located in Ainstable itself. The former village pub, the New Crown Inn, has closed and been sold for redevelopment. In 2014 Eden District Council rejected a fiercely opposed plan to erect a wind turbine near to the village and the neighbouring village of Armathwaite.

Etymology

"This name, as first noted by Lindkvist (41-2), is a compound of ON 'einstapi', 'bracken' and 'hlíđ' 'slope'." ('ON' is

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

Notable people

Dr John Leake, who founded the

General Lying-In Hospital The General Lying-In Hospital was one of the first maternity hospitals in Great Britain. It opened in 1767 on Westminster Bridge Road, London and closed in 1971. Lying-in is an archaic term for childbirth (referring to the month-long bed rest ...

in London, was a native of Ainstable.

References

External links

*
Cumbria County History Trust: Ainstable
(nb: provisional research only - see Talk page) {{authority control Villages in Cumbria Civil parishes in Cumbria Westmorland and Furness