Mealsgate is a village in

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, historically within Cumberland.

Location

Mealsgate is situated on the old

Roman Road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman R ...

between

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

and the Roman fort of

Derventio Derventio is a Britto-Roman name, but of Celtic origin (''dervo-'' "oak-tree"), and refers to one of the following Roman sites in Roman Britain : * Derventio (Papcastle), the Roman fort and settlement at Papcastle near Cockermouth, Cumbria * Derven ...

Papcastle Papcastle is a village and civil parish in the borough of Allerdale in the English county of Cumbria. The village is now effectively a northern extension of Cockermouth, which lies to the south of the River Derwent. It has its own parish counci ...

. This road is now known as the

A595 The A595 is a primary route in Cumbria, in Northern England that starts in Carlisle, passes through Whitehaven and goes close to Workington, Cockermouth and Wigton. It passes Sellafield and Ravenglass before ending at the Dalton-in-Fur ...

. Mealsgate is situated from the market town of

Wigton Wigton is a market town in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies just outside the Lake District in the borough of Allerdale. Wigton is at the centre of the Solway Plain, between the Caldbeck Fells a ...

, from the border city of Carlisle, from Keswick and from the town of

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England, so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cocke ...

. Mealsgate is situated on edge of the Lake District

National Park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

Railway Connection

Mealsgate was a stop on the Bolton Loop of the

Maryport and Carlisle Railway The Maryport & Carlisle Railway (M&CR) was an English railway company formed in 1836 which built and operated a small but eventually highly profitable railway to connect Maryport and Carlisle in Cumbria, England. There were many small collieries ...

and served the

pit Pit or PIT may refer to: Structure * Ball pit, a recreation structure * Casino pit, the part of a casino which holds gaming tables * Trapping pit, pits used for hunting * Pit (motor racing), an area of a racetrack where pit stops are conducted * ...

Fletchertown Fletchertown is a small village in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. It was historically within Cumberland. The village was originally built to house workers in a nearby coal mine, since abandoned. The site of the mine and its spoil h ...

like other stops on the loop.

Governance

The village is in the

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

Mark Jenkinson Mark Ian Jenkinson (born 28 January 1982) is a British Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Workington since 2019. Early life and career Jenkinson was born in Whitehaven and raised in Workington. He was e ...

is the

Member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

. For

Local Government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-lo ...

purposes it is in the ''Boltons Ward'' of

Allerdale Borough Council Allerdale is a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with borough status. Its council is based in Workington and the borough has a population of 93,492 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 96,422 at the 2011 Census. The B ...

. The village straddles the ''Aspatria Ward'' and ''Thursby Ward'' of

Cumbria County Council Cumbria County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in the North West of England. Established in April 1974, following its first elections held the previous year, it is an elected local government body respon ...

. Mealsgate does not have its own parish council, instead it is part of Allhallows Parish Council. The Parish of Allhallows incorporates the three villages of Baggrow, Fletchertown and Watch Hill, together with the area of Mealsgate known as Pine Grove.

Landmarks

Around to the south-west is Whitehall, a medieval tower house, restored by

Anthony Salvin Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations. He restored castles and country ho ...

in the 19th century.

References

External links