Papcastle 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 district of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

in the English 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 ...

. The village is now effectively a northern extension of

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. The name refers to the town's position by the confluence of the River Cocker into the River Derwent. At the 2021 census, the built u ...

, which lies to the south of the River Derwent. It has its own parish council and lies within Bridekirk Parish for Church of England purposes. In 2001 it had a population of 406, reducing to 385 at the 2011 Census. The name of Papcastle is said to be a compound formed from

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 ...

and

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''papi''+''cæster'', meaning 'the Roman fort inhabited by a hermit'.

Remains of Roman Derventio

It has been known for some time that there was a Roman presence at Papcastle. It was the site of a

Roman fort ''Castra'' () is a Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified military base.. Included is a discuss ...

called ''Derventio'', which was originally built in timber and rebuilt in stone. There was also a civilian settlement (''

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...

''). The remains of the forts and part of the vicus were designated an

ancient monument An ancient monument can refer to any early or historical manmade structure or architecture. Certain ancient monuments are of cultural importance for nations and become symbols of international recognition, including the Baalbek, ruins of Baalbek ...

in 1992. More parts of the ''vicus'' were excavated from Sibby Brows field and the house of the Buckinghams in the village itself, during an episode of British archaeological TV programme ''

Time Team ''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4, Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned in 2022 on online platforms YouTube and Patreon. Created by television produce ...

'' in 1999. The major flood of 2009 led to the discovery of Roman remains on the south side of the River, including well-preserved foundations of a watermill. This led to a three-year archaeological programme on both sides of the river, finding several bathhouse phases, mansio, and eventually the remains of the bridge. A short account of these discoveries over 4 years is available from Grampus Heritage and Training, Threapland, Bothel, Cumbria. The full text, as well as that of "Papcastle History" is available on the village website (http://www.papcastle.org.uk.)

Village hall

Papcastle Village Hall was built as a reading room for men only in 1895, donated by local resident, Honora Wybergh, who lived at ''The Mount'', a large house demolished in the 1960s to make way for the modern Mount housing estate. Originally run by trustees, a new management scheme set up in 1940 by the Charity Commission is still in force. The hall is run by the Council of Management (Trustees). The hall has gone through several phases of popularity and decline. In 2006 it underwent major refurbishment with the help of major grants from a number of local organisations.

Bus Services

Stagecoach Cumbira operates a bus service, numbered the 600, which connects Papcastle with

Wigton Wigton is a market town in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It lies just outside the Lake District. Wigton is at the centre of the Solway Plain, between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast. It is served by Wigton railway st ...

and

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

. The services operates between Monday and Saturday and stops just outside the village, on the A5086. There is also a number of buses from

town centre, including routes to Keswick and Penrith. See separate article.

References

External links

Cumbria County History Trust: Papcastle
(nb: provisional research only - see Talk page)
The Papcastle village website - Roman historyDetails of Roman forts at Papcastle
* {{authority control Villages in Cumbria Cumberland (unitary authority) Civil parishes in Cumbria Roman sites in Cumbria

Remains of Roman Derventio

Village hall

Bus Services

See also

References

External links