Threlkeld 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 north of the
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
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, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
, England, to the east of
Keswick. It lies at the southern foot of
Blencathra
Blencathra, also known as Saddleback, is one of the most northerly of the Cumbrian Mountains, in the English Lake District. It has six separate fell tops, of which the highest is the Hallsfell Top at .
Name
For many years, Ordnance Surv ...
, one of the more prominent
fell
A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or Moorland, moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of M ...
s in the northern Lake District, and to the north of the
River Glenderamackin. The parish had a population of 454 in the 2001 census, decreasing to 423 at the Census 2011.
Part of the parish lies within the
Skiddaw Group SSSI
Skiddaw Group SSSI is a site of special scientific interest in the Lake District High Fells, England. Its shape is approximately a rough circle centred near Great Calva, with an area of . The high ground creates a drainage divide, watershed betwe ...
(
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
).
Overview
The name is of Norse origin and is a combination of , meaning slave or serf, and , meaning a spring or well. There was extensive Norse settlement in the area during the era of Viking expansion (790s–1066). Thraell was probably a reference to native Cumbrians subjugated by the incoming Norse.
Historically a part 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 ...
, Threlkeld formerly had its own railway station on the
Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway
The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway (CK&PR) was an English railway company incorporated by act of Parliament (UK), act of Parliament on 1 August 1861, to build a line connecting the town of Cockermouth with the London and North Western ...
, on the opposite side of the valley, next to the (closed) Threlkeld Quarry, at the foot of
Clough Head. Today the railway line is a footpath and cycle track. Three rows of terraced houses, which used to accommodate the quarry workers, stand near the station. The
Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum is open nearby and operates the
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
Threlkeld Quarry Railway for tourists to enjoy.
Two pubs are located opposite each other in the village: The Salutation and the Horse and Farrier. There is also a Coffee Shop, a vibrant Village Hall, and a small church, St Mary's, in the village.
From 1904 to 1958 High Row, Threlkeld was the site of the Blencathra Isolation Hospital, one of the first Sanatoria in England. The hospital was eventually closed due to the fall in tuberculosis cases. From 1958 to 1972 it served as a long term stay home for the elderly.
Cumbria Archives Blencathra Isolation Hospital
/ref>
See also
* Listed buildings in Threlkeld
* Threlkeld railway station
References
External links
Cumbria County History Trust: Threlkeld
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
Threlkeld village website
- Threlkeld Web is run for the Parish Council and runs alongside the "Beneath Blencathra" newsletter.
Threlkeld Village Hall website
- Village Hall and Coffee Shop website
- history and pictures from the Threlkeld CE Primary School website
Saddleback Slate
- Threlkeld Quarry slate manufacturing company
Threlkeld Quarry & Mining Museum - official websiteCumbria Archives
Villages in Cumbria
Civil parishes in Cumbria
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
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