Dunmail Raise

Last updated

1950's map of Dunmail Raise from Ordnance Survey sheets NY 30 and 31 (scale 1:25,000) Dunmail Raise OS Sheet NY 30 31 Composite.jpg
1950's map of Dunmail Raise from Ordnance Survey sheets NY 30 and 31 (scale 1:25,000)

Dunmail Raise is the name of a large cairn in the English Lake District, which may have been an old boundary marker. It has given its name to the mountain pass of Dunmail Raise, on which it stands. This mountain pass forms part of the only low-level route through the mountains between the northern and southern sides of the Lake District. According to local tradition, the cairn marked the burial of a king named Dunmail who was slain by Saxons. The place name itself may well be derived from the name of the historical Dyfnwal ab Owain, King of Strathclyde.

Contents

Dunmail Raise (mountain pass)

A horse-drawn coach passes northwards over Dunmail Raise in the late 19th or early 20th century Dunmailraise.jpg
A horse-drawn coach passes northwards over Dunmail Raise in the late 19th or early 20th century

The pass of Dunmail Raise connects the Vale of Grasmere to the Thirlmere valley. It forms part of the main east-west watershed of the Lake District: all streams to the north eventually drain into the Solway Firth or the adjacent coast, while those to the south drain into Morecambe Bay. To the east of the pass are the mountains of Helvellyn and Seat Sandal, and to the west lies Steel Fell, part of the High Raise massif.

The pass rises to a height of only 238 metres (781 feet), [1] so the two valleys it connects provide a low-level route of communication, in fact, the only low-level route, between the northern and southern parts of the Lake District. Today the A591 road between Kendal and Keswick takes this route, and the section over Dunmail Raise is a short length of dual-carriageway. There remains a rare example of an AA phone box in a layby to the south of the pass.

Dunmail Raise (the cairn)

The cairn of Dunmail Raise, beside the A591 road Cairn of Dunmail Raise.JPG
The cairn of Dunmail Raise, beside the A591 road

Dunmail Raise is also the name of a large cairn which stands on the top of the pass, on the central reservation between the two carriageways of the road. The cairn appears to be ancient although it has been disturbed by road-building. "Raise" is an old name for a cairn, a construction which has been "raised up" by depositing stones.

The cairn itself lies between the dual carriageways of the A591 road. [2] It seems to have marked an old boundary between Westmorland and Cumberland, and might have also marked the southern territorial extent of the medieval Kingdom of Strathclyde. [3] According to local folklore, the cairn was raised over the body of a Cumbrian king named Dunmail who was slain by Saxons. [4] The place name itself may well refer to the historical Dyfnwal ab Owain, King of Strathclyde (died 975), and seems to mean "Dyfnwal's Cairn". [5]

The Thirlmere Aqueduct

The Thirlmere Aqueduct, which conducts water from Thirlmere Reservoir to Manchester, passes through a tunnel beneath Dunmail Raise. A water treatment plant, owned and operated by United Utilities, is situated at the southern end of the tunnel, beside the A591. Here the water is filtered by passing it through screens and microstrainers, its pH is adjusted with sodium hydroxide and it is treated with chlorine.[ citation needed ]

See also

Citations

  1. Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map
  2. Pugmire (2004) pp. 112, 115 fig. 2; Winchester (2000) pp. 33–34.
  3. Winchester (2000) pp. 33–34.
  4. Clarkson (2014) ch. 6.
  5. Cannon (2015); Clarkson (2014) ch. 6; Clarkson (2010) ch. 10; Hicks (2003) pp. 42, 216; Winchester (2000) pp. 33–34.

Related Research Articles

Kingdom of Strathclyde Brittonic kingdom in early medieval Britain

Strathclyde, was a Brittonic successor state of the Roman Empire and one of the early medieval kingdoms of the Britons, located in the region the Welsh tribes referred to as Yr Hen Ogledd, which comprised the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England. The kingdom developed during Britain's post-Roman period. It is also known as Alt Clut, a Brittonic term for Dumbarton Castle, the medieval capital of the region. It may have had its origins with the Brythonic Damnonii people of Ptolemy's Geography.

High Rigg is a small fell located in the English Lake District, approximately three miles southeast of the town of Keswick. It occupies an unusual position, surrounded on all sides by higher fells but not connected by any obvious ridge. This separation from its fellows ensures that it is a Marilyn.

Dyfnwal was King of Strathclyde. Although his parentage is unknown, he was probably a member of the Cumbrian dynasty that is recorded to have ruled the Kingdom of Strathclyde immediately before him. Dyfnwal is attested by only one source, a mediaeval chronicle that places his death between the years 908 and 915.

Owain ap Dyfnwal was an early tenth-century King of Strathclyde. He was probably a son of Dyfnwal, King of Strathclyde, who may have been related to previous rulers of the Kingdom of Strathclyde. Originally centred in the valley of the River Clyde, this realm appears to have undergone considerable southward expansion in the ninth or tenth century, after which it increasingly came to be known as the Kingdom of Cumbria.

Dyfnwal ab Owain was a tenth-century King of Strathclyde. He was a son of Owain ap Dyfnwal, King of Strathclyde, and seems to have been a member of the royal dynasty of Strathclyde. At some point in the ninth- or tenth century, the Kingdom of Strathclyde expanded substantially southwards. As a result of this extension far beyond the valley of the River Clyde, the realm became known as the Kingdom of Cumbria. By 927, the kingdom seems to have reached as far south as the River Eamont.

Rhydderch ap Dyfnwal

Rhydderch ap Dyfnwal was an eminent tenth-century Cumbrian who slew Cuilén mac Illuilb, King of Alba in 971. Rhydderch was possibly a son of Dyfnwal ab Owain, King of Strathclyde, and could have ruled as King of Strathclyde. Rhydderch appears on record in about 971, when he is said to have killed Cuilén mac Illuilb, King of Alba, a man said to have abducted and raped Rhydderch's daughter. Following Cuilén's death, the Cumbrian Kingdom of Strathclyde endured an invasion by Cuilén's successor, Cináed mac Maíl Choluim, King of Alba. This Scottish attack could have been a retaliatory raid for Rhydderch's actions, and may have been undertaken in the context of restoring Scottish authority over the Cumbrian realm. If Rhydderch ever ruled as king it must have been before 973, when Dyfnwal's son, Máel Coluim, is accorded the title king.

Máel Coluim was a tenth-century King of Strathclyde. He was a younger son of Dyfnwal ab Owain, King of Strathclyde, and thus a member of the Cumbrian dynasty that had ruled the kingdom for generations. Máel Coluim's Gaelic name could indicate that he was born during either an era of amiable relations with the Scots, or else during a period of Scottish overlordship. In 945, the Edmund I, King of the English invaded the kingdom, and appears to have granted the Scots permission to dominate the Cumbrians. The English king is further reported to have blinded several of Máel Coluim's brothers in an act that could have been an attempt to deprive Dyfnwal of an heir.

Owain Foel King of Strathclyde

Owain Foel, also known as Owain Moel, Owain the Bald, Owen the Bald, and Eugenius Calvus, was an eleventh-century King of Strathclyde. He may have been a son of Máel Coluim, son of Dyfnwal ab Owain, two other rulers of the Kingdom of Strathclyde. Owain Foel is recorded to have supported the Scots at the Battle of Carham in 1018. Although it is possible that he died in the conflict, no source states as much, and it is uncertain when he died. Owain Foel may be an ancestor—perhaps the father—of a certain Máel Coluim who is described as the "son of the king of the Cumbrians" in the 1050s.

Dunmail

Dunmail is a legendary king of Cumberland associated with Dunmail Raise. According to tradition, Dunmail was the last king of Cumberland, and buried beneath the cairn at Dunmail Raise after having been slain by the English. Dunmail Raise, meaning "Dyfnwal's Cairn", may well be named after the historical Dyfnwal ab Owain, King of Strathclyde.

Amlaíb mac Illuilb was a tenth-century King of Alba. He was one of three sons of Illulb mac Custantín, King of Alba, and a member of Clann Áeda meic Cináeda, a branch of the Alpínid dynasty. Amlaíb's paternal grandfather possessed strong connections with the Scandinavian dynasty of Dublin, and there is evidence to suggest that Illulb and Amlaíb bore names of Old Norse origin. If Amlaíb's name indeed represents a Gaelicised Scandinavian name, it could indicate that his mother was a member of the Uí Ímair, and possibly a granddaughter of Amlaíb Cúarán or Amlaíb mac Gofraid.

A591 road Road in Cumbria

The A591 is a major road in Cumbria, in the north-west of England, which lies almost entirely within the Lake District national park. A 2009 poll by satellite navigation firm Garmin named the stretch of the road between Windermere and Keswick as the most popular road in Britain. The 29.8 mile stretch between Kendal and Keswick was also named the UK's best driving road, according to a specially devised driving ratio formulated by car rental firm Avis.

Steel Fell

Steel Fell is a fell in the English Lake District, lying between Thirlmere and Grasmere. It is triangular in plan, the ridges running north, west and south east. Steel Fell rises to the west of the Dunmail Pass road and can be climbed from the summit, or from Grasmere and Wythburn.

The Central Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Reaching their highest point at High Raise, they occupy a broad area to the east of Borrowdale. The Central Fells are generally lower than the surrounding hills, the Lake District's dome-like structure having a slight dip in the middle. The range extends from the boggy ridge between Derwentwater and Thirlmere in the north, to the rock peaks of the Langdale Pikes in the south.

The Keswick to Barrow Walk, also known as the K2B, is a 40 mile charity walking and running event which takes place annually in May in Cumbria, England, between Keswick and Barrow-in-Furness. The walk passes through much of the Lake District. It allows participants to run or walk as they choose. Most choose to walk, while the running contingent compete for the fastest runner trophy.

Siege of Dumbarton 870 siege of Dumbarton by Vikings

The Siege of Dumbarton was a successful four-month siege of the Brittonic fortress at Dumbarton Rock in 870, initiated by the Viking leaders Amlaíb, King of Dublin, and Ímar. Dumbarton was capital of the Kingdom of Alt Clut, the only surviving Brittonic kingdom outside of Wales. It represented a valuable target for the Viking invaders, who were likely motivated by strategic considerations, as well as loot. The attackers may have wished to remove Alt Clut as a maritime power, and the location and defensiveness of Dumbarton itself was of major value.

Gebeachan Tenth-century King of the Isles

Gebeachan, also known as Gébennach, and Gebechán, was a tenth-century King of the Isles. He seems to have been a subordinate to Amlaíb mac Gofraid, King of Dublin, and is recorded to have fought and died at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937.

Owain ap Dyfnwal (died 1015) King of Strathclyde

Owain ap Dyfnwal may have been an eleventh-century ruler of the Kingdom of Strathclyde. He seems to have been a son of Dyfnwal ab Owain, King of Strathclyde, and may well have succeeded Dyfnwal's son, Máel Coluim, King of Strathclyde. During Owain's reign, he would have faced a massive invasion by Æthelræd II, King of the English. Owain's death is recorded in 1015, and seems to have been succeeded by Owain Foel, a man who may have been his nephew.

Domnall mac Áeda, also known as Domnall Dabaill, was a King of Ailech. He was a son of Áed Findliath mac Niall, High King of Ireland. Domnall was a half-brother of Niall Glúndub mac Áeda, a man with whom he shared the kingship of Ailech. From Domnall would descend the Mac Lochlainn dynasty.

Máel Coluim (son of the king of the Cumbrians) Possible King of Strathclyde or King of Alba

Máel Coluim was an eleventh-century magnate who seems to have been established as either King of Alba or King of Strathclyde. In 1055, Siward, Earl of Northumbria defeated Mac Bethad mac Findlaích, the reigning ruler of the Kingdom of Alba. As a result of this military success against the Scots, several sources assert that Siward established Máel Coluim as king. It is uncertain whether this concerned the kingship of Alba or the kingship of Strathclyde.

References

Coordinates: 54°29′46″N3°02′25″W / 54.496°N 3.0404°W / 54.496; -3.0404