Kirkby Thore | |
---|---|
Kirkby Thore from the A66 | |
Population | 758 (2011) [1] |
OS grid reference | NY639257 |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | PENRITH |
Postcode district | CA10 |
Dialling code | 017683 |
Police | Cumbria |
Fire | Cumbria |
Ambulance | North West |
UK Parliament | |
Kirkby Thore is a small village and civil parish in Cumbria, England (grid reference NY639257 ), in the historic county of Westmorland. It is close to the Lake District national park and the Cumbrian Pennines. It includes the areas of Bridge End, in the southwest by the A66, and Cross End in the northeast of the village. In the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 731, [2] increasing to 758 in the 2011 Census. [1] The market town of Appleby-in-Westmorland is about five miles (eight kilometres) away, and the larger town of Penrith is about eight miles (thirteen kilometres) away.
The place-name 'Kirkby Thore' is first attested in 1179 in the 'Register of Holm Cultram', where it appears as Kirkebythore. Kirkby means 'church village' or 'village with a church', whilst Thore is an Old Norse personal name related to the god Thor. [3]
The village is on the site of a Roman cavalry camp called Bravoniacum [4] or Brovonacae [5] and Roman coins, tombstones, sandals, urns, earthen vessels, and the cusp of a spear have been found in the locality. Since the time of Septimius Severus's campaigns between 208 and 211 CE, a division of Numidian auxiliary light cavalry garrisoned the fort of Bravoniacum, constituting the first African community in Britain. [6] The Maiden Way Roman road led north from Bravoniacum to the fort of Epiacum (Whitley Castle) near Alston, and thence to Magnae (Carvoran) on Hadrian's Wall, where it joined the Stanegate road running from west to east. A possible continuation from there ran east to Banna (Birdoswald) and then seven miles (eleven kilometres) north to the Shrine of Cocidius (Bewcastle). It was reported in 2016 that LIDAR technology has revealed another Roman road running southwest from Kirkby Thore to the Roman fort at Low Borrowbridge near Tebay. [7]
The Anglican church of St Michael in Kirkby Thore is built of red sandstone and dates from Norman times. The village also had a Methodist chapel.
The village is also home to Kirkby Thore Hall, a Grade II* medieval Manor House of particular structural interest.
Gypsum has been quarried or mined in the area for over 200 years. The local British Gypsum Ltd [8] plant has produced plaster since 1910 and plasterboard since the 1960s. Currently it is more economic to use desulpho-gypsum transported by rail from Drax Power Station than to mine it locally but this depends on Drax continuing. [9] British Gypsum has a private siding on the Settle-Carlisle Railway which passes to the north of the village.
There are a number of farms in the village and surrounding area. Some are large dairy farms, others beef and/or sheep with some arable crops.
Kirkby Thore is in the parliamentary constituency of Penrith and the Border. Neil Hudson was elected its Conservative Member of Parliament at the 2019 General Election, replacing Rory Stewart.
Before Brexit, it was in the North West England European Parliamentary Constituency.
The busy A66 road runs through the western edge of the village. This will be one of the last sections of the A66 to be upgraded to dual carriageway; in 2006 the Highways Agency conducted public consultation on the route for a bypass (which will connect the existing Appleby bypass to the east and the Temple Sowerby bypass (opened in part October 2007, ahead of schedule) to the west. The public consultation fell by the wayside and dualling of the A66 at Kirkby Thore is still an aspiration. A subsequent scheme began its proposal stages in 2019. [10]
The village contains a village shop with post office, a filling station (and shop) and a bistro serving meals.
Siblings Helen Skelton and Gavin Skelton grew up in a farm near the village and attended Kirkby Thore Primary School before transferring to Appleby Grammar School. Helen is now a television presenter, best known for working on Blue Peter and Countryfile , whilst Gavin is a professional footballer who has played in the Scottish Premier League with Gretna, Kilmarnock and Hamilton Academicals. During 2016 he was player-manager of Queen of the South in Dumfries. [11] He was appointed assistant manager of Carlisle United in June 2019. [12]
The A66 is a major road in Northern England, which in part follows the course of the Roman road from Scotch Corner to Penrith. It runs from east of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire to Workington in Cumbria. The road has been progressively improved with dual carriageway sections, but with stretches of single carriageway road. The road is set to be completely dualled between Scotch Corner and Penrith, with a £1.3 billion scheme being announced in March 2024.
Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby is the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. It was known just as Appleby until 1974–1976, when the council of the successor parish to the borough changed it to retain the name Westmorland, which was abolished as an administrative area under the Local Government Act 1972, before being revived as Westmorland and Furness in 2023. It lies 14 miles (23 km) south-east of Penrith, 32 miles (51 km) south-east of Carlisle, 27 miles (43 km) north-east of Kendal and 45 miles (72 km) west of Darlington.
Eden was a local government district in Cumbria, England, based at Penrith Town Hall in Penrith. It was named after the River Eden, which flowed north through the district toward Carlisle. Its population of 49,777 at the 2001 census, increased to 52,564 at the 2011 Census. A 2019 estimate was 53,253. In July 2021 it was announced that, in April 2023, Cumbria would be divided into two unitary authorities. On 1 April 2023, Eden District Council was abolished and its functions transferred to the new authority Westmorland and Furness, which also covers the former districts of Barrow-in-Furness and South Lakeland.
The Eden Valley Railway (EVR) was a railway in Cumbria, England. It ran between Clifton Junction near Penrith and Kirkby Stephen via Appleby-in-Westmorland.
Kirkby Stephen is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about 25 miles (40 km) from the nearest larger towns: Kendal and Penrith. The River Eden rises 6 miles (9.7 km) away in the peat bogs below Hugh Seat and passes the eastern edge of the town. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,832. In 2011, it had a population of 1,522.
A civil parish in England is the lowest unit of local government. There are 284 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, with most of the county being parished. At the 2001 census, there were 359,692 people living in those 284 parishes, accounting for 73.8 per cent of the county's population.
Penrith and The Border was a constituency in Cumbria represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It elected only members of the Conservative Party since its creation in 1950.
Tebay is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, within the historic borders of Westmorland. It lies in the upper Lune Valley, at the head of the Lune Gorge. The parish had a population of 728 in the 2001 census, increasing to 776 at the Census 2011.
Ravenstonedale is a village and large civil parish in Cumbria, on the watershed between the River Lune and River Eden. The village lies 4 miles (6 km) south west of Kirkby Stephen. The parish includes the village of Newbiggin-on-Lune and several smaller settlements including Bowderdale, Brownber, Greenside, Stennerskeugh, Wath and Weasdale. Large areas of moorland lie within the parish, extending 5 miles (8 km) south west of the village to the northern side of the Howgill Fells. The parish had a population of 570 in 2001, increasing to 594 at the 2011 Census.
Brough, although colloquially pronounced ‘Broom’ by the locals and sometimes known as Brough under Stainmore, is a village and civil parish in the historic county of Westmorland and the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England, within the Westmorland and Furness unitary authority area, on the western fringe of the Pennines near Stainmore. The village is on the A66 trans-Pennine road, and the Swindale Beck, and is about 8 miles (13 km) south east of Appleby-in-Westmorland. Brough is situated 5 miles (8.0 km) north east of Kirkby Stephen and 28 miles (45 km) north east of Kendal on the A685.
Hesket is a large civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, on the main A6 between Carlisle and Penrith. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,363, increasing to 2,588 at the 2011 census, and estimated at 2,774 in 2019. The parish was formed in 1894 with the passing of the Local Government Act 1894 and was enlarged to incorporate the parish of Plumpton Wall following a County Review Order in 1934. Hesket is part of the historic royal hunting ground of Inglewood Forest. Settlement in the parish dates back to the Roman occupation.
Temple Sowerby is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, northern England. It is close to the main east–west A66 road about 8 miles (13 km) east of Penrith in the Eden Valley. At the 2011 census Temple Sowerby was grouped with Newbiggin giving a total population of 528.
Warcop is a village and civil parish in the Eden district of Cumbria, England. The parish had a population of 491 in the 2001 census, increasing to 532 at the Census 2011.
Long Marton is a village and civil parish in the Eden District of the English county of Cumbria. In 2011 the population was 827.
Colby is a village and civil parish in the Eden district of the English county of Cumbria. It is near the village of Bolton to the north and the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland to the east. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 120, increasing to 129 at the 2011 Census.
Sleagill is a small village and civil parish in the Eden district of Cumbria, England. At the 2011 census Sleagill was grouped with Newby giving a total population of 282.
Verterae was a Roman fort in the modern-day village of Brough, Cumbria, England. Occupied between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, it protected a key Roman road in the north of England. In the 11th century, Brough Castle was built on part of the site by the Normans. Archaeologists explored the remains during the 20th century, and it is now protected under UK law.
Rey Cross is the remains of a stone cross at Stainmore. It is also known as Rere Cross and is a Grade II* listed structure and a scheduled monument. It is located towards the western edge of County Durham, approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) east of the border with Cumbria along the A66 road.
The Maiden Way or Maidenway was a roughly 20-mile (32 km) Roman road in northern Britain connecting the Roman fort of Bravoniacum near Penrith with that of Magnis (Carvoran) on Hadrian's Wall, via the intermediate fort of Epiacum roughly half-way between the two.