Newton Rigg College was an agricultural college near Penrith, Cumbria, England, founded in 1896 as the Cumberland and Westmorland Farm School. [1] From 2011 it was part of Askham Bryan College, which in 2020 announced that it would close in 2021. [2]
The Cumberland and Westmorland Farm School was founded in 1896 by Henry Charles Howard, of Greystoke Castle, MP for Penrith. [3] Local business leaders involved in the committee which led to its foundation included builder George Henry Pattinson JP, OBE, engineer Gilbert Gilkes and paper-maker James Cropper. [4] Newton Rigg farm, between Newton Reigny and Penrith, was bought to be the school's premises. Initially the school offered dairying courses for girls in summer, and farming courses for boys in the winter when they had less farm work and could be spared. [1]
In 1967 the school was renamed the Cumberland and Westmorland College of Agriculture and Forestry and home to the newly established National School of Forestry. The college became part of the University of Central Lancashire in 1998. Its website 1998 uses the name "Newton Rigg College" with the strapline "The Centre for Learning in the Heart of Cumbria" and has a logo showing an image of a green cultivated field with hills and mountains in the background; it is described as a "partner college" of the University of Central Lancashire. [5] Its mission statement at that date was "To strive for excellence in the provision of high quality education and training on a sound economic basis, with the main sphere of operation being the rural economy and land based industries." [6] Newton Rigg was transferred to the new University of Cumbria in 2007. In 2011 it became part of Askham Bryan College, an agricultural college based near York. [7]
In 2014 the Frank Parkinson Building was opened, providing teaching, library, reception and office accommodation, as part of a £3m development plan and with the support of the Frank Parkinson Agricultural Trust. [8]
In 2019-2020 there were 888 students, made up of 667 further education students and 221 apprentices; in 2020-2021 there were 536 students, being 440 FE students and 96 apprentices. [2] The college taught the land-based subjects of agriculture, gamekeeping, animal and equine management, forestry, horticulture and agricultural engineering, and more general further education courses including indoor and outdoor sport, hairdressing and beauty therapy, childhood studies and health and social care. [9]
The Northern School of Game and Wildlife, a department of Newton Rigg, was described as "One of the UK's premier gamekeeping colleges", and was the only such college to have its own grouse moor. [10] [11]
After much discussion and despite local campaigning, [12] it was announced in 2020 that Newton Rigg would close in July 2021. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] As of January 2021 [update] a local organisation Newton Rigg Ltd. is "working to keep Newton Rigg College open, realise its potential and protect its future for generations to come". [14]
The closure of the college was discussed on 23 March 2021 by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs parliamentary select committee, along with "the future of land-based education". [18] [19] [20]
In July 2021 it was announced that the Ernest Cook Trust had bought the college's hill farm, Low Beckside Farm, "with the promise of maintaining it as a resource for agricultural education", [21] [22] In August 2021 it was reported that the rest of the campus had been sold, with The Leo Group, owners of Penrith based Omega Proteins, said to be "involved in the process". [23] [24]
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, Lancashire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Carlisle.
Askham Richard is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of City of York in the north of England, 6.5 miles (10.5 km) south-west of York, close to Copmanthorpe, Bilbrough and Askham Bryan. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 351. The village became a Conservation Area in 1975. Nearby is Askham Bryan College of Agriculture.
Westmorland is a historic county in North West England. People of the area are known as Westmerians. The area includes part of the Lake District and the southern Vale of Eden.
The Countess Pillar is a 17th-century monument near Brougham, Cumbria, England, between Penrith and Appleby. It is two miles east of Penrith on the A66. The square top of the pillar is brightly painted and carries sundials on its sides. It was erected by Lady Anne Clifford in 1656 to mark the place where she said goodbye for the last time to her mother, Margaret Clifford, Countess of Cumberland.
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.
Penrith is a market town and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. It is less than 3 miles (5 km) outside the Lake District National Park and about 17 miles (27 km) south of Carlisle. It is between the Rivers Petteril and Eamont and just north of the River Lowther. The town had a population of 15,181 at the 2011 census. It is part of historic Cumberland.
Kirkby Stephen is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, England. It lies on the A685 and is 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 (10 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. Throughout its existence it elected only members of the Conservative Party.
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.
Catterlen is a small village and civil parish 3 miles (4.8 km) north west of Penrith, Cumbria. At the 2001 census the civil parish had a population of 471, increasing to 605 at the 2011 Census.
The University of Cumbria is a public university in Cumbria, with its headquarters in Carlisle and other major campuses in Lancaster, Ambleside, and London. It has roots extending back to the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts, established in 1822, and the teacher training college established by Charlotte Mason in the 1890s. It opened its doors in 2007 as a university.
Henry "Harry" Charles Howard was an English Liberal politician and landowner in Cumbria, where he resided at Greystoke Castle. He was a member of the Howards of Greystoke, a Protestant branch of the aristocratic Howard family.
Askham Bryan College is a specialist land-based college based in Askham Bryan, York, England. It also has centres in Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Saltaire and Wakefield.
The Westmorland County Agricultural Society is a registered charity which supports agriculture and related activities in and around the former county of Westmorland, England. Its activities include the annual Westmorland County Show. It was previously known as the Westmorland and Kendal District Agricultural Society.
In the United Kingdom, land based colleges are colleges specialising in agriculture, horticulture, and other topics useful for rural economies. Most land based colleges are members of Landex, which promotes and coordinates the colleges.
Cumberland is a unitary authority area in Cumbria, England, which means that it is a non-metropolitan county and district. It borders Scotland, Northumberland, Westmorland and Furness, and the Irish Sea. Part of the area is in the Lake District National Park and notable landmarks include Carlisle Cathedral, Carlisle Castle and Hadrian's Wall.
Westmorland and Furness is a unitary authority area in Cumbria, England. The economy is mainly focused on tourism around both the Lake District and Cumbria Coast, shipbuilding and the port in Barrow-in-Furness, and agriculture in the rural parts of the area.