Rickerby Park is a public open space in Carlisle, Cumbria on the banks of the River Eden. The parkland is dotted with mature trees, beneath which cattle and sheep graze the sweet pasture grasses. A riverbank path follows the sweeping bends of the Eden and, by crossing the Memorial Bridge, you can complete a circular walk back to the city centre on the opposite bank. Nearby is Rickerby Hall and the village of Rickerby.
The park is listed Grade II in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens. [1]
The manor of Rickerby has been owned by a number of families, specifically the Tilliols, Rickerbys, Pickerings, Westons, Musgraves, Studholmes, Gilpins, Richardsons, and Grahams.
In the 19th century it was owned by the banker [2] George Head Head. [3] In 1876, George Head Head died and Miles MacInnes, a justice of the Peace, succeeded to the 940 acres (3.8 km2) of Rickerby where he owned all the land. In 1914 the estate was broken up and sold off up by the trustees of the MacInnes estate.
In 1920 the Citizens League purchased the area known today as Rickerby Park for £11,500. [4] In a joint scheme with the Corporation (now Carlisle City Council), Rickerby Park was dedicated as a memorial to the fallen of the Great War of 1914-1918. The Memorial Bridge, incorrectly known as the suspension bridge locally, from St Aidans Road was erected along with the Memorial Cenotaph. On 25 May 1922, Rickerby Park was formally opened and handed over to the City of Carlisle for the benefit of the public.
Carlisle is a cathedral city in the ceremonial county of Cumbria in England. It is the administrative centre of Cumberland Council which covers an area similar to the historic county of Cumberland.
Cumberland is a historic county in North West England. The historic county is bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish counties of Dumfriesshire and Roxburghshire to the north. The area includes the city of Carlisle, part of the Lake District and North Pennines, and the Solway Firth coastline.
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.
The A595 is a primary route in Cumbria, in Northern England that starts in Carlisle, passes through Whitehaven and goes close to Workington, Cockermouth and Wigton. It passes Sellafield and Ravenglass before ending at the Dalton-in-Furness by-pass, in southern Cumbria, where it joins the A590 trunk road. The road is mostly single carriageway, apart from in central Carlisle, where it passes the castle as a busy dual carriageway road named Castle Way, and prior to that as Bridge Street and Church Street, where it passes close to the McVitie's or Carr's biscuit factory. The Lillyhall bypass is also dual carriageway.
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.
The Vale of Eden is formed by the course of the River Eden, one of the major rivers of Northwest England. It is however of much greater extent than the actual valley of the river, lying between the Cumbrian Mountains, and the northern part of the Pennine Range. It lies entirely within the county of Cumbria. The river has its source in the peat bogs below Hugh Seat, in the dale of Mallerstang. At first it heads off south before turning back north for the rest of its course – except just before its outlet into the sea which it enters from the east.
Wetheral is a railway station on the Tyne Valley Line, which runs between Newcastle and Carlisle via Hexham. The station, situated 4 miles 7 chains east of Carlisle, serves the villages of Great Corby and Wetheral, City of Carlisle in Cumbria, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Denton Holme is an inner city district in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The population of this ward was 6,383 taken at the 2011 census.
Wetheral is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in Cumbria, England. At the 2001 census, the population of the Wetheral Ward was 4,039, The civil parish of Wetheral is slightly larger, with a population of 5,203. being counted as 4,541 at the 2011 Census for both Parish and Ward.
Stanwix is a district of Carlisle, Cumbria in North West England. The ward population had a population taken at the 2011 census of 5,934. It is located on the north side of River Eden, across from Carlisle city centre. Although long counted as a suburb it did not officially become part of the city until 1912 when part of the civil parish of Stanwix became part of the parish, city and municipal borough of Carlisle. Further areas were added to the city, which was by then a county borough, in 1934 and 1951. The remaining part of the parish was eventually renamed Stanwix Rural in 1966.
Great Corby is a village in northern Cumbria, England, above the eastern bank of a wooded gorge on the River Eden. Directly across the river from Great Corby is the village of Wetheral. The two villages are linked by a railway viaduct. This is on the Tyne Valley Line from Newcastle to Carlisle, which passes to the north of the village. The railway station at Wetheral is accessible to residents of Great Corby by a pedestrian footpath attached to the railway viaduct.
Rickerby is a village in the civil parish of Stanwix Rural, in the City of Carlisle district, in the county of Cumbria, England. It is situated near Carlisle, next to the River Eden. In 1870-72 the township had a population of 97. The property belonged to Richard de Tilliol of Scaleby Castle, whose descendant Adam de Rickerby lived in the village in about 1230. Rickerby Park is nearby.
George Head Head was a mayor, magistrate, banker and mine owner in Carlisle. The bank was started by his father, but was improved and rebuilt in his lifetime. He attended an important convention in 1840 on Anti-Slavery, where a painting records his involvement.
Cotehill railway station was a railway station on the Settle-Carlisle Railway in England between Armathwaite and Cumwhinton. The line opened for passengers in 1876. The station was designed by the Midland Railway company architect John Holloway Sanders.
Miles MacInnes was a British landowner, railway director and Liberal Party politician.
Holme Eden Abbey was an abbey in Cumbria, England. The current building is a Grade II* listed building.
Upperby is a suburb of Carlisle, in the City of Carlisle district, in the English county of Cumbria. The ward population taken at the 2011 census was 5,476. In 1870-72 the township/chapelry had a population of 595.
Carlisle city walls were a defensive structure surrounding the centre of Carlisle, Cumbria. The city walls ran from Carlisle Castle in the north-west of the city to The Citadel in the south-east. Between these points, the city was protected by the former North and East Walls and the West Walls which remain largely intact. The line of the walls can still be followed with the exception of the southernmost end of the West Wall which has been built over. The perimeter, including the castle, is approximately 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) which is comparable to Southampton town walls but less than Chester city walls.