Muggleswick is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and civil parish in County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is situated a few miles to the west of Consett

Consett

Consett is a town in the northwest of County Durham, England, about southwest of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is home to 27,394 .Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. In 1841, it was a village community of only 145, but it was about to become a boom town: below the ground was coking coal and...

.

The village has a number of farms and domestic dwellings as well as the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 church, generally accepted as dedicated to All Saints, and village hall (previously the school). Amenities other than that consist of the phone box with its adjacent litter bin. Agriculture is primarily sheep farming with some cattle and hay.

There are the ruins of a priory, once a hunting lodge for the Prior of Durham, which is a listed building. These are located near to the church.

In the United Kingdom Census 2001

United Kingdom Census 2001

A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

 the population of the village was 130 with 66 male and 64 female

A significant area of the south and west of the village is taken up by Muggleswick Common, an area of upland moorland used for grouse

Grouse

Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...

 rearing (and associated game (food)

Game (food)

Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...

 shooting) and sheep grazing. This area consists predominately of heather

Calluna

Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...

 with encroaching bracken

Bracken

Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...

. The Common is part of the Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor

Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor

Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham and Northumberland, England...

 Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

 (SSSI), designated as such by Natural England

Natural England

Natural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved...

 for its habitat diversity and the presence of a range of plant and bird species of national and international importance.

To the east, the village is bordered by the Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine

Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine

Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Derwentside district of north County Durham and the Tynedale district of south Northumberland, England...

SSSI. This area has been classified as such due to the range of plant species and areas that have remained free from human interference.