Outhgill
Encyclopedia
Mallerstang
Mallerstang is a civil parish in the extreme east of Cumbria, and, geographically, a dale at the head of the upper Eden Valley. Originally part of Westmorland, it lies about south of the nearest town, Kirkby Stephen...
, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
. It lies about 5 miles south of Kirkby Stephen
Kirkby Stephen
Kirkby Stephen is a civil parish and small market town in Cumbria, in North West England which historically, is part of Westmorland. The town is located on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, and about from the two nearest larger towns, Kendal and Penrith...
.
It is the main hamlet in the dale of Mallerstang
Mallerstang
Mallerstang is a civil parish in the extreme east of Cumbria, and, geographically, a dale at the head of the upper Eden Valley. Originally part of Westmorland, it lies about south of the nearest town, Kirkby Stephen...
- a civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
, which retains the Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
pattern of its original settlement: a series of small hamlets and isolated houses, with no village centre. In the 19th Century, as the main hamlet at the centre of the dale, Outhgill had an Inn, a post office, a smithy, the parish church and a Methodist chapel. Of these, only the church survives.
St Mary's Church was founded by Lady Ideonea de Veteripont in the 14th century (possibly 1311) but was restored, in fact more or less rebuilt, in 1663 by Lady Anne Clifford
Lady Anne Clifford
Lady Anne Clifford, 14th Baroness de Clifford was the only surviving child of George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland by his wife Lady Margaret Russell, daughter of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford...
, as the plaque above the door relates. The simple, dignified interior contains an 18th century font, a faded coat of arms of Lady Anne from the year she restored the church, a set of shelves that used to hold the loaves of bread distributed weekly under Middleton's Charity, and kneelers embroidered by ladies of the dale. The stained glass windows all date from Victorian times or later.
Settle-Carlisle Railway
The Settle–Carlisle Line is a long main railway line in northern England. It is also known as the Settle and Carlisle. It is a part of the National Rail network and was constructed in the 1870s...
, and members of their families, who died during the construction of the line. A monument to them, marking the area where they are buried, was dedicated in 1997.
Almost opposite the church is the former Wesleyan Chapel, built in 1878. There are about a dozen houses, including one where the father of the great scientist Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
was the blacksmith in the late 18th century (moving to London in the year Michael was born).
Pinfold
Pinfold, in Medieval Britain, is an area where stray animals were rounded up if their owners failed to properly supervise their use of common grazing land...
contains a sculpture by Andy Goldsworthy
Andy Goldsworthy
Andy Goldsworthy, OBE is a British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist producing site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings. He lives and works in Scotland.-Life and career:The son of F...
.
There is also a replica of the "Jews Stone", on the village green - a monument set up in 1850 by the rather eccentric William Mounsey, got its name from the inscriptions in Greek and Hebrew. The was sited on Black Fell Moss below Hugh Seat
Hugh Seat
Hugh Seat is a mountain, or more accurately a fell, in Mallerstang on the eastern edge of Cumbria, England. It lies on the present border between Cumbria and the Yorkshire Dales National Park....
, to mark the source of the river Eden
River Eden, Cumbria
The River Eden is a river that flows through Cumbria, England on its way to the Solway Firth.-Course of river:The Eden rises in Black Fell Moss, Mallerstang, on the high ground between High Seat, Yorkshire Dales and Hugh Seat. Here it forms the boundary between the counties of Cumbria and North...
.
Pendragon Castle
Pendragon Castle
Pendragon Castle is a ruin located in Mallerstang dale, Cumbria, close to the hamlet of Outhgill, at It stands in an atmospheric spot, above a bend in the river Eden, overlooked by Wild Boar Fell to the south-west and Mallerstang Edge to the east.-Legend:...
, reputedly founded by King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
's father, Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon is a legendary king of sub-Roman Britain and the father of King Arthur.A few minor references to Uther appear in Old Welsh poems, but his biography was first written down by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae , and Geoffrey's account of the character was used in...
, is a mile or so to the north at .
A smaller hamlet, Shoregill, is half a mile to the southwest at .