Place:


Castlerigg  Cumberland

 

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Castlerigg like this:

JOHN-CASTLERIGG (ST.) AND WYTHBURN, a township in Crossthwaite parish, Cumberland; 2¼ miles SE of Keswick. It comprises the chapelries of St. John's-in-the-Vale and Wythburn. Real property, £2, 622. Pop., 605. Houses, 109. Castlerigg, on the W, about 1½ mile SE of Keswick, commands a most magnificent view over Derwent and Bassenthwaite waters. ...


The Vale of St. John, traversed by St. John's beck from Thirlemere to a confluence with the Glenderamakin rivulet at the formation of the Greta river, is about 4 miles long from S to N; forms a continuation of Legberthwaite, narrow, pleasant, and richly picturesque; and is overhung at the head, and on parts of the sides, by great heights coInmanding splendid views. A rugged isolated crag, noticed in our article CASTLE-ROCK, is within the right side of its head, and has an outline similar to that of a fort. Sir Walter Scott makes this the scene of his "Bridal of Triermain;" and he says, respecting the journey of King Arthur, -

With toil the king his way pursued
By lonely Threlkeld's waste and wood,
Till on the course obliquely shone
The narrow valley of St. John,
Down sloping to the western sky
Where lingering sunbeams love to lie.

Castlerigg through time

Castlerigg is now part of Allerdale district. Click here for graphs and data of how Allerdale has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Castlerigg itself, go to Units and Statistics.

How to reference this page:

GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Castlerigg, in Allerdale and Cumberland | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.

URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/2575

Date accessed: 29th March 2024


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