Hugh Seat is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

, or more accurately a

fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or Moorland, moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle o ...

, in

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. Its eastern edge, at Aisg ...

on the eastern edge of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It lies on the border between Cumbria and

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

Hugh Seat is a high point above Black Fell Moss, an extensive area of peat bog drained by Red Gill Beck, which is the source of the River Eden. At this " watershed of England" two other great rivers, the Ure and the

Swale Swale or Swales may refer to: Topography * Swale (landform), a low tract of land ** Bioswale, landform designed to remove silt and pollution ** Swales, found in the formation of Hummocky cross-stratification Geography * River Swale, in North ...

, also rise within a kilometre of the Eden. Although it has a relatively small

prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

, having several other high points nearby (and is therefore classified as a "sub- Hewitt" or a

Nuttall Nuttall may refer to: People * Nuttall (name) * Nuttall baronets Nature * Nuttall's oak, a fast-growing large deciduous oak tree native to North America * Nuttall's woodpecker, a species of woodpecker found in oak woodlands of California * Nutta ...

but not a Marilyn), Hugh Seat nevertheless rises conspicuously above the source of the River Eden. SpeedeMap1610 - Westmorland, south-east extract

The old name for this peak was Hugh Seat Morvill or sometimes Morvil Hill, (and

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...

confuses it with

Wild Boar Fell Wild Boar Fell is a mountain in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, on the eastern edge of Cumbria, England. At , it is either the 4th-highest fell in the Yorkshire Dales or the 5th, depending on whether nearby High Seat (2,326 ft) is counte ...

in his "Tour"). Near the summit there is a column of cut stones, known as "Lady's Pillar", and the inscription ''AP1664'' can just be made out - for ''Anne Pembroke'',

Lady Anne Clifford Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, ''suo jure'' 14th Baroness de Clifford (30 January 1590 – 22 March 1676) was an English peeress. In 1605 she inherited her father's ancient barony by writ and became ''suo jure'' ...

's married name. The pillar was erected in 1664 to commemorate Sir Hugh de Morville, Lady Anne's predecessor as Lord of the Manor of Mallerstang. (Sir Hugh was one of the four knights responsible for the murder of Archbishop St.

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

in 1170). The border between the counties of

and

is marked near the summit by a fence, which is intended to stop sheep which are "heafed" (trained to stay in a certain area without the need for fences) straying beyond their allotted common land. There are extensive views from the summit—south-east to

Cotterdale Cotterdale is a small side dale and hamlet on the north side of Wensleydale in North Yorkshire, England. The dale lies to the west of Great Shunner Fell. It is drained by East Gill and West Gill, which between them have nine waterfalls. They ...

and

Wensleydale Wensleydale is the dale or upper valley of the River Ure on the east side of the Pennines, one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of only a few Yorkshire Dales not currently named after its principal river, but th ...

, north-west to

Gregory Chapel Gregory Chapel is one of the high points of the fells on the border between Cumbria and North Yorkshire. The summit is marked by a nearby sheep shelter and an unusual and conspicuous cairn - taller and more rectangular than most others locally. ...

, and west to

and

. This rugged terrain between

Great Shunner Fell Great Shunner Fell is the third highest mountain in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England, and the highest point in Wensleydale; at 716 metres above sea level. In clear weather the summit affords views of Wensleydale to the south, R ...

and Wild Boar Fell, (part of what

David Bellamy David James Bellamy (18 January 1933 – 11 December 2019) was an English botanist, television presenter, author and environmental campaigner. Early and personal life Bellamy was born in London to parents Winifred May (née Green) and Thoma ...

has called "''the last wilderness in England''"), is too inaccessible to be well known by tourists, but it is a favourite route for many walkers.A. Wainwright, ''Wainwright in the Limestone Dales'', Guild Publishing, 1991 (page 19)

References

External links

Mallerstang Dale website: "A virtual walk through Mallerstang"
{{coord, 54.3875, N, 2.2939, W, type:landmark, display=title Mountains and hills of Cumbria Mountains and hills of North Yorkshire Nuttalls Mallerstang