Outhgill is a hamlet in

Mallerstang Mallerstang is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the extreme east of Cumbria, and, geographically, a wikt:dale, dale at the head of the upper River Eden, Cumbria, Eden Valley. Originally part of Westmorland, it lies about south of th ...

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. It lies about south of

Kirkby Stephen Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, North West England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about from the nearest larger towns: Kendal and Penrith. ...

. It is the main hamlet in the dale of

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

) which retains the Norse 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 Vipont (''alias'' Vieuxpont) is the name of a prominent family in the history of Westmorland. According to Thomas the name originated in France before 1066 as Vieuxpont ("Old Bridge"), Latinized to ''de Vetere Ponte'' ("from the Old Bridge"), ...

in the 14th century (possibly 1311) but was restored, in fact more or less rebuilt, in 1663 by

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'' ...

, 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. Railway Memorial at Outhgill, Westmorland

Railway Memorial at Outhgill, Westmorland

In the churchyard there are the unmarked graves of 25 of the builders of the Mallerstang section of the Settle-Carlisle Railway, 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 Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...

Chapel, built in 1878. There are about a dozen houses, including one where the father of the great scientist

Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...

was the blacksmith in the late 18th century (moving to London in the year Michael was born). Pinfold in Outhgill, Westmorland

The old

pinfold An animal pound is a place where stray livestock were impounded. Animals were kept in a dedicated enclosure, until claimed by their owners, or sold to cover the costs of impounding. Etymology The terms "pinfold" and "pound" are Saxon in origi ...

contains a sculpture by

Andy Goldsworthy Andy Goldsworthy (born 26 July 1956) is an English sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist who produces site-specific sculptures and land art situated in natural and urban settings. Early life Goldsworthy was born in Cheshire on 26 J ...

. There is a replica of the "Jew Stone" on the village green. The original monument was set up by the rather eccentric William Mounsey in 1850 on Black Fell Moss below

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 border between Cumbria and North Yorkshire. Hugh Seat is a high point above Black Fell Moss, an extensive area of peat b ...

, to mark the source of the River Eden. It got its name from the inscriptions in Greek and Hebrew.

Pendragon Castle Pendragon Castle is a ruin located in Mallerstang Dale, Cumbria, south of Kirkby Stephen, and close to the hamlet of Outhgill, at . It stands above a bend in the River Eden, overlooked by Wild Boar Fell to the south-west and Mallerstang Edge t ...

, reputedly founded by

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

's father,

Uther Pendragon Uther Pendragon (Brittonic) (; cy, Ythyr Ben Dragwn, Uthyr Pendragon, Uthyr Bendragon), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons in sub-Roman Britain (c. 6th century). Uther was also the father of King Arthur. A few m ...

, is a mile or so to the north at . A smaller hamlet, Shoregill, is half a mile to the southwest at .

References

*Hamilton, John ''Mallerstang Dale'', Broadcast Books, 1993 (reprinted 1999)

External links

{{Commons category
Mallerstang Dale webpageSheepfolds & Pinfolds - Cumbrian sculpture project by Andy Goldsworthy
Hamlets in Cumbria Eden District Mallerstang

See also

References

External links