Plenmeller is a village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of Plenmeller with Whitfield, in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, England about a mile (1½ km) southeast of Haltwhistle. In 1951 the parish had a population of 107.

Governance

Plenmeller is in the

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

constituency of

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

. The parish council is Plenmeller with Whitfield. Historically, Plenmeller was a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

, also incorporating Unthank, within the ancient parish of Haltwhistle. On 1 April 1955 the parish was abolished to form Plenmeller with Whitfield.

Economy

Coal mining dominated the history of the area in recent times. Employment at Plenmeller colliery reached its peak in the early 1920s. When the colliery closed in 1932 it caused widespread hardship in the area. More recently coal has been extracted by open cast methods on Plenmeller Common and land then returned to a more natural landscape. The open cast mine was opened by John Northand CBE, Deputy Chairman of the British Coal Corporation, on 19 September 1991. By the time the site was completed in May 2002 there had been 1.91 million tonnes of coal extracted. RPC Containers Ltd., manufacturers of blow-moulded plastic containers, now operate from the site of the old colliery. There is a farm at the west side of the village.

Landmarks

Unthank Hall Unthank Hall is a Grade II listed property now serving as commercial offices, situated on the southern bank of the River South Tyne east of Plenmeller, near Haltwhistle, Northumberland. In the 16th century the manor was owned by the Ridley fami ...

is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

mansion house, now serving as commercial offices, situated on the southern bank of the

River South Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wat ...

. The house, which was built in the 16th century, incorporating an ancient

Pele tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standing ...

, was substantially remodelled and extended in 1815. The Hall was later rebuilt between 1862 and 1865. Much of the 1865 house has since between demolished and only the central gables and entrance porch survive.

Transport

Rail

Plenmeller Halt on the Alston line opened in 1919 to serve the colliery. The halt closed in 1946 and was demolished but trains continued to stop as required until the 1960s. The village is now served by

Haltwhistle railway station Haltwhistle is a railway station on the Tyne Valley Line, which runs between and via . The station, situated east of Carlisle, serves the market town of Haltwhistle in Northumberland, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by North ...

on the Tyne Valley line. The line was opened in 1838, and links Newcastle with

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

. The line follows the course of the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wate ...

through

. Passenger services on the Tyne Valley Line are operated by

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

. The line is also heavily used for freight.

Road

The village lies just to the south of the

A69 road The A69 is a major northern trunk road in England, running east–west across the Pennines, through the counties of Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and Cumbria. Originally, the road started in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne then later near Birt ...

as it bypasses Haltwhistle. The road is a major road running east–west across the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

, linking

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

with

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 ...

Etymology

It is generally agreed that the name "Plenmeller" is of Brythonic Celtic origin. The first element is most plausibly ''blajn '' meaning "summit" (c.f. Welsh ''blaen''). The second element is more obscure. Suffixes of ''-maɣl'', "chief" and ''-mę:l'', "bare" are both possible. The attestation ''Plenmeneure'' from 1256 would favor the suffix ''-maɣn'', "a stone".

References

Villages in Northumberland Former civil parishes in Northumberland {{Northumberland-geo-stub