Renwick, formerly known as ''Ravenwick'', is a small 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
Kirkoswald, in the
Eden district, in the county 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. Renwick is located north east of
Penrith between the
A686 and
B6413 roads. In 1931 the parish had a population of 174.
One mile south-east of the village in the hamlet of Haresceugh are the fragmentary remains of Haresceugh Castle, the site of which is now occupied by a farmhouse. Two sections of walling remain from the castle.
Etymology
"Renwick lies on Raven Beck..., but the probabilities are that the river-name is a back-formation from the place-name, and that Renwick is really 'Hrafn's wīc' ". ('Wīc' is
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
for 'farmstead' or 'settlement').
History
According to local legend, the village was terrorized by a
cockatrice
A cockatrice is a mythical beast, essentially a two-legged dragon, wyvern, or serpent-like creature with a rooster's head. Described by Laurence Breiner as "an ornament in the drama and poetry of the Elizabethans", it was featured prominently i ...
in 1733. On 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished and merged into Kirkoswald.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Kirkoswald, Cumbria
References
External links
*
Cumbria County History Trust: Renwick(nb: provisional research only - see Talk page)
Villages in Cumbria
Former civil parishes in Cumbria
Kirkoswald, Cumbria
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