Witherslack 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

Witherslack, Meathop and Ulpha Witherslack, Meathop and Ulpha is a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of the English county of Cumbria. Historically in Westmorland, it is located north east of Grange-over-Sands and south west of Kendal, between the confluence of ...

, in the south 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 ...

. It lies on the north eastern side of

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

, England. The eastern side of the village borders

Whitbarrow Whitbarrow is a hill in Cumbria, England. Designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and national nature reserve, it forms part of the Morecambe Bay Pavements Special Area of Conservation due to its supporting some of the bes ...

Scar with Yewbarrow, which is a small limestone hill, located in the centre of the village. In the 2001 census the former parish had a population of 482, increasing at the 2011 census to 499. Witherslack is quite scattered with four distinct areas. Townend, Mill Side, Beck Head and the school/church. Townend is traditionally considered the centre of the village and contains the local pub, The Derby Arms, and the Community Shop. Mill Side is the location of the old Mill and still contains the mill pond. Beck Head lies to the north of Mill Side and is where a small river emerges from the limestone escarpment adjacent to

. The area of the village with the Dean Barwick School and St. Paul's church lies to the west of Yewbarrow.

Amenities

St Paul's Church is the only place of worship in the village. The refurbished Derby Arms has several real ales and a selection of food. Witherslack also has a community shop with the usual provisions and local produce.

Schools

There are two schools in Witherslack; * Dean Barwick Primary School which is a forest school that uses the natural area surrounding it to educate. *

Oversands School Oversands School (formerly Witherslack Hall School) is an independent special school with specialist SEN status situated in the village of Witherslack near Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, England. It was opened in 1973 as a residential and day sch ...

which provides education for children with behavioural and associated learning difficulties.

Geography

Witherslack sits on slate with carboniferous limestone forming the outcrops of Whitbarrow and Yewbarrow. The village gives its name to nearby wetland,

Witherslack Mosses Witherslack Mosses are a fragmented wetland west of the Kent estuary in Cumbria, England, within the Lake District National Park. They consist of three raised bogs, the remnants of a formerly extensive, estuarine bog, which have been protected ...

Landmarks

East of the church and north of Townend lies Nether Hall, which was the 15th-century home of the Harrington family. The present 16th- and 17th-century building incorporates walls 5 feet thick, which are probably the remains of a

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 ...

History

Witherslack was formerly 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 ...

and

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...

Beetham Beetham is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, situated on the border with Lancashire, north of Carnforth. It is part of the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In the 2001 census the parish had a populatio ...

parish, from 1866 Witherslack was a civil parish in its own right until it was abolished on 1 April 2015 and merged with

Meathop and Ulpha Meathop and Ulpha is a former civil parish, now in the parish of Witherslack, Meathop and Ulpha, in the South Lakeland district of the English county of Cumbria. Historically in Westmorland, it is located north east of Grange-over-Sands, sou ...

to form "Witherslack, Meathop and Ulpha".

References

External links

Cumbria County History Trust: Witherslack
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page) * Witherslack villag
website

Location Grid

Villages in Cumbria Former civil parishes in Cumbria South Lakeland District {{Cumbria-geo-stub