Morland is a village and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the rolling hills of the Eden Valley in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England. It lies within the historic county of

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

. The parish includes the hamlets of Town Head and Morland Moor, and had a population of 380 in 2001, reducing marginally to 374 at the 2011 Census.

Location

Morland is centrally located in the Eden Valley, a scenic, rural area lying a few miles from the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

to the west, the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...

to the east and the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

to the south. The area is characterised by rolling hills and farmland.

History

Morland is believed to have been settled for at least 1500 years, perhaps because of the Powdonnet Spring that rises by the side of the road leaving the village towards Cliburn. A

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

sword was found buried in the churchyard in the 19th century, which might suggest some Viking influence in the area. Morland's church, Church of St Lawrence (alt. Laurence), is unique in

, as it has a

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

tower. In the early Middle Ages the area was contested by

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

and

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

, and later

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Morland was not included in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

in 1086, as it was then under the control of Scotland. The area was conquered in 1092 by

William Rufus William II (; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third son of William the Co ...

and brought under English control. Morland House, the Grade II listed former vicarage, dates back to the mid 16th century. It has been owned by the Markham family since 1828. Morland Hall, on the outskirts of the village, was built in 1861 as a private residence for Francis Atkinson.

Village Features

Morland is built on Morland

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

, which flows through the bottom of the village, and on the hills around it. It is surrounded primarily by farmland, as well as some woodland. Houses in the area are typically built of limestone from nearby quarries. The village has a pub, the Crown Inn, and the Mill Yard Café, as well as a community shop. It has a primary school, the Morland Area Church of England Primary School, with approximately 60-70 pupils. The villages of Morland and Newby have a shared village hall, in which many activities take place. The Eden Valley is a popular destination for holidaymakers, and Morland has a significant amount of accommodation for visitors.

Governance

The

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

includes the townships (villages) of

King's Meaburn King's Meaburn () is a small village and civil parish in Cumbria, England. It is located from Appleby-in-Westmorland and from Penrith, situated in the valley of the River Lyvennet. The river flows just to the west of the village and was cros ...

, Newby and Sleagill. An

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

in the same name exists. This ward stretches north to Cliburn with a total population of 1,300.

Location grid

References

External links

Visit Cumbria: Morland

Church of St Lawrence, Morland

Morland Area C.of E. Primary School Cumbria County History Trust: Morland
(nb: provisional research only - see Talk page) {{authority control Villages in Cumbria Civil parishes in Cumbria Westmorland and Furness