Ravenglass
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Ravenglass is an English coastal village in west
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 ...
that lies between
Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...
and
Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...
, on the estuary of three rivers: the Esk,
Mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as eac ...
and Irt. It is the only coastal village in the
Lake District National Park 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 ...
. Formerly in the historical county of Cumberland, it is now part of the civil parish of Muncaster, the unitary authority of Cumberland, and the ceremonial county of Cumbria.


History

The village dates back to at least the 2nd century, when it was an important naval base for the Romans. The
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
name of the settlement was long thought to be '' Glannoventa''. The discovery of a lead seal in excavations at the Roman fort during the 1970s named the ''Cohors Prima Aelia Classica'' (First Cohort of Hadrian's Marines). This unit is listed in the ''
Notitia Dignitatum The (Latin for 'List of all dignities and administrations both civil and military') is a document of the Late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very ...
'' as being garrisoned at ''Itunocelum'' during the fourth century. Due to this it was suggested that Ravenglass was not ''Glannoventa'' but actually the ''Itunocelum.'' Since the lead seal was discovered two other objects, a Roman military diploma from the beach by the fort at Ravenglass and a fragment of a Roman altar from Muncaster, have been found. These both name the ''Cohors Prima Aelia Classica'' and prove beyond reasonable doubt that Ravenglass was the Roman ''Itunocelum''. The fort occupied the most southerly point of the Cumbrian coastal defence system, which can be seen as an extension of
Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...
and the western extremity of the Roman frontier World Heritage Site. Ravenglass was occupied by the Romans for over 300 years and had a Roman
garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...
(
castra ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...
) of 500 soldiers. The town was a regional supply point for much of northwestern Roman Britain, with a
road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...
from Ravenglass over the Hardknott Pass to the Roman forts at Hardknott and
Ambleside Ambleside is a town in the civil parish of Lakes and the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Westmorland and located in the Lake District National Park, the town sits at the ...
. The location is featured in ''The Fort at River's Bend'', a book in
Jack Whyte Jack Whyte (March 15, 1940February 22, 2021) was a Scottish-Canadian novelist of historical fiction. Born and raised in Scotland, he moved to Canada in 1967. He resided in Kelowna, British Columbia. Early life Whyte was born in Scotland on March ...
's A Dream of Eagles (Camulod Chronicles) series, and is also mentioned briefly in Mary Stewart's ''Merlin'' trilogy under the name ''Clannoventa''. Today, there are few Roman remains, with the notable exception of a bath house, known locally as ''Walls Castle''. This is one of the largest remaining Roman structures in England, originally covering an estimated area of by and with walls up to high, though only one end is now visible. Excavations of the rest of the foundations have since been covered and are not visible. The property is now maintained by
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
. Approximately a mile's walk from the bath house is
Muncaster Castle Muncaster Castle is a privately-owned castle in the parish of Muncaster, Cumbria, England. It stands overlooking the River Esk (Ravenglass), River Esk, about a mile east of the coastal village of Ravenglass. It is recorded in the National Herit ...
, which it is believed was built partly with the remains of a
Roman fort ''Castra'' () is a Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified military base.. Included is a discuss ...
which was located near Ravenglass. The
grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
Muncaster War Memorial, designed by
Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...
, sits between Muncaster and Ravenglass. 'Renglas' appears in charters and other records of the late 12th century. In 1208 King John granted Richard de Lucy,
Earl of Egremont Earl of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1749, along with the subsidiary title Baron Cockermouth, in Cumberland, for Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, with remainder to his nephews Charles Wyndham, 2 ...
a charter for a market at Ravenglass on Saturdays and a yearly fair on the festival of St. James, 5 August. In 1297 Ravenglass was described as a port along with Lancaster,
Cartmel Cartmel is a village in Furness (traditionally "Lancashire-over-the-Sands" (and in the ceremonial county of Cumbria), England, northwest of Grange-over-Sands close to the River Eea. The village takes its name from the Cartmel Peninsula, a ...
and
Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...
. Ravenglass is reputed to be the birthplace of
Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...
. The population in 1841 was 337 inhabitants.


Etymology

There are multiple explanations of the origin of the name ''Ravenglass''. One is that it may be derived from, or from words equivalent to Welsh ''yr afon glas'', meaning "the greenish or blueish river". The name may also be of Norse-Irish origin, containing the Irish personal name ''Glas'' and meaning "Glas's part or share". The terminal element might be Gaelic ''glas'', "small stream". Also suggested is derivation from the
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
personal name ''Hrafnkell'', suffixed with Old Norse ''óss'', "estuary".


Governance

Ravenglass is the main settlement within the
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 ...
of Muncaster. There are two tiers of local government covering Muncaster, at parish and
unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
level: Muncaster Parish Council and Cumberland Council. The parish council generally meets at Muncaster Parish Hall, which is on Main Street in Ravenglass. The parish is wholly within the Lake District National Park, and so some functions are administered by the Lake District National Park Authority, notably
planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. Some researchers regard the evolution of forethought - the cap ...
. At a national level, the parish is within the Barrow and Furness UK parliamentary constituency. From 1974 to 2023, before the creation of Cumberland Council, Ravenglass was governed by Copeland Borough Council and
Cumbria County Council Cumbria County Council was the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in the North West of England. Established in April 1974, following its first elections held the previous year, it was an elected local government body re ...
.


Attractions

Tourist attractions include
Muncaster Castle Muncaster Castle is a privately-owned castle in the parish of Muncaster, Cumbria, England. It stands overlooking the River Esk (Ravenglass), River Esk, about a mile east of the coastal village of Ravenglass. It is recorded in the National Herit ...
and the
Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is a minimum-gauge railway, minimum-gauge heritage railway in Cumbria, England. The line runs from Ravenglass to Dalegarth for Boot railway station, Dalegarth Station near Boot, Cumbria, Boot in the valley o ...
.


Transport

Ravenglass is served by Ravenglass railway station on the Cumbrian Coast railway line, with trains to
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
and Lancaster. This station is also a terminus of the narrow-gauge
Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is a minimum-gauge railway, minimum-gauge heritage railway in Cumbria, England. The line runs from Ravenglass to Dalegarth for Boot railway station, Dalegarth Station near Boot, Cumbria, Boot in the valley o ...
, which runs inland up Eskdale. This serves both as a tourist attraction and as local transport during its operating season. Ravenglass is connected by a minor road to the nearby A595 trunk road. It also has minor tracks running northwards and southwards via tidal fords, which are unsuitable for normal motor vehicles.


In literature

Eskdale and Rafnglass (modern Ravenglass) feature in
Rosemary Sutcliff Rosemary Sutcliff (14 December 1920 – 23 July 1992) was an English novelist best known for children's books, especially historical fiction and retellings of myths and legends. Although she was primarily a children's author, some of her novel ...
's final novel (1992) ''Sword Song'', set in the 9th century. The 1972 Granada television serial ''The Intruder'' - based on the novel of the same name by John Rowe Townsend - was predominantly filmed in Ravenglass which represented the fictional location of Skirlston.Pixley, Andrew (2022) The Intruder - booklet included with the blu-ray release of the series by Network


References


External links


Cumbria County History Trust: Muncaster
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
Ravenglass
Community website
Muncaster Castle and Ravenglass Bath House article at www.cambridgemilitaryhistory.com
{{Authority control Villages in Cumbria Muncaster Roman sites in Cumbria 120s establishments in the Roman Empire