Portal:Cumbria

Cumbria (/ˈkʌmbriə/ KUM-bree-ə) 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, Lancashire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Carlisle.

Cumbria is predominantly rural, with an area of 6,769 km² (2,614 sq mi) and a population of 500,012; this makes it the third-largest ceremonial county in England by area but the eighth-smallest by population. Carlisle is located in the north; the towns of Workington and Whitehaven lie on the west coast, Barrow-in-Furness on the south coast, and Penrith and Kendal in the east of the county. For local government purposes the county comprises two unitary authority areas, Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland. Cumbria was created in 1974 from the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, the Furness area of Lancashire, and a small part of Yorkshire.

The interior of Cumbria contains several upland areas. Together they fringe the Vale of Eden, the wide valley of the River Eden, which runs south-east to north-west across the county and broadens into the Solway Plain near Carlisle. To the north-east are part of the Border Moors, and to the east part of the North Pennines; the latter have been designated a national landscape. South of the vale are the Orton Fells, Howgill Fells, and part of the Yorkshire Dales, which are all within the Yorkshire Dales national park. The south-west contains the Lake District, a large upland area which has been designated a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. It includes Scafell Pike, England's highest mountain, and Windermere, its longest and largest lake. The county has long coast to the west which is bordered by a plain for most of its length. The north-west coast is part of the Solway Firth, a national landscape, and the south coast includes the Cartmel and Furness peninsulas. East of the peninsulas, the county contains part of Arnside and Silverdale, another national landscape (Full article...)

Roman Cumbria was an area that lay on the north-west frontier of Roman Britain, and, indeed, of the Roman Empire itself. (The term 'Cumbria' is a much later designation – the Romans would not have used it). Interest in the Roman occupation of the region lies in this frontier aspect: why did the Romans choose to occupy the north-west of England; why build a solid barrier in the north of the region (Hadrian's Wall); why was the region so heavily militarised; to what extent were the native inhabitants "Romanised" compared to their compatriots in southern England?

The decision to conquer the area was taken by the Romans after the revolt of Venutius threatened to make the Brigantes and their allies, such as the Carvetii, into anti-Roman tribes rather than pro-Roman ones, which had previously been the case. After a period of conquest and consolidation, based on the Stanegate line, with some coastal defences added, Hadrian decided to make the previous turf wall into a solid one. Although abandoned briefly in favour of the more northerly Antonine Wall, the Hadrianic line was fallen back upon and remained for the rest of the Roman period. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

The following are images from various Cumbria-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Carlisle Cathedral : founded in 1133 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 2Kentmere Hall, an example of a Cumbrian Pele tower (from History of Cumbria)
Image 3So-called "Saint's tomb" (left), and "Warrior's tomb" (right), two hogbacks in St. Mary's church, Gosforth. Typically high and narrow Cumbrian style, in the shape of a building with a roof, eaves and walls. The Saint's tomb has a crucifixion on the end, the Warrior's tomb has a procession of armed men (from History of Cumbria)
Image 4 William Wordsworth (from Cumbria)
Image 5The Staffordshire Moorlands Pan – an enamelled cooking and serving vessel, engraved with the names of four Hadrian's Wall forts sited in Cumbria (2nd century AD). See also the article on the Rudge Cup and Amiens skillet. (from History of Cumbria)
Image 6Hardknott Roman Fort (from History of Cumbria)
Image 7Birdoswald – showing partial blockage of main (east) gateway (from History of Cumbria)
Image 8The northeastern Irish Sea, showing new settlements with Norse place names. (from History of Cumbria)
Image 9 Stan Laurel (from Cumbria)
Image 10Furness Abbey, founded in 1123 by Stephen, King of England, attacked by the Scots in 1322 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 11Neolithic stone axe with handle from Ehenside Tarn (now in the British Museum) (from History of Cumbria)
Image 12Gateway to the College at Kirkoswald (from History of Cumbria)
Image 13Possible position of Rheged (from History of Cumbria)
Image 14The Castlerigg stone circle dates from the late Neolithic age and was constructed by some of the earliest inhabitants of Cumbria (from Cumbria)
Image 15Location of Inglewood Forest, stretching from Carlisle to Penrith; it was the most northerly of the Royal forests (from History of Cumbria)
Image 16High Cup Nick, in the North Pennines (from Cumbria)
Image 17The M6 motorway and West Coast Main Line near Grayrigg Forest (from Cumbria)
Image 18Swinside stone circle (from History of Cumbria)
Image 19The Fish Hotel, Buttermere – where Mary Robinson worked (from History of Cumbria)
Image 20Approximate extent of Domesday coverage : the district of Hougun, if indeed it was a district, may have covered the three peninsulas at the left of the pink area (from History of Cumbria)
Image 21The Anglo-Scottish marches (from History of Cumbria)
Image 22Swarthy Hill, near Crosscanonby on the Solway coast – possible site of Iron Age hillfort, later the site of mile-fortlet 21 in Roman times (from History of Cumbria)
Image 23Galava Roman fort, Ambleside (from History of Cumbria)
Image 24Tomb of Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre at Lanercost Priory (from History of Cumbria)
Image 25Brunton Park, the home of Carlisle United (from Cumbria)
Image 26The site of the 2007 Grayrigg train derailment (from History of Cumbria)
Image 27Wetheral Priory Gatehouse – all that remains of Wetheral Priory, founded by Ranulf le Meschin in 1106 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 28The Irton Cross, Irton, Cumbria, early 9th century, Anglian (pre-Viking) sculpture (from History of Cumbria)
Image 29Brantwood, overlooking Coniston Water, viewed from the steam yacht 'Gondola' – note the angled, corner windows designed to take in the views (from History of Cumbria)
Image 30This map of cities and towns of Northern England shows the relative lack of urbanisation in Cumbria (shown here as the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland) compared to the rest of the region (from Cumbria)
Image 31Calder Abbey (from History of Cumbria)
Image 32Carlisle Castle – begun by William Rufus in 1092; rebuilt in stone under Henry I, 1122–35, and David I of Scotland, 1136–1153 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 33The Crosby Garrett Helmet – (private collection) (from History of Cumbria)
Image 34Muncaster Castle (from Cumbria)
Image 35The entrance to Whinlatter Forest Park (from Cumbria)
Image 36Greta Hall, Keswick – home of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1800–1804; home to Robert Southey, 1803–1843 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 37Hadrian's Wall (from Cumbria)
Image 38Penrith Castle : Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (later Richard III of England), was based here when Sheriff of Cumberland in the 1470s (from History of Cumbria)
Image 39Fibulae from the Penrith Hoard, 10th century (British Museum) (from History of Cumbria)
Image 40Long Meg and Her Daughters (from History of Cumbria)
Image 41Dove Cottage (Town End, Grasmere) – home of William and Dorothy Wordsworth, 1799–1808; home of Thomas De Quincey, 1809–1820 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 42St Mary's Church, Abbeytown : all that is left of Holmcultram Abbey, founded by David I, King of Scots, and his son, Earl Henry, in 1150 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 43Castlerigg Stone Circle (from History of Cumbria)
Image 44The historic counties shown within Cumbria
  Boundary of Cumbria
  Historic Cumberland
  Historic Westmorland
  Historic Lancashire
  West Riding of Yorkshire
(from Cumbria)
Image 45A Border Reiver : statue in Carlisle (from History of Cumbria)
Image 46The University of Cumbria's Fusehill Campus in Carlisle (from Cumbria)
Image 47BAE Systems Submarine Solutions in Barrow-in-Furness has a workforce of around 12,000 people. (from Cumbria)
Image 48Craven Park, home of Barrow Raiders (from Cumbria)
Image 49Roman milestone still in situ by the A66 near Kirkby Thore (from History of Cumbria)
Image 50Loki stone, Kirkby Stephen parish church, part of a 10th-century Viking-age cross-shaft. But does it show Loki or Satan? (from History of Cumbria)
Image 51The Eden Valley between Appleby and Penrith, an area referred to affectionately as the heartland of Rheged in the praise poems of Taliesin (from History of Cumbria)
Image 52Rydal Mount – home to Wordsworth 1813–1850. Hundreds of visitors came here to see him over the years (from History of Cumbria)
Image 53Kents Bank, Cumbria (from History of Cumbria)
Image 54Furness Abbey (from Cumbria)
Image 55The historic counties shown within Cumbria
  Boundary of Cumbria
  Cumberland
  Westmorland
  Lancashire
  West Riding of Yorkshire
(from History of Cumbria)
Image 56Muncaster Castle (from Cumbria)
Image 57The banks of Brocavum Roman fort in the foreground; Brougham Castle is in the background (from History of Cumbria)
Image 58Little Meg – a Bronze Age ring cairn with spiral rock art (from History of Cumbria)
Image 59Scots' Dike (from History of Cumbria)
Image 60The Gosforth Cross, 10th-century Viking-age sculpture. (A replica of 1887, with clearer depictions of the decoration, may be found in the churchyard at Aspatria, along with a replica of another cross, the original of which is at Dearham) (from History of Cumbria)
Image 61Claife Station on the western shore of Windermere – built in the 1790s with tinted windows angled to take in all the aesthetically pleasing views (from History of Cumbria)
Image 62A Tesco store underwater in Carlisle during the January 2005 floods (from History of Cumbria)
Image 63Hadrian's Wall (from History of Cumbria)
Image 64St Laurence's Church, Morland : with "the only tower of Anglo-Saxon character in the NW counties", according to Pevsner. Tower possibly built by order of Siward, Earl of Northumbria, sometime between 1042 and 1055; nave possibly later (1120) (from History of Cumbria)
Image 65The Ormside bowl, probably late 8th century and made in Northumbria; possibly looted from York by a Viking warrior and buried with him at Great Ormside (from History of Cumbria)
Image 66Iron Age roundhouse reconstruction (from History of Cumbria)
Image 67The Rere or Rey Cross on Stainmore (from History of Cumbria)
Image 68Local government districts 1974–2023
1. City of Carlisle
2. Allerdale
3. Eden
4. Copeland
5. South Lakeland
6. Barrow-in-Furness (from History of Cumbria)
Image 69'Giants Grave', St. Andrew's churchyard, Penrith, an unusual arrangement of two Viking-age cross-shafts with four hogbacks (in the foreground). In addition, there is a smaller, Viking-age, wheel-headed cross just visible in the background (from History of Cumbria)
Image 70Wray Castle – built by a Liverpool doctor who had married a rich wife. Constructed in 1840 at the head of Windermere. Associated with two key players of the National Trust : Canon Rawnsley and Beatrix Potter (from History of Cumbria)
Image 71Milefortlet 21 at Crosscanonby on the Cumbrian coast, with later, 18th-century, saltpans across the road to the left (from History of Cumbria)
Image 72Great Langdale, site of the Langdale Axe Factory (from History of Cumbria)
Image 73Sizergh Castle (from Cumbria)
Image 74Cairn circle, Oddendale (from History of Cumbria)
Image 75Walls Castle, Ravenglass: the possible site of the Arthurian Lyons Garde or St Patrick's birthplace (from History of Cumbria)
Image 76Yanwath hall – a semi-fortified house near Penrith (from History of Cumbria)
Image 77Napes Needle on Great Gable, a favourite of the early climbers (from History of Cumbria)
Image 78 Beatrix Potter (from Cumbria)
Image 79Topographic map of Cumbria (from Cumbria)
Image 80Workington Hall, the Curwens' family seat (from History of Cumbria)
Image 81The Stanegate line is marked in red, to the south of the later Hadrian's Wall. (n.b. Brocavum is Brougham, not Kirkby Thore as given in the map) (from History of Cumbria)
Image 82Cumbria within England (from History of Cumbria)
Image 83Greystoke Castle. Held by the Greystoke family, then by the Dacres and inherited by the Howard family during Elizabeth I's reign. Photo:Simon Ledingham (from History of Cumbria)

Featured articles

Brougham Castle • HMS Cardiff (D108) • Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett

Featured pictures

File:Derwent Water, Keswick - June 2009.jpg • File:Helvellyn Striding Edge 360 Panorama, Lake District - June 09.jpg • File:Keswick, Cumbria Panorama 1 - June 2009.jpg • File:Keswick Panorama - Oct 2009.jpg • File:Catbells Northern Ascent, Lake District - June 2009.jpg • File:Glenridding, Cumbria, England - June 2009.jpg

Good articles

Andrew Johnston (singer) • Askam and Ireleth • Brough Castle • Grayrigg derailment • Herdwick • Lady in the Lake trial • Nethermost Pike • The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit • The Story of Miss Moppet • The Tale of Benjamin Bunny • The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck • The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher • The Tale of Mr. Tod • The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle • The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse • The Tale of The Flopsy Bunnies • The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes

Ravenglass Roman Bath House (also known as Walls Castle) is a ruined ancient Roman bath house at Ravenglass, Cumbria, England. Belonging to a 2nd-century Roman fort and naval base (known to the Romans as Itunocelum), the bath house is described by Matthew Hyde in his update to the Pevsner Guide to Cumbria as "an astonishing survival". The still standing walls are 13 ft (4 m) high, there are patches of the internal rendering, in dull red and white cement, and traces of the splayed window openings remain.

The remaining fragment appears to be the west end of a building which was about 40 ft/12 metres wide and about 90 ft/27 metres long (see plan). It consisted of a suite of rooms arranged in a double sequence along the building. The entrance and changing area (apodyterium) contains niches, perhaps originally for statues. The use of the other rooms is not known, but there would have been a range of warm rooms, a hot bath and a cold plunge. The north and south walls have external buttresses which were probably intended to take the weight of a vaulted roof. Excavations were carried out at the bath house in 1881. Remains of the hypocaust heating system were uncovered, but they have since been reburied. (Full article...)

List of selected geographic features
Derwentwater Haweswater Reservoir Rydal Water Ullswater Wast Water Windermere Scafell Pike Scafell Pillar (Lake District) Great Gable Bowfell Great End Skiddaw Helvellyn Borrowdale Volcanic Group Geology of the Lake District Yorkshire Dales National Park Belah Viaduct Cross Fell Port of Barrow Solway Coast Moorhouse and Cross Fell Ease Gill Caverns Dales Way

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WikiProjects related to Cumbria:

WikiProject Geography
- WikiProject Europe
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    - Wikipedia:WikiProject Lancashire and Cumbria

WikiProjects about things important to Cumbria:

WikiProject Mountains
WikiProject Lakes
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A panoramic view of the ascent of Helvellyn with Striding Edge on the left, then a steep scramble to the summit followed by a scrambling descent via Swirrel Edge on the right, leading to Catstye Cam.

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