The county 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. After Carlisle (74,281), the largest settlements are Barrow-in-Furness (56,745), Kendal (29,593), and Whitehaven (23,986). 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 Lady in the Lake trial was a 2005 murder case in which Gordon Park (25 January 1944 – 25 January 2010) a retired teacher from Leece, near Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, was jailed for life for the 1976 murder of his first wife, Carol Ann Park.
Carol Park went missing on 17 July 1976, and was never seen alive again by her family. In 1997, her body was discovered by divers in Coniston Water and Gordon Park was arrested on suspicion of murder. Reputedly he said "Oh dear", after being informed they had found her body. The charges were subsequently dropped, but in 2004 Park was arrested again and found guilty of his wife's murder. The trial judge sentenced him to life imprisonment and recommended that he should serve a minimum of 15 years before being considered for parole. He was held at Garth prison, Leyland, Preston. In December 2007, he lodged an appeal against his conviction which was dismissed in November 2008. On 25 January 2010, he was found hanged in his cell, and pronounced dead at the scene. (Full article...)
Image 6So-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 9Wray 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 13Approximate 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 22Brantwood, 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 24The northeastern Irish Sea, showing new settlements with Norse place names. (from History of Cumbria)
Image 25The Fish Hotel, Buttermere – where Mary Robinson worked (from History of Cumbria)
Image 26St 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 27Wetheral Priory Gatehouse – all that remains of Wetheral Priory, founded by Ranulf le Meschin in 1106 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 31The 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 32Dove Cottage (Town End, Grasmere) – home of William and Dorothy Wordsworth, 1799–1808; home of Thomas De Quincey, 1809–1820 (from History of Cumbria)
Image 33The historic counties shown within Cumbria
Image 35Greystoke 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)
Image 37Loki 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 38Location of Inglewood Forest, stretching from Carlisle to Penrith; it was the most northerly of the Royal forests (from History of Cumbria)
Image 39Rydal Mount – home to Wordsworth 1813–1850. Hundreds of visitors came here to see him over the years (from History of Cumbria)
Image 42Carlisle 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 52Roman milestone still in situ by the A66 near Kirkby Thore (from History of Cumbria)
Image 53This 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 54Birdoswald – showing partial blockage of main (east) gateway (from History of Cumbria)
Image 56St 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 60Swarthy 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 61Neolithic stone axe with handle from Ehenside Tarn (now in the British Museum) (from History of Cumbria)
Image 63'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 70The Irton Cross, Irton, Cumbria, early 9th century, Anglian (pre-Viking) sculpture (from History of Cumbria)
Image 71Claife 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 72The 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 75Kentmere Hall, an example of a Cumbrian Pele tower (from History of Cumbria)
Image 76Workington Hall, the Curwens' family seat (from History of Cumbria)
Image 77The 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 79The 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 80The 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)
Haweswater is a reservoir in the valley of Mardale, Cumbria in the Lake District, England. Work to raise the height of the original natural lake was started in 1929. It was controversially dammed after the UK Parliament passed a Private Act giving Manchester Corporation permission to build the reservoir to supply drinking water to the city. The decision caused a public outcry because the farming villages of Measand and Mardale Green would be flooded and the valley altered forever.
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.
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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