Ravenstonedale, Westmorland
Historical Description
Ravenstonedale, a village and a parish in Westmorland. The village stands on a headstream of the river Eden, 1½ mile SE of Newbiggin railway station, and 4½ miles SW of Kirkby Stephen, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Kirkby Stephen. It is supplied with water from a spring half a mile distant, delivered by a hydrant erected in 1890. The parish is divided into the quarters of Town, Newbiggin, Fellend, and Bowderdale. Acreage, 16,407; population, 846. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. The manor belonged to Watton Nunnery, and passed to the Whartons and the Lowthers. The surface includes much mountain, called Ravenstonedale Fells, and contains sources of the rivers Eden and Lune. Tumuli are at Rasett, a Druidical circle near Rotherbridge, and a " holy well" at Newbiggin. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Carlisle; gross value, £170 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Lonsdale. The church was rebuilt in 1744, and consists of chancel, nave, N and S porches, and an embattled western tower. It contains several stained windows, a fine oak pulpit, and an organ presented in 1891. It is said to have had the privilege of sanctuary. There are Congregational and Wesleyan chapels, and an endowed parochial school with £50 a year, founded in 1688 and reconstituted in 1873, when new buildings were erected. A reading-room with a library was built and presented to the parish in 1891. At Newbiggin there is a post and money order office under Kirkby Stephen; telegraph office, Ravenstonedale. A small but handsome church in the Gothic style was erected in 1892 by Mr John Fothergill, and endowed with £2000. There is also a Primitive Methodist chapel.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Westmorland | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Ravenstonedale St. Oswald | |
Poor Law union | East ward | |
Ward | East |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Ravenstonedale from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Ravenstonedale (St. Oswald))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Westmorland is available to browse.