Buttermere, Cumberland
| Buttermere | |
| Cumberland | |
|---|---|
 Buttermere (C), below Grasmoor | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NY174170 |
| Location: | 54°32’30"N, 3°16’32"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 127 (2001) |
| Dialling code: | 017687 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Cumberland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Workington |
Buttermere is a village in Cumberland, on the shore of the like-named lake, named Buttermere, from which the village is named.
The village of Buttermere lies between two of the lakes of the Lake District: Buttermere and Crummock Water. It is overlooked by the summits of Grasmoor to the north and High Stile to the south. The nearest towns are Keswick and Cockermouth, both of which are about ten miles away, and both in Cumberland.
The civil parish of Buttermere covers a considerable area around the village up to the summit of Grasmoor and to High Stile and the western side of Honister Pass. Brackenthwaite, a hamlet north of Crummock Water, and Gatesgarth, at the foot of the Honister Pass, are within it. All this land is within the Lake District National Park.
About the village
Buttermere stands on the B5289 road that runs beside Crummock Water and along the valley of the River Cocker north to Cockermouth. In the other direction, the B5289 runs via the steep Honister Pass, to Borrowdale and Keswick. A more direct, but more minor, road crosses the nearby Newlands Pass into the Newlands Valley and hence to Keswick.
In the village, The Bridge Hotel, stands on a site tracing back to the 11th century, where an armoury and a bakery stood, in connection with the Water-Mill Earl Boether built higher up the stream. For seven centuries the mill worked continuously, the buildings being many times renewed.
Around 1734, the mill buildings were sold to the church, and the curate, the Reverend Robert Walker, obtained a beer licence and originated the 'Bridge Inn'. In 1837, Jonathan Thomas Sleap purchased the property, rebuilding the inn using stone obtained from the old water will. He changed the name to 'Victoria' upon the visit by Her Majesty in 1850. The author Nicholas Size acquired the Victoria in 1920 and extended and improved the building, and after his death the new owner changed the name to 'The Bridge'.
Legends
Mary Robinson (1778–1837), known as "The Maid of Buttermere" lived in the village. She is the subject of Melvyn Bragg's novel of that name.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Buttermere, Cumberland) |