Bassenthwaite
| Bassenthwaite | |
| Cumberland | |
|---|---|
 Bassenthwaite Cottages and Sun Inn | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NY225322 |
| Location: | 54°40’45"N, 3°12’9"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 481 (2011) |
| Post town: | Keswick |
| Postcode: | CA12 |
| Dialling code: | 017687 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Cumberland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Workington |
Bassenthwaite is a village in Cumberland, standing a mile and a half from the eastern shore of Bassenthwaite Lake. The Chapel Beck runs down from the hills here to enter the lake below the village.
Overlooking the village is Skiddaw, a 'Furth Munro' which at 3,054 feet is the fourth highest fell in the Lake District. Robin Hood, Skiddaw, Ullock Pike, Longside Edge and Barf can be seen from the village.
The 2011 census recorded a parish population of 481.
Bassenthwaite village is about seven miles east of Cockermouth, on no main road but with the A791 road from Keswick passing between it and the lake. Containing just a single pub and no shops, it is largely an agricultural community, with two farms within the village itself, with a number of holiday homes.
In and about the village
The village has its own Church of England parish church, St John's[1] on its outskirts, together with a tiny Methodist chapel. It contains many elements of the archetypal village including a green, primary school and a stream running through it.
Trafford Caravan Park is on Carlisle Road six miles from the roundabout just outside Keswick.
Name
'Bassenthwaite' is "'Bastun's clearing'; the personal name 'Bastun' plus the Old Norse þveit meaning 'clearing', also 'common'. The first element is usually taken to be the Anglo-French nickname or surname 'Bastun', originally meaning 'stick'. Bassenthwaite lake, in early times known as 'Bastun's Water', takes its name from the village."[2]
St Bega's church
The church of St Bega is in fields near the lake, some distance away from the village, and was built about 950AD. It is a grade II* listed building,[3] and is popular for weddings. It is the parish church of Bassenthwaite: St John's church was built later as a chapel of ease.[1] The St Bega's Way walking route finishes here, having run up from the coast: the route was described in a booklet published to raise funds for the church in 2008.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Bassenthwaite) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Bassenthwaite". The Binsey Team Ministry. http://www.binsey.org.uk/parishes/bassenthwaite/. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- ↑ Whaley, Diana: 'A dictionary of Lake District place-names' (English Place-Name Society, 2006) page 20, ISBN 0904889726
- ↑ National Heritage List 1332957: Church of St Bega