Kielder
| Kielder | |
| Northumberland | |
|---|---|
 Kielder Village, Deadwater Fell in the background | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NY625935 |
| Location: | 55°14’6"N, 2°35’28"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 218 (2011) |
| Post town: | Hexham |
| Postcode: | NE48 |
| Dialling code: | 01434 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Northumberland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Hexham |
Kielder or Kielder Village is a small, remote village in western Northumberland, at the head of Kielder Water and in the north-west of Kielder Forest. The village is three miles fomr the county’s boundary with Roxburghshire.
It is claimed that Kielder has the lowest level of light pollution in England.[1]
History
Early settlement around Kielder Castle, a hunting lodge built by the Duke of Northumberland in 1775. Previous settlements were expanded in the 1950s by the Forestry Commission who constructed housing to accommodate the workers employed in the planting of Kielder Forest. Most of this housing has now been sold back to the private sector.
Economy
The economy of Kielder was based on forestry and is now also based on tourism. Before the 20th century the economy of Kielder was based on sheep farming. The use of the area as a hunting ground by the Dukes of Northumberland added an extra element to the area.
Within the village today there is a pub, a shop and sub post office and a YHA youth hostel.
Forestry
The Forestry Act 1919 established the Forestry Commission with a purpose of forming a strategic reserve of timber for the country. The first plantings at Kielder were in 1926 when 1,977 acres (800 ha) of coniferous trees were planted.[2] A further 46,950 acres were bought in 1932[2] and today 153,210 acres of forest are under Forestry Commission control.[2]
Although timber production remains an integral part of the forestry operation, it also has the aims of encouraging the public to use the forest as an educational resource and to sustain and enhance wildlife conservation.[2] Over 50% of the red squirrel population of England is now found in the forest.[3]
Tourism
With the creation of Kielder Water in 1982[4] great strides have been taken to develop the area as a tourist destination with the establishment of facilities such as Leaplish Waterside Park by Northumbrian Water, which offers both accommodation and recreational facilities,[5] the Kielder Observatory and various artworks in the landscape, such as the Kielder Skyspace.[6]
Transport
Kielder was once served by Kielder railway station on the Border Counties Railway which linked the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, near Hexham, with the Border Union Railway at Riccarton Junction. The first section of the route was opened between Hexham and Chollerford in 1858, the remainder opening in 1862. The line was closed to passengers by British Railways in 1956.[7]
The station building, now a private house, still stands here by the 'Station Garage'. The station was renamed Kielder Forest in 1948. The Kielder Reservoir now floods much of the route eastwards to Falstone, but a very fine castellated Kielder Viaduct near Kielder Castle still stands. About half a mile east from here the line is obliterated as its route is now reservoir and some scouring and embankment removal has removed the traces of its course. Slightly further east its course would be below today’s water level.
Church
Kielder lies within the Church of England parish of Falstone with Graystead & Thorneyburn.[8]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Kielder) |
References
- ↑ "Observatory boasts darkest skies". BBC. 25 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/7366394.stm. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Read, Helen; Frater, Mark (10 June 1999). Woodland Habitats. habitat guides. Jo Wright. Routledge. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-415-18090-0. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Rx3FXryJVxMC&dq=isbn:0415180902. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ↑ "Kielder Water and Forest". Northumberland Tourism Ltd. 2009. http://www.visitnorthumberland.com/site/highlights/the-icons/kielder-water-and-forest-park. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ↑ Simpson, David (2006). "North Tynedale". talktalk.net. http://www.northeastengland.talktalk.net/NorthTynedale.htm#KIELDER. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ↑ "Visit Kielder". Northumbrian Water. 2009. http://www.nwl.co.uk/Planyourbreak.aspx. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ↑ "Cat Cairn: The Keilder Skyspace". http://kielderartandarchitecture.com/art-architecture/cat-cairn-the-kielder-skyspace.html. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ Sewell, G W M (1991). The North British railway in Northumberland. Braunston, Devon: Merlin Books. p. 71. ISBN 0-86303-613-9.
- ↑ "A church near you". Church of England. 2008. http://www.achurchnearyou.com/parishmap.php?x=-2.5801563262939453&y=55.23183752710242. Retrieved 19 May 2009.