Ulpha
| Ulpha | |
| Cumberland | |
|---|---|
 Duddon Valley looking towards Eskdale | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SD19789195 |
| Location: | 54°19’0"N, 3°13’60"W |
| Data | |
| Local Government | |
Ulpha is a small village in Cumberland which lies in Duddon Valley or Dunnerdale.
Ulpha, though some times claiming to be the "capital of Dunnerdale" is an even smaller village than its Lancastrian rival up the dale, Seathwaite. It has just one shop and a church.
The name of the village is from the Old Norse language, believed to come from Ulf haugr ("Wolf Hill")[1]
The parish church of St John the Baptist ("as welcome as a star" according to Wordsworth) is of locally hewn stone, with adze-carved beams, open to the rafters. It was first built as a chapel of ease for the parish of Millom. In 1934 during repairs in, fragments of painted plaster were found bearing decorations from the early eighteenth century. Amongst the decorations were fragments of the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments, and a fragment of the Royal Arms with “A.R.” inscribed (Queen Anne, 1702 – 1714). The paintings are similar to those executed by Salathiel Court in that period found at Broughton in Furness
At Ulpha a road leaves the Duddon Valley to cross Birker Fell to the valley of Eskdale.
Frith Hall lies nearby in the dale in ruins. It was built in the sixteenth century and served as a hunting lodge, overlooking the deer park of Ulpha. The remains of Ulpha Old Hall stand at the foot of the Dunnerdale Fells. The hall was built around 1580- 1620, later than the days of the pele towers but bearing some echo of their form. All that now stand are an east-facing wall of around 4 feet thick pierced with a doorway and three other walls standing now only to the height of the ground floor.
Ulpha bridge is often a popular tourist attraction in the summer, with many people coming to swim in the water.
