Wikipedia

Blennerhasset and Torpenhow

Blennerhasset and Torpenhow is a civil parish in Cumbria, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 437, reducing to 423 at the 2011 Census.[1] It includes the villages of Blennerhasset grid reference NY178415 and Torpenhow at NY202397 and the smaller settlement of Kirkland Guards at NY187401. It is located just outside the Lake District National Park. Baggrow railway station was immediately north of Blennerhasset.[2]

Map
Location of Blennerhasset and Torpenhow
Church of St Michael and All Angels, Torpenhow
Building at Torpenhow, formerly the Sun Inn

The local pronunciation of Torpenhow is trə-PEN-ə, rather than the more intuitive TOR-pen-how (/ˈtɔːrpənhaʊ/).[3][4] Blennerhasset is pronounced blen-RAY-sit (/blɛnˈreɪsɪt/) instead of BLEN-ər-hass-it (/ˈblɛnərhæsɪt/) as would be expected outside of Cumbria.

St Michael's Church, Torpenhow has a Norman chancel arch with a remarkable carving of interlocking human figures, and a painted wooden ceiling.

Toponymy

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The name Blennerhasset derives from the Brittonic blaen dre, meaning "hill farm", with the later addition of Old Norse hey sætr, "hay shieling". Similarly, Torpenhow derives from the Brittonic tor pen, meaning "peak head" or "end of the high ground", to which the Old English word hōh ("hill spur") has been added.[5][6] Alternatively, Torpenhow may be an entirely Brittonic name incorporating a plural suffix.[7]

Governance

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Blennerhasset and Torpenhow is part of the Workington constituency of the UK parliament. The current Member of Parliament is Mark Jenkinson, a member of the Conservative Party. Prior to the 2019 general election, the Labour Party had won the seat in every general election since 1979; the Conservative Party had previously only been elected once in Workington since the Second World War: in the 1976 Workington by-election.[8]

For Local Government purposes it is in the Cumberland unitary authority area.

Its parish council is Blennerhasset and Torpenhow Parish Council.[9]

Blennerhasset Mill

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Blennerhasset Mill (at grid reference NY1844041890) is on the south bank of the River Ellen.[10]

Roman fort

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A Roman fort[11] is situated on the old Roman Road between Old Carlisle grid reference NY263466 and Papcastle grid reference NY109314

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    Blennerhasset village green
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    Blennerhasset bridge and weir
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    Road junction in Torpenhow
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    Former Country Towns Mission Hall in Torpenhow

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  2. ^ 1860 Ordnance Survey map
  3. ^ "Pardon? Where did you say that was?". BBC. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  4. ^ Francis, Darryl (2003). "The Debunking of Torpenhow Hill". Word Ways. 36 (1): 6–8.
  5. ^ Watts, Victor, ed. (2010). The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names. Cambridge University Press. pp. 65, 623. ISBN 978-0-521-16855-7.
  6. ^ "Torpenhow". Survey of English Place-Names. University of Nottingham. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  7. ^ Ekwall, Eilert (1947). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names (3rd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 455.
  8. ^ "A vision of Britain website – general elections section". Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  9. ^ "Blennerhasset and Torpenhow Parish Council".
  10. ^ RSL (26 May 2013). "Blennerhasset Mill - Blennerhasset". Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  11. ^ "Blennerhasset Roman Fort - Roman Britain". Retrieved 13 September 2023.
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blennerhasset and Torpenhow.
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54°45′00″N 03°15′18″W / 54.75000°N 3.25500°W / 54.75000; -3.25500

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