Blennerhasset and Torpenhow

Location of Blennerhasset and Torpenhow

Church of St Michael and All Angels, Torpenhow

Building at Torpenhow, formerly the Sun Inn

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]

The local pronunciation of Torpenhow is trə-PEN-ə (/trəˈpɛnə/ ^ⓘ), 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

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

Blennerhasset and Torpenhow is part of the Penrith and Solway constituency of the UK parliament.

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

Its parish council is Blennerhasset and Torpenhow Parish Council.[8]

Blennerhasset Mill

Blennerhasset Mill (at grid reference NY1844041890) is on the south bank of the River Ellen.[9]

Roman fort

A Roman fort[10] is situated on the old Roman Road between Old Carlisle grid reference NY263466 and Papcastle grid reference NY109314

Gallery

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

See also

• Listed buildings in Blennerhasset and Torpenhow
• Torpenhow Hill

Notes

References

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. "Blennerhasset and Torpenhow Parish Council".
9. RSL (26 May 2013). "Blennerhasset Mill - Blennerhasset". Retrieved 13 September 2023.
10. "Blennerhasset Roman Fort - Roman Britain". Retrieved 13 September 2023.

External links

• Cumbria County History Trust: Blennerhasset and Kirkland (nb: provisional research only - see Talk page)
• Cumbria County History Trust: Torpenhow and Whitrigg (nb: provisional research only - see Talk page)

54°45′00″N 03°15′18″W