NEWS
Matterdale
Parish Council is continuing to promote the possibility that
everyone
in Matterdale and Watermillock can access high speed internet.
Most
of the country will be using high speed broadband in the next few years
and the
internet will be designed for them. If you are running a business or
just want faster global communications, its essential you don't opt out
now. To learn more about what it will mean for our area, please click
on the link below and register your interest and give support to your
Parish Councilors.
FAST
BROADBAND
The Cumbria parish
of MATTERDALE lies to the north-west of Lake Ullswater, the
second
largest lake in the Lake District National Park. The Parish
includes the main villages of DOCKRAY and WATERMILLOCK, along
with
Matterdale End, Bennetthead and Thackthwaite, which are all
located to the north-west of Ullswater.
In
1870-72, John Marius Wilson's
Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described
Matterdale and
Watermillock like this:
"MATTERDALE,
a chapelry in Greystoke parish,
Cumberland; containing a wild mountain vale of its own name, 3
miles S by E of Troutheck r. station, and 8½ E of
Keswick.
Post town, Penrith. Acres, 7,313. Real property,
£1,499.
Pop., 420. Houses, 69. The property is subdivided. The vale
has
interesting features, is drained toward Ulleswater, and
adjoins
some highly picturesque scenery, but is flanked by tame and
barren
moor and mountain. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Carlisle.
Valne, £115. Patron, the Rector of Greystoke. The church
is good; and there are an endowed school with
£13 a
year, and charities"
"WATERMILLOCK,
a chapelry, with a village, in
Greystoke parish, Cumberland; on Ulleswater, 3¾ miles S
by E of Penruddock r. station, and 7 SW of Penrith. It has a
post-office under Penrith. Acres, 9,336; of which 1,020 are
water.
Real property, 4,425; 17 are in fisheries. Pop., 576. Houses,
102.
The property is such subdivided. Hallsteads is a chief residence. The
living is a rectory in the diocese of Carlisle. Value, £1
30.* Patron, the Rector of Greystoke. The church was built in
1558. There are an endowed school and charities"
In the 1974 boundary changes, both
areas became part of Cumbria County within the Eden District
Council remit. They were also within The Lake District
National
Park boundary set up by parliament in the late 60s.
By 2009 Matterdale
has become an important Parish providing an area of
outstanding
natural beauty, attracting tourists worldwide to enjoy its
stunning scenery, outdoor pursuits of fell walking and
sailing.
Covering some 17500 acres and a resident population of around
500,
it hosts as many as 7000 visitors at peak times, staying at
the many camping and caravan sites, B+B's, S/C units and
hotels. The hundred or so farming families that prospered in
the
Parish in the 1900s has diminished to little over ten percent
today.
Our Mission
Matterdale
Parish Councillors serve the parish community making it a better place
to live, work and play.
To see a list of current
Parish Councillors click here
>