Kirkby Thore

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Kirkby Thore
Kirkby Thore shown within Cumbria
OS grid reference	NY639257
District	Eden
Shire county	Cumbria
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	PENRITH
Postcode district	CA10
Dialling code	017683
Police	Cumbria
Fire	Cumbria
Ambulance	North West
European Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Penrith and The Border
List of places: UK • England • Cumbria

Coordinates: 54°37′32″N 2°33′30″W / 54.625483, -2.558426

Kirkby Thore Gypsum Plant

Kirkby Thore is a small village and hill in Cumbria, England at grid reference NY639257.

It is close to the Lake District national park and the Cumbrian Pennines. The market town of Appleby-in-Westmorland is about 5 miles away, and the larger town of Penrith is about 8 miles away.

It is in the ancient county of Westmorland.

The village is on the site of a Roman cavalry camp called Bravoniacum^[1] and Roman coins, tombstones, sandals, urns, earthen vessels and the cusp of a spear have been found in the locality. The Maiden Way Roman road leads from Kirkby Thore to Magnis (Carvoran) on Hadrian's Wall.

The Anglican Church of St. Michael in the village is built of red sandstone and dates from Norman times. The village also has a Methodist Chapel. There is also a village shop with Post Office, BP filling station (and shop) and a pub (currently closed, awaiting refurbishment) serving bar meals.

Gypsum has been quarried or mined in the area for over 200 years. The local British Gypsum Ltd^[2] plant has produced plaster since 1910 and plasterboard since the 1960s.

The busy A66 road runs through the western edge of the village. This will be one of the last sections of the A66 to be upgraded to dual carriageway; as of 2006 the Highways Agency is conducting public consultation on the route of the proposed bypass (which will connect the existing Appleby bypass to the east and the Temple Sowerby bypass (opened in part October 2007, ahead of schedule) to the west.