Rockcliffe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other places with the same name, see Rockcliffe (disambiguation).

1 Place-name meaning
2 Ghost of Cornelius
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

Rockcliffe is a village and civil parish in the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England.^[1] Part of the parish is a marshy peninsula between the mouths of the rivers Esk and Eden. The parish includes the villages of Rockcliffe, Rockcliffe Cross, Floristonrigg, Todhills, Low Harker and Harker.

Rockcliffe formerly had a railway station, on the Caledonian Railway Main Line, that closed in 1965.

[edit] Place-name meaning

Rockcliffe does not mean 'cliff by rocks' as many might think. The name means 'red cliff', implying a sandstone cliff-face. The name is from Old Norse rauŏr meaning "red" and Old English clif for "cliff", similar to Radcliffe in Greater Manchester.

[edit] Ghost of Cornelius

A local legend, relates that the ghost of a man called Cornelius McCormick haunts the village's surrounding marshland. The legend relates that 'old corny' was a member of a reiving family who was executed for violating a farm dog, it is said his ghost wanders the marsh seeking his revenge.