Wetheral
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wetheral is a village in Cumbria, England. The village, which is quite large by local standards (4,039 residents - 2001 Census ), serves mostly as a dormitory town for nearby Carlisle. Along with nearby Scotby and the merged village of Warwick Bridge - Corby Hill - Little Corby, this is one of the most affluent areas of North Cumbria.
Wetheral stands high on a bank overlooking a gorge in the River Eden. Parts of the riverbank here are owned by the National Trust. Formerly a small ferryboat operated to the village of Great Corby on the opposite bank, and an iron ring can still be found attached to the rocks on the Great Corby side of the river where the ferry would tie up.
The Newcastle to Carlisle Railway has a station here at the west end of Corby Bridge (popularly known as 'Wetheral Viaduct') over the Eden which acts also as a footbridge connecting with Great Corby. The station was closed during the Beeching cuts, but was reopened in 1984.
In the Middle Ages there was a priory at Wetheral. All that is left now is a gatehouse, which is in the care of English Heritage, and some low ruined walls behind the farm buildings that now occupy the site.
At the historic core of the village lies the village green, in one corner of which stands Wetheral Cross. The cross previously stood in the centre of the green before it was moved. The green is surrounded by large period houses in different styles, and the village's 'Fantails' restaurant, shop and tea room front the green. The church, hotel (The Crown), village hall, hairdresser and pub (The Wheatsheaf) are not far away. The north western part of the village is known as Wetheral Plain and consists of a ribbon development along Plains Road and the housing estates of Greenacres and Faustin Hill.
There is no school in the village (it closed many years ago) and most primary school children travel to the school at Scotby, although some go to Great Corby or Warwick Bridge. The village lies in the catchment area of St Aidan's County High School and Specialist Sports College in Carlisle, although the William Howard School in nearby Brampton provides a bus service for pupils who wish to attend school there. This is undertaken by most pupils despite having to pay a large charge for bus costs instead of the free bus to the catchment school in Carlisle.
The civil parish of Wetheral includes also the villages and hamlets of Warwick-on-Eden, Warwick Bridge (but not Corby Hill or Little Corby), Aglionby, Scotby, Cotehill, Cumwhinton, Great Corby, Wetheral Shield and Wetheral Pasture.
At Wetheral Shield is the Eden Animal Rescue Centre.
