Eamont Bridge
Encyclopedia
Penrith, Cumbria
Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....
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The village is named after the River Eamont
River Eamont
The River Eamont is a river in Cumbria, England and one of the major tributaries of the River Eden.The river is formed by the outflow from Ullswater in the Lake District, later augmented by Dacre Beck from the west and the River Lowther which carries the water from Haweswater north to the Eamont at...
and straddles the boundary between the ancient counties of Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
and Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
. One of the houses in the village is called the "Welcome Inn" and was at one time the Welcome into Cumberland Inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
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There are two ancient sites in the village, namely the earthwork known as King Arthur's Round Table
King Arthur's Round Table, Cumbria
King Arthur's Round Table is a Neolithic henge in the village of Eamont Bridge within the English county of Cumbria, around 2 km south east of Penrith. The site is free to visitors and is under the control of English Heritage....
and the much better preserved Mayburgh Henge
Mayburgh Henge
Mayburgh Henge is a large prehistoric monument in the county of Cumbria in northern England. Mayburgh Henge is just outside the village of Eamont Bridge close to the confluence of the Rivers Eamont and Lowther around 1 mile south of Penrith, just a few hundred yards from the M6 motorway.Mayburgh...
. Both sites are under the protection of English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. There is a splendid example of vernacular architecture in the centre of the village: the Mansion House.
The southern or Westmorland half of the village lies within the civil parish of Yanwath and Eamont Bridge
Yanwath and Eamont Bridge
Yanwath and Eamont Bridge is a civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, consisting of the small village of Yanwath and most of the neighbouring village of Eamont Bridge. It has a population of 457....
whereas the northern part (Skirsgill Lane and Kemplay Bank) is within the unparished area
Unparished area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish. Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparished. Many towns and some cities in otherwise rural districts are also unparished areas and therefore no longer have a town council or city...
of Penrith. For other local government matters Eamont Bridge lies within the Eden District
Eden, Cumbria
Eden is a local government district in Cumbria, England. Its council is based in Penrith. It is named after the River Eden which flows north through the district toward Carlisle....
wards of Eamont, Penrith South and Penrith Pategill and the Cumbria county council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
electoral divisions
Electoral district
An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...
of Penrith Rural, Penrith West and Penrith East.
There are two pubs opposite each other at the southern end of the village.
The village lies on the A6 road and before the opening of the M6 motorway
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
was a notorious bottleneck due to the narrow bridge over the River Eamont which is still today controlled by traffic lights.
On 12 July 927, Eamont Bridge was the scene of a gathering of kings from throughout Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
and the histories of William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
and John of Worcester
John of Worcester
John of Worcester was an English monk and chronicler. He is usually held to be the author of the Chronicon ex chronicis.-Chronicon ex chronicis:...
. Present were Athelstan, Constantín mac Áeda, Owain of Strathclyde
Eógan I of Strathclyde
Owen I, Ywain I or Eógan I was ruler of the Kingdom of Strathclyde for some period in the early tenth century....
, Hywel Dda
Hywel Dda
Hywel Dda , was the well-thought-of king of Deheubarth in south-west Wales, who eventually came to rule Wales from Prestatyn to Pembroke. As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr, through his father Cadell, Hywel was a member of the Dinefwr branch of the dynasty and is also named Hywel ap Cadell...
, and Ealdred son of Eadulf
Ealdred I of Bernicia
Ealdred was the son of Eadwulf. He was a ruler or nobleman in Northumbria in the early tenth century.Ealdred's father, called "king of the Saxons of the North" by the Annals of Ulster, but only reeve of Bamburgh by the chronicler Æthelweard, died in 913. He may have been ruler of Northumbria...
. This is generally seen as the date of the foundation of the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
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