# Setmurthy

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**Setmurthy** is a [civil parish](/source/Civil_parish) in the [Cumberland](/source/Cumberland_(unitary_authority)) district of [Cumbria](/source/Cumbria), England. It lies within the [Lake District National Park](/source/Lake_District_National_Park). The main settlement in the parish is [Dubwath](/source/Dubwath), on the shore of [Bassenthwaite Lake](/source/Bassenthwaite_Lake).

## History

The spelling "Satmurthawe" is seen in 1473.[1]

The parish church of St Barnabas, built in 1794, is grade II listed; it is in the [Diocese of Carlisle](/source/Diocese_of_Carlisle) and the Binsey Mission Community.[2][3][4]

## Geography

There is no built up area of Setmurthy as such; instead it comprises a loose-knit community around the parish church and a former school (built 1896)[5] now used as a village hall.[6]

The [River Derwent](/source/River_Derwent,_Cumbria) forms the northern and eastern boundary of the parish, separating it from [Blindcrake](/source/Blindcrake). [Bassenthwaite Lake](/source/Bassenthwaite_Lake) forms the eastern boundary, and the parish is then bordered by [Above Derwent](/source/Above_Derwent) to the south east, [Embleton](/source/Embleton,_Cumbria) to the west and south, and [Cockermouth](/source/Cockermouth) and [Bridekirk](/source/Bridekirk) to the west. The main settlement is the hamlet of [Dubwath](/source/Dubwath).[7]

[Watch Hill](/source/Watch_Hill_(Cockermouth)), also known as Setmurthy Common, reaches 254 metres (833 ft) and because of its relative isolation qualifies as a [marilyn](/source/Marilyn_(geography)), a hill with 150 m of [topographic prominence](/source/Topographic_prominence). [Alfred Wainwright](/source/Alfred_Wainwright) includes it in his *[The Outlying Fells of Lakeland](/source/The_Outlying_Fells_of_Lakeland)*, recommending an ascent from the west and a return on the same route. He comments that "It is easily attained with a minimum of effort: a stroll on grass so simple that boots are incongruous footwear for it and bare feet appropriate".[8]

## Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Setmurthy, at parish and [unitary authority](/source/Unitary_authorities_of_England) level: Embleton and District Parish Council and [Cumberland Council](/source/Cumberland_Council). The parish council is a [grouped parish council](/source/Grouped_parish_council), covering the three civil parishes of [Embleton](/source/Embleton,_Cumbria), Setmurthy, and [Wythop](/source/Wythop).[9] The parish is wholly within the Lake District National Park, and so some functions are administered by the Lake District National Park Authority, notably [planning](/source/Town_planning).[10]

Setmurthy is within the [Penrith and Solway UK Parliamentary constituency](/source/Penrith_and_Solway_(UK_Parliament_constituency)).[11]

### Administrative history

Setmurthy was historically a [township](/source/Township_(England)) in the [ancient parish](/source/Ancient_parish) of [Brigham](/source/Brigham,_Cumbria), which formed part of the [historic county](/source/Historic_counties_of_England) of [Cumberland](/source/Cumberland).[12][13] The township took on civil functions under the [poor laws](/source/Poor_laws) from the 17th century onwards. As such, Setmurthy also became a [civil parish](/source/Civil_parish) in 1866, when the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws.[14]

St Barnabas' Church was a [chapel of ease](/source/Chapel_of_ease) to [St Bridget's Church, Brigham](/source/St_Bridget's_Church,_Brigham) until 1835, when Setmurthy was made a separate [ecclesiastical parish](/source/Ecclesiastical_parish) from Brigham.[5]

When elected parish and district councils were established in 1894, Setmurthy was included in the [Cockermouth Rural District](/source/Cockermouth_Rural_District).[13] Cockermouth Rural District was abolished in 1974, becoming part of the borough of [Allerdale](/source/Allerdale) in the new county of Cumbria.[15][16] Allerdale was in turn abolished in 2023 when the new Cumberland Council was created, also taking over the functions of the abolished Cumbria County Council in the area.[17]

## Population

At the [2021 census](/source/2021_United_Kingdom_census), the population was 98.[18] In the 2011 census the population had been 110.[19]

## Listed buildings

Main article: [Listed buildings in Setmurthy](/source/Listed_buildings_in_Setmurthy)

As of 2017 there are nine [listed buildings](/source/Listed_building) in the parish; Hewthwaite Hall, dating from 1581, is grade II* and the others are grade II.

## References

1. [http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT2/E4/CP40no847/aCP40no847fronts/IMG_0419.htm](http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT2/E4/CP40no847/aCP40no847fronts/IMG_0419.htm) ; 4th entry

1. ["Setmurthy St Barnabas"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170325112732/http://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/church/setmurthy-st-barnabas.html). Diocese of Carlisle. Archived from [the original](http://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/church/setmurthy-st-barnabas.html) on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.

1. ["Setmurthy, St Barnabas"](https://www.achurchnearyou.com/setmurthy-st-barnabas/). *A church near you*. Church of England. Retrieved 24 March 2017.

1. ["The Binsey Mission Community"](http://www.binsey.org.uk/). Binsey Team Mission Community. Retrieved 24 March 2017.

1. [*Kelly's Directory of Cumberland*](https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/46184/rec/2). 1906. p. 248. Retrieved 21 April 2025.

1. ["Find an address"](https://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode). *Royal Mail*. Retrieved 21 April 2025. As at 2025, the Royal Mail only lists 20 properties with a Setmurthy postal address, several of which are farms.

1. ["Information on: Setmurthy (Parish)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170325031358/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadAreaMetadata.do?a=7&b=11128322&c=setmurthy&d=16&e=62&g=6410969&i=1001x1003x1032x1004x1011&m=0&r=1&s=1490351498794&enc=1&areaId=11128322). *Neighbourhood Statistics*. Office of National Statistics. Archived from [the original](http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadAreaMetadata.do?a=7&b=11128322&c=setmurthy&d=16&e=62&g=6410969&i=1001x1003x1032x1004x1011&m=0&r=1&s=1490351498794&enc=1&areaId=11128322) on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.

1. Wainwright, A. (2011). *The Outlying Fells of Lakeland*. 2nd ed. pp. 202–203. ISBN 978-0-7112-3175-7.

1. ["Embleton and District Parish Council"](https://embleton.wordpress.com/). Retrieved 20 April 2025.

1. ["Planning"](https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/planning). *Lake District National Park*. Retrieved 10 April 2025.

1. ["Election Maps"](https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/). Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 20 April 2025.

1. Whellan, William (1860). [*The History and Topography of the Counties of Cumberland and Westmorland*](https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_History_and_Topography_of_the_Counti/ZkJCAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA295&printsec=frontcover). p. 295. Retrieved 13 April 2025.

1. ["Setmurthy Chapelry / Civil Parish"](https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10094770#tab02). *A Vision of Britain through Time*. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 21 April 2025.

1. Youngs, Frederic (1991). *Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England: Volume II, Northern England*. London: Royal Historical Society. p. xv. ISBN 0861931270.

1. No. 2039. 1972. Retrieved 3 March 2023.

1. No. 551. 1973. Retrieved 3 March 2023.

1. No. 331. 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2024.

1. ["2021 Census Parish Profiles"](https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_pp). *NOMIS*. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 March 2025. (To get individual community data, use the query function on table PP002.)

1. [Parish Profiles](https://www.cumbriaobservatory.org.uk/parish-profiles/) – Parish to Ward Population Lookup Table – Census 2011. (englisch)

## External links

- [Cumbria County History Trust: Setmurthy](http://www.cumbriacountyhistory.org.uk/township/setmurthy) (nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Setmurthy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setmurthy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setmurthy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.