# Wythop

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**Wythop** is a [civil parish](/source/Civil_parish) in the [Cumberland](/source/Cumberland_(unitary_authority)) district of [Cumbria](/source/Cumbria), England. It lies between the towns of [Cockermouth](/source/Cockermouth) and [Keswick](/source/Keswick,_Cumbria) and is within the [Lake District National Park](/source/Lake_District_National_Park). At the [2021 census](/source/2021_United_Kingdom_census) the parish had a population of 36.

## Toponymy

'Wythop' is " 'withy valley', cf. 'wīðig', 'hop' " (from the [Old English](/source/Old_English)).[1] 'Wīðig','[withy](/source/Withy)' means 'willow', 'hop' means 'a small enclosed valley'; so 'Wythop' is the 'valley of willow trees'.

## Geography

[Alfred Wainwright](/source/Alfred_Wainwright) stressed the unique nature of Wythop valley, in that instead of rising to a crest it fell away to the declivity of [Bassenthwaite Lake](/source/Bassenthwaite_Lake).[2] However he also made the point that "its *scenery* is in no way freakish. *Here is a charming and secluded natural sanctuary in an idyllic setting*.[3]

The promontory of Beck Wythop was selected by [Thomas West](/source/Thomas_West_(priest)) as one of his four 'stations' for viewing Bassenthwaite Lake.[4]

The settlement of Wythop Mill is just outside the parish boundary, forming part of the neighbouring parish of [Embleton](/source/Embleton,_Cumbria).[5]

## Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Wythop, 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, [Setmurthy](/source/Setmurthy), and Wythop.[6] 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).[7]

Wythop is within the [Penrith and Solway UK Parliamentary constituency](/source/Penrith_and_Solway_(UK_Parliament_constituency)).[5]

### Administrative history

Wythop 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).[8][9]

The parish of Brigham was large, and its four south-eastern townships of [Brackenthwaite](/source/Brackenthwaite,_Buttermere), [Buttermere](/source/Buttermere,_Cumbria_(village)), [Lorton](/source/Lorton,_Cumbria), and Wythop were served by a [chapel of ease](/source/Chapel_of_ease) at Lorton. Another chapel was subsequently built at Wythop, which was subordinate to the one at Lorton.[10][11] Wythop was made a separate [ecclesiastical parish](/source/Ecclesiastical_parish) in 1835. In 1864, a replacement Wythop church dedicated to St Margaret was built on a new site; the old church near Kelswick Farm is now in ruins.[12]

The township of Wythop took on civil functions under the [poor laws](/source/Poor_laws) from the 17th century onwards. As such, the township 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.[13]

When elected parish and district councils were established in 1894, Wythop was included in the [Cockermouth Rural District](/source/Cockermouth_Rural_District).[9] Cockermouth Rural District was abolished in 1974, becoming part of the borough of [Allerdale](/source/Allerdale) in the new county of Cumbria.[14][15] 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.[16]

## See also

- [Listed buildings in Wythop](/source/Listed_buildings_in_Wythop)

## References

1. Armstrong, A. M.; Mawer, A.; Stenton, F. M.; Dickens, B. (1950). *The place-names of Cumberland*. Vol. Part 2. English Place-Name Society, vol.xxi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 457.

1. A Wainwright, *Wainwright in the Valleys of Lakeland* (London 1996) p. 150

1. A Wainwright, *The North-Western Fells* (Kendall 1964) Sale Fell 3

1. G Lindop, *A Literary Guide to the Lake District* (London 1993) p. 201

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

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. 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. ["Wythop Township / Civil Parish"](https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10159234#tab02). *A Vision of Britain through Time*. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 21 April 2025.

1. ["Lorton Chapelry / Civil Parish"](https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10066499#tab02). *A Vision of Britain through Time*. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 14 April 2025.

1. Hutchinson, William (1794). [*The History of the County of Cumberland*](https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_History_of_the_County_of_Cumberland/orb3K8N7C3MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA122&printsec=frontcover). p. 122. Retrieved 14 April 2025.

1. [*Kelly's Directory of Cumberland*](https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/46242/rec/2). 1906. p. 306. 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.

## External links

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

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