View source for Nenthead

{{Short description|Mining village in Cumbrian hills }}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2014}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = England
| region = North West England
| official_name = Nenthead
| static_image_name = Nenthead Mines.JPG
| static_image_caption = Nenthead Mines in 2013
| static_image_2_name = Nenthead_village_flag.svg
| static_image_2_caption = Flag
| os_grid_reference = NY785435
| coordinates = {{coord|54.785|-2.335|display=inline,title}}
| label_position = left
| lieutenancy_england = [[Cumbria]]
| unitary_england = [[Westmorland and Furness]]
| civil_parish = [[Alston Moor|Alston Moor (Nenthead Ward)]]
| constituency_westminster = [[Penrith and Solway (UK Parliament constituency)|Penrith and Solway]]
| post_town = ALSTON
| postcode_area = CA
| postcode_district = CA9
| dial_code = 01434
| pushpin_map = United Kingdom Eden
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in [[Eden District|Eden]], [[Cumbria]]
| static_image_2_width = 150
}}
'''Nenthead''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ɛ|n|t|h|ɛ|d}} {{Respell|NENT|hed}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esN7MC5wVIo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/esN7MC5wVIo| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=The wonderfully beautiful Hive at Nenthead #TheHiveNenthead is reopening on 4th July 2020|website=[[YouTube]] |accessdate=5 May 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>) in the county of [[Cumbria]] is one of England's highest villages, at around {{convert|1437|ft|m|0}}. It was not built until the middle of the 18th century and was one of the earliest [[Model village|purpose-built industrial villages]] in Britain.
==History==
Nenthead was a major centre for lead and silver mining in the [[North Pennines]] of Britain. The first smelt mill was built at Nenthead in 1737 by George Liddle, and this was subsequently expanded by the London Lead Company. By 1882 the smelt mill was capable of smelting 8,000 bings, i.e., {{Convert|64000|long cwt|tonnes}}, of ore per annum.<ref>p178 Fairbairn (1993) The Mines of Alston Moor.</ref>
Nenthead village in 1861 had 2,000 people, mostly [[Methodist]] and employed by the [[Quaker|Quaker-owned]] [[London Lead Company]] in the Nenthead Mines - some of the most productive in the country. The Quakers built housing, a school, a reading room, public baths and a wash-house for the miners and their families.
Nenthead has accessible mines remaining, [[Whim (mining)|horse whims]] and a {{convert|260|ft|m|0}} engine shaft in [[Rampghill mine|Rampghill]]. The mines closed in 1961 and there is a heritage centre displaying their history.
[[File:cumbria Rampgill entrance.jpg|thumb|left|Rampgill Nenthead]]
The economy of the village relies on tourism. A long distance cycle route, the [[NCN C2C|C2C]], passes through Nenthead. The Grade 2 listed [[Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)|Wesleyan Methodist]] chapel has not been used since 2002 but benefitted from a [[Heritage Lottery Fund|Heritage Lottery Grant]] of £134,500.<ref>Cumberland and Westmoreland Herald 8 March 2014 page 2 'High Sheriff's stamp of approval for Nenthead plan'</ref> The post office and community shop occupies the building which was once a reading room for the miners.
[[File:Nenthead, Cumbria.JPG|thumb|Nenthead old Methodist Chapel in 2014]]
Nenthead is around {{convert|4.4|mi|1}} east of [[Alston, Cumbria|Alston]], {{convert|44.3|mi|1}} west of [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], {{convert|34.4|mi|1}} south east of [[Carlisle]], {{convert|24|mi|1}} east of [[Penrith, Cumbria|Penrith]], and {{convert|20.5|mi|1}} west of [[Hexham]].
County Council subsidies have maintained limited bus services to [[Alston, Cumbria|Alston]] and beyond. However, in 2014 cuts to these subsidies were being discussed, threatening the existence of bus services for the village.<ref>The Cumberland News 25 July 2014  'Keep bus services or we'll be stranded': 'Fears remote areas will be more isolated'.The report cites the subsidies provided by Cumbria CC; 'Each year the 680 service from Nenthead to Carlisle and the 889 from Nenthead to Hexham, that runs only on a Tuesday, cost the council £22,953 and £2,264 respectively'. The CC has no statutory duty to subsidise transport.</ref>
==Governance==
Nenthead is in the [[United Kingdom Parliament constituencies|parliamentary constituency]] of [[Penrith and The Border (UK Parliament constituency)|Penrith and The Border]]. [[Neil Hudson (politician)|Neil Hudson]] (Conservative) was elected as [[Member of Parliament]] at the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 General Election]], replacing [[Rory Stewart]].
Before April 2023 for [[Local Government]] purposes it was in the ''Alston Moor Ward'' of [[Eden District|Eden District Council]] and the ''Alston and East Fellside Division'' of [[Cumbria County Council]]. Nenthead does not have its own [[Parish councils in England|parish council]], instead it is part of Alston Moor Parish Council.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://alstonmoor.org/|title= Alston Moor Parish Council}}</ref>
Since 2023 it has been in the [[unitary authority]] District of [[Westmorland and Furness]] and the now purely [[ceremonial county]] of Cumbria.
Before [[Brexit]], its residents were covered by the [[North West England (European Parliament constituency)|North West England]] European Parliamentary Constituency.
==Zinc deposits==
In 2013 the Canadian mining company Minco sank {{convert|1640|ft|m|0}} deep [[borehole]]s in an effort to discover the extent of [[zinc]] deposits beneath Nenthead. Although test drilling could go on for several years, the company believes that the village may be sited on huge deposits of the [[chemical element]]. The zinc is {{convert|490|ft|m|0}} below the surface and was previously too deep to reach by old mining techniques.<ref name="Loadbrook Farm">[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/village-digs-deep-into-its-mining-past-zinc-deposits-could-return-a-oncethriving-pennine-community-to-its-glory-days-9053698.html  The Independent] (Accessed 12 January 2014) Gives details of possible zinc deposits.</ref>
== Climate ==
With a northernly latitude of 55° N and altitude of {{convert|437|m|order=flip}} [[Amsl]], Nenthead has one of the coldest and snowiest climates in England, yielding a borderline [[subpolar oceanic climate]] (''[[Köppen climate classification|Cfc]]'') and cool [[oceanic climate]] (''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Nenthead is 6.5&nbsp;°C; 1,095&nbsp;mm of precipitation falls annually, chiefly in winter as heavy snowfall, and in autumn.
{{Weather box
|location = Nenthead, Cumbria
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
|Jan high C = 3.3
|Feb high C = 3.7
|Mar high C = 6.2
|Apr high C = 9.2
|May high C = 12.8
|Jun high C = 16.1
|Jul high C = 17.4
|Aug high C = 16.9
|Sep high C = 14.3
|Oct high C = 10.9
|Nov high C = 6.6
|Dec high C = 4.2
|year high C =
|Jan low C = -2.1
|Feb low C = -2.0
|Mar low C = -0.3
|Apr low C = 1.3
|May low C = 4.1
|Jun low C = 7.3
|Jul low C = 8.9
|Aug low C = 8.5
|Sep low C = 6.7
|Oct low C = 4.1
|Nov low C = 0.6
|Dec low C = -1.1
|year low C =
|Jan precipitation mm = 114
|Feb precipitation mm = 79
|Mar precipitation mm = 93
|Apr precipitation mm = 70
|May precipitation mm = 71
|Jun precipitation mm = 72
|Jul precipitation mm = 76
|Aug precipitation mm = 97
|Sep precipitation mm = 95
|Oct precipitation mm = 100
|Nov precipitation mm = 112
|Dec precipitation mm = 116
|year precipitation mm =
|source 1 = [https://en.climate-data.org/europe/united-kingdom/england/nenthead-68711/]
}}
==Flag==
[[File:Nenthead_village_flag.svg|right|thumb|150px|Nenthead village flag]]
In 2014, [[Vexillology|vexillologist]] and [[heraldry|heraldicist]] [[Philip Tibbetts]] designed a flag for the village. The flag was officially adopted and registered with the [[Flag Institute]] on 11 May 2014. The green triangle on the flag symbolises the top of the [[River Nent]] valley, from which the village gets its name. The green triangle also refers to nearby [[Knowbury Hill]] as the eastern-most point of the historic county of [[Cumberland]] with the green shade used the same as that of the [[Flag of Cumberland]]. The eight-pointed star upon the triangle is the ''Star of [[Quakers|Quakerism]]'' and refers to the origins of the village. The black and white vertical hoops depict the seams of [[lead]] and [[silver]] ore that lie beneath the area and upon which the industry of the village was based.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/flags/nenthead-flag/ |title=Nenthead Flag |website=www.flaginstitute.org}}</ref>
==See also==
{{portal|Cumbria}}
*[[Listed buildings in Alston Moor]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Nenthead}}
*[http://www.cumbriacountyhistory.org.uk/township/alston-moor  Cumbria County History Trust: Alston Moor] (nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
* [http://www.northpennines.org.uk North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)]
* [http://www.nentheadmines.com Nenthead Mines]
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Villages in Cumbria]]
[[Category:Eden District]]