Wetheral

Wetheral stands above the River Eden, over which runs an impressive railway viaduct carrying the Tyne Valley Line, built by Francis Giles in 1830. Wetheral Parish Church lies below the village beside the river and contains a poignant sculpture by Joseph Nollekens of the dying Lady Mary Howard clasping her dead baby. Nearby, occupying a lovely riverside setting, is one of the Eden Benchmarks, a sculptured bench in St Bee’s sandstone by Tim Shutter, entitled Flight of Fancy.

St Constantine was the local patron and the church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, St Constantine and St Mary. Constantine is said to have lived in caves in what are now National Trust woodlands alongside the river, a location known as Constantine’s Caves. Constantine died a martyr in AD657 and a life-sized statue of him can be seen in the grounds of Corby Castle to the south of the village. The castle, with its impressive 13th-century keep and terraced gardens overlooking the Eden, is usually open during the summer months.

During the reign of William Rufus, one of his barons, Ranulph Meschin, founded a priory for Benedictine monks at Wetheral above a red-rock gorge of the River Eden. All that remains now is the imposing three-storey gatehouse.

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