Dunsop Bridge
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| Dunsop Bridge | |
  Dunsop Bridge shown within Lancashire |
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| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| Parish | Bowland Forest High |
| District | Ribble Valley |
| Shire county | Lancashire |
| Region | North West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CLITHEROE |
| Postcode district | BB7 |
| Dialling code | 01200 |
| Police | Lancashire |
| Fire | Lancashire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| European Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | Ribble Valley |
| List of places: UK • England • Lancashire | |
Dunsop Bridge is a village within the Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England.
It is one of two main contenders for the location of the exact geographic centre of Great Britain. The other town is Haltwhistle in Northumberland, some 71 miles (114 km) to the north. Dunsop Bridge's claim is calculated on the fact that it is the gravitational centre of the island (although the exact point is at Whittendale Hanging Stones, near Brennand Farm, some seven kilometres to the north of the village [1]). In 1992 BT installed its 100,000th payphone at Dunsop Bridge and included a plaque to explain its significance - the plaque reads "You are calling from the BT payphone that marks the centre of Great Britain." The telephone box was unveiled by Sir Ranulph Fiennes.
The Queen has visited Dunsop Bridge twice, once during the late 80s and more recently in the summer of 2006.
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[edit] Geography
The village is located at the confluence of the River Dunsop and the River Hodder before flowing south to join the River Ribble outside Clitheroe. The bridge from which the village takes its name consists of two simple arches which span the river.
On 8 August 1967 Dunsop Valley entered the UK Weather Records with the highest 90-min total rainfall at 117 mm. As of July 2006 this record remains.
The village is surrounded on all sides by the rolling hills of the Forest of Bowland and is located within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Nearby is the Salter Fell Track, a pass along which the Lancashire Witches are believed to have been taken to their trial at Lancaster Castle.
[edit] St. Hubert's church
The Catholic church of St. Hubert’s was built to the design of Edward Pugin, from, it is believed, the winnings of the racehorse “Kettledrum” owned by Colonel Towneley in the 1861 Epsom Derby [2] The church was opened on 2 May 1865 by Bishop Richard Roskell of Nottingham. The medieval font was originally from the ancient church at Burholme near Whitewell. The east and west windows are by J. B. Capronnier of Brussels and date from 1865.
The middle west window depicts St. Hubert who is the patron saint of hunters, as a huntsman accompanied by a stag. The Forest of Bowland was once a royal hunting forest. According to legend St. Hubert’s conversion to the Catholic faith took place on a Good Friday when, while hunting a stag, he saw a vision of a cross between its antlers and heard a voice telling him to seek instruction in the Christian faith. In 705AD he became Bishop of Maastricht, later of Liege.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- BBC news pictures of Dunsop Bridge
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