Ulpha

Chapelry and township in Millom parish, Allerdale above Derwent ward, Cumberland.

Acreage:

13,092 acres [5,298 ha], including 3,248 acres [1,315 ha] of unenclosed common on Ulpha Fe

Population:

rising from 292 in 1801 to stand in range 350-400 in mid-19th century (peak of 405 in 1831); steady decline to 123 in 1961; then modest increase to 159 in 2001.

Landownership:

hunting forest of lords of seigniory of Millom (q.v.), with which it descended.

Economy:

hill farming; fair held near Easter and on 24 June in later 17th century. Coppice woodland, exploited for hazel nuts and charcoal-burning. Iron forge in Ulpha Park in later 17th century. Woollen textiles recorded in place-name ‘Walk Mill’ (i.e. fulling mill). Slate quarrying at Common Wood in later 19th century. Copper mine opened c.1842; disused by 1938. Bobbin-turning at New Mill from mid-19th century to c.1910. Afforestation from mid-20th century: Dunnerdale Forest, planted by Forestry Commission from 1937.

Places of worship:

parochial chapel of St John, perhaps of 17th-century date. Wesleyan Methodist chapel built 1842; closed and converted to dwelling.

Schools and other institutions:

curate licensed to teach school in chapel 1703. School for Ulpha had been built across River Duddon in Dunnerdale with Seathwaite township by 1840s; rebuilt 1874; modern classroom extension 1967; closed 1999. Baptist school built 1855. Parochial library established 1761 but did not survive by mid-19th century. Gunson Almshouses (now Gunson Cottages) endowed by John Gunson 1912 and built 1914.