| Wolsty | |
|---|---|
 Wolsty Hall, one of the farms in the hamlet | |
| OS grid reference | NY104509 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WIGTON |
| Postcode district | CA7 |
| Dialling code | 016973 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
| 54°50′43″N3°23′42″W / 54.8454°N 3.3949°W /54.8454; -3.3949 | |
Wolsty is a small hamlet in thecivil parish ofHolme Low in Cumbria, England. It is located three-and-a-quarter miles south ofSilloth-on-Solway, five miles west ofAbbeytown, three-and-a-quarter miles north of the village ofMawbray, and twenty-three miles west of Cumbria'scounty town,Carlisle. TheB5300 coast road, which heads north toward Silloth-on-Solway and south to Mawbray,Allonby, andMaryport, is three-quarters of a mile away by road, or less than a quarter of a mile by way of an unpaved farm track.[1]
The name "Wolsty" is derived from the Old Englishwulf-stīg, meaning a "wolf-frequented path". There have been several recorded variant spellings, includingWoulstie,Worsty,Wristie,Wolmsty, andUlsty.[2]
The area around Wolsty was fortified during theRoman period, whena series of milefortlets were constructed beyond the western end ofHadrian's Wall to guard against incursions across theSolway Firth. Milefortlets13 and14 are located in the vicinity of the hamlet.[3]
During the 14th century, coastal raids by Scots were still commonplace, plaguing settlements like Wolsty. To defend the vulnerableHolme Abbey at nearbyAbbeytown, a castle was constructed at Wolsty to defend the coast. After falling into disrepair by the 1570s, attempts to repair the castle were undertaken in the 1630s, but with the kingdoms ofEngland andScotland edging closer toward friendship, the castle was no longer needed and had been demolished by the year 1700. The castle would have proven formidable to raiding parties; remaining archaeological evidence has shown that there was a moat, and that the walls were over two metres thick.[4] The castle is scheduled under theAncient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as a site of "national importance".[5] An archaeological dig was carried out on the site in July 2013.[6][7]
Wolsty also appears to have taken part in the "seawake", a night watch along the coast. Residents of coastal communities took turns standing watch along the coast to guard against raids. In the 1570s, farmers at Wolsty would have had to trek toDubmill, a little over four miles away pastHailforth andSalta, to grind their grain at themill there.[8] The hamlet became part of the new parish of Holme Low (previously known as Holme St. Pauls or Low Holme), when it was separated from the parish of Holme Abbey in 1845.[9] This was done following the construction of St. Paul's church at nearbyCausewayhead.[10]
Wolsty today remains a farming settlement, but it is quite small and has no facilities or amenities of its own. The nearest shops are inSilloth-on-Solway,[11][12] three-and-a-quarter miles to the north, and there is a bus service which runs along the B5300 coast road between Silloth-on-Solway andMaryport approximately every two hours in either direction.[13] At nearbyNewtown, there is a farm park and tearoom called the Gincase,[14] and Bank Mill Nurseries, a garden centre with a restaurant and play area, is located just to the north ofBeckfoot.[15] Thenearest railway station is atAspatria, seven-and-three-quarter miles to the south-east along the B5301 road. There is a golf course nearby, in the hamlet ofBlitterlees.
Wolsty is in thecivil parish ofHolme Low, and theCumberlandunitary authority area. It is located less than half-a-mile from the boundary with the civil parish ofHolme St. Cuthbert.[16] The hamlet's parliamentary constituency isPenrith and Solway.
Wolsty is just outside the southern stretch of theSolway CoastArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[17] Wolsty Banks, the area of sand dunes between the hamlet and the sea on the far side of the B5300 coast road, was a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1991, along with nearby Mawbray Banks.[18] The Banks were damaged by a fire in 2013, and could take several years to recover.[19]
Wolsty, like the rest of theSolway Plain, has anoceanic climate,Köppen climate classification Cfb, with warm summers and cool winters which generally avoid extremes of temperature. Due to its coastal location, Wolsty receives less snowfall than the mountainousLake District further south in the county. The average high temperature in 19 degrees Celsius in July and August, and the average low temperature is 2 degrees Celsius in December, January, and February. Rainfall is year-round, but more common in the autumn and winter months.
| Climate data for Wolsty | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7 (45) | 7 (45) | 9 (48) | 12 (54) | 15 (59) | 17 (63) | 19 (66) | 19 (66) | 17 (63) | 13 (55) | 9 (48) | 6 (43) | 12.5 (54.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2 (36) | 2 (36) | 3 (37) | 4 (39) | 7 (45) | 9 (48) | 12 (54) | 12 (54) | 9 (48) | 7 (45) | 4 (39) | 2 (36) | 6 (43) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 93.6 (3.69) | 105.1 (4.14) | 72.0 (2.83) | 63.5 (2.50) | 60.1 (2.37) | 70.3 (2.77) | 58.4 (2.30) | 76.2 (3.00) | 73.4 (2.89) | 109.4 (4.31) | 93.2 (3.67) | 102.5 (4.04) | 977.7 (38.49) |
| Source:[20] | |||||||||||||
