Population2,588 (2011) Civil parishHesket CountryEngland Local timeFriday 4:19 PM DistrictEden District UK parliament constituencyPenrith and The Border
OS grid referenceNY4744 RegionNorth West Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom Shire countyCumbria Dialling code01697
Weather10°C, Wind S at 16 km/h, 82% Humidity
Hesket is a large civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England. It was formed in 1934 by a County Review Order which merged the parishes of Hesket-in-the-Forest and Plumpton Wall.
Within the parish are the villages and hamlets of High Hesket, Old Town, Low Hesket, Aiketgate, Armathwaite, Plumpton, Plumpton Street, Plumpton Foot, Ivegill (part), Calthwaite, Petteril Green, Southwaite, Morton and Thiefside. (The settlement of Plumpton Head is within the neighbouring civil parish of Penrith.) There are primary schools at Plumpton, Calthwaite, Armathwaite, Ivegill and High Hesket, and roughly halfway between High and Low Hesket is a doctor's surgery.
Governance
An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches south to the boundaries of Penrith and had a total population taken at the 2011 Census of 3,193.
Transport
The Settle and Carlisle Railway runs through the parish with a station at Armathwaite. The West Coast Main Line also runs through the parish at one time there were stations on this line at Plumpton, Southwaite and Calthwaite. The M6 motorway and the A6 road run parallel to each other through the parish with a motorway service area at Southwaite.
Places of interest
At Castlesteads or Old Penrith just north of Plumpton are the remains of a Roman Fort known as Voreda.
In the Middle Ages the area was the heart of the Royal hunting ground known as Inglewood Forest.
The village and former market town of Hesket Newmarket is not within Hesket parish and is situated about 10 miles (16 km) to the west and within Caldbeck parish in Allerdale borough.