Rosley Parish Cumbria
Rosley is a small scattered farming community just north of the Lake District National Park and close to the Scottish border. Ten miles south-west of Carlisle it tucks neatly into the triangle of Caldbeck, Wigton and Dalston. Rosley village has two main centres of population: they are known locally as top Rosley, situated on the B5305 and Rosley crossroads. Top Rosley is largely residential with a number of dwellings having been added in recent years around the courtyard of a former farm. Rosley crossroads is some mile and a half away; here we find the village hall, the church and the school nestling among a few more houses. There are a number of other dwellings and farms surrounding the two centres.
The village of Curthwaite lies about one mile from the school and hall and now has the only remaining pub in the parish the Royal Oak. At one time Rosley boasted several inns and ale houses but demographic changes have caused these to close. The Hope and Anchor, known as The Camp, being the last in 1991.
Rosley is linked to Carlisle and the north by the A595 running through its northern tip and to Penrith and the south by the B5305 which passes east-west en route to Wigton which is the nearest town servicing our community.
There are approximately 200 households in the parish: and a population of about 500 which is made up of a good distribution of all the age groups, a fact which helps to maintain the general dynamism of the community.
As with many rural communities close to larger centres of population many of the residents work outwith the parish, in Wigton, our nearest market town, in Carlisle, our nearest city, or further afield. However Rosley is by no means a dormitory village and a number of businesses thrive within its environs.
Rosley lies in a very fertile area and many farms have long histories. Mixed farming is common although dairy farming predominates. However the changing face of agriculture, exacerbated by the effects of the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001, have had a dramatic impact on the size and number of farms the land now supports. Some people have retired from farming but retain land they can rent out, others have seized this opportunity to extend the land they can farm thereby gaining in economy of scale. Fewer farms now tend the land and some of our old farm houses are now domestic houses surrounded by new development creating new communities and allowing people to move into the area and enjoy the pleasures of living in our rural setting.
Rosley is one of seven parishes which forms the Northern Fells Group its aim is to identify unmet health and social needs of residents in a very rural area and to work with local people to find solutions. The group runs the Northern Fells Minibus Service, 4 Village Agents cover the Northern Fells area, the Youth Development Initiative, the Lend a Hand Group and a benefits Awareness and Advice Scheme. The Village Agents are friendly, local contacts, each based in one or two of our parishes, who will help people to obtain assistance and advice from a wide range of organisations and services. The Village Agents are trained to know who to contact and where - and how to find out who and where! They offer a confidential service and are trusted members of their community.