Calder Bridge

---

title: "Calder Bridge" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["hamlets-in-cumbria", "cumberland-(unitary-authority)"] description: "Village in Cumbria, England" topic_path: "general/hamlets-in-cumbria" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calder_Bridge" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village in Cumbria, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]

Field	Value
country	England
coordinates
official_name	Calder Bridge
static_image_name	Calder Bridge, Ponsonby - St Bridget Beckermet - geograph.org.uk - 40996.jpg
static_image_caption	Main road through Calder Bridge
civil_parish	Ponsonby
unitary_england	Cumberland
lieutenancy_england	Cumbria
region	North West England
constituency_westminster	Whitehaven and Workington
post_town	SEASCALE
postcode_district	CA20
postcode_area	CA
dial_code	01946
os_grid_reference	NY0406
pushpin_map	United Kingdom Copeland
pushpin_map_caption	Location in Copeland Borough
::

| country = England | coordinates = | official_name = Calder Bridge | static_image_name = Calder Bridge, Ponsonby - St Bridget Beckermet - geograph.org.uk - 40996.jpg | static_image_caption = Main road through Calder Bridge | population = | population_ref = | civil_parish = Ponsonby | unitary_england = Cumberland | lieutenancy_england = Cumbria | region = North West England | constituency_westminster = Whitehaven and Workington | post_town = SEASCALE | postcode_district = CA20 | postcode_area = CA | dial_code = 01946 | os_grid_reference = NY0406 | pushpin_map = United Kingdom Copeland | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Copeland Borough

Calder Bridge (also Calderbridge) is a small village in Cumbria in England. It is located between the hamlets of Gosforth and Beckermet and lies on the River Calder.

It is around 1 mile northeast from the Sellafield nuclear plant—Calder Hall Nuclear Power Station was the world's first major nuclear power station when it opened in 1956. The village contains the Grade II listed St Bridget's Church, the Grade II listed Pelham House (formerly Ponsonby Hall) and the Stanley Arms inn.

Landmarks

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/The_Stanley_Arms,Calder_Bridge(geograph_3129423).jpg" caption="The Stanley Arms, Calder Bridge"] ::

The current St Bridget's Church, Calder Bridge was built in 1842. The church, listed as a Grade II listed building in 1989, is constructed in local red sandstone ashlar with a slate roof. The Pre-Raphaelite stained glass, made by Powell's date to 1879 and were designed by H. E. Wooldridge and H. J. Burrow.

Calder Abbey, which lies by the River Calder just northeast of Calder Bridge, was founded by Ranulph de Meschiens in 1134 for Cistercians who moved from Furness Abbey. It is a picturesque ruin adjoining Calder Abbey House, a largely 19th-century house which incorporates some remains of the abbey.

On the south side of Calder Bridge lies the Grade II listed Pelham House (named after Herbert Pelham, 3rd bishop of Barrow-in-Furness) but formerly known as Ponsonby Hall. It was built in 1774 and was designed by James Paine for Edward Stanley. This is currently used as offices for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), and before this was used as a School for Boys. There is woodland in the vicinity, known historically as the woods of Ponsonby.

The Stanley Arms is a 13-room inn in the village. The village was also home to the Golden Fleece inn.

References

References

1. {{Google maps. link
2. (5 October 1956). "Calder Hall Power Station".
3. (2010). "Cumbria". [[Yale University Press]].
4. {{NHLE
5. Phillips, John. (1872). "Black's Picturesque Guide to the English Lakes". Adam and Charles Black.
6. "Calder Bridge".
7. Henry Crabb Robinson. (1869). "Diary, Reminiscences, and Correspondence of Henry Crabb Robinson". Macmillan and Company.
8. "Stanley Arms Hotel".
9. John Phillips. (1861). "Black's Picturesque Guide to the English Lakes". Adam and Charles Black.

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