Shap

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Shap
Village and parish
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Shap Market Cross
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Population1,264 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference[[[:Template:Ordnance Survey url]] NY563150]
Civil parishPage Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
  • Shap
Unitary authorityPage Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
Ceremonial countyPage Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
  • Cumbria
RegionPage Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
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Crown dependencyScript error: No such module "Link if exists".
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townPENRITH
Postcode districtCA10
Dialling code01931
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PoliceCumbria
FireCumbria
AmbulanceNorth West
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Page Template:Nobold/styles.css has no content.List of places
UK
England
Cumbria
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Shap is a village and civil parish located among fells and isolated dales in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. The village is in the historic county of Westmorland. The parish had a population of 1,221 in 2001,[2] increasing slightly to 1,264 at the 2011 Census.[1]

Location

The village lies along the A6 road and the West Coast Main Line, and is near to the M6 motorway. It is situated 10 miles (16 km) from Penrith and about 15 miles (24 km) from Kendal.

Shap is on the route of the Coast to Coast Walk.

Toponymy

Early (12th and 13th century) forms such as Hep and Yheppe point to an Old Norse rendering Hjáp of an Old English original Hēap = "heap" (of stones), probably referring to an ancient stone circle, cairn or to the Shap Stone Avenue just to the west of the village.[3]

History

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Although Shap is a small village in terms of population, it is legally a market town with a charter dating from the 17th century. The parish was administered between 1905 and 1935 by an urban district council. At one time, the granite works situated a mile outside the village was a separate community, with its own Co-op store. Shap polished pink granite can be found in many buildings in the UK, including outside St Paul's Cathedral in London.

Climate

Shap has a oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), like the vast majority of the British Isles.[citation needed]

At an elevation of Template:Cvt, Shap is notably cooler as well as wetter than surrounding lowland areas, and considerably wetter than lowland Southern England, as it is exposed to the prevailing west-southwesterlies enhanced by orographic lift.[4]Script error: No such module "weather box".

Today

St. Michael's Church

The library which, in 2014, was in the process of being relinquished from local council control and being adopted by the community as part of a budget cutting measure. As of 2025, it is operated as "Shap Library Link" by the local council.[6]

On 3 November 2025, a Glasgow to London Avanti West Coast train with 86 passengers and five crew derailed near the village due to a landslide. There were four minor injuries.[7]

Attractions

Shap Summit on the A6 road

Shap Summit is located on the motorway at Script error: No such module "Ordnance Survey coordinates". and the railway at Script error: No such module "Ordnance Survey coordinates".. Before the M6 opened, Shap Fell used to be notorious for the difficult and dangerous stretch of A6 for drivers, and it includes a well-known section of the West Coast Main Line. It has a 1:75 gradient for trains heading north, and in the days of steam locomotives banking engines from Tebay were often used to assist trains. It has been popular with railway photographers and there have been many pictures published taken in the area, most notably at Scout Green which lies on the southern approach to the hill.

Shap Fell Script error: No such module "Ordnance Survey coordinates". is known for Shap granite,[8] a pink rock rich in orthoclase, quartz and biotite; Shap Pink Quarry Script error: No such module "Ordnance Survey coordinates". takes its name from this.

Shap Abbey Script error: No such module "Ordnance Survey coordinates". is nearby in the secluded valley of the river Lowther. Now impressive ruins dating from 1199, the Abbey was one of the last abbeys to be dissolved by Henry VIII in 1540.

Shap Wells has a mineral spa located in the grounds of the Shap Wells hotel which was used in World War II as a prisoner of war camp.

In literature

In M. W. Craven's novels, Shap Wells hotel is often used as a hub for the stories since one of the main characters, Washington Poe, lives nearby.[9]

Governance

The civil parish of Shap (formerly Shap Urban Parish) includes the hamlet of Keld and parts of the granite works and limestone works. In 2001 it had a population of 1,221,[10] increasing to 1,264 at the 2011 Census. The parish shares a joint parish council with Shap Rural, which surrounds Shap parish making it an enclave of Shap Rural.[11] The total population of the since abolished Shap electoral ward taken at the 2011 census was 1,394.[12] [13][14]

Shap is in the parliamentary constituency of Westmorland and Lonsdale.

For local government purposes the village is in Westmorland and Furness. Until 2023 it was in the Shap Ward of Eden District Council and the Eden Lakes Division of Cumbria County Council.

Transport

Train at Shap Summit – August 2016

Train

The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (now part of the West Coast Main Line), opened on 17 December 1846, and runs along the eastern edge of the village. Shap Summit is the highest point on the West Coast Mainline in England, topped only by Beattock Summit in Scotland. Shap station was closed in 1968, though there have been calls for its re-opening.[15] Penrith is now the closest station and is situated on the West Coast Main Line. Penrith has train services to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham and London.[16]

Bus

Shap is the terminus of Stagecoach Bus Route 106 from Penrith via Lowther Castle.[citation needed]

Notable people

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Template:NOMIS2011
  2. ^ Template:NOMIS2001
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Whaley, Diana (2006). A dictionary of Lake District place-names. Nottingham: English Place-Name Society. pp. lx, 423 p.305. ISBN 0904889726.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.UK, Met Office. "Northwest England & IOM Climate summary" (PDF).
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Shap Climate". Met Office. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Shap Library Link". Westmorland and Furness Council. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Passengers evacuated in major incident after train derailment at Shap in Cumbria". itvX. 3 November 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Granite". Geology in the landscape and buildings of London. University College London Department of Earth Sciences. Archived from the original on 1 March 2005.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Television adaptation of Carlisle author's latest book coming to major streaming site". www.itv.com. ITVX. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  10. ^ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Eden Script error: No such module "webarchive". Retrieved 21 November 2009
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Shap Rural parish map". Saturday Walking Club.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ward population 2011". Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Shap Parish Council". 7 October 2013.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."councilportal.cumbria.gov.uk - Shap Parish Council". 30 November 2022.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Plea to reopen Shap and Tebay rail stations". Cumberland & Westmorland Herald. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Live departures from Penrith | National Rail". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2026.

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shap.Template:Preview warning

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