Wetheral

Article summary

Wetheral is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the historic county of Cumberland but now in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. At the 2001 census, the population of the Wetheral Ward was 4,039, The civil parish of Wetheral is slightly larger, with a population of 6,293 at the 2021 census. Wetheral stands high on a bank overlooking a gorge in the River Eden. Parts of the riverbank here are surrounded by ancient woodlands, including Wetheral Woods, owned by the National Trust. Formerly a small ferryboat operated to the village of Great Corby on the opposite bank, and an iron ring can still be found attached to the rocks on the Great Corby side of the river where the ferry would tie up. The place-name 'Wetheral' is first attested in the Register of Wetheral Priory circa 1100 AD, where it appears as Wetherhala. The name means 'the haugh (area of flat land by a river) where wethers (castrated male sheep) were kept'. The Newcastle to Carlisle Railway has a station here at the west end of Corby Bridge (popularly known as 'Wetheral Viaduct') over the Eden which acts also as a footbridge connecting with Great Corby. The station was closed during the Beeching cuts in 1967, but was reopened in 1981. In 1836 one of the very earliest railway accidents happened close to Wetheral station. In the Middle Ages there was a priory at Wetheral.…

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1918 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of birth is "1918". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1377455615