Cumbria

Geography
Status	Ceremonial & Non-metropolitan county
Origin	1974 Local Government Act 1972
Region	North West England
Area - Total - Admin. council	Ranked 3rd 6,768 km² Ranked 2nd
Admin HQ	Carlisle
	GB-CMA
ONS code	16
NUTS 3	UKD11/12
Demographics
Population - Total (2005 est.) - Density - Admin. Council	Ranked 41st 498,800 73 / km² Ranked 27th
Ethnicity	98.90% White British 0.62% Mixed Race 0.23% S.Asian 0.20% Chinese 0.13% Afro-Carib. 0.10% Other
Politics
Arms of Cumbria County Council Cumbria County Council [1]
Executive	Conservative / Liberal Democrats
Members of Parliament	Tony Cunningham (L) Tim Farron (LD) John Hutton (L) David Maclean (C) Eric Martlew (L) Jamie Reed (L)
Districts
Barrow-in-Furness South Lakeland Copeland Allerdale Eden Carlisle

Cumbria (IPA: /ˈkʌmbriə/), is a shire county in the extreme North West of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. The county consists of six districts, and has a total population of 498,800.

Cumbria, the third largest county in England, is bound to the west by the Irish Sea, to the south by Lancashire, to the southeast by North Yorkshire, and to the east by County Durham and Northumberland. Scotland lies directly to the north.

A predominantly rural county, Cumbria is home to the Lake District National Park, considered one of the most beautiful areas of the United Kingdom. The area has provided inspiration for generations of British and foreign artists, writers and musicians. Much of the county is mountainous, with the highest point of the county (and of England) being Scafell Pike at 978 m (3210 ft). All the territory in England that is over 3,000 feet above sea level is in Cumbria.

Parts of Hadrian's Wall can be found in the northernmost reaches of the county, in and around Carlisle.

Boundaries and divisions

Cumbria is neighboured by Northumberland, County Durham, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, and the Lieutenancy areas of Dumfries and Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale in Scotland.

The boundaries are along the Irish Sea to Morecambe Bay in the west, and along the Pennines to the east. Cumbria's northern boundary stretches from the Solway Firth along the border with Scotland to Northumberland.

It is made up of six districts: Allerdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Copeland, Eden and South Lakeland. For many administrative purposes Cumbria is divided into 3 areas - East, West and South. East being the districts of Carlisle and Eden, West - Allerdale and Copeland and South Lakeland and Barrow making up South Cumbria.

In January 2007, Cumbria County Council voted in favour of an official bid to scrap the current two-tier system of county and district councils in favour of a new unitary Cumbria Council, to be submitted for consideration to the Department for Communities and Local Government.^[1]

The county returns 6 Members of Parliament to the House of Commons, representing the constituencies of Carlisle, Penrith & The Border, Workington, Copeland, Westmorland and Lonsdale and Barrow & Furness.

History

Main article: History of Cumbria

The county of Cumbria was created in 1974. It was a combination of the area of the administrative counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, the Cumberland county borough of Carlisle, along with the North Lonsdale or Furness part of Lancashire (including the county borough of Barrow-in-Furness), and from the West Riding of Yorkshire, the Sedbergh Rural District. The name "Cumbria" has been used for the territory for centuries.

Following the creation of Cumbria as a non-metropolitan county, some people, particularly those born or brought up in the area, continue to refer to some parts of Cumbria as part of the ancient county boundaries; this includes the Furness area as a part of Lancashire, and the Kendal and surrounding area as a part of Westmorland.

Local papers The Westmorland Gazette and Cumberland and Westmorland Herald are continue to be named on this pre-1974 county basis. Others, including local government, promotional material for the area, the Lake District National Park Authority, and most visitors describe the area as being in "Cumbria". A MORI poll in the county found 79% of those polled identified "very strongly" or "strongly" to Cumbria throughout the county, but dropping to 55% and 71% in Barrow and South Lakeland districts, which incorporate part of historic Lancashire.^[2]

Culture

The culture of the area was predominantly Celtic until fairly late after the annexation by the Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria (see Rheged), and the name for the area derives from its name in the Cumbric language. It is etymologically connected to the Welsh term Cymru, meaning "Land of brothers", which is now used as the Welsh name for Wales itself. The Cumbric language has been extinct since about the 11th century.

In 2006, the first annual Celtic Cumbria festival was held in Grasmere.

Dialect

The Cumbrian dialect is spoken throughout the region. There is quite a large variation in accent and words, especially between north and south and west coast.

Many of the traditional dialect words are remnants of Norse settlement, with Norwegian settlers probably arriving in Cumbria in the 10th century via Ireland and the Isle of Man.

Sport

Carlisle United are the only professional football team in Cumbria. They attract support from across Cumbria. However, Barrow A.F.C., has been one of the best supported non-league football teams in the UK since their relegation in the 1970s. Recently Workington Reds have also made a rapid rise up the non league ladder and now compete with Barrow in the Conference North.

Rugby league is a very popular sport in West Cumbria. Whitehaven RLFC, Workington Town and Barrow Raiders all compete in the National Leagues. Carlisle RLFC played in the national competitions between 1981 and 1997, Carlisle today has Carlisle Centurions in the Rugby League Conference. There are amateur BARLA teams playing in the National Conference, notablely Wath Brow Hornets and Millom as well as a Cumberland League and Barrow & District League.

Rugby union is very popular in the east of the county with teams such as Carlisle RUFC, Kendal RUFC, Kirkby Lonsdale RUFC, Keswick RUFC, Upper Eden RUFC and Penrith RUFC (who have recently been promoted to the National Leagues) competing in many local and national competitions.

'Wrestling

Main article: Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling

Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling is an ancient and well-practised tradition in the county with a strong resemblance to Scottish Backhold.

In the 21st century Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling along with other aspects of Lakeland culture are practiced at the Grassmere Sports and Show, an annual meeting held every year since 1852 on the August Bank Holiday.

The origin of this form of wrestling is a matter of debate, with some describing it as having evolved from Norse wrestling brought over by Viking invaders,^[3][4] while other historians associate it with the Cornish and Gouren styles^[5] indicating that it may have developed out of a longer-standing Celtic tradition.^[6]

Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of East Cumbria at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Year	Regional Gross Value Added[7]	Agriculture[8]	Industry[9]	Services[10]
1995	2,679	148	902	1,629
2000	2,843	120	809	1,914
2003	3,388	129	924	2,335

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of West Cumbria at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Year	Regional Gross Value Added<ref name="fn_4" />	Agriculture<ref name="fn_1" />	Industry<ref name="fn_2" />	Services<ref name="fn_3" />
1995	2,246	63	1,294	888
2000	2,415	53	1,212	1,150
2003	2,870	60	1,420	1,390

Demographics

Main article: List of places in Cumbria

Towns and Villages

Carlisle is the largest and only city in the county, whilst Barrow-in-Furness (the largest town) is between 2 and 3 times larger than the second largest town (Kendal).

The twelve most populated settlements in Cumbria are listed below:

Rank	Town	Population	District	Percentage of Cumbria's population
1	Carlisle	105,200	City of Carlisle	21.1%
2	Barrow-in-Furness	71,980	Barrow-in-Furness	14.4%
3	Workington	32,849	Allerdale	5.5%
4	Kendal	27,521	South Lakeland	5.1%
5	Whitehaven	25,500	Copeland	5.0%
6	Penrith	14,756	Eden	3.0%
7	Maryport	11,275	Allerdale	2.3%
8	Ulverston	11,210	South Lakeland	2.2%
9	Dalton-in-Furness	11,000	Barrow-in-Furness	2.2%
10	Cockermouth	7,787	Allerdale	1.6%
11	Cleator Moor	6,963	Copeland	1.4%
12	Harrington	5,000	Copeland	1.0%
13	Brampton	4,001	City of Carlisle	0.8%
14	Grange-over-Sands	4,000	South Lakeland	0.8%
15	Bowness-on-Windermere	3,814	South Lakeland	0.8%
16	Egremont	3,707	Copeland	0.7%
17	Sedbergh	3,691	South Lakeland	0.7%
18	Silloth	3,305	Allerdale	0.7%
19	Aspatria	3,266	Allerdale	0.7%
20	Longtown	3,000	City of Carlisle	0.6%

Density

Cumbria as a whole is the second least densely populated county in England with only 73 people per square kilometre. Despite it being the third largest in area (6,768 km²), about a third of the county is taken up by the Lake District National Park. Below is a table listing each district by population density.

District	Population Density	Population	Area
Barrow-in-Furness	924 / km²	71,980	77.87 km²
Carlisle	101 / km²	105,200	1,039.97 km²
Copeland	97 / km²	71,500	737.59 km²
Allerdale	77 / km²	96,300	1,553.39 km²
South Lakeland	66 / km²	102,900	1,257.79 km²
Eden	24 / km²	52,800	2,156.45 km²

Ethnicity

The data below is based on the 2001 UK Census, and the recent available 2004 Estimates

District	White (inc. White non-British)	Mixed Race	S. Asian	E. Asian	Afro-Caribbean	Other
Allerdale	99.4%	0.3%	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%	0.1%
Barrow-in-Furness	96.8%	1.2%	0.6%	0.6%	0.5%	0.2%
Carlisle	97.9%	1.4%	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
Copeland	99.3%	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%
Eden	99.6%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%	0.1%
South Lakeland	99.2%	0.4%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Cumbria Average	98.9%	0.6%	0.2%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%

Notable Non-Indigenous Ethnic Communities

• Carlisle - 1,600 Poles^[11]
• Carlisle - 170 Chinese^[12]
• Carlisle - 1,470 Mixed Race (Around 1/2 of Cumbria's Mixed Race population - see above)
• Barrow-in-Furness - 390 Afro-Caribbeans (60% of Cumbria's Black population - see above)
• Barrow-in-Furness - 140 Filipinos^[13]
• Barrow-in-Furness - Kosovars (Most distinct Kosovar community in Britain)^[14]
• Barrow-in-Furness - 120 Latin Americans

People of interest

• Ade Gardner
• Phil Jackson
• Nella Last
• Jimmy Lewthwaite
• Harry Hadley
• Shana Haji
• Willie Horne
• Mick Hucknall
• Emlyn Hughes
• Nigel Kneale
• Ian McDonald
• Frank McPherson
• Vic Metcalfe
• Dave Myers
• Jack Pelter
• Peter Purves
• Constance Spry
• Gary Stevens
• Dame Stella Rimington
• Thomas Round
• Adam Roynon
• Karen Taylor
• Keith Tyson
• Len Wilkinson
• Aim
• Sir John Barrow
• Norman Birkett
• Chris Bonington
• Donald Campbell
• Glenn Cornick
• Wayne Curtis
• Steve Dixon
• Maurice Flitcroft
• Melvyn Bragg
• British Sea Power
• Fletcher Christian
• Lady Anne Clifford
• Mark Cueto
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge
• John Dalton
• Thomas DeQuincey
• Douglas Ferreira
• Margaret Fell
• Willie Horne
• Francis Howgill
• Emlyn Hughes
• Thomas Henry Ismay
• Joanna Kyles
• Stan Laurel
• Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale
• Joss Naylor
• Norman Nicholson
• Catherine Parr
• John Peel (farmer)
• Beatrix Potter
• Scott James Preston
• Sir James Ramsden
• Hardwicke Rawnsley
• Will Ritson
• George Romney
• John Ruskin
• Rory Thomas Sewell
• Montagu Slater
• Richard T. Slone
• Robert Southey
• John Sowerby
• Gary Stevens
• Stuart Stockdale
• Edward Troughton
• Keith Tyson
• Josefina de Vasconcellos
• Alfred Wainwright
• Lord Soulsby
• John Wilkinson (industrialist)
• Dorothy Wordsworth
• William Wordsworth
• Carl George Dalton (Economist)

Places of interest

See also: List of castles in Cumbria

• Low Mead, Hallgarth, Kendal
• Bassenthwaite Lake
• Bewcastle
• Black Combe
• Brantwood
• Brough Castle
• Brougham Castle
• Brougham Hall
• Broughton in Furness
• Brougham Castle
• Buttermere
• Cartmel Priory
• Carlisle Castle
• Carlisle Cathedral
• Castlerigg Stone Circle
• Cockermouth, "Gem" Town
• Coniston Water
• Crummock Water
• Cumbria Coastal Way long distance footpath
• Cumbria Way long distance footpath
• Dales Way long distance footpath
• Dalton Castle
• Derwent Water
• Dock Museum
• Egremont Castle
• Eden Valley Railway — heritage railway
• Ennerdale Water
• Fell Foot Park
• Firbank Fell
• Fisher Tarn Reservoir
• Furness
• Furness Abbey
• Haig Colliery Mining Museum
• Harrison Stickle
• Hadrian's Wall
• Paul Lomas (Lambs)
• Hartley Castle
• Haweswater
• Hawkshead Grammar School Museum
• Hoad Monument
• Hodbarrow Nature Reserve
• Holker Hall
• Kendal Castle
• Kentmere
• Killington Reservoir
• Kirkby Lonsdale
• Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway
• Langwathby station and Brief Encounters Cafe
• Windermere (the lake)
• Lanercost Priory
• Laurel & Hardy Museum
• Levens Hall
• The former site of the Beast Banks post office in Longsleddale.
• Millom
• Millom Folk Museum
• National Nature Reserves in Cumbria
• Pennine Way long distance footpath
• Penrith Castle
• Piel Island
• Quaker tapestry, Kendal
• RAF Millom Museum
• Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway — heritage railway
• Rheged
• Rydal Water
• Seathwaite Tarn
• Sellafield Nuclear Reprocessing Facility
• Silecroft
• Sizergh Castle & Garden
• Staveley
• Swarthmoor Hall
• Thirlmere
• Ullswater
• Vickerstown
• Wast Water
• Whitehaven
• Whinfell Forest

See also

• Anglo-Scottish border
• Etymology of Cumbrian Place Names
• Cumbrian dialect

References

External links

• Official Tourist Board Website
• Cumbria Tourist and Historical Website
• BBC Cumbria Digital Lives Project
• Carlisle Diocese (Church of England)
• Rydal Hall - Carlisle Diocesan Retreat and Conference centre

•  • [ e] Ceremonial counties of England

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