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Cumbria

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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
ISO 3166-2 GB-CMA
ONS code 16
NUTS 3 UKD11/12
Demographics
Population
- Total (2022)
- Density
- Admin. Council 		Ranked 42nd
503,033
74 / km²
Ranked
Ethnicity 99.3% White
Politics
Arms of Cumbria County Council
Cumbria County Council
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/
Executive  
Members of Parliament
Districts
  1. Barrow-in-Furness
  2. South Lakeland
  3. Copeland
  4. Allerdale
  5. Eden
  6. Carlisle

Cumbria (IPA: [ˈkʌmbɹɪə]), 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 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.[citation needed] The area has provided inspiration for generations of British and foreign artists, writers and musicians.[citation needed] 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,[citation needed] 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 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[7] Agriculture[8] Industry[9] Services[10]
1995 2,246 63 1,294 888
2000 2,415 53 1,212 1,150
2003 2,870 60 1,420 1,390

Towns and villages

See the List of places in Cumbria.

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 12 most populated settlements in Cumbria are listed below.

Rank Town Population District Percentage out of Cumbria's total population
1 Carlisle 105,200 City of Carlisle 21.1%
2 Barrow-in-Furness 71,980 Barrow-in-Furness 14.4%
3 Kendal 27,521 South Lakeland 5.5%
4 Whitehaven 25,500 Copeland 5.1%
5 Workington 25,000 Allerdale 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 Millom 6,400 Copeland 1.3%

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), the vast majority of land 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

People of interest

Places of interest

See also

References

  1. ^ "County council votes to pursue a single council for Cumbria". Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  2. ^ "Local Government Review in the Cumbria County Council Area" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-02-24. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 27 (help)
  3. ^ "Kronos; A Chronology of the Martial Arts and Combative Sports". Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  4. ^ Cinaet Scothack. "Wrestling in Gaelic Culture". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |acessdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Amateur Wrestling". Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  6. ^ "Kronos; A Chronology of the Martial Arts and Combative Sports". Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  7. ^ a b Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
  8. ^ a b includes hunting and forestry
  9. ^ a b includes energy and construction
  10. ^ a b includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cumbria.
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