Whittington (Lancashire)

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Coordinates: 54 ° 11 ′  N , 2 ° 37 ′  W

St Michael's Church, Whittington

Whittington is a small town and civil parish in Lancashire , England . The place is mentioned as Witetune in the Doomsday Book and was an important aristocratic seat even before the Norman conquest of England . The place was the seat of Earl Tostig a brother Harald II. Since Earl Tostig died in 1066 fighting his brother, the aristocratic seat fell into disrepair. However, the Norman conquerors were also aware of the strategic importance of the place on the River Lune and they built a castle on an artificially created hill, a moth . This hill still rises 3.5 m and is 52 m wide, but it has been badly damaged. The remains of the defense tower are no longer there. The castle is one of several castles in the River Lune valley that no longer exist, but which once served as an important line of defense against enemy incursions from the north into England, across the Shap Summit pass and then along the course of the River Lune could be carried out at Tebay , protected and still today demonstrate the borderland character of this area after the Norman conquest.

There are indications that the place and its possessions, despite this fortification, were sacked during an attack by the Scots in 1322.

In the place of the castle, which no longer exists today, stands the church of St Michael’s . The location of the church may suggest that it emerged from a chapel in the Norman fortress. The oldest parts of the current building - especially the church tower - date from the 16th century and the church was heavily rebuilt in the 19th century. Today the church is a Grade II * protected monument.

At the western edge of the village is the Whittington Hall country house . Whittington Hall was built in 1831-1836 by George Webster, a member of the British Parliament, on the site of another older building. Whittington Hall is now a Grade II * listed building.

sons and daughters of the town

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The parish of Whittington William Farrer, J. Brownbill (Ed.) A History of the County of Lancaster Vol. 8, London: Constable, 1914. pp. 241-252.

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