| Coniston | |
|---|---|
| Village and parish | |
 Coniston | |
  Coniston Location withinCumbria | |
| Population | 928 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SD2996 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CONISTON |
| Postcode district | LA21 |
| Dialling code | 015394 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
| 54°22′05″N3°04′23″W / 54.368°N 3.073°W /54.368; -3.073 | |
Coniston is a village andcivil parish in theWestmorland and Furness district ofCumbria, England. In the2001 census the parish had a population of 1,058,[2] decreasing at the2011 census to 928.[1] Within the boundaries of thehistoric county ofLancashire, it is in the southern part of theLake District National Park,[3] betweenConiston Water, the third longest lake in the Lake District, andConiston Old Man.
Coniston is 25 miles (40 km) northeast ofBarrow-in-Furness, 20 miles (32 km) west ofKendal and 42 miles (68 km) north ofLancaster.
The village's name is derived fromkonungr, theOld Norse for king, andtūn theOld English] for farmstead or village, meaning the "King's estate";[4] Ekwall[5] it is speculated that this settlement could have been the centre of a 'small Scandinavian mountain kingdom'. By the 12th century, it was known as "Coningeston".[6]
Coniston grew as both a farming village, and to serve local copper and slate mines.[7] It grew in popularity as a tourist location during theVictorian era, thanks partially to the construction of a branch of theFurness Railway, which opened to passenger traffic in 1859 and terminated atConiston railway station.[8]
The poet andsocial criticJohn Ruskin also popularised the village, buying the mansionBrantwood on the eastern side of Coniston Water in 1871. Before his death, he rejected the option to be buried inWestminster Abbey, instead being laid to rest in the churchyard of St Andrew's, Coniston.Ruskin Museum, established in 1901, is both a memorial to Ruskin and a local museum covering the history and heritage of Coniston Water and theLake District.[9]
The philosopherR. G. Collingwood is buried in Coniston.
The painterHenry Robinson Hall lived and worked and was buried in Coniston.[10]
Donald Campbell added to the profile of the village and lake when he broke four World Water Speed Records on the lake in the 1950s. He died attempting to break the world water speed record for the eighth time in 1967, when his jet boat, "Bluebird K7", crashed at 290 mph (470 km/h), having already set the record for the seventh time atDumbleyung Lake,Western Australia in 1964. His body and boat (Bluebird K7) were discovered and recovered by divers in 2001 and he was buried in the new graveyard in Coniston in September 2001. A new wing has been built at the Ruskin Museum to accommodate the fully restored Bluebird K7 boat. It opened in late 2009 with the K7 due to have arrived in late 2011 or early 2012.[11]
The whole village was powered by hydroelectricity during the 1920s but this became so heavily taxed that the people there were forced to return to the national grid. Since 7 March 2007 a hydro-electric scheme has been in use to power up to 300 homes; being sited near the original.[7]
Coniston is located on the western shore of the northern end ofConiston Water.[12] It sits at the mouth of Coppermines Valley and Yewdale Beck, which descend from theConiston Fells, historically the location of ore and slate mining.[7] Coniston's location thus developed as a farming village and transport hub, serving these areas. Coniston was situated in the very north-west of thehistoric county ofLancashire, withConiston Old Man forming the county's highest point.[13]
Two slate quarries still operate at Coniston, one in Coppermines Valley, the other at Brossen Stone on the east side of the Coniston Old Man. Both work Coniston's volcanic slates, being blue at Low-Brandy Crag in Coppermines Valley, and light green at Brossen Stone (bursting stone). The scenery around Coniston derives fromConiston Limestone and rocks of theBorrowdale Volcanic Group.
Coniston is part of theWestmorland and Lonsdale parliamentary constituency, of whichTim Farron is the current MP representing theLiberal Democrats.[14][15]
BeforeBrexit, it was in theNorth West England European Parliamentary Constituency.
ForLocal Government purposes, Coniston is in the Coniston and Hawkshead ward ofWestmorland and Furness Council.[16]
The total population of this ward as taken at the 2011 Census was 1,575.[17]
The village also has its ownParish Council.[18]
The creation of the Lake District National Park in 1951 provided a boost to tourism, with attractions such as theRuskin Museum and ferry services across the lake developing. Coniston is a popular spot forhill-walking androck-climbing; there are fine walks to be had on the nearbyFurness Fells andGrizedale Forest, and some of the finest rock in the Lake District on the eastern face ofDow Crag, 3 miles (4.8 km) from the village. The Grizedale Stages rally also takes place in Coniston, using the surrounding Grizedale and Broughton Moor (or Postlethwaite Allotment) forests. The village is also home to a number of hotels and twoyouth hostels, one at the edge of the village, theother in the nearby Coppermines Valley.
The village also has a football team, Coniston AFC, who play their home games at Coniston sports and social centre.
The main bus service in Coniston is aStagecoach Cumbria service 505 which goes toAmbleside,Windermere and occasionallyKendal.[19]
As with the rest of theBritish Isles, Coniston experiences amaritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. Rainfall is high, almost at 2,000 millimetres (79 in) a year. Temperature extremes have ranged from −15.2 °C (4.6 °F) during February 1986,[20] to 30.3 °C (86.5 °F) during August 1990.[21] The nearest Met Office weather station is Grizedale, around 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to the South East.
| Climate data for Grizedale: 91 m (299 ft) 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1960–2007 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) | 14.0 (57.2) | 19.4 (66.9) | 24.9 (76.8) | 26.5 (79.7) | 29.8 (85.6) | 30.2 (86.4) | 30.3 (86.5) | 26.7 (80.1) | 21.7 (71.1) | 16.4 (61.5) | 13.0 (55.4) | 30.3 (86.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.9 (44.4) | 7.4 (45.3) | 9.2 (48.6) | 12.0 (53.6) | 15.4 (59.7) | 17.5 (63.5) | 19.6 (67.3) | 19.2 (66.6) | 16.8 (62.2) | 12.9 (55.2) | 9.5 (49.1) | 7.0 (44.6) | 12.8 (55.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.8 (38.8) | 4.1 (39.4) | 5.6 (42.1) | 7.7 (45.9) | 10.5 (50.9) | 12.9 (55.2) | 15.0 (59.0) | 14.5 (58.1) | 12.3 (54.1) | 9.1 (48.4) | 6.2 (43.2) | 3.9 (39.0) | 8.8 (47.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.6 (33.1) | 0.8 (33.4) | 2.0 (35.6) | 3.2 (37.8) | 5.6 (42.1) | 8.2 (46.8) | 10.4 (50.7) | 9.8 (49.6) | 7.9 (46.2) | 5.4 (41.7) | 2.8 (37.0) | 0.8 (33.4) | 4.8 (40.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −14.4 (6.1) | −15.2 (4.6) | −12.2 (10.0) | −6.2 (20.8) | −6.9 (19.6) | −2.6 (27.3) | 1.1 (34.0) | −1.1 (30.0) | −1.7 (28.9) | −5.9 (21.4) | −9.8 (14.4) | −14.2 (6.4) | −15.2 (4.6) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 208.7 (8.22) | 182.1 (7.17) | 169.6 (6.68) | 121.5 (4.78) | 111.4 (4.39) | 105.3 (4.15) | 112.5 (4.43) | 137.4 (5.41) | 148.8 (5.86) | 224.7 (8.85) | 218.1 (8.59) | 239.3 (9.42) | 1,977.8 (77.87) |
| Average precipitation days | 17.6 | 15.2 | 15.8 | 14.5 | 12.6 | 13.5 | 12.7 | 13.8 | 14.1 | 17.9 | 19.5 | 17.9 | 185.1 |
| Source 1: Météo Climat[22] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:KNMI (extremes)[23] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Grizedale 91m asl, 1971–2000, Extremes 1960– (Weather Station 2.5 mi (4 km) SE of Coniston) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) | 14.0 (57.2) | 19.4 (66.9) | 24.9 (76.8) | 26.5 (79.7) | 29.8 (85.6) | 30.1 (86.2) | 30.3 (86.5) | 26.7 (80.1) | 21.7 (71.1) | 16.4 (61.5) | 13.0 (55.4) | 30.3 (86.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.2 (43.2) | 6.6 (43.9) | 8.6 (47.5) | 11.3 (52.3) | 15.0 (59.0) | 17.2 (63.0) | 19.2 (66.6) | 18.8 (65.8) | 16.0 (60.8) | 12.8 (55.0) | 9.1 (48.4) | 7.1 (44.8) | 12.3 (54.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.2 (32.4) | 0.4 (32.7) | 1.5 (34.7) | 2.6 (36.7) | 4.8 (40.6) | 7.7 (45.9) | 9.8 (49.6) | 9.6 (49.3) | 7.8 (46.0) | 5.1 (41.2) | 2.4 (36.3) | 1.0 (33.8) | 4.4 (39.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −14.4 (6.1) | −15.2 (4.6) | −12.2 (10.0) | −6 (21) | −6.9 (19.6) | −2.6 (27.3) | 1.1 (34.0) | −1.1 (30.0) | −1.7 (28.9) | −5.9 (21.4) | −9.8 (14.4) | −14.2 (6.4) | −15.2 (4.6) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 199.48 (7.85) | 147.56 (5.81) | 171.31 (6.74) | 97.43 (3.84) | 89.89 (3.54) | 102.37 (4.03) | 114.14 (4.49) | 142.84 (5.62) | 156.36 (6.16) | 208.18 (8.20) | 196.1 (7.72) | 214.35 (8.44) | 1,902.57 (74.90) |
| Source 1:YR.NO[24] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute[25] | |||||||||||||
Coniston is also an important local centre, with a secondary school (John Ruskin School), primary school (Coniston Church of England Primary School), bank, petrol station and other such services. It has also repeatedly been highly placed in theVillage of the Year award, winning it in 1997.
The village is twinned withIlliers-Combray.[26] The French village is associated withMarcel Proust for whom Ruskin's work was a source of inspiration.
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| National | |
