Cumbria is predominantly rural, with an area of 6,769 km2 (2,614 sq mi) and a population of 500,012; this makes it the third-largest ceremonial county in England by area but the eighth-smallest by population. Carlisle is located in the north; the towns ofWorkington andWhitehaven lie on the west coast,Barrow-in-Furness on the south coast, andPenrith andKendal in the east of the county. For local government purposes the county comprises twounitary authority areas,Westmorland and Furness andCumberland.[5] Cumbria was created in 1974 from the historic counties ofCumberland andWestmorland, theFurness area of Lancashire, and a small part ofYorkshire.
The county contains severalNeolithic monuments, such asMayburgh Henge. The region was on the border ofRoman Britain, andHadrian's Wall runs through the north of the county. In the Early Middle Ages parts of the region successively belonged toRheged,Northumbria, andStrathclyde, and there was also aViking presence. It became the border between England and Scotland, and was unsettled until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. During theIndustrial Revolution mining took place on theCumberland coalfield and Barrow-in-Furness became a shipbuilding centre, but the county was not heavily industrialised and the Lake District became valued for itssublime andpicturesque qualities, notably by theLake Poets.
During theNeolithic period the area contained an important centre of stone axe production (the so-calledLangdale axe factory), products of which have been found across Great Britain.[15] During this period,stone circles andhenges were built across the county, and today, Cumbria has one of the largest number of preserved field monuments in England'.[16]
While not part of the region conquered in theRomans' initial conquest of Britain in AD 43, most of modern-day Cumbria was later conquered in response to a revolt deposing the Roman-aligned ruler of theBrigantes in AD 69.[17] The Romans built a number of fortifications in the area during their occupation, the most famous beingUNESCOWorld Heritage SiteHadrian's Wall which passes through northern Cumbria.[18]
At the end of the period of British history known asRoman Britain (c. AD 410) the inhabitants of Cumbria wereCumbric-speaking nativeCeltic Britons who were probably descendants of theBrigantes andCarvetii (sometimes considered to be a sub-tribe of the Brigantes) that theRoman Empire had conquered in about AD 85.[citation needed] Based on inscriptional evidence from the area, the Romancivitas of the Carvetii seems to have covered portions of Cumbria. The namesCumbria,Cymru (the nativeWelsh name forWales),Cambria, andCumberland are derived from the name these people gave themselves, *kombroges inCommon Brittonic, which originally meant "compatriots".[19][20]
Although Cumbria was previously believed to have formed the core of theEarly Middle AgesBrittonic kingdom ofRheged, more recent discoveries nearGalloway appear to contradict this.[21] For the rest of the first millennium, Cumbria was contested by several entities who warred over the area, including the Brythonic CelticKingdom of Strathclyde and theAngliankingdom of Northumbria. Most of modern-day Cumbria was a principality in the Kingdom ofScotland at the time of theNorman conquest of England in 1066 and thus was excluded from theDomesday Book survey of 1086. In 1092 the region was invaded byWilliam II and incorporated into England.[22] In 1133 the diocese of Carlisle was founded, cementing Cumbria's position within the English church.[23] Cumbria left Scottish hands for the last time in 1157. Nevertheless, the region was dominated by the manyAnglo-Scottish Wars of the latterMiddle Ages andearly modern period and the associatedBorder Reivers who exploited the dynamic political situation of the region.[24] There were at least threesieges of Carlisle fought between England and Scotland, and two further sieges during theJacobite risings.
After the Jacobite Risings of the 18th century, Cumbria became a more stable place and, as in the rest ofNorthern England, theIndustrial Revolution caused a large growth in urban populations. In particular, the west coast towns ofWorkington,Millom andBarrow-in-Furness saw large iron andsteel mills develop, with Barrow also developing a significantshipbuilding industry.[25]Kendal,Keswick and Carlisle all becamemill towns, with textiles, pencils and biscuits among the products manufactured in the region. The early 19th century saw the county gain fame when theLake Poets and other artists of theRomantic movement, such asWilliam Wordsworth andSamuel Taylor Coleridge, lived among, and were inspired by, the lakes and mountains of the region. Later, the children's writerBeatrix Potter also wrote in the region and became a major landowner, granting much of her property to theNational Trust on her death.[26] In turn, the large amount of land owned by the National Trust assisted in the formation in 1951 of theLake District National Park,[citation needed] which remains the largest National Park in England and has come to dominate the identity and economy of the county.
On 2 June 2010, taxi driver Derrick Bird killed 12 people and injured 11 others ina shooting spree that spanned over 24 kilometres (15 mi) along the Cumbrian coastline.[28]
Local newspapersThe Westmorland Gazette andCumberland and Westmorland Herald continue to use the name of their historic counties. Other publications, such as local government promotional material, describe the area as "Cumbria", as does the Lake District National Park Authority.
TheVale of Eden, the valley of theRiver Eden, runs south-east to north-west between these upland areas, and broadens into theSolway Plain near Carlisle.[6][7] The county has long coast to the west, which is bordered by a plain for most of its length. In the north-west it borders theSolway Firth, anational landscape, and to the south are theCartmel andFurness peninsulas. East of the peninsulas, the county contains part ofArnside and Silverdale, also a national landscape. TheLancaster Canal runs from Preston into southern Cumbria and is partly in use. TheUlverston Canal which once reached toMorecambe Bay is maintained although it was closed in 1945.
Many large companies and organisations are based in Cumbria. The county council itself employs around 17,000 individuals, while the largest private employer in Cumbria,BAE Systems in Barrow employs around 12,000 with further job growth associated with new contracts expected, theSellafield nuclear processing site, has a workforce of 10,000.[30]
The largest and most widespread industry is tourism, with the county attracting over 47 million visitors annually.[31] TheLake District National Park alone receives some 15.8 million visitors every year.[32] Despite this, fewer than 50,000 people reside permanently within the Lake District: mostly inAmbleside,Bowness-on-Windermere,Coniston,Keswick,Gosforth,Grasmere andWindermere.[32] Over 36,000 Cumbrians are employed in the tourism industry which adds £1.1 billion a year to the county's economy. The Lake District and county as a whole attract visitors from across the UK,[32] Europe, North America and the Far East (particularly Japan).[32] The tables below show the twenty most-visited attractions in Cumbria in 2009. (Not all visitor attractions provided data to Cumbria Tourism who collated the list. Notable examples areFurness Abbey, theLakes Aquarium andSouth Lakes Safari Zoo, the last of which would almost certainly rank within the top five).[33]
TheDuchy of Lancaster, the private estate of the sovereign, exercises some rights ofthe Crown in the County Palatine of Lancaster, which includes the Furness area of Cumbria.[42]
Although Cumbria has a comprehensive system almost fully, there is one state grammar school in Penrith. There are 42 state secondary schools and 10 independent schools. The more rural secondary schools tend to havesixth forms (although in Barrow-in-Furness district, no schools have sixth forms due to the only sixth form college in Cumbria being located in the town) and this is the same for three schools in Allerdale and South Lakeland, and one in the other districts. Chetwynde is also the only school in Barrow to educate children from nursery all the way to year 11.
TheUniversity of Cumbria is one of the UK's newest universities, having been established in 2007. It is at present the only university in Cumbria and has campuses across the county, together withLancaster and London.
TheM6 is the only motorway that runs through Cumbria.Kendal andPenrith are amongst its primary destinations. Further north it becomes theA74(M) at the border with Scotland north ofCarlisle. MajorA roads within Cumbria include:
A6 (Luton, Bedfordshire to Carlisle via Kendal and Penrith)
A66 (Workington to Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire via Keswick and M6 Junction 40)
A69 (Carlisle to Newcastle upon Tyne via Brampton and Hexham)
A590 (M6 Junction 36 to Barrow-in-Furness via Ulverston)
A591 (Sizergh to Bothel via Kendal, Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere and Keswick)
A592 (Penrith to Newby Bridge via M6 Junction 40, Windermere and Bowness)
A595 (Carlisle to Dalton-in-Furness via Whitehaven and Workington)
Several bus companies run services in Cumbria serving the main towns and villages in the county, with some services running to neighbouring areas such asLancaster.Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire is the largest; it has depots in Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Kendal and Workington. Stagecoach's flagship X6 route connects Barrow-in-Furness and Kendal in south Cumbria.
Barrow-in-Furness is one of the country's largest shipbuilding centres, but thePort of Barrow is only minor, operated byAssociated British Ports alongside the Port ofSilloth in Allerdale. There are no ferry links from any port or harbour along the Cumbria coast.
Cumbria's largest settlement and only city isCarlisle, in the north of the county. The largest town,Barrow-in-Furness, in the south, is slightly smaller. The county's population is largely rural: it has the second-lowest population density among English counties, and only five towns with over 20,000 people. Cumbria is one of the country's most ethnically homogeneous counties, with 95% categorised asWhite British (around 471,000 of the 500,000).[44] The larger towns have ethnic makeups closer to the national average. The2001 census indicated Christianity was the religion with the most adherents in the county.
This map of cities and towns of Northern England shows the relative lack of urbanisation in Cumbria (shown here as the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland) compared to the rest of the region
2010ONS estimates placed the number of foreign-born (non-United Kingdom) people living in Cumbria at around 14,000 and foreign nationals at 6,000.[45] Population trends indicate a gradual decline in younger demographics, with an increasing proportion of elderly residents.[46] The2001 UK Census showed the following most common countries of birth for residents of Cumbria that year:
Fell running is a popular sport in Cumbria, with an active calendar of competitions taking place throughout the year.Cumbria is also home to several of the most activeorienteering clubs in the UK as well as the Lakes 5 Days competition that takes place every four years.
Workington is home to theball game known as Uppies and Downies,[50] a traditional version of football, with its origins inmedieval football or an even earlier form.[51] Players from outside Workington also take part, especially fellow West Cumbrians fromWhitehaven andMaryport.[52]
Cumbria formerly had minor American football clubs, the Furness Phantoms (the club is now defunct, its last name wasMorecambe Bay Storm) and the Carlisle Kestrels.[53]
Barrow andCarlisle United are the only professional football teams in Cumbria. Carlisle United attract support from across Cumbria and beyond, with many Cumbrian "ex-pats" travelling to see their games, both home and away.[citation needed]
Workington—who are always known locally as "the reds"—are a well-supported non-league team,[citation needed] having been relegated from the Football League in the 1970s. Workington made a rapid rise up the non league ladder and in 2007/08 competed with Barrow in theConference North. Barrow were then promoted to theConference Premier in 2007/08. In 2020, Barrow were promoted to theFootball League as a result of winning theNational League.
Rugby union is popular in the county's north and east with teams such as Furness RUFC & Hawcoat Park RUFC (South Cumbria), Workington RUFC (Workington Zebras), Whitehaven RUFC, Carlisle RUFC, Creighton RUFC,Aspatria RUFC, Wigton RUFC,Kendal RUFC, Kirkby Lonsdale RUFC, Keswick RUFC, Cockermouth RUFC, Upper Eden RUFC andPenrith RUFC.
Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling is an ancient and well-practised tradition in the county with a strong resemblance toScottish Backhold.
In the 21st century Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling along with other aspects of Lakeland culture are practised at the Grasmere Sports and Show, an annual meeting held every year since 1852 on the AugustBank 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,[54] while other historians associate it with theCornish andGouren styles[55] indicating that it may have developed out of a longer-standing Celtic tradition.[56]
Cumbria is the UK county with the highest number ofMichelin-starred restaurants, with seven in this classification in the Great Britain and Ireland Michelin Guide of 2021. Traditional Cumbrian cuisine has been influenced by the spices and molasses that were imported intoWhitehaven in the 18th century. TheCumberland sausage (which has aprotected geographical status) is a well-recognised result of this. Other regional specialities include Herdwick mutton and the salt-marsh raised lamb of theCartmel Peninsula.[61]
Cumbria was mostly Celtic speaking until the Viking invasion, if not later (Cymry)[62]
English spoken in parts of Cumbria; relatively sparsely populated until 12th/13th centuries[63]
The invading Angles and Saxons forced the indigenous Celtic peoples back to the western highlands of Cumbria, Wales and Cornwall, with little linguistic consequence, apart from a residual scattering of place-names.
Northwest – possibility of direct influence from Irish Gaelic across Irish Sea via Whitehaven until 10th century[64]
Celtic influence/kingdoms may have confirmed perception of difference between the north–south[clarification needed][62]
Linguistic interaction between Celts and English underrated: effectively Celtic influence marked the beginnings of a linguistic divide between English and other West Germanic dialects.[65]
Lexis – Celtic influence left specifically on the sound pattern of sheep-scoring numerals of Cumbrian and West Yorkshire[62]
Loss of inflections may be explained by contact with Celtic tribes and inter-marriage.[62]
Earliest Anglo-Saxon settlements in the east of England. Took over 200 years to establish a frontier in the west where the displaced British had settled[66]
Morphology – Old Northumbrian (little evidence) signs of loss of inflexions long before southern dialects below the Humber, precede Viking settlements and dialect contact situation[62]
Lack of extent of Old English written evidence[62]
Main attacks/raids on the North-East coast at Lindisfarne and Jarrow in 793/ 794[62]
Settlement patterns (Danes) contributed to emerging differences over time between Northumberland. Durham and Yorkshire dialects[62]
Norwegian settlers via Ireland to Isle of Man, Mersey estuary (901) and the Cumbrian/ Lancashire coasts (900–50) – dialectal differences (Danes/ Norwegians) often lumped together in standard histories – MUST have confirmed emerging dialectal differences east and west of the Pennines[62]
Danelaw – land of north and east of land ruled under Danish law and Danish customs (978–1016)[62]
Scandinavian influences vocabulary – common words gradually diffused/ entered word stock (borrowings) which survive in regional use –fell ('hillside'),lug ('ear'),loup ('jump'),aye ('yes')
Influence on grammatical structure – Middle English texts reveal that present participle form-and, and possible that use ofat andas as relative pronouns from Cumbria to East Yorkshire[62]
Phonetically /g/, /k/ and cluster /sk/ have a northern/ Norse pronunciation /j/, /ʧ/ and /ʃ/ which are West Saxon – hard vs. soft consonants of north–south dialects – e.g.give/ rigg ('ridge'),skrike ('shriek'),kist ('chest') andik ('I')[62]
'Interdialect forms' in Danelaw area (diffuse > focussed situation) – no clear idea about what language they were speaking – mixture of Old English and Norse e.g.she (3rd person pronoun) is claimed by both languages[62][67]
Bilingualism was norm in areas under Danelaw (plausible)[62]
Norse runic inscriptions survive from 11th century in Cumbria – therefore may only been after Norman Conquest that 'Norse as a living language died out'[68]
Jewell (1994: 20) – Northumbria retained relative independence until 13th century – effective government of North by Normans 'petered-out' at Lake District and North of Tees (not recorded in Domesday Book)[70]
Early 10th century – The grip from Northumbrian[clarification needed] on the former territory ofRheged was that of Britons of Strathcylde reoccupied southwest Scotland and northwest England as far south as Derwent and Penrith.[71] which was held until Carlisle retaken by Scots in 1136[62]
Cumbric perhaps survived until it faded in the early 12th century throughout Cumbria.[72]
Cumbric score – counting sheep – Welsh correspondence Welsh ("un, dau, tri") – Cumberland ("yan, tyan, tethera") – Westmorland ("yan, than, teddera") – Lancashire ("yan, taen, tedderte") – West Yorkshire ("yain, tain, eddero")[71] – survived 7–8 centuries after the language itself had died – Brittonic origin
Not one single complete phrase in Cumbric survives, evidence to suggest strong literary tradition, probably oral, some of this early material is known in a Welsh version[clarification needed][71]
Two evening newspapers are published daily in Cumbria. TheNews and Star focuses largely on Carlisle and the surrounding areas of north and west Cumbria, and theNorth-West Evening Mail is based in Barrow-in-Furness and covers news from across Furness and the South Lakes. TheCumberland and Westmorland Herald andThe Westmorland Gazette are weekly newspapers based inPenrith andKendal respectively. The Egremont 2Day newspaper, formerly Egremont Today when affiliated with theLabour Party, was a prominent monthly publication – founded by Peter Watson (and edited by him until his death in 2014) in 1990 until July 2018. In February 2020 The Herdwick News, run by the last editor of The Egremont 2Day, was launched and is an independent online news publication covering the county of Cumbria and the North West.
^abCumbrian Mountains:Philips' Elementary Atlas and Geography, edited byJohn Francon Williams published byGeorge Philip & Son Ltd., 1882: (2) The Cumbrian Mountains are a group in the counties of Cumberland, Westmoreland, and northern Lancashire, near the coast of the Irish Sea. They contain the highest elevation in England – Scaw Fell (Scafell Pike), 3,208 feet above the level of the sea (retrieved 2018)
^"Cymric".Online Etymological Dictionary.Archived from the original on 27 April 2010. Retrieved25 September 2010.
^Davies, John (2007) [1990].A History of Wales. Penguin Books. pp. 68–69.
^Ronan, Toolis (31 January 2017).The lost Dark Age kingdom of Rheged : the discovery of a royal stronghold at Trusty's Hill, Galloway. Bowles, Christopher R. Oxford.ISBN9781785703126.OCLC967457029.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Sharpe, Richard (2006).Norman rule in Cumbria, 1092–1136. Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society.ISBN978-1873124437.OCLC122952827.
^Holtby, R.T. (1982).Carlisle Cathedral. London: Pitkin Pictorials. p. 5.SBN85372 345 1.
^Gill, Jepson (15 November 2017).Barrow-in-Furness at Work : People and Industries Through the Years. Stroud: Amberley Publishing.ISBN9781445670041.OCLC1019605931.
^Strang, Barbara M, H (1970).A History of English. London: Methuen. p. 256.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Elmes, Simon (1999).The Routes of English. London: BBC. p. 27.
^Tristram, Hildegard (2000). "Introduction: languages in contact; layer cake model or otherwise?".The Celtic Languages.2:1–8.
^Leith, Dick (1983).A Social History of English. London: Routledge. p. 106.
^Trudgill, Peter (1974). "Linguistic change and diffusion: description and explanation in sociolinguistic dialect geography".Language in Society.3 (2):215–2246.doi:10.1017/s0047404500004358.S2CID145148233.
^Werner, Otmar (1991). "The incorporation of Old Norse pronouns in Middle English: suppletion by loan".Language Contact in the British Isles:369–401.doi:10.1515/9783111678658.369.
^Gordon, E, V (1923). "Scandinavian Influence in Yorkshire Dialects".Transactions of the Yorkshire Dialect Society.4:5–22.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Jewell, Helen (1994).The North-South Divide: The Origins of Northern Consciousness in England. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 20.
^abcPrice, G (2000).Languages in Britain and Ireland. Oxford: Blackwell. p. 125.
^Jackson, Peter (1989).Maps of Meaning: An Introduction to Cultural Geography. London: Unwin Hyman. p. 72.
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