| Loftus | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 Loftus Town Hall (on the right) and Parish Church (on the left) | |
.svg)  Loftus Location withinNorth Yorkshire | |
| Population | 7,988 (2011 census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | NZ716185 |
| • London | 210 mi (340 km) S |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SALTBURN-BY-THE-SEA |
| Postcode district | TS13 |
| Dialling code | 01287 |
| Police | Cleveland |
| Fire | Cleveland |
| Ambulance | North East |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Town council website |
| 54°33′25″N0°53′31″W / 54.5569°N 0.8919°W /54.5569; -0.8919 | |
Loftus is a market town andcivil parish in theRedcar and Cleveland borough ofNorth Yorkshire, England. The town is located north of theNorth York Moors and sits betweenWhitby andSkelton-in-Cleveland. The parish includes the villages ofCarlin How,Easington,Liverton,Liverton Mines andSkinningrove. It is nearBrotton,Saltburn andSkelton-in-Cleveland.
The town was formerly known asLofthouse.[2]
The town's built-up area, includingLiverton Mines, had a population of 4,824 in the2011 census,[3] with the entire town's parish population being 7,988.[1]
The Loftus area has been inhabited since at least the 7th century. A manor in the area was owned bySiward, Earl of Northumbria, who died in 1055.[4] Loftus is recorded as "Lcotvsv" in theDomesday Book, fromLaghthus meaning low houses.[5]
The only knownAnglo-Saxon royal burial site in north-east England is near Loftus.[6]
Artefacts were discovered there from excavations which took place between 2005 and 2007. Finds include pieces associated with a rarebed burial in which a decorated female body is laid out on a decorated wooden bed accompanied by fine gold jewellery. The finds include a gold pendant, which would have belonged to a princess. as well as glass beads, pottery, iron knives, belt buckles and other objects.The finds, which date back nearly 1400 years were discovered by members of the Teesside Archeological Society, led by Dr Steve Sherlock, in a 109-grave site at Street House, Loftus.[7][8]They are presently on show at the Kirkleatham Old Hall Museum.[9][10][11]
The Oddfellows Hall, in Loftus, was built in 1874, as the offices and meeting place of the localOddfellows society. Oddfellows werefriendly or mutual societies, set up and organised by people from differentguilds representing various trades. Other societies existed for single trades, but when there were not enough people from one trade, especially in smaller towns, societies would be formed from an "odd" mixture of people, so giving the name "Oddfellows". The Loftus Oddfellows would raise money for their members. The Oddfellows Hall was unused from the early 1990s. Tees Valley Housing Association have now taken over ownership of the building and converted it from a large meeting hall into eight self-contained flats.[12]
Loftus has anoceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb).
| Climate data for Loftus (158 m or 518 ft asl, averages 1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.2 (43.2) | 6.8 (44.2) | 8.8 (47.8) | 11.2 (52.2) | 13.7 (56.7) | 16.7 (62.1) | 19.3 (66.7) | 19.4 (66.9) | 16.6 (61.9) | 12.8 (55.0) | 9.1 (48.4) | 6.7 (44.1) | 12.3 (54.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.7 (35.1) | 1.7 (35.1) | 2.6 (36.7) | 4.3 (39.7) | 6.7 (44.1) | 9.3 (48.7) | 11.4 (52.5) | 11.6 (52.9) | 9.9 (49.8) | 7.4 (45.3) | 4.2 (39.6) | 2.0 (35.6) | 6.1 (42.9) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 48.9 (1.93) | 38.7 (1.52) | 37.3 (1.47) | 43.7 (1.72) | 40.2 (1.58) | 65.1 (2.56) | 61.8 (2.43) | 59.9 (2.36) | 55.0 (2.17) | 53.7 (2.11) | 73.7 (2.90) | 54.9 (2.16) | 632.9 (24.91) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1 mm) | 11.3 | 10.1 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 10.5 | 10.3 | 10.1 | 9.5 | 11.5 | 12.3 | 11.6 | 123.8 |
| Source:Met Office[13] | |||||||||||||
The two main churches in the town are St Leonard's (Church of England), and St Joseph and St Cuthbert (Roman Catholic). There are three primary schools: St.Joseph's RCVA Primary School,[14] Handale Primary School,[15] and Hummersea).
TheA174 is the town’s main road.Loftus railway station opened in 1875, and closed to passengers in 1960. The line still operates through the station site, with freight services forBoulby Mine, and occasional passenger 'specials' for rail enthusiasts. The nearest open station is atSaltburn.
Loftus parish includes the settlements ofBoulby,Carlin How, Cowbar (inStaithes),Easington,Handale,Liverton Mines,Liverton, Loftus,Scaling andSkinningrove.[16]
Loftus’s facilities include: Loftus Swimming Baths (where the swimming group, Loftus Dolphins, train), Loftus Youth Club, Loftus Army Cadets,[17] Scouts, Cubs etc. The town also has its own dance studio - Triple Dee Dance Studio - which offers dance classes for children age two upwards. The studio started inside the town hall and later the company moved into their own studio on Zetland Road. It also has a fire station and part-time police station.
Loftus Town Hall was commissioned byLawrence Dundas, 3rd Earl of Zetland, erected by a Thomas Dickinson of Saltburn, and was first opened in 1879.[18]
Tees Valley Leisure Limited, which was established in 1999 as anIndustrial and provident society, provides a variety of leisure services on behalf of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council operating for the benefit of the community as a non-profit distributing organisation. They took over the running of Loftus Leisure Centre, which had been opened in 1981 to provide the community with swimming facilities. The centre was improved with the addition of a sauna suite in 1985 and a fitness suite in 1998.[19]
Loftus Cricket & Athletic Club is situated at the eastern end of Loftus on Whitby Road.[20] The club have two senior teams: a Saturday 1st XI that compete in the Langbaurgh Cricket League[21] and a Midweek Senior XI in the Esk Valley Evening League.[22]
Among notable people who were born in or lived in Loftus were geologistLewis Hunton (1814–1838), actressFaye Marsay born in 1986,Coloured Horse Champion 2008 'Unapologetically me'Jade Hind Born 1990 and table tennis playerPaul Drinkhall born in 1990.
Places adjacent to Loftus, North Yorkshire | |
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