Beckfoot

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Beckfoot
Beach-side house at Beckfoot in Cumbria - geograph.org.uk - 1945917.jpg
North end of Beckfoot.
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Beckfoot
Location in Allerdale
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Beckfoot
Location within Cumbria
OS grid reference NY0949
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town WIGTON
Postcode district CA7
Dialling code 016973
Police Cumbria
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UK
England
Cumbria
54°50′00″N3°24′47″W / 54.8334°N 3.4130°W / 54.8334; -3.4130 Coordinates: 54°50′00″N3°24′47″W / 54.8334°N 3.4130°W / 54.8334; -3.4130

Beckfoot is a hamlet in the civil parish of Holme St Cuthbert in Cumbria, England. It is located on the B5300 coast road, three miles south of Silloth-on-Solway and two miles north of the village of Mawbray. The county town of Carlisle is twenty-five miles away to the east.

Contents

History and etymology

The name "Beckfoot" is derived from the Old Norse bekkr-futr, meaning "the mouth of a stream". [1] Beck is a local word in Cumbrian dialect for a stream. Such a beck empties into the Solway Firth at the southern end of the hamlet, [2] and it is this watercourse which gives the settlement its name. There are two known recorded variant spellings: Beck and Beckfoote.

The area around Beckfoot was fortified during Roman times, as a series of milefortlets were constructed to guard the coast beyond the western end of Hadrian's Wall. The remains of milefortlets 14 and 15 are located nearby. [3] In 2010 a broken pottery vessel containing 308 Roman coins was discovered by a local archaeologist using a metal detector.

During the 14th century, a castle was built at Wolsty, approximately one-and-a-half miles to the north, to guard the vulnerable Holmcultram Abbey at Abbeytown from raids across the Solway Firth. The castle had been demolished by the year 1700, and not much remains today, but an archaeological survey was carried out in July 2013. [4]

In the 16th century, shifting sands and severe storms on the Solway Firth saw many houses in the hamlet destroyed or severely damaged. Many people lost their homes, and it was this event which prompted the Lord and Steward of Holme Culterham to construct the town of New Mawbray, today known as Newtown, three-quarters of a mile inland from Beckfoot. [5] Also during this era, Scots continued to raid this section of the Solway coast. A system called the "seawake" - a night watch along the coast - was created, and residents of coastal communities including Beckfoot would have participated in guarding against such raids. [1]

A Quaker meeting house was built in Beckfoot in the year 1745, exactly 100 years before the parish church at Holme St. Cuthbert was built. [6] A mill and dam were built at the end of the eighteenth century to aid in local wool production, but the mill was not a financial success and closed a few years later. In 1925, Beckfoot had two council houses constructed - the only council houses in the whole parish. [7]

The hamlet today

A barn belonging to one of the farms in the hamlet, looking inland across the Solway Plain toward Skiddaw. Barn with a View - geograph.org.uk - 91875.jpg
A barn belonging to one of the farms in the hamlet, looking inland across the Solway Plain toward Skiddaw.

There are two attractions in the vicinity - Bank Mill Nursery and Visitor Centre, which includes a garden, nature reserve, play area, and restaurant, [8] and the Gincase near Newtown, a farm park with a gift shop and tea room. [9]

A bus service runs between Silloth-on-Solway and Maryport and stops approximately once every two hours in either direction. [10]

Beckfoot is within the Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, [11] and its sand dunes, together with those at Mawbray and Wolsty, form a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solway Coast</span> Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Cumbria, England

The Solway Coast is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in northern Cumbria, United Kingdom. It incorporates two areas of coastline along the Solway Firth, the first running from just north of the city of Carlisle, at the estuary of the rivers Esk and Eden, in a westerly direction as far as Silloth-on-Solway, including the villages of Bowness-on-Solway, Burgh-by-Sands, Port Carlisle, and Skinburness. The second area begins just north of the hamlet of Beckfoot, and runs south down the coast to the southern end of Allonby Bay near the village of Crosscanonby. Included in this area are the villages of Mawbray and Allonby, and the hamlets of Dubmill, Hailforth and Salta. The hamlet of Wolsty lies just outside the AONB. Beginning at Silloth, the B5300 coast road runs in a south-westerly direction, entering the AONB just north of Beckfoot, and exiting near Crosscanonby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blitterlees</span> Human settlement in England

Blitterlees is a small hamlet in the parish of Holme Low, one mile south of Silloth in Cumbria, United Kingdom. The hamlet of Wolsty is located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south as the crow flies, or 2.25 miles (3.62 km) by road, and Cumbria's county town, Carlisle, is located 23 miles (37 km) to the east. The B5300, known locally as the "coast road", runs through the village on its way to Beckfoot, Mawbray, Allonby, and ultimately Maryport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mawbray</span> A village on the Cumbrian coast in England

Mawbray is a village in the civil parish of Holme St Cuthbert in Cumbria, England. Historically part of Cumberland. It is located on the Solway Plain, 5.2 miles (8.4 km) south west of Silloth, 7.9 miles (12.7 km) north of Maryport, and 25 miles (40 km) west of Carlisle. The B5300, known locally as the "coast road" runs to the west of the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salta, Cumbria</span> A hamlet in Cumbria, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holme St Cuthbert</span> A civil parish in Cumbria, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aikshaw</span> A hamlet in Cumbria, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edderside</span> A hamlet in Cumbria, England

Edderside is a hamlet in the civil parish of Holme St. Cuthbert in Cumbria, United Kingdom. It is located approximately one mile as the crow files to the south-east of Mawbray, or two-and-a-half miles by road, and a similar distance east of Salta, and north-east of Allonby. The small hamlet of Jericho is located less than a mile to the north-east. Approximately 23 miles to the north-east is the city of Carlisle. Allonby Bay, an inlet of the Solway Firth, is one-and-a-half miles to the south-west, as is the B5300 coast road which runs between Silloth-on-Solway, six-and-a-half miles to the north, and Maryport, six miles to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodyhills</span> A hamlet in Cumbria, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newtown, Holme St Cuthbert</span> A hamlet in Cumbria, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dubmill</span> A settlement in Cumbria, England

Dubmill is a settlement in the civil parish of Holme St. Cuthbert in Cumbria, United Kingdom. It is located approximately one mile south-west of the village of Mawbray, half-a-mile to the west of the hamlet of Salta, three-quarters of a mile south-west of the hamlet of Hailforth, and one-and-a-half miles north of the village of Allonby. Carlisle, Cumbria's county town, lies approximately twenty-eight miles to the north-east. The B5300, known locally as the coast road, runs through Dubmill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowgate, Cumbria</span> A hamlet in Cumbria, England

Cowgate is a small hamlet in the civil parish of Holme St. Cuthbert in Cumbria, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately a quarter-of-a-mile south-west of Newtown, one mile north-west of the hamlet of Holme St. Cuthbert, and one-and-a-half miles north-east of Mawbray. Other nearby settlements include Goodyhills, one-and-a-quarter miles to the south-east, Hailforth, one-and-three-quarter miles to the south-east, and Beckfoot, one-and-a-half miles to the north. Carlisle, Cumbria's county town, is approximately twenty-four-and-a-half miles to the north-east.

References

  1. 1 2 Holme St. Cuthbert History Group (2004). Plain People - Bygone Times on the Solway Plain. ISBN   0954882318.
  2. ↑ "Google Maps - The beck at Beckfoot" . Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Historic England. "Milefortlet 14 (9098)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "Holme Low Parish Council - Wolsty Castle". Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "British History - Records of the Holme Under Elizabeth" . Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  6. ↑ "Diocese of Carlisle - Holme St. Cuthbert". Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Holme St. Cuthbert History Group - Beckfoot" . Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Bank Mill" . Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "The Gincase" . Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Reays City Hopper - 60". Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "Solway Coast AONB - Location". Archived from the original on 5 January 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
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