| Leece | |
|---|---|
 Moss House | |
  Leece Location in South Lakeland  Leece Location within Cumbria | |
| OS grid reference | SD242693 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ULVERSTON |
| Postcode district | LA12 |
| Dialling code | 01229 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
Leece is a village on the Furness peninsula in Cumbria, England, between the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness. [1]
The village [1] [2] is built around a tarn and a village green, [2] and Henry Armer & Son, a smithy established in 1914 that has since become an agricultural engineering business. [3]
For parish council purposes, Leece belongs to Aldingham Parish Council. [4]
Historically part of Lancashire, the name Leece is probably from the Old English leah, which means 'woodland clearing', and the plural of which is Leas. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Lies, in the Manor of Hougun held by Earl Tostig. [5] It appears later in 1269 as Lees. [6]
Leece used to contain the United Methodist Free Church. It was founded in 1881, but closed in 1912. The building, which was taken down in the late 1920s, can still be seen on some photographs from the period. The church did not have a cemetery. [7] St. Matthew's Church, in the village of Dendron, built in 1642, also served the village, as both a church and a school. It was funded by Robert Dickinson, a citizen of London, who had formerly lived in Leece. [8]
In the 1990s and 2000s, Leece played a part in the Lady in the Lake murder trial. Gordon Park, a resident of Leece, bludgeoned his 30-year-old wife Carol to death with an ice axe, then dumped her body in Coniston Water, telling police investigating her disappearance that she had left their home for another man. [9]
Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few miles south of the Lake District National Park and just north-west of Morecambe Bay, within the Furness Peninsula. Lancaster is 39 miles (63 km) to the east, Barrow-in-Furness 10 miles (16 km) to the south-west and Kendal 25 miles (40 km) to the north-east. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678.
Coniston Water is a lake in the Lake District in North West England. It is the third largest by volume, after Windermere and Ullswater, and the fifth-largest by area. The lake has a length of 8.7 kilometres, a maximum width of 730 metres (800 yd), and a maximum depth of 56.1 m. Its outflow is the River Crake, which drains into Morecambe Bay via the estuary of the River Leven. The lake is in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, and the ceremonial county of Cumbria.
Grasmere is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England, and situated in the centre of the Lake District and named after its adjacent lake. Grasmere lies within the historic county of Westmorland. The Ambleside and Grasmere ward had an estimated population of 4,592 in 2019. William and Dorothy Wordsworth, the 'Lake Poets', lived in Grasmere for 14 years and called it "the loveliest spot that man hath ever found."
Dalton-in-Furness is a town in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England, 4 miles (6 km) north east of Barrow-in-Furness. Along with the rest of the Furness peninsula, it was historically part of Lancashire. It is in the parish of Dalton Town with Newton, alongside the nearby hamlet of Newton-in-Furness. In 2011 it had a population of 7,827.
Kirkby-in-Furness, generally referred to simply as Kirkby locally, is a village that is the major part of the parish of Kirkby Ireleth in the Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it is close to the Lake District National Park. It is about 3 miles (5 km) south of Broughton in Furness, 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Ulverston and 9 miles (14 km) north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is one of the largest villages on the peninsula's north-western coast, looking out over the Duddon estuary. To its east is the SSSI of Kirkby Moor and to its west is the SSSI of Duddon Estuary. The 2021 census showed Kirkby to have a population of 580.
Urswick is a civil parish that includes the villages of Great Urswick and Little Urswick. It is located in the Furness area of Cumbria, England. The villages are situated to the south-west of the town of Ulverston. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 351, decreasing at the 2011 census to 1,397.
Coniston is a village and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,058, decreasing at the 2011 census to 928. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is in the southern part of the Lake District National Park, between Coniston Water, the third longest lake in the Lake District, and Coniston Old Man.
Lindal-in-Furness is a village on the Furness peninsula, in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies eight miles to the north-east of Barrow-in-Furness, on the A590 trunk road. The civil parish is Lindal and Marton which had a population of 755 at the 2011 Census.
Aldingham is a village and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness Unitary Authority of Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is situated on the east coast of the Furness peninsula, facing into Morecambe Bay, and is about 8 miles (13 km) east of Barrow-in-Furness, and 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Ulverston. The parish includes the nearby villages of Baycliff, Dendron, Leece, Gleaston, Newbiggin, Roosebeck, Scales and a number of smaller hamlets. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,187, reducing to 1,105 at the 2011 Census.
Gleaston is a village with a population of around 400 in the Furness area of South Cumbria, situated between the towns of Barrow-in-Furness, Dalton-in-Furness and Ulverston. Historically in Lancashire, the history of the village can be traced as far back as the mesolithic period and it was the centre of the manor of Muchland in the Middle Ages. Today it is largely a commuter village for the nearby towns, but its past is still visible in the remains of Gleaston Castle and Gleaston Water Mill, which is open as a tourist attraction.
Muchland is a medieval manor in Low Furness in the county of Cumbria in northern England. The manor was the seat of the Lords of Aldingham, and included at its peak the villages of Bardsea, Urswick, Scales, Stainton, Sunbrick, Baycliff, Gleaston, Aldingham, Dendron, Leece and Newbiggin. The area also features the historic remains of Gleaston Castle, Aldingham Castle, Gleaston Water Mill, the Druids' Temple at Birkrigg, plus many prehistoric remains around Urswick and Scales.
Dendron is a small village in South Cumbria, England. It is situated around three miles from the town of Barrow-in-Furness. The village was once just a collection of farms, but many of the old farm buildings have now been converted into houses for commuters working in Barrow, Ulverston and Dalton.
Scales is a small village in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. The town of Ulverston is around 3.5 miles south of the village. The name Scales comes from the Old Norse skali, with an Old English plural *Scalas, meaning huts. It is in the historic county of Lancashire.
Allithwaite is a village in Cumbria, England, located roughly 1.2 miles (1.9 km) west of Grange-over-Sands. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Allithwaite, and the village of Cartmel situated to the north, are part of the civil parish of Lower Allithwaite. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,758, increasing to 1,831 at the 2011 Census.
Askam and Ireleth is a civil parish close to Barrow-in-Furness in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it originally consisted of two separate coastal villages with different origins and histories which, in recent times, have merged to become one continuous settlement. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 3,632, reducing at the 2011 census to 3,462.
Seathwaite is a village in the Dunnerdale-with-Seathwaite civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria in North West England. It is in the Lake District and part of historic Lancashire. The parish has a population of 129. The village's name comes from old Norse words sef (sedges) and thveit (clearing) and may be taken to mean "Sedges clearing"; written records from 1340 spell the village as Seuthwayt.
Newbiggin is a village on the A5087 road, in the civil parish of Aldingham, in Furness, in the unitary authority area of Westmorland and Furness, in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, nearby settlements include the large town of Barrow-in-Furness, the village of Aldingham and the hamlet of Roosebeck.
The Manor of Hougun is the historic name for an area which now forms part of the county of Cumbria in North West England. Only the southern band of land in the south of Cumbria was surveyed in the Domesday Book. The westernmost entries for Cumbria, covering the Duddon and Furness Peninsulas are largely recorded as part of the Manor of Hougun. The entry in Domesday Book covering Hougun refers to the time when it was held by Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria.
Aldingham is a civil parish in the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England. It contains 28 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, one is at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish contains villages, including Aldingham, Baycliff, Dendron, Leece, Gleaston, and Scales, and the surrounding countryside. The listed buildings include houses and associated structures, farmhouses and farm buildings, churches and items in a churchyard, a ruined castle, a Friends' burial ground, a former corn mill, two village halls, one originally a malt kiln, three follies, and four limekilns.
