| Wiggonby | |
|---|---|
| Wiggonby | |
| OS grid reference | NY296530 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WIGTON |
| Postcode district | CA7 |
| Dialling code | 016973 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
Wiggonby is a hamlet in parish of Aikton and the district of Cumberland, in the English county of Cumbria. Historically in Cumberland, it seven miles away from the city of Carlisle and 2 1⁄4 miles from the village of Great Orton. The village has an area of 2,404 acres. [1] It has a primary school called Wiggonby CE School, which currently has 48 pupils. [2]
The village school was founded in 1792 and rebuilt in 1860. [3] Circa 1870, it had a population of 298 as recorded in the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales. [4] The village was the site of RAF Great Orton, also known as Wiggonby airfield during World War II. [5] It was opened in June 1943 as a satellite of RAF Silloth, it closed in August 1952. The site of the airfield was also used to bury nearly half a million animal carcasses in the 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak. [6]