Aldingham

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Aldingham
Aldingham shown within Cumbria
OS grid reference	SD2871
District	South Lakeland
Shire county	Cumbria
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Cumbria
Fire	Cumbria
Ambulance	North West
European Parliament	North West England
List of places: UK • England • Cumbria

Coordinates: 54°08′N 3°06′W / 54.13, -3.1

Aldingham is a village and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It is situated on the east coast of the Furness peninsula, facing into Morecambe Bay, and is about eight miles east from Barrow in Furness, and six miles south of Ulverston. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,187.

Aldingham was once the manorial seat of the Lords of Aldingham and Muchland and two medieval sites near to the present village were both the sites of manor houses. The first and most visible is Aldingham Motte, which was begun as a ringwork around 1102 by Roger the Poitevin and was later enlarged into a motte and bailey castle by the le Fleming family. It can still be clearly seen atop a sandy cliff overlooking Morecambe Bay. A little further north, and now surrounded by Moat Farm is a small moat which was intended to surround a second manor house. This would have been built in the early 13th century, although whether it was ever used is uncertain as the Lords soon moved further inland as the sea eroded the coastline and the threat of pirates became more severe.

The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book as belonging to a local Saxon named Ernulf; it is the only village mentioned as being a single estatein the area and may have been of some importane at this early time. The name is originally Old English, meaning 'home of the descendants of Alda'. Legend has it that the village was once much larger - almost a mile in length - but was washed away by the tide.

[edit] St Cuthbert's Church

At the centre of the present village, now on the shores of the Bay, is Saint Cuthbert's Church. An inscription in Durham Cathedral gives the names of several places in the area, including Aldingham, where the body of Saint Cuthbert rested when the Saxons were fleeing from the Danes. It is known that during his life, Cuthbert held lands around Cartmel, on the neighbouring peninsula across the Leven Estuary, although it is not known if those possessions extended this far west.

The building dates from the mid 12th century, with extensions being made to the chancel in the 13th century, the addition of the tower in 1350 and extensive restoration taking place in the 19th century and again in 1932. In the Eastern Wall of the chancel a hole about 5x3 inches wide goes right through the wall: it is believed this would once have been a place for local lepers to view the church services without having to enter the building.

[edit] Aldingham Hall

The large building which stands opposite the church, called Aldingham Hall has no connection with the earlier Lords of the Manor. The magnificent building was begun in 1846 by Dr. John Stonard , then rector of the parish, and took four years to build. Stonard never saw it finished, however, as he died in 1849 and left it to his man servant, Edward Jones Schollick who had reportedly saved his master's life on the sands of Morecambe Bay. Schollick was an interesting character who became a local philanthropist with interests in shipbuilding and iron ore mining. He was unpopular, however, and emigrated to Australia in 1876. It has since been a convalesence home and is now a home for the elderly.