Longtown, Cumbria
| Longtown | |
 Longtown, bridge over the River Esk |
|
  Longtown Longtown shown within Cumbria | |
| Population | 3,000 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | NY380686 |
| District | City of Carlisle |
| Shire county | Cumbria |
| Region | North West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CARLISLE |
| Postcode district | CA6 |
| Dialling code | 01228 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | Penrith and The Border |
Longtown is a small town in northern Cumbria, England, with a population of around 3,000. It is in the parish of Arthuret and on the River Esk, not far from the Anglo-Scottish border. Nearby was the Battle of Arfderydd.
Historically in Cumberland, Longtown is the location of the largest sheep market in England, and is close to the site where the Battle of Solway Moss was fought in 1542. Longtown has one primary school with around 190 pupils, most secondary school pupils travel to William Howard School, Brampton. Though up until 2008 Longtown had its own secondary school, Lochinvar School.
The first animal to be found to be infected with foot-and-mouth disease in the 2001 crisis had been purchased at Longtown market. While at the market it spread the infection to other animals. The size of the Longtown sheep market meant that the disease had spread right across the country in a very short time. Longtown became the centre for control of the disease in south western Scotland and North West England.
A little over two miles to the north, on the west bank of the River Esk, Kirkandrews Tower is an isolated and well-preserved 16th century peel tower.[1]
DMC Longtown
During the 1930s, there was a recognition of a need to provide secure storage for munitions across the United Kingdom. The proposal was to create three Central Ammunition Depots (CAD): one in the south (Monkton Farleigh, Wiltshire); one in the Midlands (Nesscliffe, Shropshire); and one in the north.
While the other two sites were sat above easily-hewn lime stone, Longtown is located above granite, which meant that it took longer to create and only came into operations late in World War II. The site was chosen as it used to be part of HM Factory, Gretna, that stretched to Eastriggs over the border into Scotland, one of the biggest makers of explosives during World War I. The township of Gretna was established to house the workers of this establishment.
Today, DMC (Defence Munitions Centre) Longtown is the only one of the three CADs to remain in operation today, one of the biggest defence munitions sites in Western Europe. Currently Longtown and Eastriggs are two separate sites jointly managed.
References
- ↑ "Kirkandrews Tower". Pastscape. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
External links
- Cumbria County History Trust: Arthuret (nb: provisional research only - see Talk page)
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