Mawbray
| Mawbray | |
|
|
  Mawbray Mawbray shown within Cumbria | |
| Shire county | Cumbria |
|---|---|
| Region | North West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | CA |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
Mawbray is a village in northern Cumbria, United Kingdom. It is located on the Solway Plain, approximately halfway between the coastal towns of Maryport and Silloth. The B5300, known locally as the "coast road" runs to the west of the village.[1]
The site of the present village is believed to have been established as early as the 1150s. From the Anglo-Saxon period right up to the twentieth century, the majority of Mawbray's inhabitants are believed to have been fishermen and farmers. Farming and fishing still continue in the village in the present day, with more of the former than the latter, but the inhabitants today are more diverse, including "a journalist, an artist and a television presenter".[2]
Mawbray used to have many diverse shops and tradesmen operating, but in the present day, these have been lost. Trades such as "bacon and ham curer, shoemaker, blacksmith, joiner and dressmaker"[2] have long since disappeared from the village. The village post office and shop closed in the 1980s, and the village is now without a pub, following the closure of the Lowther Arms in December 2012.
Cultheram Hall, known locally simply as the Village Hall, is the centre of activity in Mawbray today. The annual Pantomime, written, directed and performed by locals, is popular in the area. The hall also accommodates many other musical events,[3] especially by performers on the Rural Touring Scheme[4] throughout the year.
Mawbray is served by a local bus service, running hourly in each direction to Silloth and Maryport, and smaller roads besides the B5300 run northeast towards Abbeytown, and southwest towards Haleforth, Allonby & Salta, Cumbria.[1] With the Pub and Village Hall, Mawbray serves as the centre of the community for the outlying hamlets of Hailforth, Salta, Newtown & Holme St. Cuthbert. Interestingly, however, Mawbray itself is not home to the local primary school, which is instead located at Holme St Cuthbert, as is the local church.[5]
Etymology
The name "Mawbray" is believed to be derived from Latin, meaning "a maiden's castle or fort". This would be consistent with Roman mile-forts known to exist nearby on the coast, especially in the Maryport area.[6] A Roman fortlet, known as Milefortlet 16, has been located at the west end of the village.[7] Alternatively, " the early forms of the first element seem to be from OE 'mæge', later replaced by 'Maw-' from the variant 'māge'. The second element is 'burh, and the name means 'the maidens' stronghold', or, in effect, 'maidens' castle' ".[8]
('OE' is Old English; 'burh' is OE for " 'fortified place, town, manor house'; the early form of the name was 'Mayburgh').
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Google Maps". Maps.google.co.uk. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2013-10-27.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Mawbray". Solwayplain.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-27.
- ↑ "Chris Aronsten". Chris Aronsten. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
- ↑ Andy Campbell (2012-06-16). "Promoting Professional Arts with Rural Communities - Homepage". NRTF. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
- ↑ "VisitCumbria.com". VisitCumbria.com. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
- ↑ "Mawbray". Visit Cumbria. Retrieved 2013-10-27.
- ↑ MILEFORTLET 16, Pastscape, retrieved 26 November 2013
- ↑ Armstrong, A. M.; Mawer, A.; Stenton, F. M.; Dickens, B. (1950). The place-names of Cumberland. English Place-Name Society, vol.xxi. Part 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 296.
External links
Media related to Mawbray at Wikimedia Commons- Cumbria County History Trust: Holme St. Cuthbert (nb: provisional research only - see Talk page)