Brackenthwaite is a hamlet in the parish of

Buttermere Buttermere is a lake in the Lake District in North West England. It has a length of approximately and a maximum width of , an area of , a maximum depth of , and a surface elevation of above sea level. Its primary outflow is Buttermere Dubs, a ...

, in the

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

district of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England. It is situated some south of

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. The name refers to the town's position by the confluence of the River Cocker into the River Derwent. At the 2021 census, the built u ...

. It lies within the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

National Park.

History

The name is recorded as ''Bracanethuaite'' in the 12th century. It derives from the Old Norse ''brakni'' 'bush' and ''thveit'' '

assart Assarting is the act of clearing forested lands for use in agriculture or other purposes. In English land law, it was illegal to assart any part of a royal forest without permission. This was the greatest trespass that could be committed in a ...

' (cf. thwaite) like

Bregentved Bregentved is a manor house located 3 km east of Haslev on the Danish island of Zealand. It has been owned by the Moltke family since the middle of the 18th century. History Early history The first known reference to Bregentved is from 1 ...

(

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

) and Bracquetuit (

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

) (cf. Thuit). Brackenthwaite was historically a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in the

ancient parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Brigham. The parish of Brigham was large, and its four south-eastern townships of Brackenthwaite,

, Lorton and Wythop were served by a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

at Lorton. The township of Brackenthwaite took on civil functions under the

poor laws The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief in England and Wales that developed out of the codification of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws in 1587–1598. The system continued until the modern welfare state emerged in the late 1940s. E ...

from the 17th century onwards. As such, the township also became a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in 1866, when the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws. The parish of Brackenthwaite was included in the

Cockermouth Rural District Cockermouth was a rural district in Cumberland, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 based on Cockermouth rural sanitary district. It entirely surrounded but did not include the towns of Cockermouth and ...

from 1894. In 1934, the parish was abolished and its area added to the neighbouring parish of Buttermere. At the 1931 census (the last before the abolition of the parish), Brackenthwaite had a population of 89.

External links

Cumbria County History Trust: Brackenthwaite
(nb: provisional research only - see Talk page)

References

Villages in Cumbria Former civil parishes in Cumbria Buttermere, Cumbria (village) {{Cumbria-geo-stub

History

See also

External links

References