Hailforth is a small hamlet in the civil parish of

Holme St. Cuthbert Holme St Cuthbert (occasionally Holme St Cuthberts; pronounced and occasionally written Holme Saint Cuthbert) is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Allerdale, in the county of Cumbria, United Kingdom. The village is located approx ...

, in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, United Kingdom. It is located approximately half a mile south-west of the village of

Mawbray Mawbray is a village in the civil parish of Holme St Cuthbert in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Cumberland. It is located on the Solway Plain, south west of Silloth, north of Maryport, and west of Carlisle. T ...

, and a similar distance north-east of

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

, Cumbria's

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

, is situated twenty-five miles to the north-east. The hamlet consists of four houses, and is situated on the road which runs from Mawbray to the coast, where it joins the B5300 at

Dubmill Dubmill is a settlement in the civil parish of Holme St. Cuthbert in Cumbria, United Kingdom. It is located approximately one mile south-west of the village of Mawbray, half-a-mile to the west of the hamlet of Salta, three-quarters of a mile ...

, three-quarters of a mile to the south-west.

History and etymology

The name of Hailforth comes from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''healh-ford'', meaning a corner or secret

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, and in the past has been spelled Haileforth. While its small size seems to have excluded the hamlet from contemporary mapping projects such as Google Maps, it does appear as a named settlement on older maps, and Hailforth appears in the historical record of the region. In the 19th century, several different trades were practised by residents of the hamlet, including carpentry, nail-making, and masonry. The postmistress for the village of Mawbray and many of the smaller outlying hamlets also lived at Hailforth around the turn of the 20th century. "Postie Mary", as she was known locally, would walk daily across the fields as far as

Edderside Edderside is a hamlet in the civil parish of Holme St. Cuthbert in Cumbria, United Kingdom. It is located approximately one mile as the crow files to the south-east of Mawbray, or two-and-a-half miles by road, and a similar distance east of ...

to deliver the post, in spite of suffering a limp. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, three young boys who had been evacuated from the

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

area were billeted to Hailforth.

Hailforth today

Hailforth remains very small, and overshadowed by its proximity to Mawbray some contemporary maps exclude it as a named settlement. There is, however, a business which operates in Hailforth: Newcroft Kennels & Cattery provides a safe environment for dogs and cats while their owners are away or on holiday. Hailforth is not served by public transportation; the closest stop on a regular bus service is three-quarters of a mile away on the B5300 coast road, where buses run approximately once every two hours in the direction of Maryport to the south and Silloth to the north.

References

{{Reflist Hamlets in Cumbria Holme St Cuthbert