Highlaws is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the

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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Holme Abbey 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 situated approximately two-and-a-quarter miles south-west of

Abbeytown Abbeytown, also known as Holme Abbey, is a village and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The name Abbeytown dates to the mid-17th century (''The Towne of the Abbey'', ''Abbey Towne''; ''Abbeytown'' from mid-18th century ...

, one-and-a-half miles east of

Pelutho Pelutho is a hamlet in the civil parish of Holme St. Cuthbert in Cumbria, historically in Cumberland, England. It is situated on the B5301 road between the towns of Aspatria and Silloth. The village of Mawbray is located to the south-west ...

, and one mile to the north of

Aldoth Aldoth is a hamlet in the civil parish of Holme Abbey in Cumbria, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately two-and-a-half miles south-west of Abbeytown, one-and-a-quarter miles south of Highlaws, and two-and-a-quarter miles north-east of th ...

. Other nearby settlements include Mawbray, four-and-a-quarter miles to the south-west, Blitterlees, three miles to the north-west,

Blackdyke Blackdyke is a hamlet in the civil parish of Holme Low in Cumbria, United Kingdom. It is located by road to the east of Silloth. A railway station existed at Black Dyke Halt railway station, Blackdyke Halt on the line to Silloth until 1964. S ...

, two-and-a-quarter miles due north, and Foulsyke.

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 located twenty miles to the north-east.

History and etymology

The name of Highlaws 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 ...

''hēah-hlāw'', meaning "high mounds". In the past, variant spellings included Heelawes, Hielawes, Highlows, Hielows, and Hylaws. The hamlet appears in a survey of Holm Cultram dating back to the year 1538, during the reign of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. There were at least thirteen families resident in Highlaws at that time.

References

Hamlets in Cumbria Allerdale {{Cumbria-geo-stub