Aikton is a small village in the north of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

county of

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. ...

. The nearest town is

Wigton Wigton is a market town in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies just outside the Lake District in the borough of Allerdale. Wigton is at the centre of the Solway Plain, between the Caldbeck Fells an ...

3 miles away, and the nearest city is

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

at 8 miles. Aikton is located south of the Scottish border, in the centre of the Channel of the River Eden. It is in the historic county of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...

. There is a pub, phonebox and postbox; but no shops. The local

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

, St Andrew's, is over 900 years old, and is one of the oldest in the region. Pevsner says that it has a "solid C12 w stfront" and gives details of Norman and

Early English Period English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

work on the church." The village pub, the 'Aikton Inn', was constructed in the 18th century and is also used as a Bed and Breakfast facility. Many houses in Aikton have views of the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or '' fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

. The surrounding area is almost entirely farmland, containing cows usually.

Toponymy

'Aikton' "is OScand navian'eiki-tūn' or 'eik-tūn', 'oak tūn'. So, the meaning is probably 'oak-tree hamlet'. ('OScand' is most likely to be

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

Parish

Aikton is a parish, which was formerly an

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

in the county of

.It is five miles in length (from north to south) and two miles in breadth with an area of 6,156 acres – 1,829 of which was the village itself. This parish also includes the villages of Biglands, Gamelsby, Wampool and

Wiggonby Wiggonby is a hamlet in parish of Aikton and the district of Allerdale, in the English county of Cumbria. Historically in Cumberland, it seven miles away from the city of Carlisle and 2 miles from the village of Great Orton. The village has a ...

. Until the 16th century the area was terrorised by border raiders,Aikton Parish Website
/ref> and the land formed one (

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

) of the two manors owned by the Burgh Barony, down to the death of Hugh de Morville in 1202.

References

External links

*
Cumbria County History Trust: Aikton
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page) Villages in Cumbria Civil parishes in Cumbria {{Cumbria-geo-stub

Toponymy

Parish

See also

References

External links