Allerdale is a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, s ...

. Its council is based in Workington and the borough has a population of 93,492 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 96,422 at the 2011 Census. The Borough of Allerdale was formed under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the municipal borough of Workington, the urban districts of Maryport, Cockermouth and Keswick; and the

rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...

s of Cockermouth and Wigton, all of which were within the administrative county of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a 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 century until 1974. From 19 ...

. In 1995 Allerdale was granted

. The name derives from the ancient region of Allerdale, represented latterly by the two

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

, called Allerdale-above-Derwent and Allerdale-below-Derwent, the present borough corresponding largely to the latter with parts of the former. Much of the area during the medieval period was a royal forest subject to forest law. In July 2021 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that in April 2023, Cumbria will be reorganised into two unitary authorities. Allerdale Borough Council is to be abolished and its functions transferred to a new authority, to be known as

, which will cover the current districts of Allerdale,

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 ...

, and Copeland.

Settlements

Workington is the largest settlement in the borough, and is the seat of the borough council. Allerdale House in Workington is the meeting place and primary office space used by the council. The building is known locally as "Perry's Palace" after former council chief executive Tony Perry, who was responsible for its construction. Other settlements in the borough include:

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 ...

Allonby Allonby is a village on the coast of the Allerdale district in Cumbria, England. The village is on the B5300 road north of Maryport and south of Silloth. The village of Mawbray is to the north, and to the east is the village of Westnewton, C ...

Aspatria Aspatria is a town and civil parish in the non-metropolitan district of Allerdale, and is currently embraced in the Parliamentary constituency of Workington, Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland the town rests on the north side of t ...

Bolton Low Houses Bolton Low Houses is a small village in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Cumberland, it is located by road to the southwest of South End. There is a coal mining area to the east between Oughterside, Allhallows ...

, Bothel, Brigham, Broughton, Great Clifton, Cockermouth, Crosby, Dean, Dearham,

Fletchertown Fletchertown is a small village in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. It was historically within Cumberland. The village was originally built to house workers in a nearby coal mine, since abandoned. The site of the mine and its spoil ...

, Flimby, Ireby, Keswick, Kirkbride, Maryport, Mawbray,

Plumbland Plumbland is a village and civil parish in the Allerdale district in the county of Cumbria, England. Situated towards the north west corner of the county, it is two miles from the outskirts of the Lake District National Park which is considere ...

, Seaton, Silloth, Tallentire, Thursby, Waverton, Westnewton, and Wigton.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the

Freedom of the Borough The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

of Allerdale.

Individuals

* Malcolm Wilson: 28 March 2018. *

Ben Stokes Benjamin Andrew Stokes (born 4 June 1991) is an English international cricketer who is the captain of the England Test team and plays for the England Twenty20 International (T20I) team. In domestic cricket, he represents Durham and has playe ...

: 25 September 2019.

Politics

Elections to the borough council are held every four years with 49 councillors being elected from 23

. No party has had a majority on the council since

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

lost their majority at the 2003 election. As of the 2019 election, the council is jointly administered by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and independents. Since March 2021 the leader of the council has been Mark Johnson, a Conservative.

Derwent 7 parishes

The Derwent 7 Community Led Planning Group was set up in 2007 by the town and parish councils of Above Derwent,

Bassenthwaite Bassenthwaite is a village and civil parish in the borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, within the Lake District National Park, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 412, increasing to 481 ...

, Borrowdale, Keswick,

St John's, Castlerigg and Wythburn St John's, Castlerigg and Wythburn is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in Allerdale district, Cumbria, England. In the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census it was recorded as having a population of 422. There is a Parish councils in ...

, Threlkeld and Underskiddaw, with funding from Allerdale Borough Council, and was still in existence in 2017. It had four subgroups including one on transport, and a co-ordinating "Cluster group".
The term "Derwent Seven Parishes" is used in defining the collecting scope of

Keswick Museum Keswick Museum is a local museum based in Keswick in the English Lake District, which exhibits aspects of the landscape, history and culture of the area. History The collection was established as the Keswick Museum of Local and Natural History, ...

, as Keswick is at the heart of the area covered by these parishes. A map illustrating the area of the parishes is included in an appendix to a document produced by Sustainable Keswick.

Map

References

{{authority control Non-metropolitan districts of Cumbria English royal forests 1974 establishments in England Boroughs in England