Milnthorpe is a small market town on the southern border 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. C ...

, 7 miles south of Kendal,

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 authorit ...

and electoral ward are in the

South Lakeland district South Lakeland is a local government district in Cumbria, England. The population of the non-metropolitan district was 102,301 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 103,658 at the 2011 Census. Its council is based in Kendal. It includes ...

, England.

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

in the county of

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

and on the A6, the town contains several old hostelries and hosts a

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

every Friday. The parish, which includes the small village of

Ackenthwaite Ackenthwaite is a hamlet 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 pass ...

, had a population of 2,199 according to the 2011 Census.

History

Milnthorpe is the site of the 19th-century Church of St Thomas, which overlooks Overlooking The Green and The Square designed by Kendal architect George Webster. Prior to its construction Milnthorpe was in the parish of

Heversham Heversham is a small village and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 647, increasing at the 2011 census to 699. It is situated above the marshes of the Kent est ...

. Milnthorpe became a centre of business and activity because it was originally a port, using the

River Bela The River Bela is a short (approximately ) river in the county of Cumbria, England. It is in the ancient county of Westmorland. The river is formed by the confluence of Peasey Beck and Stainton Beck at Overthwaite. It runs through Beetham wh ...

and estuary (now only navigable to

Arnside Arnside is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, historically part of Westmorland, near the border with Lancashire, England. The Lake District National Park is located a few miles North. Travelling by road, Arnside is to the south of Kendal, ...

), and it remains a significant commercial centre for the area. Tourism and hospitality have always thrived, Milnthorpe being a convenient stop-off point on the A6 for coaches and cars en route to the Lake District. Just to the north is

Levens Hall Levens Hall is a manor house in the Kent valley, near the village of Levens and south of Kendal in Cumbria, Northern England. History The first house on the site was a pele tower built by the Redman family in around 1350. Much of the prese ...

, famed for its

topiary Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants w ...

. The village used to be a major

traffic bottleneck A traffic bottleneck is a localized disruption of vehicular traffic on a street, road, or highway. As opposed to a traffic jam, a bottleneck is a result of a specific physical condition, often the design of the road, badly timed traffic lights, ...

before the opening of the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at ...

in 1970, and the

A590 The A590 is a trunk road in southern Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It runs north-east to south-west from M6 junction 36, through the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness to terminate at Biggar Bank on Walney Island.A591 The A591 is a major road in Cumbria, in the north-west of England, which lies almost entirely within the Lake District national park. A 2009 poll by satellite navigation firm Garmin named the stretch of the road between Windermere and Keswick ...

Kendal link road a few years later. The nearby Dallam deer park, part of the wider Dallam Tower Estate, is a popular spot for pedestrian, particularly those en route to the Arnside and Silverdale AONB. The popular children's drink '' Um Bongo'' was made in Milnthorpe by

Libby's Libby's (Libby, McNeill & Libby) was an American company that produced canned food and beverages. The firm was established in 1869 in Chicago, Illinois. The Libby's trademark is currently owned by Libby's Brand Holding based in Geneva, Switzerlan ...

in the 1980s. Milnthorpe is the home of Duralon Combs, a comb manufacturing business over 300 years old. Also Bigfish Internet Ltd, the UKs earliest Internet Design and Hosting Company. Now located in larger offices 2 miles away in Sandside.

Community

Each August, the ''Friends of the Exhibition'' holds its annual art exhibition in the church. Milnthorpe has two

steel band The steelpan (also known as a pan, steel drum, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. Descriptio ...

s, one for adults and the other for the town's junior school. The Grade I listed house

Dallam Tower Dallam Tower is a grade I listed country house in Beetham parish, near Milnthorpe, South Lakeland, Cumbria, England. It is a member of the Historic Houses Association but is not open to the public except for occasional charity events, visi ...

, with an estate known for its deer, stands near to the

just south-west of Milnthorpe, whilst St Anthony's Tower may be seen on the top of St Anthony's Hill to the north-east of the town centre, overlooking the village and the housing estate of Owlet Ash Fields in nearby

. It has one secondary school,

Dallam School Dallam School is a mixed, 11-19 secondary school with academy status, located in Milnthorpe, Cumbria, England. History The school was founded in 1984 through the merger of Heversham Grammar School and Milnthorpe Secondary School. Heversham ...

, and one

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

, Milnthorpe Primary School. There are three public houses in the village.

People

The former Leader of the Liberal Democrats (2015–17),

Tim Farron Timothy James Farron (born 27 May 1970) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2017. He has also served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005, before which he worked in ...

(MP for

Westmorland and Lonsdale Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

) lives in Milnthorpe. John Taylor, third

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

from 1880–87, was born in Milnthorpe and lived there, until he

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Gallery

File:Milnthorpe_church.jpg, Milnthorpe Parish Church File:Cross_Keys_Hotel,_Milnthorpe_-_geograph.org.uk_-_502049.jpg, Cross Keys Hotel File:Bend_in_the_Bela_-_geograph.org.uk_-_354093.jpg, Bend in the River Bela

References

External links