List of Cumbria-related topics
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This is a list of articles related to the English county of Cumbria. See also the :Cumbria for links to the Cumbrian pages (e.g., towns, villages, railway stations, places of interest, people born in Cumbria, etc.)


People

See the category '' Cumbria'' below for people born in Cumbria. This lists people not native to Cumbria but who had connections with Cumbria.


Writers

* William Wordsworth – England's most famous poet, born in Cockermouth, lived in Grasmere * John Ruskin – writer and conservationist – lived at Coniston *
W. G. Collingwood William Gershom Collingwood (; 6 August 1854, in Liverpool – 1 October 1932) was an English author, artist, antiquary and professor of Fine Arts at University College, Reading.Obituary in ''The Times'', ''Mr W.G. Collingwood'', ''Artist, Autho ...
– writer and secretary to John Ruskin *
Arthur Ransome Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childre ...
– writer of Swallows and Amazons * Robert SoutheyLakes Poet * Samuel Taylor Coleridge – Lakes poet *
Hartley Coleridge Hartley Coleridge, possibly David Hartley Coleridge (19 September 1796 – 6 January 1849), was an English poet, biographer, essayist, and teacher. He was the eldest son of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. His sister Sara Coleridge was a poet an ...
– writer, and son of Samuel Taylor Coleridge * Thomas de Quincey – associated with the Lake Poets * Beatrix Potter – children's author and conservationist * Hugh Walpole – author – lived at Keswick * Alfred Wainwright – guide book author – see List of Wainwrights * John Cunliffe – author of Postman Pat, an animated BBC series featuring a postman in the fictional village of Greendale (inspired by the real valley of Longsleddale in Cumbria). The author lived in
Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
.


Artists

* William James Blacklock – 19th century landscape artist *
Josefina de Vasconcellos Josefina Alys Hermes de Vasconcellos (26 October 1904 – 20 July 2005) was an English sculptor who worked in bronze, stone, wood, lead and perspex. She was at one time the world's oldest living sculptor. She lived in Cumbria much of her wor ...
– sculptor * Henry HolidayStained glass window designer * Edward Burne-JonesStained glass window designer * William MorrisStained glass window maker * Kurt Schwitters – German artist who came to live in Ambleside * L. S. Lowry – artist who created many drawings of Cumbria *
Winifred Nicholson ''From Bedroom Window, Bankshead'', date unknown, private collection. Typical of Nicholson's impressionist work, combining still life with landscape. Rosa Winifred Nicholson (née Roberts; 21 December 1893 – 5 March 1981) was a British p ...
– painter, who lived near Lanercost *
Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...
– film director, who lived in Borrowdale, Keswick for a while. Several of his films included local scenes.


Architects

* Sir Robert Smirke – architect of many major buildings, including Lowther Castle, and
Carlisle citadel Carlisle Citadel or The Citadel is a group of buildings on the site of a former early modern fortress on English Street in Carlisle, Cumbria. It comprises two towers, both of which are Grade I listed buildings: the Nisi Prius Courthouse and the ...
* Sydney Smirke – architect of several important buildings in Whitehaven * Anthony Salvin – restorer and architect of several important buildings in Cumbria, including Lanercost Priory, Hutton-in-the-Forest, Muncaster Castle, and Derwent Isle House * Thomas Rickman – architect – various, including Rose Castle and Scaleby Castle * Giles Gilbert Scott – architect – Ambleside church * William Butterfield – architect – several churches * Augustus Pugin – architect – railway cottages at Windermere station *
C.F.A. Voysey Charles Francis Annesley Voysey (28 May 1857 – 12 February 1941) was an English architect and furniture and textile designer. Voysey's early work was as a designer of wallpapers, fabrics and furnishings in a Arts and Crafts style and he ma ...
– architect – houses at
Bowness-on-Windermere Bowness-on-Windermere is a town in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It lies next to Windermere lake and the town of Windermere to the north east with which it forms the civil parish of Windermere and Bowness. The town was histor ...
and
Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
* Philip Webb – architect – Brampton, St Martin's Church * Hardwicke Rawnsley – ecologist, and founder of the National Trust. * Francis Dunnery – singer and songwriter, formerly of the band It Bites * Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll – daughter of Queen Victoria, and early supporter of the National Trust in its birthplace at Borrowdale near Keswick. She was the Trust's first President. *
Anne Clifford Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, ''suo jure'' 14th Baroness de Clifford (30 January 1590 – 22 March 1676) was an English peeress. In 1605 she inherited her father's ancient barony by writ and became ''suo jure'' ...
– restorer of churches at Appleby-in-Westmorland, Ninekirks, Brougham, Mallerstang; and castles at Brough, Skipton and Appleby. * Thomas Mawson – landscape gardener. * Donald Campbell – World Record Water Speed challenger. * Fletcher Christianmaster's mate on board . * Chris Bonington – mountaineer, now living in Cumbria. * John Paul Jones – Naval officer in the American Revolutionary War, born in Kirkcudbrightshire who began his maritime career sailing out of Whitehaven as apprentice aboard the '' Friendship'' at only seventy years of age. Years later he returned in {{USS, Ranger, 1777, 6 hoping to sink all Whitehaven's ships anchored in harbour (numbered between 200 and 400), before setting the town itself ablaze. *
George Fox George Fox (July 1624 – 13 January 1691) was an English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends. The son of a Leicestershire weaver, he lived in times of social upheaval and ...
and
Margaret Fell Margaret Fell orMargaret Fox ( Askew, formerly Fell; 1614 – 23 April 1702) was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends. Known popularly as the "mother of Quakerism," she is considered one of the Valiant Sixty early Quaker preachers and mi ...
– important players in the founding of the Religious Society of Friends who lived at Swarthmoor Hall. *
Ann Macbeth Ann Macbeth (25 September 1875 – 23 March 1948 ) was a British embroiderer, designer, teacher and author, a member of the Glasgow Movement and an associate of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. She was also an active suffragette and designed ba ...
– a famous embroideress who lived at Patterdale. * William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire – whose home was at Holker Hall. *
Edward Haughey, Baron Ballyedmond Edward Enda Haughey, Baron Ballyedmond, OBE, FRCVS, (5 January 1944 – 13 March 2014) was an Irish-British entrepreneur and politician. With an estimated personal wealth of €780 million (£650 million/USD$1,078 million), he was the second-ric ...
– whose home is
Corby Castle Corby Castle is an ancestral home of the Howard family situated on the southern edge of the village of Great Corby in northern Cumbria, England. History It was originally built in the 13th century, as a red sandstone tower house by the Salkeld ...
. *
Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...
– of Laurel & Hardy fame. Born in Ulverston. * British Sea Power – half of the band come from near
Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
, Cumbria * Wild Beasts – indie band from
Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
, Cumbria * Christine McVie - musician in band
Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
. Born in Bouth, Cumbria.


Sport


Football

* Carlisle United F.C. – only league team in Cumbria. Currently playing in
League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
* Barrow A.F.C. – currently playing in the
Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...
* Workington A.F.C. – currently playing in the Conference North


Rugby League

* Barrow Raiders - based in the Betfred Championship *
Barrow Raiders Ladies The Barrow Raiders Ladies are the women's rugby League team of Barrow Raiders from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. They compete in the Women's Super League, and play their home games at Craven Park. Before taking the Barrow Raiders name t ...
- based in the Women's Super League * Workington Town & Whitehaven – based in Betfred League1


Natural materials

* Graphite – used in the pencil making industry in Keswick. The graphite deposit found at Borrowdale was extremely pure and solid and it could easily be sawed into sticks. This was and remains the only deposit of graphite ever found in this solid form. * Gypsum – used in the Plasterboard industry * Coal – west coast mining industry, e.g. Haig Pit at Whitehaven *
Haematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...
– west coast mining industry, e.g. Florence mine at Egremont * Anhydrite – found at Whitehaven, where it was used in the early manufacture of
sulphuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...
, and at Kirkby Thore, where it is used in the Plaster industry *
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
is found at various locations throughout Cumbria, with the Honister slate mine at Borrowdale now a major tourist attraction * Lead was mined extensively in Nenthead from the 18th century until the early part of the 20th century


Industrial processes

*
Nuclear reprocessing Nuclear reprocessing is the chemical separation of fission products and actinides from spent nuclear fuel. Originally, reprocessing was used solely to extract plutonium for producing nuclear weapons. With commercialization of nuclear power, the ...
– at
Sellafield Sellafield is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nucle ...
*
Thorp nuclear fuel reprocessing plant The Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant, or THORP, is a Nuclear reprocessing, nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at Sellafield in Cumbria, England. THORP is owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and operated by Sellafield Ltd (which is the s ...
– part of
Sellafield Sellafield is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nucle ...
*
Blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...
– e.g. the
Duddon Furnace The Duddon furnace (Grid Reference SD 197883) is a surviving charcoal-fuelled blast furnace near Broughton-in-Furness in Cumbria. It is on the west side of the River Duddon in the parish of Millom and formerly in Cumberland. History The furn ...
near Broughton-in-Furness * Bessemer process – invented by
Henry Bessemer Sir Henry Bessemer (19 January 1813 – 15 March 1898) was an English inventor, whose steel-making process would become the most important technique for making steel in the nineteenth century for almost one hundred years from 1856 to 1950. He ...
and used at the Workington Steel Works * Wind power and Wind generators surrounding much of the Lake District * Very Low Frequency transmitters – at
Anthorn Anthorn (pronounced ) is a village in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Cumberland, it is situated on the south side of the Solway Firth, on the River Wampool, Wampool estuary, about west of Carlisle, Cumbria, C ...
and Skelton for submarine communications * Phosphoric acid and
Sulphuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...
– once made in vast quantities at the Marchon Chemical Company plant at Whitehaven. Phosphoric acid was made by adding the manufactured sulphuric acid to Calcium phosphate rock, brought by ship from Morocco to Whitehaven harbour.


Major employers

* Cumbria County Council *
BAE Systems Submarine Solutions BAE Systems Submarines,BAE Systems Submarine Solutions was split out from BAE Systems Marine and operated as such until January 2012. It was named BAE Systems Maritime - Submarines until 2017 before it became BAE Systems Submarines. is a whol ...
, once Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd, and Vickers – in Barrow-in-Furness *
BNFL British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) was a nuclear energy and fuels company owned by the UK Government. It was a manufacturer of nuclear fuel (notably MOX), ran reactors, generated and sold electricity, reprocessed and managed spent fuel (mainly ...
– British Nuclear Fuels – owners and operators of the
Nuclear reprocessing Nuclear reprocessing is the chemical separation of fission products and actinides from spent nuclear fuel. Originally, reprocessing was used solely to extract plutonium for producing nuclear weapons. With commercialization of nuclear power, the ...
site – at
Sellafield Sellafield is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nucle ...
, and the world's first nuclear power station, Calder Hall, now closed. * McVitie's part of United Biscuits – the UK's second largest biscuit factory in
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 ...
*
Corus Group Corus may refer to: Places *Çörüş, Gazipaşa, a village in Antalya Province, Turkey Facilities and structures * Corus Quay, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; an office tower Fictional locations * Corus, a fictional world that is the setting for the ...
, previously British Steel plc – makers of railway lines in Workington – closed down Summer 2006.


History

* Cumbria is a county where you can find many
Stone circle A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The be ...
s – including the impressive
Castlerigg stone circle Castlerigg Stone Circle (alternatively Keswick Carles, or Carles) is situated on a prominent hill to the east of Keswick, in the Lake District National Park, North West England. It is one of around 1,300 stone circles in the British Isles and ...
near Keswick * Cumbria is on the border between England and Scotland, and defensive
Peel tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standin ...
s were built to protect the English from invaders, the
Border Reivers Border reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border ...
. * The Roman empire built
Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...
dividing England and Scotland, and various forts throughout Cumbria, including Hardknott Roman Fort in Eskdale * The Dovenby Hall estate in Dovenby, near Cockermouth, dates from 1154 and has been used, amongst other things, as a private residence, a mental institution, and, most recently, as home of the Ford Rally Team. * Clifton Moor Skirmish – the last battle on English soil between the Jacobite forces of
Prince Charles Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...
and the English army commanded by the Duke of Cumberland at
Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
near Penrith.


Other pages of interest

* The year 2001 proved to be a terrible year for Cumbria because of the foot and mouth crisis, suffering 893 confirmed cases of the disease out of a total of 2030 cases in the UK. The effects of some 10 months of this crisis on some businesses were immense, and many rural pubs, B&B's and other tourist-related shops closed forever due to little income during 2001. See more information about foot and mouth disease. *
Cumberland sausage Cumberland sausage is a pork sausage that originated in the ancient county of Cumberland, England, now part of Cumbria. It is traditionally very long, up to , and sold rolled in a flat, circular coil, but within western Cumbria, it is more often s ...
– local food product * Cumbrian dialect – a colourful, descriptive dialect that borrows word origins from Cumbric, Norse and other ancient languages. * Cumbrian MPs – a list of past and present Cumbrian members of parliament *
Herdwick sheep The Herdwick is a breed of domestic sheep native to the Lake District in North West England. The name "Herdwick" is derived from the Old Norse ''herdvyck'', meaning sheep pasture. Though low in lambing capacity and perceived wool quality when com ...
– the local fell sheep, gives some of the best lamb meat available * The Spadeadam Rocket Establishment, near
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 ...
, was opened in the late 1950s as a test area for the British Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) – Blue Streak * Cumbria is one of the few places in England where you can still find the
red squirrel The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris'') is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' common throughout Europe and Asia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, primarily herbivorous rodent. In Great Britain, Ireland, and in Italy numbers ...
, the osprey, the hen harrier, and the golden eagle *
Center Parcs Center Parcs may refer to: * Center Parcs UK and Ireland Center Parcs UK and Ireland (formerly Center Parcs UK) is a short-break holiday company that operates six holiday villages in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, with each cover ...
– operators of the Whinfell Forest Oasis holiday village near Penrith *
Depleted uranium Depleted uranium (DU; also referred to in the past as Q-metal, depletalloy or D-38) is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope than natural uranium.: "Depleted uranium possesses only 60% of the radioactivity of natural uranium, hav ...
– in the Solway Firth from weapons testing (at Eskmeals and
Dundrennan Range Dundrennan Range is a weapons testing range on the Solway Firth, near Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, in south west Scotland, it is part of the Ministry of Defence's Kirkcudbright Training Area. History Previously farming land, the si ...
) and weapons dumping *
Jennings Brewery Jennings Brewery was established as a family concern in 1828 in the village of Lorton, between Buttermere and Cockermouth in the Lake District, England. The brewery was started by John Jennings Snr, son of William Jennings (a maltster). Jennings ...
– in Cockermouth * Musical Stones of Skiddaw at the
Keswick Museum and Art Gallery 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, ...
* The
Luck of Edenhall The "Luck of Edenhall" is an enamelled glass beaker that was made in Syria or Egypt in the middle of the 14th century, elegantly decorated with arabesques in blue, green, red and white enamel with gilding. It is now in the Victoria and Albert ...
– a legendary drinking glass * Dykes – Cumbrian surname *
Kendal Mint Cake Kendal Mint Cake is a sugar-based confection flavoured with peppermint. It originates from Kendal in Cumbria, England. Kendal Mint Cake is popular among Climbing, climbers and Mountaineering, mountaineers, especially those from the United King ...
Topics Topic, topics, TOPIC, topical, or topicality may refer to: Topic / Topics * Topić, a Slavic surname * ''Topics'' (Aristotle), a work by Aristotle * Topic (chocolate bar), a brand of confectionery bar * Topic (DJ), German musician * Topic (g ...
Cumbria