Oxenholme is a village in England just south of the town of

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 ...

, with which it has begun to merge. It is best known for

Oxenholme Lake District railway station Oxenholme Lake District railway station in Oxenholme, near Kendal, Cumbria, England, is on the West Coast Main Line and at the start of the Windermere Branch Line to Windermere. The station, which serves as a main line connection point for ...

on the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

. Because Oxenholme does not have its own church it is technically a hamlet.

History

Oxenholme station opened in 1847 as Kendal Junction and was renamed Oxenholme in 1860. The village grew around the station and is named after Oxenholme Farm. The station name had the suffix "Lake District" added in 1988. The

Grayrigg rail crash The Grayrigg derailment was a fatal railway accident that occurred at approximately 20:15 GMT on 23 February 2007, just to the south of Grayrigg, Cumbria, in the North West England region of the United Kingdom. The accident investigation conc ...

happened on 23 February 2007 between Oxenholme and

Tebay Tebay is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, within the historic borders of Westmorland. It lies in the upper Lune Valley, at the head of the Lune Gorge. The parish had a population of 728 in the 2001 census, increasing to 776 at th ...

on the

Name

Oxenholme is named after a farm which name suggests was a cow farm. It is pronounced Oxen-Home, however locally it is pronounced Ox-nome The village has always been called and spelt Oxenholme.

Governance

The village is part of the Kendal civil parish. The village is in the

South and

Natland Natland is a village and civil parish about two miles (3 km) south of Kendal in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, close to the village of Oxenholme. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 747, increasing at the ...

ward on

South Lakeland 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 ...

District Council and is currently represented by the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

Jonathan Brook, Chris Hogg and Doug Rathbone. The village is 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 ...

but before 1974 was in

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 ...

. On Cumbria County Council it is part of the Kendal South ward for which the councillor is

Brenda Gray. It is part of the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency and the MP is Liberal Democrat

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 ...

Crime

Oxenholme has a low crime rate; during 2009 there was only one reported crime, involving a light cable being removed from a trailer.

Health

The village is part of the Cumbrian

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

area.

Westmorland General Hospital Westmorland General Hospital (WGH) is a hospital near Oxenholme in Kendal, Cumbria, England. It is managed by the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the Kendal Memorial Hospital f ...

, which is the local hospital, is located just outside the village.

Transport

Oxenholme station, located in the village, is a junction between the

and the Windermere Branch Line. The A65 runs through the village and is close to 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 t ...

. The village has nine bus stops and is served by routes 41, 41A and 561. The nearest airports are

Leeds Bradford Leeds Bradford Airport is located in Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, about northwest of Leeds city centre, and about northeast from Bradford city centre. It serves Leeds and Bradford and th ...

(62 miles) and Teesside International (70 miles) and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

(78 miles).

Media

The local newspaper covering the area is ''

The Westmorland Gazette ''The Westmorland Gazette'' is a weekly newspaper published in Kendal, England, covering " South Lakeland and surrounding areas", including Barrow and North Lancashire. Its name refers to the historic county of Westmorland. The paper is now owned ...

''. Local radio includes

BBC Radio Cumbria BBC Radio Cumbria is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Cumbria. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in Carlisle. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 71,000 listener ...

Heart North West Heart North West is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to North West England from studios in the Spinningfields area of Manchester city centre. Overview Century Radio (1998–2009) ...

and

Smooth North West Smooth North West is a regional radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global as part of the Smooth network. The station broadcasts to the North West of England from studios at Spinningfields in Manchester. History GMG Radio ...

. The village is covered by both the ITV Border and

BBC North West BBC North West is the BBC English Region serving Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, North Yorkshire (western Craven), West Yorkshire (western Calderdale), Derbyshire (western High Peak), Cumbria (Barrow-in-Furness ...

TV regions.

Oxenholme in the news

Oxenholme appears in the news more often than a typical settlement of its size. Most of the news is to do with the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. * On 10 February 1965 fugitive John Middleton shot two policemen while hiding in the waiting room at

Oxenholme railway station Oxenholme Lake District railway station in Oxenholme, near Kendal, Cumbria, England, is on the West Coast Main Line and at the start of the Windermere Branch Line to Windermere. The station, which serves as a main line connection point for K ...

. Carlisle policemen George Russell and Alex Archibald were shot, and Russell died in hospital a few hours later. * On 27 May 2006, a 19-year-old man was stabbed aboard a

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

train as it was coming into the station. A 22-year-old man was jailed for 21 years for the murder in November 2006. * The

happened on 23 February 2007 when a Virgin

Pendolino Pendolino (from Italian ''pendolo'' "pendulum", and ''-ino,'' a diminutive suffix) is an Italian family of tilting trains used in Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the UK, the US, ...

train derailed just after leaving the station. The crash left one person dead, and 22 others injured.

Location grid

References

External links

*Oxenholme Past
oxenholme.oneplacestudy.org
provides further information about Oxenholme's past including details of former residents, past news stories etc. {{authority control Westmorland Villages in Cumbria