Seaton is a large village and civil parish in the

Allerdale Allerdale is a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with borough status. 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 Bor ...

borough of Cumbria, England. Historically part 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 ...

, near 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 ...

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

in England. It is home to around 5,000 people and is one of the largest villages in England. The population of the parish was measured in the 2011 Census as 5,022.

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 ...

a part of

, it is situated on the north side of the River Derwent, across from the town of Workington, and close to the smaller village of Camerton. Seaton forms part of the Borough of Allerdale.

Etymology

The name Seaton is believed to originate from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

name 'Sǣtūn'. where 'tūn' means 'homestead' or 'village', and 'sǣ' simply means 'sea'. However, since Seaton is over a mile away from the sea, this interpretation of the name is not certain.

History

The earliest evidence of habitation in and around Seaton are the so-called 'Burrow Walls' less than a mile west of the village. These walls are the remains of a medieval manor house, itself built within the remains of a

Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

believed to be called 'Magis'. It is believed the fort was built between 79 and 122 to guard the coast against attacks by the

Scoti ''Scoti'' or ''Scotti'' is a Latin name for the Gaels,Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. p.698 first attested in the late 3rd century. At first it referred to all Gaels, whether in Ireland or Great Britain, but l ...

from Ireland and the Caledonii from Scotland. Around 1100 the

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

of Seaton was granted to a man named Orme on his marriage to Gunhild, sister of Waltheof, Lord of Allerdale and daughter of Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria. Orme's manor house was built on the same site as the old Roman fort, although a descendant, Patrick Culwen de Workington, pulled the house down and moved the family south across the river to Workington Hall. They would later adopt the surname Curwen, and generally used the title Lord of Workington, first obtained by Gospatric, son of Orme. Traditionally, Seaton's economy was based on farming and mining. In 1762 Seaton Iron Works was established on the north bank of the River Derwent below the village at

Barepot Barepot is a village in Cumbria, England. As Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland ...

. It was a major concern at one time, employing hundreds of people, before its blast furnace ceased operation in 1857. The structures were demolished and there is very little trace remaining of the iron works today. The village experienced a large population increase during the 1800s caused by the boom of nearby Workington's steel industry. Workington's steel industry is now much smaller, and Seaton has become a

dormitory settlement A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for other West Coast industries. On 7 April 1964 Seaton was the site of the murder of John Alan West which led to the two final executions in the United Kingdom.

Governance

The village is in the parliamentary constituency of Workington. In the December 2019 general election, the Tory candidate for Workington, Mark Jenkinson, was elected the MP, overturning a 9.4 per cent Labour majority from the 2017 election to eject shadow environment secretary

Sue Hayman Susan Mary Hayman, Baroness Hayman of Ullock (''née'' Bentley; born 28 July 1962) is a British politician and life peer who served as Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Labour ...

by a margin of 4,136 votes. Until the December 2019 general election, the Labour Party had won the seat in every general election since 1979. The Conservative Party had only been elected once in Workington since World War II, at the 1976 by-election. Historically Seaton has been a Labour supporting area. Before Brexit for the European Parliament residents in Seaton voted to elect

MEP MEP may refer to: Organisations and politics * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a political party in Sri Lanka * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (1956), a former political alliance in Sri Lanka * Maison européenne de la photographie, a photography centre ...

's for the

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

constituency. For Local Government purposes it is in the ''Seaton + Northside Ward'' of Allerdale Borough Council and the ''Seaton Division'' of Cumbria County Council. Seaton has its own Parish Council; ''Seaton Parish Council''.

Notable people

* Mark Jenkinson, Conservative politician and Member of Parliament (MP) for Workington since 2019.

Amenities

Amenities include: some small local shops, Tesco Express, a petrol station, two schools – Seaton Academy (formerly Infant School), and Seaton Junior Church of England school, a library, three pubs, and a local Rugby league team, Seaton Rangers.

Transport

Seaton used to have a railway station on the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway, the station closed in 1922.

References

External links

*
Cumbria County History Trust: Seaton
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page) {{authority control Villages in Cumbria Civil parishes in Cumbria Allerdale Roman sites in Cumbria