Windermere () is a town in the

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 authority ...

of Windermere and Bowness, 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 ...

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 ...

, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 8,245, increasing at the 2011 census to 8,359. It lies about half a mile (1 km) east of the lake,

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautology (language), tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere, Cumbria (town), Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in leng ...

. Although the town Windermere does not touch the lake (it took the name of the lake when the railway line was built in 1847 and the station was called "Windermere"), it has now grown together with the older lakeside town of

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 ...

, though the two retain distinguishable town centres. Tourism is popular in the town owing to its proximity to the lake and local scenery. Boats from the

pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...

s in Bowness sail around the lake, many calling at

Ambleside Ambleside is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, Cumbria, Lakes, in Cumbria, in North West England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Westmorland, it marks the head (and sits on the east side of the northern ...

or at Lakeside where there is a restored railway. Windermere Hotel opened at the same time as the railway. The civil parish contains both towns, the village of

Troutbeck Bridge Troutbeck Bridge is a village in South Lakeland, Cumbria, England. It is situated north of Windermere on the A591 road running through the Lake District and was historically in the county of Westmorland. The main secondary school for Winder ...

to the north and several hamlets, including Storrs to the south and Heaning to the east. Belle Isle and part of the lake are also within its boundaries. The civil parish changed its name from Windermere to Windermere and Bowness on 29 July 2020.

History

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 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 ...

, Windermere town was known as Birthwaite prior to the arrival of the

Kendal and Windermere Railway The Kendal and Windermere Railway built a branch line from the main line to Kendal and on to Windermere, in Cumbria in north-west England. It was promoted by local interests in Kendal when it became clear that the Lancaster and Carlisle Railw ...

, which stimulated its development. Windermere station offers

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

and

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

connections to the surrounding area,

Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those n ...

and 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 ...

. The geological formations around the area take their name from the town. They are called the Windermere Group of

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

s. The town's name is also given to the Rt. Hon. Dr

David Clark, Baron Clark of Windermere David George Clark, Baron Clark of Windermere PC DL (born 19 October 1939) is a British Labour Party politician, former cabinet minister and author. Education and early career Clark was born in Castle Douglas, Scotland. He attended Bownes ...

, who now lives in Windermere.

Etymology

The word "Windermere" is thought to translate as "Winand or Vinand's lake". The specific has usually been identified with an

Old Swedish Old Swedish (Swedish language, Modern Swedish: ) is the name for two distinct stages of the Swedish language that were spoken in the Middle Ages: Early Old Swedish (), spoken from about 1225 until about 1375, and Late Old Swedish (), spoken fro ...

personal name Vinandr. The other possibility is for a Continental Germanic name Wīnand. The second element is

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 ...

'mere', meaning 'lake' or 'pool'. There is a reference to "Wynandermer" in 1396.

Governance

Windermere was from 1894 to 1974 governed by an

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

council which in 1905 absorbed the former Bowness-on-Windermere UDC although Bowness remained a separate

until 1974. Windermere UDC had slight boundary changes in 1934 and was abolished by 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 ...

replacing it with

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. The Windermere coat of arms was commissioned in 1968 and designed by local schoolgirl, Sheila West.

Transport

Windermere railway station was built in 1847 and was the reason the town was established. The station serves trains run by Northern to

Oxenholme Oxenholme is a village in England just south of the town of Kendal, with which it has begun to merge. It is best known for Oxenholme Lake District railway station on the West Coast Main Line. Because Oxenholme does not have its own church it ...

on the

. There are also services that run on further to

. The town is near the A591, a major road running through the Lake District 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 ...

to Keswick.

Education

There are three primary schools located in the town. Secondary education is provided by

The Lakes School The Lakes School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Troutbeck Bridge, Windermere, in the English county of Cumbria. It is a comprehensive community school administered by Westmorland and Furness Council. Its catch ...

(state) and Windermere School (independent, ages 2–18), both of which are located on the outskirts.

Notable People

* Thomas Gardner (born 1996) - filmmaker."Award-winning film shot by Cumbrian man"
''CumbriaCrack''. 5 April 2022

References

External links

Windermere Town Council Cumbria County History Trust: Windermere and BownessThe Cumbria Directory - Windermere
{{Authority control Towns in Cumbria Westmorland Civil parishes in Cumbria