Blindbothel is a

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

district of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England. It lies within the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

National Park, and is a couple of miles south of the town of

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. The name refers to the town's position by the confluence of the River Cocker into the River Derwent. At the 2021 census, the built u ...

. There is no village called Blindbothel; instead the parish comprises a largely rural area containing several small farming hamlets.

History

In the 1870s Blindbothel was described as: :''"Blindbothel, a township in Brigham parish, Cumberland; 2 miles W of Cockermouth. Real property, £1,206. Pop., 116. Houses, 19."''

Geography

Blindbothel has an area of around On the east of Blindbothel is the River Cocker which flows to Cockermouth.

Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Blindbothel, at

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

and

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

level: Blindbothel Parish Council and

Cumberland Council Cumberland Council is the local authority for Cumberland, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. It is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. The ...

. The parish is wholly within the Lake District National Park, and so some functions are administered by the Lake District National Park Authority, notably

planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. Some researchers regard the evolution of forethought - the cap ...

. The parish council works in partnership with the three neighbouring parishes of

Buttermere Buttermere is a lake in the Lake District in North West England. It has a length of approximately and a maximum width of , an area of , a maximum depth of , and a surface elevation of above sea level. Its primary outflow is Buttermere Dubs, a ...

, Lorton, and

Loweswater Loweswater is one of the smaller lakes in the English Lake District. The village of Loweswater is situated to the east of the lake. Geography The lake is not far from Cockermouth and is also easily reached from elsewhere in West Cumbria. T ...

as the Melbreak Communities, particularly to respond to issues of flooding along the River Cocker.

Administrative history

Blindbothel was historically a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in the

ancient 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Brigham, in the historic county of

. The township took on civil functions under the

poor laws The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief in England and Wales that developed out of the codification of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws in 1587–1598. The system continued until the modern welfare state emerged in the late 1940s. E ...

from the 17th century onwards. As such, the township also became a

in 1866, when the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws. The parish of Blindbothel was included in the

Cockermouth Rural District Cockermouth was a rural district in Cumberland, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 based on Cockermouth rural sanitary district. It entirely surrounded but did not include the towns of Cockermouth and ...

from 1894. In 1934, the parish was enlarged to take in the area of the abolished neighbouring parishes of Mosser and Whinfell. Cockermouth Rural District was abolished in 1974, becoming part of the borough of

Allerdale Allerdale was a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with Borough status in England and Wales, borough status. Its council – Allerdale Borough Council – was based in Workington, and the borough had a population of 96,422 at the ...

in the new county of Cumbria. Allerdale was in turn abolished in 2023 when the new Cumberland Council was created, also taking over the functions of the abolished Cumbria County Council in the area.

Population

At the 2021 census, the population was 148. The population was 174 according at the 2011 census. The graph below shows the change in total population in Blindbothel from 1891 to 2011. The total population has gradually increased over time. The sharp increase between the 1931 and 1951 censuses may be attributed to the enlargement of the parish in 1934 to absorb Mosser and Whinfell. Out of the four civil parishes of

, Lorton and

, Blindbothel has the smallest population, as the land is mostly for agricultural use. However more recently the adaption for tourism has supplemented the land. Total Population of Blindbothel

The population density of Blindbothel in 2011 was 0.1 people per hectare. The 2011 census data show the mean age of Blindbothel was 43.7. With most people being in the 45–59 age group. Showing there are mostly older people living in Blindbothel. There were also more males than females living in Blindbothel in 2011, as there were 83 females and 91 males.

Housing

According to the 2011 census data, there are 70 households in total, however there were 72 in 2001, showing a slight decline. The 2011 census data also showed that 33 were married households with no dependent children, suggesting that older couples may have either moved here when their children are no longer dependent, or they have lived in Blindbothel since their children were young, as in another statistic most of the households in Blindbothel in 2011 have 2 people in each household. The type of housing is relatively similar, 45 of the households in Blindbothel in the 2011 census were detached, followed by 17 semi-detached, the housing may have all been built at around the same time, suggesting why.

Education

The Eaglesfield Paddle C. E. Primary Academy is the only school in Blindbothel, according to the 2011 census data, there were 4 schoolchildren living in Blindbothel, so there isn't a high demand for educational facilities there. The former Grant Maintained school, known as 'Paddle School' also offers a nursery class and aims to help children "''become independent, confident, self disciplined individuals, proud of their achievements and sensitive to the needs of others''"

Industry

In 1881 the most common occupational order for men was agriculture, where as the women were either domestic or didn't have a specified occupation. The land used to be mostly for agriculture and there are little services available in Blindbothel even now, so there are a lack of jobs available in the village, as in the 2011 census data, most people are in professional occupations or are Managers, Directors and Senior Officials. The data also shows that 23 people are retired, so most of the residents of Blindbothel are still economically active.

External links

Cumbria County History Trust: Blindbothel
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)

References

{{authority control Villages in Cumbria Cumberland (unitary authority) Civil parishes in Cumbria