Crosscanonby
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Crosscanonby (otherwise Cross Canonby) is a village and
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
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, historically part of
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 ...
, near 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 A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
in England. It is situated within the Solway Coast, designated an
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
. The civil parish includes the larger village of Crosby and the hamlets of Birkby and Crosby Villa. The population of the parish was 1,054 in 2001, increasing to 1,113 at the 2011 Census. The parish is served by one public house, the Stag Inn, and a primary school (both in Crosby).


Etymology

The earliest form of the name was 'Crosseby' (1123–50), from the
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
"'krossa býr' meaning 'bȳ (village, hamlet) marked by crosses'. The name 'Crosscanonby' results from the gift of land in Crosby with the church to the canons of Carlisle."


Location

Crosscanonby is located less than from Cumbria's West Coast, 0.5 miles off the A5996 and North of the River Ellen. It is close to the southern end of Allonby Bay, an inlet of the
Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...
. It is where the Norman church, St John the Evangelist's Church, Crosscanonby is situated, along with the Crosscanonby Carr. North of the village is where the Crosscanonby salt pans are found. Being known for its history as the location where salt was produced from the 1630s until about 1760, it is thought that some of the worker's cottages were constructed in this village at the same time. These cottages became a
pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
, then reverted to being cottages again in 1900. The coast road, B5300, which runs between the salt pans and the former cottages, was built in 1824. Crosscanonby is southwest of
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
, south of
Silloth Silloth, or Silloth-on-Solway, is a port town and civil parish in the Cumberland (district), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town stands on the coast of the Solway Firth, west of Carlisle. It was developed from the 1850s onwards a ...
and less than northeast of
Maryport Maryport is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is on the coast of the Solway Firth and lies at the northern end of the former Cumberland Co ...
.


Governance

Crosscanonby is in the
parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
of Penrith and Solway, formerly
Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...
until 2024. For
Local Government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
purposes it is 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 ...
unitary authority area A unitary authority is a type of 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 usually performed ...
. Crosscanonby has its own Parish Council; ''Crosscanonby Parish Council''.


Crosscanonby Parish church

Crosscanonby church, a grade I
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
, is known as St John the Evangelist's Church, Crosscanonby. It occupies one of the earliest Christian sites in
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 ...
. The church was built in c1130 A.D. and has been extensively restored since 1880. The southwest view includes a Viking era gravestone in the lower centre to the church wall. Some of the stonework in the original construction is believed to have come from earlier Roman settlement in the Crosscanonby area. Outside the church is the tomb of local salt tax officer John Smith, who died in 1730. The tomb has an unusual panel showing the salt officer working at his desk.


Crosscanonby Carr

This is a nature reserve, the first in the Solway Plain AONB. It first began as a Solway Plain Rural Initiative Project, which evolved from a vandalised site. Crosscanonby Carr now provides a wetland, meadow and woodland refuge for numerous animals, birds and plants. The site has an Access for All Trail provided for people with all disabilities.


Education

The parish has one local Primary School, Crosscanonby St John's Church of England School, located in the Village of Crosby. The primary school has approximately 66 students aged 4–11 on role.


History

North of the village, along the coast, is the Roman Milefortlet 21 and the Elizabethan salt pans. Milefortlet 21, now part of the
Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, is believed to date back to between 79 AD and circa 130 AD, revealing a wealth of information about the lifestyle of Roman troops in Britain. Milefortlet 21 was part of a system of defence, including
Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...
, developed to protect this far-flung corner of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
. Another fortlet, Milefortlet 22, is west of the village, but it now lies underneath Maryport Golf Course.BROWNRIGG MILEFORTLET 22
Pastscape, retrieved 26 November 2013
Close to Milefortlet 21 are the remains of the
Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...
salt pans. It is thought that they were begun around 1630 and leased to Richard Barwise in 1634. On the beach was a water tank on a wooden scaffold, whose footings remain, from which sea water ran onto the Sleech in the Kinch. Sleech is the sand from the beach; the Kinch where it was piled up is the large pond, sealed by puddled clay. The remains of these salt pans can be clearly seen to date. The strong brine from the Kinch trickled down to the south. The brine was then boiled in iron pans to produce salt, which crystallised out of the brine. From 1698 a salt tax was levied. One salt tax Officer was John Smith, (died in 1730), whose tombstone is at St John the Evangelist's Church, Crosscanonby, with a carving of him at his desk. After being abandoned for salt production, the salt pans suddenly had a new use in the 20th century between 1918 and the 1930s, when holiday cottages and a caravan site grew around them. These pans were seen as a
tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...
up until when the caravan site was abandoned in the 1970s as a result of coastal erosion. Later in the mid-1980s, the significance of the Salt pans was realised leading to the redevelopment of the historical monument after some research had been carried out. Between 1997 and 1998, Major works were carried out to protect the Salt pans at Crosscanonby from threat of
Coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...
by the Solway Rural Initiative, having realised that one or two more tides could result in the loss of the Salt pans forever. To protect the Salt pans, emergency work which included building a wooden palisade around the most affected site was carried out. Over 2,000 tonnes of material from nearby Crosscanonby Carr nature reserve were used in the process. Today, the site remains intact, although under constant threat from the tides.


Demography

Population: 1801–2001
The earliest census available for the Crosscanonby area is that of 1801. As the Table below on the right shows, the total population back then was 3252. This then increased exponentially over the next Census reports carried out every ten years until up to 1851 where it had almost doubled to 6,182. The 1891 census report shows the total population reaching its peak at 9,196. However, ten years later the population seems to have dropped significantly to 931 people. Comparing census reports from this period, the population of Crosscanonby has fluctuated leaving the population at 1,054 in 2001. Total Number of Houses: 1841–2001
The same trend seen in the population of the parish from the 1800s epitomises the change in the total number of houses. A total of 1,372 houses were recorded in the 1841 for the entire parish. Just like the population did, the number of houses increased in the next couple of years with a total count of 1,915 in 1891. Likewise, The number of houses suddenly fell to 229 in the 1901 census report. This number also fluctuated to the total 439 houses in the 2001 census report. Most Common Occupations: 1881
The 1881 Occupation Census report shows that the most common occupations for men were Works in Dress employing 118 people, Works in Food and Lodging (123), Works in House Furniture and Decorations (245), Works in Mineral Substances (408) and Works in Transport and Communications (423). 269 men had their occupations reported as 'Works in General or Unspecified Commodities' while 29 were Without Specified Occupations. Ten men were reported with Unknown Occupations. The most common occupations for women at this time were Works in Food and Lodging employing 52 women, Works in Dress (158) and Domestic services or Offices (384). 484 Women were reported as Persons Without Specified Occupations while 1,172 were reported with Unknown Occupations.


Transport

The nearest train stations are rail station , and rail station .


See also

* Listed buildings in Crosscanonby


References


External links


Cumbria County History Trust: Crosscanonby
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page) * {{Authority control Villages in Cumbria Civil parishes in Cumbria Cumberland (unitary authority)