Docker 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
Westmorland and Furness
Westmorland and Furness is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Cumbria, England. The economy is mainly focused on tourism around both the Lake District and Cumbria Coast, shipbuilding and the Royal Port of Barrow, Royal ...
district of the English county 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 ...
. Docker is 4.3 miles north east of the market town of
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...
. At the
2011 census Docker was grouped with
Lambrigg
Lambrigg is a civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of the English county of Cumbria. It includes the hamlets of Cross Houses and Lambrigg Head, and the hill of Lambrigg Fell
Lambrigg Fell is a hill, the highest point of ...
giving a total population of 260.
In 1870–1872, John Marius Wilson from the ''
Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales
The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes h ...
'' described Docker as: "a township in Kendal parish, Westmoreland; near the river Mint and the Lancaster and Carlisle railway 3 miles ENE of Kendal"
Etymology
Diana Whalley's ''A Dictionary of Lake District Place-Names'' (
English Place Name Society
The English Place-Name Society (EPNS) is a learned society concerned with toponomastics and the toponymy of England, in other words, the study of place-names (toponyms).
Its scholars aim to explain the origin and history of the names they stu ...
2006) has this name either as meaning "the
shieling
A shieling () is a hut or collection of huts on a seasonal pasture high in the hills, once common in wild or sparsely populated places in Scotland. Usually rectangular with a doorway on the south side and few or no windows, they were often c ...
at the hollow" or "the shieling where the plant called
dock
The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...
grows" (from
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 ...
''erg'' = "summer pasture", taken from Irish ''airge''), or as a personal name which "may have been a link with the family traced in Parker 1918" (Parker C.A. ''A pedigree of the family of Docker''. CW2 18, 161–73). Whalley also refers to "the same problematic syllable in
Dockray and ... Dockray Nook" (NY3921 & NY0820).
Demography
Population statistics
The population in 2001 was 55. In the in 2011 census the parish was grouped with
Lambrigg
Lambrigg is a civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of the English county of Cumbria. It includes the hamlets of Cross Houses and Lambrigg Head, and the hill of Lambrigg Fell
Lambrigg Fell is a hill, the highest point of ...
, the total population more than quadrupled. The population fluctuations in Docker can be seen in the graph showing the census data every 10 years since 1801. There was no census taken in 1941. This is most likely to have been down to a change in the boundaries of the Parish. It may have been thought having a parish with a population of 55 was not significant enough and as a result the council may have changed the boundaries to even out the distribution.
The male population for Docker and Lambrigg was slightly higher than the female population according to the 2011 census. There was 135 males to 125 females.
The number of people aged 16 and over with 5 or more GCSEs grade A–C (or equivalent) was 10.63%, 4.67% lower than the national average.
[
]
Occupational statistics
In 2011 there were 161 residents in the two parishes that were between the ages of 16 and 74 and in employment.[ The occupations of the people usually resident at the time of the 2011 census between the ages of 16 and 74 are shown in the pie chart for 2011. The largest population percentage is Professional Occupations category with 23%. The percentage of Skilled Trades Occupations is well above the average for England of 11.4% compared to 17.4% in Docker.][ Docker is in the countryside so this is due to the thriving agricultural industry in the area. As a result, higher qualifications may be unnecessary for the industry in Docker.
]
Transport
Roads
The A65 road
The A65 is a major road in England. It runs north west from Leeds in West Yorkshire via Kirkstall, Horsforth, Yeadon, Guiseley, Ilkley and Skipton, west of Settle, Ingleton and Kirkby Lonsdale before terminating at Kendal in Cumbria.
Bypass ...
runs through Docker, connecting the A6 and the M6. The A65 runs North West from Leeds in Yorkshire through Ilkley and Skipton before terminating at Kendal in Cumbria.
:
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 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...
runs from east of Docker from Rugby via Stoke-on-trent, Liverpool and Manchester terminating at Gretna Junction.
Railway line
The nearest railway station to Docker is Kendal station which is 4.7 miles away. The TransPennine Express runs through Kendal from Windermere to Oxenholme. Although Docker does not have its own railway station, the West Coast Mainline runs through Docker from London Euston to Glasgow. The line runs along the Docker viaduct.
:
On 24 February 2007 the 17:15 Virgin train travelling from London Euston to Glasgow Central was derailed 2 miles from Docker near the village of Grayrigg
Grayrigg is a small village and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 223, increasing at the 2011 census to 242. It lies on undulated and partly mountainous ...
. Several carriages were turned on their side. Cumbria Ambulance service were alerted to the crash at 8.16 pm near Little Docker Cottage. An inquiry found the "immediate cause" of the Grayrigg derailment
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 con ...
was a "degraded and unsafe" set of points known as Lambrigg 2B. The train was reported to have lurched side to side in "a very dramatic way"; the train then careered down an embankment, killing 84-year-old Margaret Masson and injuring 22 others. As the rear of the train was crossing the Docker Viaduct, the front of the train was derailed, just beyond the bridge. Thermal imagery equipment was used to detect any trapped survivors. Following the crash, the points that caused the derailment were removed and the line is now welded continuously including the segment on the Docker Viaduct.
Local amenities
The closest primary school to Docker is the Grayrigg Church of England school, 1.5 miles to the north west. The nearest secondary school is the Queen Katherine School
The Queen Katherine School is an academy school located in Kendal, Cumbria, England. It is a co-educational facility for 11- to 18-year-olds and has around 1,420 students.
The school was judged to be Good in all areas after an inspection by O ...
in Kendal, a coeducational academy for 11- to 16-year-olds, 3.1 miles away.
:
The nearest hospital is Westmorland General Hospital, 6.3 km away on Burton Road in Kendal.
:
The nearest major shopping area to Docker is the Westmoreland Shopping Centre in Kendal, 4.7 miles south west.
References
External links
Cumbria County History Trust: Docker
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
{{Cumbria
Civil parishes in Cumbria