Heversham 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 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 ...

unitary authority area 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. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 647, increasing at the 2011 census to 699. It is situated above the marshes of the

Kent estuary Kent is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west. ...

which gives some fine views, notably from Heversham Head where there is a

toposcope A toposcope, topograph, or orientation table is a kind of graphic display erected at viewing points on hills, mountains or other high places which indicates the direction, and usually the distance, to notable landscape features which can be seen ...

. It has a variety of recreational facilities, including a fully functioning outdoor activities centre, tennis courts, bowling green and a playground. There are also rugby, football and hockey fields, as well as a cricket ground and pavilion.

History

Heversham had an abbey in the early Anglo-Saxon period. According to the ''

Historia de Sancto Cuthberto The ''Historia de Sancto Cuthberto'' ("History of St Cuthbert") is a historical compilation finished some time after 1031. It is an account of the history of the bishopric of St Cuthbert—based successively at Lindisfarne, Norham, Chester-le-S ...

'', in the early tenth century its abbot, who was called Tilred, purchased the village of Castle Eden and gave half of it to

Norham Norham ( ) is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south-west of Berwick on the south side of the River Tweed where it is the border with Scotland. History Its ancient name was Ubbanford. Ecgred of Lindisfarne (d.845) replac ...

abbey so that he could be abbot there, perhaps because Heversham Abbey had been destroyed by the Vikings. Part of a carved stone cross still survives. It was found under the lych-gate of St Peter's Church, which may indicate that the monastery was located nearby.

Transport

Rail

It was on the

Hincaster branch The Hincaster branch was a single-track railway branch line of the Furness Railway which ran from on the Furness main line to a junction with the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (later the London and North Western Railway) at Hincaster. Inte ...

railway line from 26 June 1876. Passenger services ended on the branch on 4 May 1942.

Road

Heversham is situated just off the A6. It formerly straddled the A6, but the centre of the village was bypassed in the 1920s. However, the

Stagecoach bus route 555 The Lakes Connection 555 is a bus route operated by Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire in Cumbria and Lancashire, England. The scenic route covers a distance of and runs between the towns of Keswick, Cumbria, Keswick and Lancaster, Lancashi ...

still passes through the centre. The new section of road was opened by the future

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

and was named Prince's Way. The Heversham Hotel, referred to by the locals as the "Blue Bell", is on this bypass.

Schools

Heversham Grammar School existed for more than 370 years from 1613 until 1984, when it amalgamated with the comprehensive school in Milnthorpe to become the boarding house and 6th form college of Dallam School. The boarding and outdoors section of Dallam School are situated in Heversham and the outdoors centre is open to the public. The local primary school, Heversham St Peters, was closed in 2017. It used to be next to the church but was moved to Leasgill due to the fact that the toilets were right above the village water supply.

Famous people

Geoffrey Bibby Thomas Geoffrey Bibby (14 October 1917 – 6 February 2001, Aarhus) was an English-born archaeologist. He is best known for discovering the ancient state of Dilmun, referred to in Mesopotamian mythology as a paradise. He is often considered to have ...

, archaeologist

References

External links

Heversham Parish Council Cumbria County History Trust: Heversham
(nb: provisional research only - see Talk page) * http://www.heversham.org/heversham_history_bingham_1.html * http://www.railscot.co.uk/Hincaster_Branch/frame.htm * http://www.dallam.eu * http://www.dallam.eu/outdoors {{authority control Villages in Cumbria Civil parishes in Cumbria Westmorland and Furness