Mawbray
| Mawbray | |
| Cumberland | |
|---|---|
 Scenes of Mawbray | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NY083468 |
| Location: | 54°48’28"N, 3°25’35"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Maryport |
| Postcode: | CA15 |
| Dialling code: | 01900 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Cumberland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Workington |
Mawbray is a village in northern Cumberland, on the Solway Plain, approximately halfway between the coastal towns of Maryport and Silloth, and 25 miles from the City of Carlisle. The B5300 coast road runs to the west of the village.
Mawbray serves as the hub of a community of several smaller hamlets, including Beckfoot, Goodyhills, Hailforth, Holme St Cuthbert, Jericho, Newtown, Salta, and Tarns.
Contents
Name
The name "Mawbray" is believed to be derived from Old English, meaning "a maiden's castle or fort", possibly referring to a Roman mile-fortlet such as were known to run down the coast to Maryport. A Roman fortlet, known as Milefortlet 16, has been located at the west end of the village.[1] The early forms of the first element seem to be from Old English mæge.[2]
The early form of the name was Mayburgh, and additional variants include Mayburg, Mawbrey, Malbrough, and Malbrew. Some variants, such as Olde Malbraw and Old Mawbery add an "Old" prefix, to distinguish the village from "New Mawbray", two miles to the north, today known as Newtown.
History
Prehistory
Archaeological evidence from Mawbray and the surrounding area shows clear evidence of human activity and habitation as early as 4000 BC, as a ditched enclosure with large post-holes in an 'annexe' was excavated at nearby Plasketlands, as has been identified as being from the early Neolithic period. The archaeologist in charge of the expedition, R. H. Bewley, called the find their "best evidence for permanent settlement" on the Solway Plain.[3] On the Moss at nearby Salta, a Bronze Age rapier was discovered in the 1980s, and is believed to have been crafted as early as 1100 BC.
Roman times
During the Roman period small forts were built along the coast to protect the Solway coast frontier: Milefortlets 14, 15, 16 and 17 were all located nearby, Milefortlet 16 being the closest, though only the rear eastern rampart survives.[4]
By the 1820s, the nearby "Roman camp" – which is assumed to refer to either milefortlet 16 or one of its associated towers – had fallen into a state of disrepair. The vallum had been defaced, and the site of the camp was used for growing corn. However, it was noted that "some of the old inhabitants remember part of the wall standing." By inference, the last remaining part of the Roman wall at Mawbray had collapsed or been removed during the latter part of the 18th century – over 1,600 years after it was built.
An inscribed stone was also discovered in the Roman camp near Mawbray, and historians in the 19th century believed that the stone showed that it was likely that Roman soldiers from Hispania built the wall or edifice which contained it.[5] However, given the term "Pannon" used in the inscription, recent analysis suggests that it is more likely that soldiers from Pannonia were responsible for the Mawbray stone. The inscription on the stone reads:
- L. TA. PRAEF. COH. II. PANNON FECIT[6]
Middle ages
As late as the Elizabethan period, into the 1550s, Scottish raiders were attacking Mawbray and the surrounding communities.[7] A system called the seawake – a night watch along the coast – was instituted, and Mawbray participated along with other coastal communities in the area.[8] Defence against Scottish raids was also important to the Lord and Steward of Holm Cultram when planning the settlement of New Mawbray, today known as Newtown, in the same period.
From the Anglo-Saxon period right up to the twentieth century, the majority of Mawbray's inhabitants are believed to have been fishermen and farmers. Farming and fishing still continue in the village in the present day, with more of the former than the latter, but the inhabitants today are more diverse, including "a journalist, an artist and a television presenter".[9]
Nineteenth and twentieth centuries
Mawbray used to have many diverse shops and tradesmen operating in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but in the present day, these have been lost. Trades such as "bacon and ham curer, shoemaker, blacksmith, joiner and dressmaker"[9] have long since disappeared from the village. The village post office and shop closed in the 1980s, but the local pub, The Lowther[10] (formerly known as the Lowther Arms), re-opened in 2014[11] after two periods of closure in the 2000s and early 2010s. The Lowther Arms was known to have been open as early as 1847.[12] Directly opposite the pub is a small children's playground. The current play area was funded by the community and built by local woodworkers around the year 2000.
The Village Today
Culterham Hall, known locally simply as the Village Hall, opened in 1951[12] and is the centre of activity in Mawbray today. An amateur dramatics group called the Mawbray Entertainers write, direct, and perform their own pantomime every year during the half-term break in February in Culterham Hall, and the money raised is donated to a range of local and national charities.[13] The Hall also accommodates many other musical events,[14] especially by performers on the Rural Touring Scheme[15] throughout the year. In addition to these special events, members of the community run a wide range of clubs and activities at the Hall, from sports like Tai Chi and bowls to dog training classes and a weekly children's club. In addition, the Hall plays host to craft sales several times a year, including in the run-up to Christmas, where local craftspeople sell a range of items.[16]
With the Pub and Village Hall, Mawbray serves as the centre of the community for these outlying settlements. However, Mawbray itself is not home to the local primary school, which is instead located at Holme St Cuthbert, as is the local church.[17]
There is a public telephone in the village, which is still in use. This is one of the famous red telephone boxes, which are often targets for conservation. Mawbray also retains a post box, and in the village hall there is a preserved example of a Victorian era post box (though it is no longer in use).[18]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Mawbray) |
References
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 9069 – Milefortlet 16
- ↑ Armstrong, A.M. & Mawer; A.; Stenton, F.M. & Dickins, B.: 'Place-Names of Cumberland , Part 2' (English Place-Names Society, 1950), page 296
- ↑ Bewley, R.H. (1993). "Survey and excavation at a crop-mark enclosure, Plasketlands". Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society. 2 93: 1–18, quoted by Barrowclough, p.80.
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 9069 – Milefortlet 16
- ↑ Parson & White (1976) [1821]. History, directory and gazetteer of Cumberland & Westmorland with Furness and Cartmel. Michael Moon. pp. 341–342. ISBN 0 904131 12 2.
- ↑ Parson & White (1976) [1821]. History, directory and gazetteer of Cumberland & Westmorland with Furness and Cartmel. Michael Moon. p. 342. ISBN 0 904131 12 2.
- ↑ Records of the Holm under Elizabeth
- ↑ 'Plain People: Bygone Times on the Solway Plain': Holme St. Cuthbert History Group, 2004 ISBN 0954882318
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Mawbray". Solwayplain.co.uk. http://www.solwayplain.co.uk/mawbray.htm. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ↑ "Mawbray Village Pub & Dining". http://mawbraypub.co.uk. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
- ↑ http://www.solwaybuzz.co.uk/Issues/issue_130/page_all.pdf Solway Buzz, December 2014, page 7.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/hstchg/mawbray.htm
- ↑ Mawbray Entertainers – WP
- ↑ Chris Aronsten: Gigs
- ↑ Andy Campbell (16 June 2012). "Promoting Professional Arts with Rural Communities – Homepage". NRTF. http://www.nrtf.org.uk/nrtf/page.asp?idno=1. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/352423119039/photos/a.10151233207794040.483708.352423119039/10152882190454040/?type=1&theater
- ↑ "VisitCumbria.com". VisitCumbria.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120315133931/http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/chw21.htm. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- ↑ "A photo of the Victorian post box inside Culterham Hall". https://www.flickr.com/photos/allybeag/5503920179/. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
