Milnthorpe
| Milnthorpe | |
| Westmorland | |
|---|---|
 Dallam Tower Deer Park | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SD496815 |
| Location: | 54°13’37"N, 2°46’23"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,106 (2001) |
| Post town: | Milnthorpe |
| Postcode: | LA7 |
| Dialling code: | 015395 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Westmorland & Furness |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Westmorland and Lonsdale |
Milnthorpe is a large village in Westmorland on the River Bela, which was once navigable to here from the sea. This is a place which has flourished through manufacturing, rather different form the rural Westmorland villages found nestled in the dales of the Lake District, which begins in earnest just beyond Milnthorpe.
The A6 road passes through, on an old route so that the town contains several old hostelries. A market is held in The Square every Friday.
The parish church is the Church of St Thomas, which overlooks The Green and The Square. The church was built in the 19th century and a new parish created here; before then Milnthorpe was in the parish of Heversham.
History
Milnthorpe became a centre of business and activity because it was originally a port, using the River Bela and estuary (now only navigable to Arnside), and it remains a significant commercial centre for the area.
Local industry includes Duralon Combs, a 300-year-old comb making family business. Tourism and hospitality have always thrived (being a convenient stop off point on the A6 for coaches and cars en route to the Lake District -- and just to the north is Levens Hall, famed for its topiary). The village used to be a major traffic bottleneck before the M6 motorway was opened in 1970, and the A590 / A591 Kendal link road a few years later.
Community
Each July, the Milnthorpe Men's Forum holds its annual art exhibition in the church. Milnthorpe has two steel bands - one for adults and the other based in the town's junior school.
The Grade I listed house Dallam Tower, with an estate known for its deer, stands near to the River Bela just south-west of Milnthorpe, whilst St Anthony's Tower may be seen on the top of St Anthony's Hill to the north-east of the town centre, overlooking the village and the housing estate of Owlet Ash Fields in nearby Ackenthwaite.
It has one secondary school, called Dallam School. and one primary school, called Milnthorpe Primary School.
The three pubs in the village are the Cross Keys Hotel, The Bulls Head and the Coach and Horses.
Pictures
Milnthorpe Parish Church
Cross Keys Hotel
Bend in the River Bela
