Crosby Villa Explained

Country:England
Static Image Caption:Crosby Villa from across the fields.
Coordinates:54.7379°N -3.4113°W
Official Name:Crosby Villa
Civil Parish:Crosscanonby
Unitary England:Cumberland
Lieutenancy England:Cumbria
Region:North West England
Constituency Westminster:Workington
Post Town:Maryport
Postcode District:CA15
Postcode Area:CA
Dial Code:01900
Os Grid Reference:NY091390
Pushpin Map:United Kingdom Allerdale

Crosby Villa is a hamlet in the civil parish of Crosscanonby in Cumbria, United Kingdom. It is located on the A596 road, 3.75miles north-east of Maryport and 3.75miles south-west of Aspatria. The village of Crosby is 1.5miles to the south-west, and the hamlet of Oughterside is 2.25miles to the north-east. Cumbria's county town, Carlisle, is 24miles to the north-east.[1]

Crosby Villa lies on the Solway Plain, less than 1miles from the boundary of the Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,[2] and approximately 1.5miles s from the shore of Allonby Bay, an inlet of the Solway Firth. Historically, the name may have been spelled Crosby Villas.[3]

Governance

Crosby Villa is in the parliamentary constituency of Workington. In the December 2019 general election, the Tory candidate for Workington, Mark Jenkinson, was elected the MP, overturning a 9.4 per cent Labour majority from the 2017 election to eject shadow environment secretary Sue Hayman by a margin of 4,136 votes.[4] Until the December 2019 general election, the Labour Party had won the seat in every general election since 1979.The Conservative Party had only been elected once in Workington since World War II, at the 1976 by-election.[5] Historically Crosby Villa has been a Labour supporting area.

Before Brexit for the European Parliament its residents voted to elect MEP's for the North West England constituency.

For Local Government purposes it is in the Cumberland unitary authority area.

Crosby Villa has its own Parish Council; Crosscanonby Parish Council.[6]

History

During the Roman period, there was a settlement near to the site of modern Crosby Villa called Garborough. The modern village was built to provide housing for miners at Rosegill and Bullgill coal mines during the 19th century. In addition to the seventy terraced houses, a chapel, shops, and a post office were provided, along with allotments for gardening. The chapel was built in 1863. There was no school, however, and the miners' children walked to Crosby to attend the school there. Near to Bullgill coal mine was Bullgill railway station, approximately 0.25miles from Crosby Villa, on the Maryport and Carlisle Railway (now a part of the Cumbrian Coast Line). Bullgill pit closed in 1897, and Rosegill a few years later. This began a period of hardship for the village, exacerbated by the General Strike of 1926.[7] [8] Bullgill railway station closed to passengers in 1960, a few years before the Beeching axe. A road haulage firm called Duncan Hill was established in nearby Dearham in 1951, and later relocated to Crosby Villa, from where it continues to operate.[9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Google Maps - Crosby Villa . 28 February 2015.
  2. Web site: Solway Coast AONB - Location . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150105022640/http://solwaycoastaonb.org.uk/gethere.php . 5 January 2015 . 28 February 2015.
  3. Web site: Forebears - Crosby . 1 March 2015.
  4. News: Workington parliamentary constituency – Election 2019 .
  5. Web site: A vision of Britain website – general elections section . 27 April 2012.
  6. Web site: Crosscanonby Parish Council .
  7. Web site: Forebears - Crosby . 1 March 2015.
  8. Web site: Visitor UK - Crosby . 1 March 2015.
  9. Web site: Duncan Hill . 28 February 2015.