Flimby Explained

Static Image:Maryport - Flimby Rugby Club.jpg
Static Image Width:250px
Static Image Caption:Flimby Rugby Club
Country:England
Official Name:Flimby
Coordinates:54.686°N -3.513°W
Population:1,707
Population Ref:(2011.Ward)[1]
Civil Parish:Maryport
Unitary England:Cumberland
Lieutenancy England:Cumbria
Region:North West England
Constituency Westminster:Whitehaven and Workington
Post Town:MARYPORT
Postcode District:CA15
Postcode Area:CA
Dial Code:01900
Os Grid Reference:NY0233
Pushpin Map:United Kingdom Allerdale
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Allerdale

Flimby is a coastal village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Maryport, in the Cumberland district, in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. It was historically in Cumberland. It is included in the Maryport South county division of Cumbria County Council. In 1951 the parish had a population of 2066.[2]

Governance

The village is in the parliamentary constituency of Workington. In the December 2019 general election, the Tory candidate for Workington, Mark Jenkinson, overturned 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.[3] Until the December 2019 general election the Labour Party had won the seat in the constituency in every general election since 1979. The Conservative Party had previously only been elected once in Workington since World War II, at the 1976 by-election.[4] Flimby historically has been a Labour-supporting area.

On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished and merged with Maryport.[5]

Geography and flooding

Flimby is located on Cumbria's coast between the towns of Maryport to the north and Workington to the south.

It is drained by streams from nearby hillsides, some of which pass under the village in culverts. These have caused period flooding.[6] However, woody debris dams, as a form of natural flood management, have been built in the Penny Gill forest by the West Cumbria Rivers Trust, as a way of storing water temporarily upstream and reducing what the culverts need to carry.[7]

Amenities

Flimby railway station on the Cumbrian Coast Line has served the village since 1846. Trains stop only by request. The village is also served by regular buses between Maryport, Workington and beyond.

The Anglican church of St Nicholas is in the Diocese of Carlisle. It holds services on the second and fourth Sundays of the month.[8] The site of the successive former Flimby Methodist churches in West Lane (built in 1862 and about 1929) is now occupied by a house.[9]

The village has a primary school with about 150 pupils.[10] [11] There is a convenience store and also a working men's social club.[12]

Flimby's amateur rugby league club, the Vikings, plays in the Iggesund Cumberland League.[13]

The shoe manufacturer New Balance has a factory on the outskirts of the village. Flimby Wind Farm opened in June 2013.[14]

Heritage

The name of the village was recorded as Flinbi in 1056 and Flemyngeby in the 12th century, and seems to come from Old Norse Flæminga bý, meaning "the village of the Flemings".

Flimby has three Grade II historic buildings listed by English Heritage. Flimby Cottage in Main Road is an early 19th-century pebble dash lodge in Gothic Revival style. Flimby Hall is a three-storey country house completed in 1766. Flimby Lodge is a mansion dating from the late 18th or early 19th century, derelict at the time it was listed in 1977.[15]

Notable people

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Maryport ward population 2011 . 17 June 2015.
  2. Web site: Population statistics Flimby Ch/CP through time . 30 December 2021 . A Vision of Britain through Time.
  3. News: Workington parliamentary constituency – Election 2019 .
  4. Web site: A vision of Britain website – general elections section . 27 April 2012.
  5. Web site: Cockermouth Registration District . 30 December 2021 . UKBMD.
  6. News: 2015-12-04 . Flooding leads to 'horrific conditions' . 2019-07-31 . en-GB.
  7. Web site: West Cumbria Rivers Trust (WCRT) . 2019-07-31 . www.westcumbriariverstrust.org.
  8. A Church Near You Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  9. My Primitive Methodist Ancestors Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  10. School site Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  11. Ofsted dashboard Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  12. News report Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  13. Club site Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  14. Engie Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  15. British Listed Buildings Retrieved 12 February 2016.