Cleator Moor
Encyclopedia
Cleator Moor is a small town and civil parish
in the English
county
of Cumbria
and within the boundaries of the traditional county of Cumberland
.
The town's skyline is dominated by Dent Fell
and the town is located on the 190 miles (305.8 km) Coast to Coast Walk
that spans the North of England. On the outskirts of the town of Cleator Moor lies the village of Cleator
with which the town is closely associated; though Cleator has a separate post code (CA23).
The influx of Irish
workers gave the town the nickname Little Ireland. World War I
and World War II
saw a fresh influx of immigrants from mainland Europe join the settled Irish community. This has since caused occasional conflict between Catholic and Protestant residents of the town.
In 1938, Jakob Spreiregen founded the company Kangol
in Cleator, situated across the road from St Mary's Church. The original factory building still stands but Kangol is now empty, after the company ended its association with the town in 2009.
With the decline of traditional industries and the resulting high rate of unemployment, the town's economy is now dependent on the nearby Sellafield
complex, which provides jobs to around half the town's people.
, and Cleator Moor West on the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway
; but both stations closed in 1931.
Bus service 22 links Cleator Moor to Whitehaven
and Egremont
. Bus services 31 and 31A also pass through the town..
and attacked "Anti-Popery" campaigner William Murphy, pushing him down the stairs of the Oddfellows
Hall. The following year Murphy died, possibly as a result of his injuries. On 12 July 1884 the combined Orange Lodges of Cumberland
, marched through the town of Cleator Moor to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne
, leading to riots and the death of local postal messenger Henry Tumelty, a 17-year-old Catholic
, with others listed as having received injuries from bullets, cutlasses and pikes. Local Catholics later took revenge on members of the Orange Order living in the town.
designed Catholic church of St Mary's was consecrated in 1872, replacing the earlier mission church built in 1853. The grounds are home to a meditative walk on the Stations of the Cross
and Our Lady's Grotto, a replica of the Grotto
at Lourdes
, France
.
, in order to make way for the West Lakes Academy, which is initially using the Wyndham School buildings until a new academy building is constructed.
team Wath Brow Hornets won the GMB Union National cup in 2004 and 2005. Local association football team Cleator Moor Celtic F.C.
won the County Cup in 1999: the team has supplied players to Sheffield Wednesday FC, Blackpool FC, Ipswich Town FC and Carlisle United FC. England and former Liverpool FC goalkeeper Scott Carson
, who currently plays for West Brom, was once a member of the team.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
and within the boundaries of the traditional county of Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
.
The town's skyline is dominated by Dent Fell
Dent (fell)
Dent is a small fell on the fringe of the English Lake District near the towns of Cleator Moor and Egremont. Sometimes known as Long Barrow, it is traditionally the first fell encountered by hikers following Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk...
and the town is located on the 190 miles (305.8 km) Coast to Coast Walk
Coast to Coast Walk
The Coast to Coast Walk is a 192-mile unofficial and mostly unsignposted long distance footpath in Northern England...
that spans the North of England. On the outskirts of the town of Cleator Moor lies the village of Cleator
Cleator
Cleator is a village in the English county of Cumbria and within the boundaries of the traditional county of Cumberland.Cleator is 1½ miles south of the town of Cleator Moor on the A5086 road. Cleator was the original village, Cleator Moor being the moor above the village. It is the site of the...
with which the town is closely associated; though Cleator has a separate post code (CA23).
Industry
Historically located within Cumberland, the town was based around the iron works industry and was served in this capacity by the Cleator & Workington junction railway. The town had several iron ore mines. Some parts of the town have been demolished due to undermining in the area, most notably the original Montreal Primary School and the whole of Montreal Street on which it stood.The influx of Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
workers gave the town the nickname Little Ireland. World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
saw a fresh influx of immigrants from mainland Europe join the settled Irish community. This has since caused occasional conflict between Catholic and Protestant residents of the town.
In 1938, Jakob Spreiregen founded the company Kangol
Kangol
Kangol is a British clothing company famous for its headwear.Founded in Cleator, Cumbria, England in 1938 by Jaques Spreiregen, Kangol produced hats for workers, golfers, and especially soldiers...
in Cleator, situated across the road from St Mary's Church. The original factory building still stands but Kangol is now empty, after the company ended its association with the town in 2009.
With the decline of traditional industries and the resulting high rate of unemployment, the town's economy is now dependent on the nearby Sellafield
Sellafield
Sellafield is a nuclear reprocessing site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. The site is served by Sellafield railway station. Sellafield is an off-shoot from the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale which is currently undergoing...
complex, which provides jobs to around half the town's people.
Transport
Cleator Moor formerly had two railway stations: Cleator Moor East on the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont RailwayWhitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway
The Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway was a standard gauge railway in Cumberland, England. It opened for goods traffic in 1855 and for passenger traffic in 1857.- Route :...
, and Cleator Moor West on the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway
Cleator and Workington Junction Railway
The Cleator & Workington Junction Railway was located in West Cumberland in Northern England, serving the towns of Cleator Moor and Workington and intermediate villages...
; but both stations closed in 1931.
Bus service 22 links Cleator Moor to Whitehaven
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
and Egremont
Egremont, Cumbria
Egremont is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria, England, south of Whitehaven and on the River Ehen. The town, which lies at the foot of Uldale Valley and Dent Fell, was historically within Cumberland and has a long industrial heritage including dyeing, weaving and...
. Bus services 31 and 31A also pass through the town..
Sectarian troubles (19th century)
Following the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s and the rise of the Orange Order, Cleator Moor found itself for a short period at the centre of sectarian troubles. In April 1871 several hundred Cleator Moor miners entered neighbouring WhitehavenWhitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
and attacked "Anti-Popery" campaigner William Murphy, pushing him down the stairs of the Oddfellows
Oddfellows
The name Oddfellows refers to a number of friendly societies and fraternal organisations operating in the United Kingdom. It also refers to a number of Lodges with histories dating back to the 18th century. These various organisations were set up to protect and care for their members and...
Hall. The following year Murphy died, possibly as a result of his injuries. On 12 July 1884 the combined Orange Lodges of Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, marched through the town of Cleator Moor to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne
Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scottish and Irish thronesthe Catholic King James and the Protestant King William across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland...
, leading to riots and the death of local postal messenger Henry Tumelty, a 17-year-old Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, with others listed as having received injuries from bullets, cutlasses and pikes. Local Catholics later took revenge on members of the Orange Order living in the town.
Church
The E. W. PuginE. W. Pugin
Edward Welby Pugin was the eldest son of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and Louisa Barton. His father, A. W. N. Pugin, was a famous architect and designer of Neo-Gothic architecture, and after his death in 1852 Edward took up his successful practice...
designed Catholic church of St Mary's was consecrated in 1872, replacing the earlier mission church built in 1853. The grounds are home to a meditative walk on the Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
and Our Lady's Grotto, a replica of the Grotto
Grotto
A grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...
at Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Education
The town's secondary school, Ehenside School, closed in August 2008 after being open for 50 years, along with Wyndham SchoolWyndham school
Wyndham School was a Comprehensive School in the town of Egremont, Cumbria, England. The school was built and opened in the 1960s.- 2008 closing :...
, in order to make way for the West Lakes Academy, which is initially using the Wyndham School buildings until a new academy building is constructed.
Sport
Local amateur rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
team Wath Brow Hornets won the GMB Union National cup in 2004 and 2005. Local association football team Cleator Moor Celtic F.C.
Cleator Moor Celtic F.C.
Cleator Moor Celtic Football Club is an English football team founded in 1908–09. The club was founded by Irish immigrants employed in the local iron ore mines and is ideally situated in the centre of Cleator Moor...
won the County Cup in 1999: the team has supplied players to Sheffield Wednesday FC, Blackpool FC, Ipswich Town FC and Carlisle United FC. England and former Liverpool FC goalkeeper Scott Carson
Scott Carson
Scott Paul Carson is an English footballer who plays for Bursaspor as a goalkeeper.He joined the Leeds United football academy in 2002, making his full first team debut for Leeds against Manchester United in February 2004...
, who currently plays for West Brom, was once a member of the team.
Notable people
- Joan Rodgers, international soprano, was born and raised in Cleator Moor.
- Artist L. S. LowryL. S. LowryLaurence Stephen Lowry was an English artist born in Barrett Street, Stretford, Lancashire. Many of his drawings and paintings depict nearby Salford and surrounding areas, including Pendlebury, where he lived and worked for over 40 years at 117 Station Road , opposite St...
regularly visited Cleator Moor and Cleator during the 1950s and painted local scenes. - Andrew BeltonAndrew Belton (Kaid)Andrew Belton was a British Army officer and veteran of campaigns in South Africa and Morocco. He was an early exponent of the use of aircraft for military purposes, enrolling at the Chicago School of Aviation in April, 1911...
the military adventurer, was born in Cleator Moor in 1882. - David GaffneyDavid GaffneyDavid Gaffney is an English writer. His best known books are the critically acclaimed novel Never Never and two books of a collection of short stories, Sawn Off Tales and Aromabingo...
, author of Never NeverNever NeverNever Never may refer to* Never Never , a colloquial term used to describe the Australian outback* NeverNever, a fantasy webcomic by John "The Gneech" Robey* "Never Never" , the only single released by The Assembly... - Scott CarsonScott CarsonScott Paul Carson is an English footballer who plays for Bursaspor as a goalkeeper.He joined the Leeds United football academy in 2002, making his full first team debut for Leeds against Manchester United in February 2004...
goalkeeper for West Bromwich Albion and played for local team Cleator Moor Celtic.
External links
- Cleator Moor visitor Information
- Cleator visitor Information
- History of Cleator Moor
- CleatorMoor.com
- St Mary's Church
- Guide to Coast to Coast Route
- Wath Brow Hornets
- Irish Diaspora in the UK
- The Irish in Victorian Cumbria
- Account of Orange riot of 1884
- Court charges following Orange riot of 1884
- Kangol website
- Cleator Moor Celtic Amateur Football Club
- Profile of Scott Carson