Kirkby-in-Furness is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in the Furness

Furness

Furness is a peninsula in south Cumbria, England. At its widest extent, it is considered to cover the whole of North Lonsdale, that part of the Lonsdale hundred that is an exclave of the historic county of Lancashire, lying to the north of Morecambe Bay....

 area 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...

, England

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...

. It is about 5 km south of Broughton in Furness and 8 km northwest of Ulverston

Ulverston

Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria in north-west England. Historically part of Lancashire, the town is located in the Furness area, close to the Lake District, and just north of Morecambe Bay....

. It is one of the largest villages on the peninsula's north-western coast, looking out over the Duddon

River Duddon

The Duddon is a river of north-west England. It rises at a point above sea level near the Three Shire Stone at the highest point of Wrynose Pass . The river descends to the sea over a course of about before entering the Irish Sea at the Duddon Sands. For its entire length the Duddon forms the...

 estuary and the mountains of the Lake District

Lake District

The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...

. Its borders are the biggest for a village in the UK.

Kirkby is an agglomeration

Agglomeration

In the study of human settlements, an urban agglomeration is an extended city or town area comprising the built-up area of a central place and any suburbs linked by continuous urban area. In France, INSEE the French Statistical Institute, translate it as "Unité urbaine" which means continuous...

 of six different hamlets, namely: Soutergate, Wall End, Beck Side, Sand Side, Marshside and Chapels. The name Kirkby was used by the Furness Railway

Furness Railway

The Furness Railway was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.-History:The company was established on May 23, 1844 when the Furness Railway Act was passed by Parliament...

 company during the construction of its Cumbrian Coast Line

Cumbrian Coast Line

The Cumbrian Coast Line is a rail route in North West England, running from Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness via Workington and Whitehaven. The line forms part of Network Rail route NW 4033, which continues via Ulverston and Grange-over-Sands to Carnforth, where it connects with the West Coast Main...

, and was the name they gave to the station

Kirkby-in-Furness railway station

Kirkby-in-Furness railway station serves the village of Kirkby-in-Furness in Cumbria, England. The railway station is a request stop on the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line. Some through trains to the Furness Line stop here. It is operated by Northern Rail who provide all passenger train services.The...

 which serves these hamlets. The name Kirkby is much older; the parish of Kirkby Ireleth is listed in the Domesday Book and is of Norse origin. Kirkby Ireleth is mentioned in the Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 as one of the townships forming the Manor of Hougun held by Earl Tostig.

Much of the housing and infrastructure in Kirkby arose due to the growth and development of the Burlington Slate Quarries

Burlington Slate Quarries

Burlington Slate Quarries are located near Kirkby-in-Furness in Cumbria, England. The quarries have produced a characteristic blue-grey slate for hundreds of years, with large-scale production starting in the early 19th century, when the Cavendish family organised small-scale quarrying activities...

, which are owned by the Cavendish family

House of Cavendish

Cavendish is the surname of a British noble family, also known as the House of Cavendish, descended from Sir John Cavendish of Cavendish in the county of Suffolk Cavendish is the surname of a British noble family, also known as the House of Cavendish, descended from Sir John Cavendish of Cavendish...

 of Holker Hall

Holker Hall

Holker Hall is a country house with a celebrated garden situated on the Cartmel Peninsula, which was historically part of the county of Lancashire, but is now part of the county of Cumbria....

 and Chatsworth House

Chatsworth House

Chatsworth House is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England, northeast of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield . It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.Standing on the east bank of the...

 in Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

. Houses at Marshside and Incline Foot were originally built for quarry workers, and the railway linked up to the quarries following bogie lines. Present-day Kirkby-in-Furness is now primarily a commuter village but still provides a work force for the slate and agrarian work.
The nearby Kirkby Moor

Kirkby Moor

Kirkby Moor is a poorly defined moorland area in southern Cumbria, England, named after the village of Kirkby-in-Furness, but stretching both sides of the A5092 road, and thus spanning the border of the Lake District National Park...

 rises to 334 m (1098 ft) above sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

 which features a 12 turbine wind farm.

The village has an increasingly aged population due to the rise in house prices and lack of homes suitable for first time buyers. This has led to young families leaving Kirkby, buying cheaper houses in surrounding towns and villages. As a result the intake for the local primary school has fallen dramatically in the last few years, and continues to fall. The local football team, Kirkby United, are currently playing in the Furness Premier League

Furness Premier League

The Furness Premier League is a football competition based in North West England. It is based in Furness, a peninsula in southern Cumbria and the surrounding area and was founded in the 1970s.-Format:...

.