Lorton, Cumbria: Difference between revisions

|static_image_name= The Parish Church of St Cuthbert, Lorton - geograph.org.uk - 558093.jpg▼

==Etymology==▼

Of the word 'Lorton', " the 2nd el[ement] is clearly OE 'tūn' 'farmstead, village'. The 1st is enigmatic, but Ekwall's suggestion in 'DEPN'<ref>{{cite book|last=Ekwall|first=Eilert|title=The concise Oxford dictionary of English place-names|edition=4th|location=Oxford|publisher=Clarendon|year=1960}}</ref> of a river name ON 'Hlóra' 'roaring', paralleled in the Norw[ergian] 'Lora', is attractive. "<ref name="Whaley">{{Cite book|last=Whaley|first=Diana|title=A dictionary of Lake District place-names|location=Nottingham|publisher=English Place-Name Society|year=2006|pages=lx,423 p.221|ISBN=0904889726}}</ref> The roaring could refer either to the Whit Beck or the [[River Cocker, Cumbria|River Cocker]]. (OE=[[Old English]]; ON=[[Old Norse]]).▼

In 1811, Lorton was at the peak of prosperity and population due to high demand on agricultural products as England was recovering from the [[Napoleonic Wars]] (1803–1815).<ref name="Lorton as it was 200 years ago">{{cite web|url=http://www.derwentfells.com/pdfs/Lorton200yearsagoslides.pdf |title=Lorton as it was 200 years ago |year=2011 |accessdate=30 April 2012}}</ref> The majority of residents were employed in agricultural sector across the 6 farms that were present, including a 17th-century farm called "New House". The farms used to be powered by the fast flowing tributaries of the river Cocker which runs through the whole length of the valley. Furthermore, most of houses and cottages in Lorton started off as barns and mills.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.midtowncottages.co.uk/lorton/index.html|title=A brief history of Lorton Village|accessdate=1 May 2012|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115190729/http://www.midtowncottages.co.uk/lorton/index.html|archivedate=15 January 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> St. Cuthbert's records indicate a post-war depression from 1816–1830 as the population decreased by around 50 people and the number of marriages also decreased form 65 to 43.<ref name="Lorton as it was 200 years ago"/>▼

[[Jennings Brewery]] also originates from Lorton. It was set up in 1828 by John Jennings and brewed in Lorton exclusively until 1874.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jenningsbrewery.co.uk/history/|title=Jennings Brewery History|accessdate=1 May 2012}}</ref>▼

Lorton Park is a Grade II Listed Regency House; in the 19th century by Richard Harbord, a Liverpool shipping magnate who is buried in the parish church.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lorton Park, Lorton, Cumbria|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-72675-lorton-park-lorton-cumbria|publisher=British Listed Buildings}}</ref> In 1863, Prince Arthur visited Lorton Park and planted a commemorative chestnut tree in the gardens.<ref>Lorton Park http://webdata.carterjonas.co.uk/assets/CJ/sales/pdf/KEN080051.PDF{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>▼

==Historical Mentions==▼

Lorton was first mentioned in the ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' (1870–72) by John Marius Wilson, who described Lorton as "a village, a township, and a parish in Cockermouth district, Cumberland".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/gaztext_page.jsp?u_id=10066499&c_id=10001043|title=A Vision of Britain Through Time (Historical Descriptions)|accessdate=30 April 2012}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Wilson also gave some early key statistics such as the value of real property (£3,288), headcount (456) and area (5,264 acres). Lorton was also mentioned some 15 years later in the ''Gazetteer of the British Isles'' (1887) by John Bartholomew. Bartholomew also recorded some statistics for the village from which some changes were made apparent – population decreased by 59 to 397 and the area increased by 54 acres to 5318 acres. Furthermore, [[William Wordsworth]], the famous poet born in [[Cockermouth]], immortalised the Lorton Yew Tree in his poem "Yew Trees" in 1804. The tree is calculated to be at least 1000 years old but was severely damaged by a storm shortly after the poem was written.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitcumbria.com/cm/lorton-yew-trees.htm |title=Lorton Yew Trees |accessdate=30 April 2012}}</ref>▼