Wigton
Coordinates: 54°49′23″N 3°09′32″W / 54.823°N 3.159°W
| Wigton | |
 St. Mary's Church |
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 Wigton
Wigton shown within Cumbria |
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| Population | 5,360 (2001) |
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| OS grid reference | NY255481 |
| Civil parish | Wigton |
| District | Allerdale |
| Shire county | Cumbria |
| Region | North West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WIGTON |
| Postcode district | CA7 |
| Dialling code | 016973 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | Penrith and The Border |
| List of places: UK • England • Cumbria | |
Wigton is a small market town and civil parish outside the Lake District, in the administrative county of Cumbria in England, and traditionally in Cumberland. It is the bustling and thriving centre of the Solway Plain, situated between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast. It is served by Wigton railway station on the Cumbrian Coast Line, and the A596 road to Workington and (via the A595 road) to Carlisle.
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[edit] History
On the Wiza and Wampool becks (dialect word meaning "brook" or "stream" - from the Old Norse bekkr), the Market town of Wigton is an ancient settlement and evolved from a pre-medieval street plan, which can still be traced today.
The Romans had a cavalry station, Maglona, known locally as "Old Carlisle", just to the south of the town with a large Vicus (civilian settlement) associated with it. Wigton was in existence by 1100AD[citation needed] when it became a Norman barony gaining its market charter in 1262[citation needed] Although the town's layout is generally medieval, its architectural style is Georgian which remains largely intact.
In the middle of Wigton's market place is the George Moore Memorial Fountain built in 1872, of particular interest are the four bronzes around the fountain, the work of the Pre-Raphaelite sculptor Thomas Woolner. These depict the "four acts of mercy". St. Mary's Church dates from 1788, but there was a church on this site from the 12th century.[citation needed]
A private secondary school, the Wigton School (also called the Friends' School or Brookfield) was founded to the north of the town in 1815 with an initial enrollment of eight pupils. After reaching a maximum enrollment of 250 or so in the 1970s and 1980s, the school closed, following sustained drop-off in student numbers and, finally, damage by fire.[1]
The appearance of the church owes much to the vision of Rev. John Ford (father of the broadcaster Anna Ford) in the 1950s when he had gravestones laid flat and the interior painted in the present colours. A novelty not to be missed is Highmoor Bell tower - built during the Industrial revolution and completed in 1887 - it played tunes three times daily.
[edit] Geography
Wigton today is a thriving market town, with livestock auctions being held regularly at Hopes Auction Company. The main employer is Innovia Films.
The town has its own secondary school, called The Nelson Thomlinson School, which is a well-performing comprehensive with close links to the Innovia factory.
In 2004 the town was the first settlement in the United Kingdom to enforce a curfew on teenagers under the age of 16[citation needed] It was in place for two weeks, and its aim was to reduce the amount of vandalism in the town centre. It followed nightly vandalism campaigns, which included smashed shop fronts, as well as intimidation of elderly members of the community. The curfew attracted national attention, with the local secondary school receiving visits from agencies such as Sky News. It had some effect, with less vandalism taking place ever since.
[edit] Industry
Wigton's principal employer is the Innovia Factory (locally known as The Factory), in the centre of the town.
In 1936 the British New Wrap Co Ltd was formed in Wigton, Cumbria and production of cellulose film began at the site which had previously been a jam-making facility, and then set up to produce "artificial silk" or Rayon. In 1936 the company changed its name to British Rayophane Ltd.
The company's main products are:
- Labels & Graphics
- Cellophane and Propafilm - bubble-produced BOPP film
- Substrates for plastic banknotes - currently used for all Australian, New Zealand, Romanian and Vietnamese currencies
- Plastic labels - replacing paper labels due to their resistance to tearing, scuffing and water damage. Clear labels are especially popular as they give the 'upmarket' appearance of graphics printed directly onto a bottle or container
- UV-resistant films - for promotional and POS/POP graphics
[edit] Notable people
- Sir William Henry Bragg, physicist and chemist, 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics, born in Westward, near Wigton, in 1862.
- Melvyn Bragg, writer and broadcaster was born and lived his early life in the town and, when raised to the peerage, took Lord Bragg of Wigton as his title
- Charles Dickens, visited the town, and it was subsequently mentioned in The Two Idle Apprentices
- Anna Ford, broadcaster, was brought up in Wigton
- Thomas Holliday, one of a handful of Dual-code rugby internationals
- Robert Smirke, artist, born in Wigton
[edit] Gallery
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Wigton Monument
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Donaldson House
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Wigton Cemetery
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Campylite specimen from Caldbeck Fells
[edit] References
- ^ "The Friends’ School, Wigton (Brookfield)". Wigton Old Scholars Association. http://www.btinternet.com/~bullseye/wosa/The_School/the_school.html. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
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