Crofton, Cumbria

For other places with the same name, see Crofton.

Crofton
Archway at the entrance to drive up to the site of Crofton Hall
Crofton Location within Cumbria
OS grid reference	NY305505
• London	261 miles (420 km) SSE
Civil parish	Thursby
District	Allerdale
Shire county	Cumbria
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CARLISLE
Postcode district	CA5
Dialling code	016973
Police	Cumbria
Fire	Cumbria
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Workington

Crofton is an area of Thursby, Allerdale district of Cumbria, England. It is 6.4 miles (10.3 km) west-southwest of Carlisle.

Historically a part of Cumberland, Crofton was one of three small townships in the centre of the former Parish of Thursby. It was originally called Croft-town, derived from the word Croft, as the town standing upon the Crofts. [1]

Notable landmarks were Crofton Place, the seat of Sir Wastel Brisco, Bart. It also became a surname to John Crofton. Although Crofton Hall was demolished in approximately 1955–1956, some of the estate buildings remain, and the gateway and pond are notable remnants.

Crofton Estate was taken over by the Land Settlement Association a government initiative to get poorer people involved in agriculture and horticultural production. The LSA estate was composed of Bank End, East Park, West Park, Shaw Wood and Whinnow Land Settlement Small Holdings. The LSA was disbanded in 1974 and some small holders were left destitute, others continued to farm the land as private owners. The LSA small holders were from a variety of backgrounds and places, Irish, Polish, Scottish, Cumbrian and other parts of England.

The stables of the Brisco estate house were used as the LSA headquarters. The lake has recently been reinstated after decades of neglect.

Gallery

• 
  Surviving farm building near site of Crofton Hall
• 
  Lake near the site of Crofton hall

See also

• Listed buildings in Thursby

External links

Media related to Crofton, Cumbria at Wikimedia Commons

• Thursby, GENUKI article.