Blitterlees
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Blitterlees | |
|---|---|
 Moordale Caravan park in Blitterlees. The road in the foreground is the B5300 coast road. | |
| OS grid reference | NY109523 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county |
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| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SILLOTH |
| Postcode district | CA7 |
| Dialling code | 016973 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
Blitterlees is a hamlet in the parish of Holme Low, one mile south of Silloth in Cumbria, England. The hamlet of Wolsty is located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south as the crow flies, or 2.25 miles (3.62 km) by road, and Cumbria's county town, Carlisle, is located 23 miles (37 km) to the east. The B5300, known locally as the "coast road",[1] runs through the village on its way to Beckfoot, Mawbray, Allonby, and ultimately Maryport.
The name "Blitterlees" comes from the Old English blaecфorn-læs, meaning a blackthorn pasture. Previous variant spellings include Bletterliese, Bletherleese, and Bladderlies.[2]
During the Roman period, the coast around present-day Blitterlees was fortified, as a series of milefortlets were built along the Solway plain, extending beyond the western end of Hadrian's Wall. The closest milefortlet to the settlement was milefortlet 12, which was originally constructed of earth and timber.[3]
In the 19th century, the name was spelled Blitter Lees, with a space between the two words. It was described as containing several farmhouses and being located three-quarters of a mile away from Silloth railway station.[4] The station was the terminus of the Carlisle and Silloth Bay railway, a single-track line which opened in 1856 and closed with the Beeching Axe in 1965.[5] Within Holme Low, the parish which contains Blitterlees, there was a single station on the line, Blackdyke Halt, in the hamlet of Blackdyke, a mile-and-a-half to the east.
