Silverdale, Lancashire
Encyclopedia
Silverdale is a village and civil parish
within the City of Lancaster
in Lancashire
, England
. The village stands on Morecambe Bay
, near the border with Cumbria
, 4.5 miles (7 km) north west of Carnforth
and 8.5 miles (14 km) north of Lancaster
. The parish had a population of 1,545 recorded in the 2001 census
.
Silverdale forms part of the Arnside and Silverdale
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
. The RSPB's Leighton Moss
nature reserve is close to the village. The National Trust
owns several pieces of land in the area. The Lancashire Coastal Way
footpath goes from Silverdale to Freckleton
, and the Cumbria Coastal Way
goes from Silverdale to Gretna.
It is served by nearby Silverdale railway station
on the line from Lancaster
to Barrow in Furness.
The Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell
(1810–1865) regularly holidayed in Silverdale and is said to have written some of her works in Lindeth Tower in the village; the Gaskell Memorial Hall in the centre of the village is named after her. The English poet Gordon Bottomley
(1874–1948) lived in Silverdale in later life.
, Kendal
, Grange-over-Sands
Nearby villages: Arnside
, Warton
, Yealand Conyers
, Yealand Redmayne
, Yealand Storrs
of the City of Lancaster
. On Lancaster City Council the Silverdale ward
is represented by one Conservative
councillor, elected for a four-year term in May 2011
. It is in the non-metropolitan county
of Lancashire
. On Lancashire County Council
it forms part of Lancaster Rural North electoral division, and is represented by one Conservative councillor elected for a four-year term in May 2009. Silverdale also has a parish council, the lowest level of local government.
Silverdale is in the UK Parliamentary Constituency of Morecambe and Lunesdale, represented since 2010 by David Morris (Conservative) . It is in the European Parliamentary Constituency of North West England
, represented by four Conservative, three Labour
, one Liberal Democrat
and one UKIP
MEPs
.
and another production each year, and the Silverdale Handbell
Ringers (founded 1906, and formally the Silverdale Church Handbell Ringers) entertain at Christmas. The village has a Women's Institute, affiliated to the "Cumbria-Westmorland" Federation of Women's Institutes although Silverdale was not in Westmorland.
report. There is no secondary school in the village.
Bleasdale House School is a day and residential special school for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties, with 20 pupils aged 2–19.. It was graded "Outstanding" in its 2009 Ofsted
report.
The village also has a small part-time branch library, open 10 hours/week.
parish church
of St John is a Grade 2* listed building, built in 1885-86. The Methodist
church was also built in the 19th century. Silverdale is within the Anglican Diocese of Blackburn
, the Catholic Diocese of Lancaster and the Lancaster Methodist Circuit
.
club and cricket
team. Silverdale golf club, located near the railway station to the east of the village centre, was founded on 10 November 1906 and play started on 6 April 1907. Its original 9 hole course was extended to 12 holes in 1992 and to 18 holes in 2002.
at its Silverdale Holiday Centre, which is to the north of the village centre overlooking Morecambe Bay. (The centre is actually across the county boundary so in Far Arnside
, Cumbria
, though very strongly associated with Silverdale). About 275 children each year are brought for a free five day holiday, sometimes having never left Leeds before and seeing cows in fields for the first time. During their stay they participate in a range of outdoor and indoor activities. The Association is a registered charity, and each year's Lady Mayoress of Leeds serves as its President. In 2008 Matthew Lewis, the Leeds-born actor best known as Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter
films, became its patron. It is supported by donations from individuals and organisations in Leeds and Silverdale and elsewhere.
The history of the Holiday Camp has been described in the book Now I am a swimmer.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
within the City of Lancaster
City of Lancaster
The City of Lancaster , is a local government district of Lancashire, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Lancaster, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Morecambe, Heysham, and Carnforth, as well as...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, 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...
. The village stands on Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay is a large bay in northwest England, nearly due east of the Isle of Man and just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of 310 km².-Natural features:The rivers Leven,...
, near the border with 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...
, 4.5 miles (7 km) north west of Carnforth
Carnforth
- References :...
and 8.5 miles (14 km) north of Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
. The parish had a population of 1,545 recorded in the 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
.
Silverdale forms part of the Arnside and Silverdale
Arnside and Silverdale AONB
Arnside and Silverdale is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England, on the border between Lancashire and Cumbria, adjoining Morecambe Bay. One of the smallest AONBs, It covers 29 square miles between the Kent Estuary, the River Keer and the A6 road...
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
. The RSPB's Leighton Moss
RSPB Leighton Moss
Leighton Moss RSPB reserve is a nature reserve in Lancashire, England, in the care of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. It is situated at Silverdale near Carnforth, on the edge of Morecambe Bay and in the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
nature reserve is close to the village. The National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
owns several pieces of land in the area. The Lancashire Coastal Way
Lancashire Coastal Way
The Lancashire Coastal Way is a long-distance footpath following the coast of the county of Lancashire in the north west of England. Its end points are Silverdale in the north and Freckleton in the south...
footpath goes from Silverdale to Freckleton
Freckleton
Freckleton is a village and civil parish on the Fylde coast in Lancashire, England, to the south of Kirkham and east of the seaside resort of Lytham St. Annes. It has a population of 6,045.Freckleton is near to Warton, with its links to BAE Systems...
, and the Cumbria Coastal Way
Cumbria Coastal Way
The Cumbria Coastal Way is a long distance footpath allowing users to travel from Cumbria's southern border to just north of the English - Scottish border. It follows some interesting scenery such as the red sandstone cliffs of St...
goes from Silverdale to Gretna.
It is served by nearby Silverdale railway station
Silverdale railway station
Silverdale railway station is a railway station that serves the village of Silverdale in Lancashire.It is located on the Furness Line from Barrow-in-Furness to Lancaster....
on the line from Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
to Barrow in Furness.
The Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
(1810–1865) regularly holidayed in Silverdale and is said to have written some of her works in Lindeth Tower in the village; the Gaskell Memorial Hall in the centre of the village is named after her. The English poet Gordon Bottomley
Gordon Bottomley
Gordon Bottomley was an English poet, known particularly for his verse dramas. He was partly disabled by tubercular illness. His main influences were the later Victorian Romantic poets, the Pre-Raphaelites and William Morris.- Background :...
(1874–1948) lived in Silverdale in later life.
Geography and administration
Nearby towns and cities: Lancaster, CarnforthCarnforth
- References :...
, Kendal
Kendal
Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
, Grange-over-Sands
Grange-over-Sands
Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parish by the sea – with a wide tidal range, hence the "sands" name – in Cumbria, England. Historically, Grange-over-Sands was part of the County of Lancashire until 1974, when Cumbria was created under Local Government re-organisation which absorbed the area...
Nearby villages: Arnside
Arnside
Arnside is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England. It faces the estuary of the River Kent on the north eastern corner of Morecambe Bay, within the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
, Warton
Warton, Lancaster
Warton is a village and civil parish in north Lancashire in the north-west of England, close to the boundary with Cumbria, with a population of around 2,000. It is a village steeped in history; its earliest recording as a settlement is made in Domesday Book written in 1086. The nearest town to...
, Yealand Conyers
Yealand Conyers
Yealand Conyers is a village and civil parish in the English county of Lancashire. It is in the City of Lancaster district.-Community:The community is included in the same district as Yealand Redmayne and is south of Beetham.-Geography:...
, Yealand Redmayne
Yealand Redmayne
Yealand Redmayne is a village and civil parish in the English county of Lancashire. It is in the City of Lancaster district.-Community:The civil parish also includes Slack Head near Beetham and is north of its neighbouring village, Yealand Conyers...
, Yealand Storrs
Yealand Storrs
-Geography:Yealand Storrs is north of Lancaster near the border with Cumbria, it is in the civil parish of Yealand Redmayne, in the City of Lancaster district....
Governance
Silverdale is in the non-metropolitan districtNon-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
of the City of Lancaster
City of Lancaster
The City of Lancaster , is a local government district of Lancashire, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Lancaster, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Morecambe, Heysham, and Carnforth, as well as...
. On Lancaster City Council the Silverdale ward
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
is represented by one Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
councillor, elected for a four-year term in May 2011
United Kingdom local elections, 2011
The 2011 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 5 May 2011. In England, direct elections were held in all 36 Metropolitan boroughs, 194 Second-tier district authorities, 49 unitary authorities and various mayoral posts, meaning local elections took place in all parts of England with...
. It is in the non-metropolitan county
Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England
Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of subdivisions of England used for the purposes of local government outside Greater London. As originally constituted, the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties each consisted of multiple districts, had a county council and...
of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. On Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It currently consists of 84 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, who won control of the council in the local council elections in June 2009, ending 28 years of...
it forms part of Lancaster Rural North electoral division, and is represented by one Conservative councillor elected for a four-year term in May 2009. Silverdale also has a parish council, the lowest level of local government.
Silverdale is in the UK Parliamentary Constituency of Morecambe and Lunesdale, represented since 2010 by David Morris (Conservative) . It is in the European Parliamentary Constituency of North West England
North West England (European Parliament constituency)
North West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For the 2009 elections it elects 8 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.-Boundaries:...
, represented by four Conservative, three Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, one Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
and one UKIP
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
MEPs
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
.
Culture and community
The Gaskell Memorial Hall in the centre of the village hosts a wide range of activities and events. The Silverdale Village Players perform an annual PantomimePantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
and another production each year, and the Silverdale Handbell
Handbell
A handbell is a bell designed to be rung by hand. To ring a handbell, a ringer grasps the bell by its slightly flexible handle — traditionally made of leather, but often now made of plastic — and moves the wrist to make the hinged clapper inside the bell strike...
Ringers (founded 1906, and formally the Silverdale Church Handbell Ringers) entertain at Christmas. The village has a Women's Institute, affiliated to the "Cumbria-Westmorland" Federation of Women's Institutes although Silverdale was not in Westmorland.
Education
Silverdale Primary School (full name "Silverdale St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School") is housed in a Victorian building with more recent extensions, and has around 100 pupils. It was graded "Good" in its 2006 OfstedOfsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
report. There is no secondary school in the village.
Bleasdale House School is a day and residential special school for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties, with 20 pupils aged 2–19.. It was graded "Outstanding" in its 2009 Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
report.
The village also has a small part-time branch library, open 10 hours/week.
Religious buildings
The anglicanAnglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of St John is a Grade 2* listed building, built in 1885-86. The Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
church was also built in the 19th century. Silverdale is within the Anglican Diocese of Blackburn
Diocese of Blackburn
The Diocese of Blackburn is a Church of England diocese, covering much of Lancashire, created in 1926 from part of the Diocese of Manchester. The Diocese includes the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, and the cities of Lancaster, and Preston, as well as a large part of the Ribble Valley...
, the Catholic Diocese of Lancaster and the Lancaster Methodist Circuit
Methodist Circuit
The Methodist Circuit is part of the organisational structure of British Methodism,or at least those branches derived from the work of John Wesley. It is a group of individual Societies or local Churches under the care of one or more Methodist Ministers. In the scale of organisation, the Circuit...
.
Sport
The village has a bowlsBowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
club and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
team. Silverdale golf club, located near the railway station to the east of the village centre, was founded on 10 November 1906 and play started on 6 April 1907. Its original 9 hole course was extended to 12 holes in 1992 and to 18 holes in 2002.
Leeds Children's Holiday Camp Association
The Leeds Children's Holiday Camp Association (LCHCA, formerly the Leeds Poor Children's Holiday Camp Association) has since 1904 provided holidays for needy children from LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
at its Silverdale Holiday Centre, which is to the north of the village centre overlooking Morecambe Bay. (The centre is actually across the county boundary so in Far Arnside
Far Arnside
Far Arnside is a hamlet in the South Lakeland district, in the county of Cumbria, England.- Location :It is located near the large villages of Arnside and Silverdale. It is about half a mile away from the Cumbria/Lancashire boundary....
, 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...
, though very strongly associated with Silverdale). About 275 children each year are brought for a free five day holiday, sometimes having never left Leeds before and seeing cows in fields for the first time. During their stay they participate in a range of outdoor and indoor activities. The Association is a registered charity, and each year's Lady Mayoress of Leeds serves as its President. In 2008 Matthew Lewis, the Leeds-born actor best known as Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
films, became its patron. It is supported by donations from individuals and organisations in Leeds and Silverdale and elsewhere.
The history of the Holiday Camp has been described in the book Now I am a swimmer.
Silverdale in popular culture
(This novel is set partly in Silverdale in the 1920s, with particular reference to the Leeds Children's Holiday Camp.)External links
- Silverdale Parish Council
- Silverdale, GENUKIGENUKIGENUKI is a genealogy web portal, run as a charitable trust. Its aim is "to serve as a "virtual reference library" of genealogical information that is of particular relevance to the UK & Ireland"...
article with historical and genealogical resources. - Leeds Children's Holiday Camp Association
- The Gaskell Memorial Hall