Greenodd | |
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The River Crake running past Greenodd |
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Greenodd shown within Cumbria | |
OS grid reference | SD313825 |
Civil parish | |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | ULVERSTON |
Postcode district | LA12 |
Dialling code | 01229 |
Police | Cumbria |
Fire | Cumbria |
Ambulance | North West |
EU Parliament | North West England |
UK Parliament | |
Greenodd is a village in the Furness area of the county of Cumbria but within the historical county of Lancashire. For local government purposes the village is also within the area of South Lakeland District. It is located 3 miles (5 km) north-east of Ulverston at the junction of the A590 trunk road and the A5092 trunk road. The village is just outside the boundary of the Lake District National Park at 54°14′N 3°3′W / 54.233°N 3.050°W (OS grid ref. SD 315825). Greenodd is within the Crake Valley area of South Lakeland District. The 2001 UK census gives a population of 1823 for the Crake Valley. Greenodd and adjacent Penny Bridge are the main districts in the Crake Valley. The River Crake flows into the estuary of the River Leven at Greenodd.
The name Greenodd is of Scandinavian origin, the odd meaning ness (headland) in this case (the name translates literally as 'The Green Promontory'). Swedish Eilert Ekwall speculated that the name was not an old one, as 'odd' remained part of the Lancashire dialect until at least the early 20th century. In the late-18th and early-19th centuries Greenodd was a significant port; a creek-port of Lancaster. Exports included copper ore from Coniston, locally-quarried limestone, and gunpowder from the nearby settlement of Backbarrow. Sugar, raw cotton and coal are listed in historical documents as some of the imports. Greenodd was also a shipbuilding centre with vessels up to 200 tons being constructed. On the darker side it is likely that Greenodd was involved in the North American slave trade. Today there are no signs of the former commercial activities. The Ship Inn, previously a warehouse on the quayside, is one of the few reminders of Greenodd's illustrious past.