Milnthorpe | |
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Dallam Tower Deer Park |
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Milnthorpe shown within Cumbria | |
Population | 2,199 (2011 Census) |
OS grid reference | SD496815 |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | MILNTHORPE |
Postcode district | LA7 |
Dialling code | 015395 |
Police | Cumbria |
Fire | Cumbria |
Ambulance | North West |
EU Parliament | North West England |
UK Parliament | |
Milnthorpe is a large village and electoral ward within the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Westmorland and straddling the A6 road, the town contains several old hostelries and hosts a market in The Square every Friday. The parish and ward of Milnthorpe had a population of 2,106 recorded in the 2001 census, increasing to 2,199 at the 2011 Census.
Milnthorpe is the site of the 19th century Church of St Thomas, which overlooks The Green and The Square. Prior to its construction Milnthorpe was in the parish of Heversham.
Milnthorpe became a centre of business and activity because it was originally a port, using the River Bela and estuary (now only navigable to Arnside), and it remains a significant commercial centre for the area.
Local industry includes Duralon Combs, a 300-year-old comb making family business. Also Big Fish Internet Ltd, Britain's very first website design agency, founded in early 1996. Tourism and hospitality have always thrived (being a convenient stop off point on the A6 for coaches and cars en route to the Lake District. Just to the north is Levens Hall, famed for its topiary). The village used to be a major traffic bottleneck before the opening of the M6 motorway in 1970, and the A590/A591 Kendal link road a few years later.