Aikton

Aikton is a small village in the north of the English county of Cumbria. The nearest town is Wigton 3 miles away, and the nearest city is Carlisle at 8 miles. Aikton is located 5 1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) south of the Scottish border, in the centre of the Channel of the River Eden.[2] It is in the historic county of Cumberland.

Aikton

The Rectory, Aikton
Aikton
Location within Cumbria
Area2.86 sq mi (7.4 km2)
Population467 (2011)[1]
• Density163/sq mi (63/km2)
OS grid referenceNY273534
Civil parish
  • Aikton
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWIGTON
Postcode districtCA7
Dialling code016973
PoliceCumbria
FireCumbria
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
WebsiteOfficial website
St. Andrew's, Aikton

There is a pub, phonebox and postbox; but no shops. The local church, St Andrew's, is over 900 years old, and is one of the oldest in the region. Pevsner says that it has a "solid C12 w[est] front" and gives details of Norman and Early English Period work on the church."[3][4]

The village pub, the 'Aikton Inn', was constructed in the 18th century and is also used as a Bed and Breakfast facility.[5] Many houses in Aikton have views of the Lake District. The surrounding area is almost entirely farmland, containing cows usually.

Toponymy

'Aikton' "is OScand[inavian] 'eiki-tūn' or 'eik-tūn', 'oak tūn'.[6] So, the meaning is probably 'oak-tree hamlet'. ('OScand' is most likely to be Old Norse).

Parish

Aikton is a parish, which was formerly an ancient parish in the county of Cumberland.[7] It is five miles in length (from north to south) and two miles in breadth with an area of 6,156 acres – 1,829 of which was the village itself. This parish also includes the villages of Biglands, Gamelsby, Wampool and Wiggonby. Until the 16th century the area was terrorised by border raiders,[5] and the land formed one (demesne) of the two manors owned by the Burgh Barony, down to the death of Hugh de Morville in 1202. It had a population of 530 in 1688 and peaked at 856 in 1851.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Parish population Aikton 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  2. Microsoft; Nokia (15 December 2018). "Aikton" (Map). Bing Maps. Microsoft. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  3. Hyde, Matthew; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2010). Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness. The buildings of England. New Haven; London: Yale University Press. pp. xx, 775 p.90. ISBN 9780300126631.
  4. Historic England. "Church of St Andrew, Aikton (1327139)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  5. Aikton Parish Website
  6. Armstrong, A. M.; Mawer, A.; Stenton, F. M.; Dickens, B. (1950–52). The place-names of Cumberland. Part 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 119.
  7. "Aikton". Cumbria County History Trust.


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