Beetham

For other uses, see Beetham (disambiguation).

Beetham
Early 20th century postcard of Beetham
Beetham  Beetham shown within Cumbria
Population	1,784 (2011)
OS grid reference	SD4979
Civil parish	Beetham
District	South Lakeland
Shire county	Cumbria
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CARNFORTH
Postcode district	LA7
Dialling code	01539
Police	Cumbria
Fire	Cumbria
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Westmorland and Lonsdale
List of places UK England Cumbria

Beetham is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, situated on the border with Lancashire. It is part of the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

History

Craven in the Domesday Book shows that up till 1066 Earl Tostig was lord of Beetham and the surrounding areas of Farleton, Preston Richard, Hincaster, Heversham and Levens in Cumbria plus Yealand Redmayne and Borwick in Lancashire. Beetham manor then amounted to 25 carucates (ca3000 acres/1250ha) of ploughland. The Norman conquest of England added it to the extensive lands of Roger de Poitou.

Demography

The parish had a population of 1,724 recorded in the 2001 census, increasing to 1,784 at the 2011 Census.

Community

Points of interest include:

• The Church of St Michael and All Angels, parts of which date from the 12th century.
• The Heron Corn Mill, a working watermill and active arts and education center.
• The Heron Theatre, an 80-seat theatre housed in the listed 18th century grammar school .
• The Fairy Steps, a natural staircase in a limestone crag.
• A small shrine to Saint Lioba (or Leoba), built into a stone wall in the nearby hamlet of Slackhead.

Geography

The River Bela flows past the village and through the deer park of Dallam Tower, skirting Milnthorpe before it washes out into the Kent Estuary near Sandside.

Half a mile to the south-east, Beetham Hall is a 14th-century fortified manor house, now largely ruined, adjoining later buildings.

To the north of the village is the Billerud paper factory employing 140 people and producing 45,000 tonnes/year, specialising in kraft paper for pharmaceutical and food packaging.

Civil parish

The civil parish of Beetham includes the main villages of Beetham and Storth and the smaller communities of Carr Bank, Sandside, Hale, Slackhead, Farleton and Whasset.

Gallery

• 

  The main road into Beetham before the A6 road development

• Footpath to Leighton Hall - geograph.org.uk - 126503.jpg

  Footpath to Leighton Hall

• Highland cows - geograph.org.uk - 76335.jpg

  Highland cattle grazing

External links

• Beetham Parish Council
• Cumbria Directory listing page
• Heron Corn Mill
• Heron Theatre
• The Wheatsheaf at Beetham
• Beetham Tea Room
• Beetham parish historical and genealogical information at GENUKI