Drigg
| Drigg | |
|---|---|
 Drigg railway station and the Victoria Inn | |
  Drigg Location within Cumbria | |
| Population | 449 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SD064990 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HOLMROOK |
| Postcode district | CA19 |
| Dialling code | 019467 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | drigg |
Drigg is a village on the coast of the Irish Sea in the Cumberland district of the county of Cumbria, England. It borders the Lake District National Park. Next to the village is the site of the UK's low-level radioactive waste storage facility.
Geography
[edit]Drigg sits to the north of the River Irt, with Carleton to the south of the river. The river runs from Wastwater lake and joins the River Mite just before it enters the Irish Sea. There are three bridges over the river in the parish; the main bridge in Holmrook takes the A595 road, the Cumbrian Coast Line railway bridge at the head of the tidal estuary at Ravenglass, and a footpath via an old packhorse bridge at Drigg Holme.[1]
Sand dunes soil is by the coast, and a freely draining loamy soil dominates the rest of the parish.[2]
Areas of natural interest are the sandy beach and dunes, Hallsenna Moor and Drigg Holmes. Part of the dunes are an important bird reserve, a local nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
In 2013 the coastline at Drigg was included in the Cumbria Coast designated Marine Conservation Zone.[3] Kokoarrah is rocky scar inter-tidal zone that supports a variety of marine organisms.[4] In 2018 following a shift in the level of sand a shipwreck was discovered on Kokoarrah beach. Floor plank timber from the wreck was British oak. Tree-ring dating showed the trees were felled after 1777 and the vessel was late 18th century or early 19th century.[5][6]
Drigg and Carleton civil parish
[edit]The civil parish of Drigg and Carleton comprises the areas and settlements of Drigg, Stubble Green, Low Moor, Carleton, Saltcoats, Maudsyke, Wray Head, Hallsenna and Holmrook. Prior to the Local Government Act 1894 Carleton was a constablewick in the ancient parish of Drigg.[7]
The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 449.[8]
The parish council meets monthly in the village hall.[9] Cumberland Council provides most local services.
From the 2024 general election the parish is within the Whitehaven and Workington UK parliamentary constituency.[10] It was previously within Copeland constituency.
Transport links
[edit]Drigg railway station is on the Cumbrian Coast Line. Southbound trains run to Barrow-in-Furness and northbound to Whitehaven, Workington and Carlisle. The Victoria Hotel stands in close proximity to the railway station; it was built soon after the railway arrived in 1849.[11]
As of 2023, the only bus service in the parish is a dial and ride service to local villages and Whitehaven; there are no fixed bus schedules.[12]
The village of Drigg is on the B5344 road between Holmrook and Seascale, it links to the A595.
Church
[edit]The parish church is dedicated to St Peter and was rebuilt in 1850.[13]
Low Level Waste Repository
[edit]During WW2 a Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF Drigg) was established at Drigg between the railway line and the sea. This is now the site of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority low-level radioactive waste repository. The site, which was opened in 1959 by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority,[14] covers about 270 acres (110 ha), and holds about one million cubic metres of radioactive waste, although historic disposal records are incomplete. Much of the waste came from the nearby Sellafield nuclear complex.[15][16]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ Historic England. "Drigg Holme packhorse bridge (1007107)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "LandIS - Land Information System - Soilscapes soil types viewer". www.landis.org.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Cumbria Coast Marine Conservation Zone" (PDF). elibrary.cumbria.gov.uk. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. November 2013. ISBN 978-1-78354-061-7. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Cumbria Coast | Living Seas North West". www.livingseasnw.org.uk. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ "Historic England Research Records - Kokoarrah beach wreck". www.heritagegateway.org.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ Bale, Roderick; Howard, Robert; Nayling, Nigel; Tyers, Cathy (21 June 2022). "Drigg Wrecks, Drigg Foreshore, Cumbria - Tree-ring Analysis of Oak Timbers". Historic England. ISSN 2059-4453. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ Whellan, William (1860). The History and Topography of the Counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland: With Furness and Cartmel, in Lancashire. W. Whellan and Company. p. 378.
- ^ "Civil parish population 2011". Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- ^ "General Information – Drigg & Carleton Parish Council". drigg.org.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- ^ "Election Maps". www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- ^ "Victoria Hotel at Drigg". www.thevicatdrigg.co.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Map of Cumbria bus routes" (PDF). cumbria.gov.uk. Cumbria County Council. 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- ^ "St Peter's, Drigg Parish Church – Drigg & Carleton Community". drigg.org.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ^ "Low Level Waste Repository". NDA. Archived from the original on 21 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
- ^ Terry Macalister (14 February 2009). "Can anyone recall what we put in our nuclear dump?". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
- ^ Rob Edwards (20 April 2014). "Cumbrian nuclear dump 'virtually certain' to be eroded by rising sea levels". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
External links
[edit]
- Cumbria County History Trust: Drigg (nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
- Drigg Reserve LNR citation
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