Longtown, Cumbria facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Longtown |
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 Longtown, bridge over the River Esk |
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 Longtown
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| Population | 3,000 |
| OS grid reference | NY380686 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CARLISLE |
| Postcode district | CA6 |
| Dialling code | 01228 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament |
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Longtown is a market town in Cumbria, England, just south of the Scottish Border. It has a sheep market which was at the centre of the 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth crisis. Just south-west of Longtown is Arthuret Church, dedicated to St Michael and All Angels.
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Peel Tower
A little over two miles to the north, on the west bank of the River Esk, Kirkandrews Tower is an isolated and well-preserved 16th century peel tower.
Coal mining
Lochinvar coalfield was discovered in the 1950s by the National Coal Board and was subject to drilling but never mined. Recently an Australian firm (New Age Exploration) has been exploring the coalfield for coking coal to produce steel. The company is exploring as far north as Evertown near Canonbie, and as far south as Longtown.
DMC Longtown
During the 1930s, there was a recognition of a need to provide secure storage for munitions across the United Kingdom. The proposal was to create three Central Ammunition Depots (CAD): one in the south (Monkton Farleigh, Wiltshire); one in the Midlands (Nesscliffe, Shropshire); and one in the north.
While the other two sites were sat above easily hewn limestone, Longtown is located above granite, which meant that it took longer to create and only came into operations late in the Second World War. The site was chosen as it used to be part of HM Factory, Gretna, that stretched to Eastriggs over the border into Scotland, one of the biggest makers of explosives during the First World War. The township of Gretna was established to house the workers of this establishment.
Today, DMC (Defence Munitions Centre) Longtown is the only one of the three CADs to remain in operation and is among the largest defence munitions sites in Western Europe. Currently, Longtown and Eastriggs are two separate sites under joint management. In November 2013 the MoD announced that the operational capacity of MoD Longtown would be reduced and a substantial area of the site would be given over to commercial use.
Education
Longtown has one primary school with around 190 pupils. Most secondary school pupils travel to William Howard School, Brampton, or Carlisle. Though up until 2008 Longtown had its own secondary school, Lochinvar School.
See also
In Spanish: Longtown para niños
