Bootle (oo as in boot) is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria, England. The parish had a population of 745 in the 2001 census, decreasing slightly to 742 at the 2011 census. Historically in Cumberland, the village is in the Lake District National Park, and is close to the Irish Sea coast. Near to Bootle is the Eskmeals Firing Range, which was a large employer but in the mid to late 1990s reduced the workforce. Also within the parish is Hycemoor, a hamlet situated 1.2 mi north-west of Bootle, where Bootle railway station is located.

Origin of name

Bootle is recorded in the Domesday Book as "Bodele" from the Old English word boðl which means a building. Variations of this spelling (e.g. Botle, Bowtle, Butehill, Bowtle, Botil) persist from about 1135 till 1580 when the spelling "Bootle" becomes common.

History

Bootle is listed in the Domesday Book as one of the townships forming the Manor of Hougun held by Earl Tostig. – part of the Manor of Hougun and was assessed for geld purposes at 4 carucates (about 480 acres). Bootle was the furthest point to which the Normans penetrated into Cumberland. They made no attempt to infiltrate further north into land held by British Celts or those places already settled by the Norse from Ireland, Isle of Man or Scotland. Instead they satisfied themselves, for the moment, with taking those lands on the southern coastal strip of West Cumberland that had been settled by the Angles of Northumbria and had belonged to Earl Tostig prior to the Norman conquest. A charter for a market and a fair for the 'exaltation of the cross' was granted in 1347 by King Edward III to John de Huddleston, Lord of Millom.

Governance

Bootle is within the Copeland UK Parliamentary constituency, Trudy Harrison is the Member of parliament. Before Brexit, it was in the North West England European Parliamentary Constituency. An electoral ward of the same name exists. This ward stretches north along the coast as far as Muncaster with a total population of 1,300.

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Notable residents