- Greenodd
Greenodd is a village in the
Furness area of thecounty ofCumbria but within the historical county ofLancashire . For local government purposes the village is also within the area of South Lakeland District. It is located 3 miles (5 km) north-east ofUlverston at the junction of the A590trunk road and the A5092 trunk road. The village is just outside the boundary of theLake District National Park at coord|54|14|N|3|3|W| (OS grid ref. SD 315825). Greenodd is within theCrake Valley area of South Lakeland District. The 2001 UK census gives a population of 1823 for the Crake Valley. Greenodd and adjacent Penny Bridge are the main districts in the Crake Valley. TheRiver Crake flows into the estuary of the River Leven at Greenodd.History
The name "Greenodd" is of
Scandinavia n origin, the "odd" meaning "ness" (headland) in this case (the name translates literally as 'The Green Promontory'). SwedishEilert Ekwall speculated that the name was not an old one, as 'odd' remained part of the Lancashire dialect until at least the early 20th century. [citebook|author=Eilert Ekwall |publisher=Manchester University Press |title=The Place-Names of Lancashire|year=1922|accessdate=2008-09-19] In the late-18th and early-19th centuries Greenodd was a significant port; acreek-port of Lancaster. Exports includedcopper ore fromConiston , locally-quarriedlimestone , andgunpowder from the nearby settlement ofBackbarrow .Sugar , rawcotton andcoal are listed in historical documents as some of the imports. Greenodd was also ashipbuilding centre with vessels up to 200 tons being constructed. On the darker side it is likely that Greenodd was involved in theNorth American slave trade . Today there are no signs of the former commercial activities. The "Ship Inn", previously a warehouse on the quayside, is one of the few reminders of Greenodd's illustrious past.Greenodd today
Until the 1980s Greenodd was on the A590 trunk road from Barrow to
Levens Bridge. Traffic volumes were a major problem for the small village. These problems were alleviated by the building of a bypass to take the traffic over a new bridge across the River Crake. The village is now effectively a cul-de-sac. Greenodd was served by the Lakeside branch of theFurness Railway until its closure in 1965. Today there is no trace of the railway, the station having been demolished to make way for a dual-carriageway road. Greenodd is now also on theW2W Cycle Route betweenWalney andWearmouth .In 2008, Greenodd was involved in a battle to save its
post office . The government announced in late 2006 that it would shutting 2,500 post offices nationwide, citing the rising losses and fewer number of people using them as the primary reasons. [citeweb|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6176929.stm|title=2,500 post offices face closure|publisher=BBC News|date=2006-12-14|accessdate=2008-09-19] The inhabitants of Greenodd protested at the move, and even gained the support of the MP from the neighbouring constituency of Westmorland and Lonsdale,Tim Farron . Farron put his name to a petition which gained 6,800 signatures, [citeweb|url=http://www.timfarron.co.uk/news/000424/post_office_campaign_heads_to_westminster.html|title=Post office campaign heads to Westminster|publisher=timfarron.co.uk|date=2008-05-19|accessdate=2008-09-19] but it was to no avail.Notable people
*
Christine McVie ofFleetwood Mac was born in the nearby village ofBouth .References
External links
* [http://saveourpostoffice.net/ The online petition to try to save Greenodd Post Office]
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