Swarthmoor

For other uses, see Swarthmore (disambiguation).

Swarthmoor is a small village near Ulverston, in Cumbria, England. Located on the Furness peninsula, it was historically part of Lancashire.

Swarthmoor
Swarthmoor Hall
Swarthmoor Location in South Lakeland Show map of the former South Lakeland district Swarthmoor Location within Cumbria Show map of Cumbria
OS grid reference	SD2777
Civil parish	Pennington
Unitary authority	Westmorland and Furness
Ceremonial county	Cumbria
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Ulverston
Postcode district	LA12
Dialling code	01229
Police	Cumbria
Fire	Cumbria
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Barrow and Furness
List of places UK England Cumbria 54.18356°N 3.12007°W / 54.18356; -3.12007

Toponymy

Swarthmoor Village was named after its location on the Swarth Moor, which was formerly a marsh-covered moorland. The Swarth Moor's name was derived from the word sweart, meaning black.^[1]

History

Before 1850 there were just a few farmsteads on Swarth Moor, and Swarthmoor Hall, which is located to the east of today's village. George Fox (1624–1691), a founder of the Quakers, came to the area in 1652 and was later allowed by Judge Thomas Fell (1598–1658) to use Swarthmoor Hall as a meeting place. Fox later purchased land from the Swarthmoor Estate to build Swarthmoor Friends' Meeting House. The modern village of Swarthmoor grew in the mid-19th century, with houses built to accommodate the workers from nearby iron ore mines, particularly the Lindal Moor Mines. Some of the houses in Fox Street were built by John Bolton ('Old Daddy Bolton'), who was a surveyor and geologist. As the village grew in size it joined with the hamlets of Cross-a-Moor and Trinkeld. In 1883 a reading room on Fox Street was opened by Lord Muncaster, as a place for local miners to read newspapers – the Reading Rooms building is now used by village organisations, its upper floor is the church of St Leonard.^[2]

Swarthmoor Hall

Situated on the outskirts of the village is Swarthmoor Hall, where in 1652 George Fox founded the Quaker movement.^[3]

Facilities in Swarthmoor

Swarthmoor is home to Swarthmoor Social Football Club Founded in 1946, the club has two adult teams who play in the Furness Premier League. The Junior set-up was re-formed in 2005 and has over 200 children playing ranging from 4 to 16 years old.

There is a public house in the village – The Miners Arms.