Facts about Cumbria
History
During the Neolithic period the area contained an important centre of stone axe production, products of which have been found across Great Britain. During this period stone circles and henges were built across the county and today ‘Cumbria has one of the largest numbers of preserved field monuments in England’. While not part of the region conquered in the Romans’ initial conquest of Britain in AD 43, most of modern-day Cumbria was later conquered in response to a revolt deposing the Roman-aligned ruler of the Brigantes in AD 69.
At the end of the period of British history known as Roman Britain the inhabitants of Cumbria were Cumbric-speaking native Romano-Britons who were probably descendants of the Brigantes and Carvetii that the Roman Empire had conquered in about AD 85. Based on inscriptional evidence from the area, the Roman civitas of the Carvetii seems to have covered portions of Cumbria.
General Info
Cumbria is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria’s county town is Carlisle, in the north of the county; the only other major urban area is Barrow-in-Furness on the south-western tip of the county.
Cumbria is predominantly rural and contains the Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered one of England’s finest areas of natural beauty, serving as inspiration for artists, writers, and musicians. A large area of the south-east of the county is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, while the east of the county fringes the North Pennines AONB.
