Flookburgh Cumbria the Lake District.

Flookburgh village on Morecambe Bay's shore Cumbria

Flookburgh

The once busy fishing village of Flookburgh, on Morecambe Bay's shore, derives its name from flat fish-known as flukes-found in the area.

Edward I granted the town a royal charter in 1278. Henry IV and Charles II later confirmed the charter, and the town celebrates with an annual charter festival in June. The village is also the scene of the annual Cumbria Steam Gathering in July.

What appears to be the town's market square was, in reality, once the site of a chapel and graveyard with connections to the canons of Cartmel Priory. A market cross now designates a different market square. In 1669 the plague hit Flookburgh, and, in 1686, fire destroyed much of the village.
A manor home, built in 1686, stands near the market square.

Early travellers crossed Morecambe Bay's sands but needed a guide to show them the way. Flookburgh, sited by the sands, was one of the stopping off and starting places for the journey.

Flookburgh fishers still harvest cockles and shrimp. The small brown shrimp of Morecambe Bay are considered a delicacy due to their flavour and texture. Collected for over a hundred years from gutters and dykes that feed into the fast running channel water, they provided a living for people in other nearby communities as well-Ulverston, Bardsea, and Rampside.

The shrimp were first gathered by pushing hand nets on a long pole into the sand. Then horsepower substituted for manpower, and the horses pulled carts with shrimp nets fastened to them. The shrimp became a prized feast as more were gathered by this method and sent to London by train, as well as being sold locally. Today tractors with trailers that have swinging arms are used to rake in the shrimp. Potting of the product began in the 1940's. Nowadays, after being peeled in Flookburgh, they are sent to a factory in Ulverston where unsalted butter and spices are added. Look for the name Morecambe Bay Potted Shrimp.

Near Flookburgh is the tallest limestone cliff in Cumbria, Humphrey Head. Its holy well was popular with 18^th and 19^th century travellers, especially miners who hoped the waters would heal them. A legend says the last wolf in England was killed here. A cave on Humphrey Head yielded prehistoric and Roman artefacts.

Flookburgh and its sister village, Cark , sit between the Cartmel Sands and the Kent Estuary, facing the sea.

Location Map of Flookburgh
Flookburgh is 3 miles southwest of Grange-Over-Sands on the B5277.

Photos courtesy of Graeme Dougal

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