Leece

Leece is a village on the Furness peninsula in Cumbria, England, between the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness.[1]

Not to be confused with Lecce.
This article is about the village. For people, see Leece (surname). For the museum in Peel, Isle of Man, see Leece Museum.

Leece
Moss House
Leece is located in the former South Lakeland district
Leece
Leece
Location in South Lakeland
Leece is located in Cumbria
Leece
Leece
Location within Cumbria
OS grid referenceSD242693
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townULVERSTON
Postcode districtLA12
Dialling code01229
PoliceCumbria
FireCumbria
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament

Amenities

The village[1][2] is built around a tarn and a village green,[2] and Henry Armer & Son, a smithy established in 1914 that has since become an agricultural engineering business.[3]

For parish council purposes, Leece belongs to Aldingham Parish Council.[4]

History

Historically part of Lancashire, the name Leece is probably from the Old English leah, which means 'woodland clearing', and the plural of which is Leas. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Lies, in the Manor of Hougun held by Earl Tostig.[5] It appears later in 1269 as Lees.[6]

Leece used to contain the United Methodist Free Church. It was founded in 1881, but closed in 1912. The building, which was taken down in the late 1920s, can still be seen on some photographs from the period. The church did not have a cemetery.[7] St. Matthew's Church, in the village of Dendron, built in 1642, also served the village, as both a church and a school. It was funded by Robert Dickinson, a citizen of London, who had formerly lived in Leece.[8]

In the 1990s and 2000s, Leece played a part in the Lady in the Lake murder trial. Gordon Park, a resident of Leece, bludgeoned his 30-year-old wife Carol to death with an ice axe, then dumped her body in Coniston Water, telling police investigating her disappearance that she had left their home for another man.[9]

  • A postcard showing Leece, dated 1904. The tarn can be seen in the foreground, and the old Methodist church on the far right.
    A postcard showing Leece, dated 1904. The tarn can be seen in the foreground, and the old Methodist church on the far right.
  • The Leece tarn.
    The Leece tarn.

See also

Sources
  1. Bolt, Alison (25 April 2006). "The End". BBC. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
  2. Swain, Robert. Furness and Cartmel Peninsulas Photographic Memories. The Francis Frith Collection. ISBN 1-85937-816-1. Retrieved 19 March 2007..
  3. "Henry Armer and Son". Henry Armer & Son. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
  4. "Aldingham Parish Council".
  5. Explore Low Furness
  6. Mills, David (1976). The Place Names of Lancashire. B. T Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-3248-9.
  7. Stringer, Phil (14 February 2007). "United Methodist Free Church, Leece". GENUKI. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
  8. "St. Matthews Church, Dendron". Explore Low Furness. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
  9. Jackson, Russell (29 January 2005). "Justice for the Lady in the Lake as husband gets life for murder". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 28 April 2005. Retrieved 26 January 2007.
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