Blencogo

Blencogo is a small farming village near Wigton in Cumbria, England. It is situated on the Solway Plain in the Allerdale Borough Council area, off the B3502 Wigton to Silloth road. The village is a centre for growing osier willow for basketmaking and related crafts.

Etymology

Armstrong, et al. cite Ekwall, who "derives this name from Welsh 'blaen' 'top'...and 'cog' 'cuckoo' to which was later added ON 'haugr' 'hill' ". However, they say that it is more probable that the final element "is the British plural inflexion (Welsh '-au', Cornish '-ow', Breton '-ou')."

So, ' hill of the cuckoo or cuckoos'.('ON' is Old Norse; 'British' is Common Brittonic).

History

Blencogo first appears in literature around 1100 CE when the Lord Waltheof of Allerdale gives the barony of Blencogo to Odard de Logis. Numerous land transfers are made to Holme Cultram Abbey in over the next 150 years. Land transfers and grants for Blencogo also appear in the patent and charter rolls for Edward III (1342), Richard II (1388), Henry IV (1399), Henry VI (1426), Edward IV (1474), and Henry VII (1543).

Famous Residents

• Jonathan Boucher (1738-1804), born here