Galgate
| Galgate | |
 A6 in Galgate, looking north |
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  Galgate |
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| OS grid reference | SD485555 |
|---|---|
| Civil parish | Ellel |
| District | Lancaster |
| Shire county | Lancashire |
| Region | North West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LANCASTER |
| Postcode district | LA2 |
| Dialling code | 01524 |
| Police | Lancashire |
| Fire | Lancashire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | Lancaster and Fleetwood |
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Coordinates: 53°59′35″N 2°47′02″W / 53.993°N 2.784°W
Galgate /ˈɡɒlɡət/ is a village in the City of Lancaster, just south of Lancaster University, and about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Lancaster itself in the English county of Lancashire.
Etymology
The name Galgate is from Old English Gal-gata, meaning the road to Scotland. Another, similar view is that the name is a shortening of Galloway Gate, i.e. the road to Galloway. A popular opinion within Galgate is that it stands for Gallows Gate, the last village which condemned people passed through before reaching Lancaster and their place of execution.
Transport
The A6 Preston to Lancaster road runs north-south through the centre of the village, and junction 33 of the M6 is nearby.
A major railway from Preston to Lancaster passes on a viaduct over the village. The village once had its own station (Galgate railway station) but it closed in 1939 and now the nearest station is Lancaster.
The Lancaster Canal also runs through the village and has a marina for narrowboats.
Industry
Galgate once had a thriving silk industry and many of the installations still stand. One story told, is that because the rhubarb grown locally was used for dyeing the silk, Galgate's community newsletter is named 'Rhubarb City News'. Rhubarb is a prolific plant in Galgate, but this idea that it was used to dye silk seems to have no evidence to support it.
Community
Due to its proximity to the Lancaster University campus, some students choose to rent houses in the village. There are at least two buses an hour towards Lancaster and Garstang.
Residents in Galgate worked to raise money to build a new village hall, between the football pitch and the cricket ground, on the recreation field behind the Plough Inn. This opened in August 2012.
Each year, the Galgate Gaslight and Horticultural Society holds an annual village show (the 2011 show marked the 150th anniversary of the society).
The bi-monthly village newsletter The Rhubarb City News is put together by a team of volunteers and delivered to almost 1000 households in Galgate.
Research for an investment company in 2011 claimed that Galgate was the third best place in England and Wales to bring up children.[1]
People
In July 2002 ten-year-old Jade Slack, who was visiting a friend in the village, died of a drug overdose. She became the UK's youngest ecstasy victim after taking five of the tablets, believing them to be sweets.[2] Former Radio 4 Gardener's Question Time panellist Fred Downham is a long-term resident of the village. Alan Milburn, Blairite minister, lived in the village whilst studying at Lancaster University.
References
- ↑ (26 September 2011) "Where is the best place to live in England and Wales", Channel 4 News, retrieved 9 December 2011
- ↑ (17 September 2003) "Couple cleared of killing Jade", BBC News, accessed 16 April 2015
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Galgate. |