Westnewton is a small village and civil parish in the Allerdale district, in the county of Cumbria, England. The 2011 census had a population of 265. The village of Westnewton is situated to the north-west of the Lake District, on the relatively flat plain halfway between the Lake District hills and the Solway Firth. It is a small village located two miles north of Aspatria, on the B5301 Aspatria and Silloth road. The small hamlet of New Cowper is located one-and-a-half miles to the north-west. The landscape generally in this area is one of gently undulating fields, relatively devoid of features other than the thorn field-hedges, with shallow valleys carrying small streams, such as the Black Dub beck. Westnewton has a school called St Matthew's Church of England School, a church called St Matthew's Church, and a cemetery. There used to be a public house called the Swan Inn but this has closed. Etymology Westnewton derives its name from the de Neuton family, who were lords of the manor in the late 12th and 13th centuries, having received it through Odard, Sheriff of Wigton in the mid 12th century. The manor passed briefly by marriage to the Martindale family and then by the late 15th century to the powerful Musgrave and Hylton families of Hayton Castle near Allonby. Their ownership ceased in the early 19th century when the manor finally passed by marriage to the Joliffe family, who are recorded as being the owners until the early 20th century. History Westnewton (until the 20th century spelled 'West Newton') is located in an area of West Cumbria which is sparsely populated and for which little evidence of pre- historic activity survives: crop marks in the area around the village may suggest early human activity but the nearest firm evidence is a Bronze Age barrow near Aspatria. Activity increased during the Roman occupation, with the defences against Scottish invasion along the Solway coast, but little evidence survives inland. Anglo-Danish and Norman settlement is more evident, again in Aspatria, but not outside established settlements. There is therefore little evidence that Westnewton existed before the Mediaeval period, although it may stand on an earlier communication route. At this point the Aspatria to Silloth road crosses Westnewton Beck and also intersects with the road from Allonby to Wigton, all of them no doubt seeking a convenient fording point. The flat land of the valley bottom