Maryport is a town and civil parish within the
AllerdaleAllerdale is a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with borough status. Its council is based in Workington and the borough has a population of 93,492 according to the 2001 census....
borough of
CumbriaCumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in the
historic countyThe historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
of
CumberlandCumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
. It is located on the
A596 roadThe A596 is a primary route in Cumbria, in northern England, that runs between Thursby and Workington. For its entirety the A596 parallels the A595, and meets the A595 at both ends. The A596 begins its course at a roundabout junction with the A595 at Thursby, before continuing past the towns of...
north of
WorkingtonWorkington is a town, civil parish and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England, at the mouth of the River Derwent. Lying within the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is southwest of Carlisle, west of Cockermouth, and southwest of Maryport...
, and is the southernmost town on the
Solway FirthThe Solway Firth is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in Cumbria, to the Mull of Galloway, on the western end of Dumfries and Galloway. The Isle of Man is also very...
.
Maryport railway stationMaryport Railway Station serves the town of Maryport in Cumbria, England. The railway station is a stop on the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line south west of Carlisle. It is operated by Northern Rail who provide all passenger train services...
is on the
Cumbrian Coast LineThe Cumbrian Coast Line is a rail route in North West England, running from Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness via Workington and Whitehaven. The line forms part of Network Rail route NW 4033, which continues via Ulverston and Grange-over-Sands to Carnforth, where it connects with the West Coast Main...
. The town is in the parliamentary constituency of
WorkingtonWorkington is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.-Boundaries:...
. Maryport lies at the northern end of the former
Cumberland CoalfieldThe Cumberland Coalfield is a coalfield in Cumbria, north-west England. It extends from Whitehaven in the south to Maryport and Aspatria in the north.The following coal seams occur within the Coal Measures Group in this coalfield...
.
Roman and medieval times
The town was first established as the
RomanAncient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
fort
Alauna in around AD 122 as a command and supply base for the coastal defences of
Hadrian's WallHadrian's Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall, lesser known of the two because its physical remains are less evident today.The...
at its western extremity. There are substantial remains of the Roman fort, which was the last in a series of forts stretching southwards along the coast from Hadrian's Wall, aimed at preventing the wall being avoided by a crossing of the
Solway FirthThe Solway Firth is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in Cumbria, to the Mull of Galloway, on the western end of Dumfries and Galloway. The Isle of Man is also very...
. Recent geomagnetic surveys have revealed a large Roman town surrounding the fort. A recent archaeological dig discovered evidence of a second, earlier and larger fort next to, and partially under the present remains. After the Roman withdrawal from Britain the town was soon reduced in size and importance.
On Castle Hill are the earthworks and buried remains of a twelfth century
motte and baileyA motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
castle. On the summit are the foundations of a World War II gun emplacement.
To the north are the ruins of Netherhall Estate. The only remains of this once grand manor are stables and a fourteenth century
Peel TowerPeel towers are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, intended as watch towers where signal fires could be lit by the garrison to warn of approaching danger...
, formerly part of a large house of later date which was demolished in 1979 following a fire.
Georgian times
For many years the town was named Ellenfoot but the name was changed by Humphrey Senhouse as he began developing the town as a port, following the example of
WhitehavenWhitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
. In 1749 an
Act of ParliamentAn Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
was passed to allow the creation of the present town.
Humphrey SenhouseHumphrey Senhouse was a British Tory politician.His was the eldest son of Humphrey Senhouse , a landowner and High Sheriff who had founded the port of Maryport, and the heiress Mary, daughter of Sir George Fleming, Bt, Bishop of Carlisle.Humphrey junior was elected at a by-election in 1786 as a...
named the new town after his wife Mary. The Senhouse family were landowners in the area and responsible for the development of the town and excavation of its Roman past. The family also had interests in the West Indies. In 1770, Humphrey Senhouse’s son, William, was appointed Surveyor General of Customs in
BarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
where he purchased a sugar plantation and managed another for Sir James Lowther of Whitehaven. William’s brother, Joseph, had a coffee plantation in
DominicaDominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
. Both men were considerable slave-owners.
It was during this period that
the town's lighthouseMaryport Lighthouse is a small Lighthouse located in Maryport, Cumbria, England, formerly run by the UK's General Lighthouse Authority, Trinity House. The original Maryport lighthouse was built in 1796, and was running on Acetylene by 1946. Trinity House took charge of it in 1961. The painter L. S...
was built.
Victorian times
The town quickly developed as an industrial centre throughout the 19th century. An iron foundry opened and the port developed as did shipyards, such as Wood's yard and Ritson's yard, which was famous for launching ships broadside into the
River EllenThe River Ellen is a river in the English county of Cumbria .The river rises on the Uldale Fells and runs in a generally western direction, passing Uldale, Ireby, Boltongate, Baggrow and Blennerhasset parish boundary and Aspatria.From there, it continues southwest past Oughterside, Gilcrux,...
because it was not wide enough to allow ships to be launched the usual way. By this time, coal mines were operating all around the town – at Ellenbough,
DearhamDearham is a village and civil parish in the Allerdale district of Cumbria, England. It is situated in West Cumbria, about east of Maryport and west of Cockermouth. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,028. It is a large, strung-out village...
,
Broughton MoorBroughton Moor is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It is situated on an extensive moor about north of Broughton and north west of Cockermouth. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 726. The village is about south of Maryport. The...
, Gilcrux and Birkby.
The
Maryport & Carlisle RailwayThe Maryport & Carlisle Railway was a small but highly profitable railway formed in 1836 to connect the town of Maryport to the county town of Carlisle and to allow the output of collieries inland of Maryport to be more cheaply transported to Maryport for oward movement by sea. Its headquarters...
, opened in the 1840s, with
George StephensonGeorge Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
as its engineer, made the transport of coal much easier. Large new mines were sunk in the
AspatriaAspatria is a small town and civil parish in Cumbria, England, and lies half way between Maryport and Wigton, on the A596. Historically within Cumberland, it is about away from the coast. It is approximately seven miles from the northern boundary of the Lake District, and located to the south east...
area and almost all their production passed through the port. In 1846, 213,152 tons of coal were shipped from Maryport and by 1857 this had risen to more than 340,000 tons.
Much of the coal produced in the area was turned into coke for the local iron and steel industry. By 1890, the Allerdale Coal Company had thirty Beehive coke ovens working on its site at Buckhill, Broughton Moor.
In 1874, the owners announced a cut of 10% in the miners’ wages. A strike began in the Aspatria pits and then the owners made a further cut of 15%. By December, the strike had spread to the whole area with 2,000 men involved. The strike lasted until March 1875. There was violence when some ‘blacklegs’ were assaulted and many colliers left the area to seek work elsewhere.
In 1894, John Osmaston who operated the Dearham Colliery became insolvent and the bank took over his pits. Two groups of local miners formed co-operatives and leased the mines at Crosshow and Townhead from the Lowthers. They found it impossible to compete with the other wealthy coal-owners in a tight market and also had serious problems with drainage. This unique experiment ended in 1903 when both companies went into liquidation.
Modern times
During the early years of the 20th century, trade in the docks remained steady but was badly affected by the
1926 United Kingdom General StrikeThe 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
. Then, in 1927, a new deep-water dock was opened in
WorkingtonWorkington is a town, civil parish and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England, at the mouth of the River Derwent. Lying within the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is southwest of Carlisle, west of Cockermouth, and southwest of Maryport...
. Previously, the Workington Iron and Steel works had imported much of their raw material through Maryport but all of this trade was immediately transferred to the new facility. The local Solway Blast Furnaces also closed.
Maryport became a ghost town. The government declared West Cumberland a ‘Special Area’ but, by 1933, 57.3% of the town’s insured workforce was unemployed. 1,684 men were out of work. Maryport was “for the most part, living on public funds”
Despite a minor boom during the Second World War, when coal from North East England was diverted to the port, Maryport never recovered. The docks were closed to cargo ships in the 1960s. The last deep pit in the area, at Risehow, closed in 1966 and open-cast mining ended in 2000.
The town has two industrial estates, The Glasson Industrial Estate and the Solway Industrial Estate, which is home to many small local business.
Today, after a series of major regeneration projects, prospects for the town are looking better.
Politics
The town is a mainly
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
voting area, although far right parties such as the
British National PartyThe British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
have tried to make inroads.
Economy
Tourism is now the main business in Maryport. There is an aquarium, a maritime museum and a Roman museum. The latter houses numerous Roman artefacts, most notably a series of altars to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, which were excavated in the 18th century from the parade ground of the Roman fort.
In July 2008, a new tourism venue, The Wave Centre, opened its doors. The Wave Centre is a theatre and conference facility, an interactive heritage exhibition on the local history of Maryport, the Tourist Information Centre for Maryport, and a gift shop and bistro.
Maryport Golf Club was formed on January 21, 1905 and is now a well established 18 hole course.
Culture
The town is a major name on the
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
music scene, holding the popular "Maryport Blues Festival" every summer, This has previously attracted names such as
Jools HollandJulian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
,
Dionne WarwickDionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
,
Elkie BrooksElkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice...
,
Buddy GuyGeorge "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
,
Jethro TullJethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
,
Van MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
and
Chuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
.
The three-day event usually takes place on the last weekend of July, attracting both local and international artists.
The town has a Scout Group (2nd Maryport) that has been in the town for over 70 years and incorporates most sections within the Scouting Movement. The Group was visited by the Bishop of Carlisle to mark the centenary of Scouting in 2008.
Education
Maryport has five local primary schools, and one secondary school,
Netherhall School, MaryportNetherhall School is a secondary school in Maryport, Cumbria. The school is a registered sports college and has state of the art sports facilities. The school was built in the 1950s and has been open for 60 years...
. The secondary school has approximately 790 students on role.
Notable people
Notable past residents of Maryport have included:
- Douglas Clark
Douglas "Duggy" Clark MM was an English rugby league footballer, wrestler and World War I veteran. He played at , or for Huddersfield, Cumberland, England and the Great Britain national side. Clark also served in World War I on the front line in France in 1917, earning the Military Medal for his...
- Thomas Henry Ismay
Thomas Henry Ismay was the founder of the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, more commonly known as the White Star Line...
- Fletcher Christian
Fletcher Christian was a master's mate on board the Bounty during William Bligh's fateful voyage to Tahiti for breadfruit plants...
- George Tosh
George Tosh was a Scottish engineer and metallurgist who pioneered the use of steel in certain aspects of steam locomotive design. He was the second Locomotive Superintendent of the Maryport and Carlisle Railway , between 1854 and 1870....
- Mark Heron
- Seán Milroy
Seán Milroy was an Irish politician. He was born in Maryport in Cumberland. He was a journalist by profession.He contested a by-election for Sinn Féin in Tyrone North East unsuccessfully. He was elected a Sinn Féin Teachta Dála at the 1921 elections for both the Cavan constituency and for the...
- Tom Smith
Tom Smith was a professional footballer who played for Preston North End, Tottenham Hotspur and Carlisle United.- Football career:...
- James Lomas
James Lomas was a pioneering English rugby league footballer of the early 20th century. Hailing from Maryport, Cumberland, his career lasted for twenty-four years from 1899 to 1923. A three-quarter and prominent goal-kicker, Lomas captained the Great Britain national rugby league team.Lomas was...
External links