107-622: Langrigg is a hamlet in Cumbria , England. It lies to the northeast of Aspatria and south of Abbeytown , just to the southwest of Bromfield . Historically, it formed part of the Langrigg and Mealrigg township, in the Parish of Bromfield, then an independent parish from 1894 until 1934. Langrigg is located along the A596 road . It is relatively low-lying, at the extremity of what was described in
214-498: A Labour majority administration since the 2022 Cumberland Council election , and Westmorland and Furness has had a Liberal Democrat majority administration since the 2022 Westmorland and Furness Council election . Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council collaborate through a Joint Executive Committee and the Enterprising Cumbria Economic Growth Body. In September 2024,
321-611: A 50% grant from the European Union . On Monday 8 December 2007, Saltom Pit was reopened as an historic monument. The pit buildings have been conserved and are now part of the 'Whitehaven Coast' project, a scheme to regenerate the coastal area of Whitehaven. Whitehaven is within the Whitehaven and Workington constituency . As of 2024 , its Member of Parliament (MP) is Josh MacAlister of the Labour Party , who has held
428-529: A forerunner to the Davy Lamp , known as the Spedding Wheel or Steel Mill. This used the sparks generated by a flint against a rotating steel wheel to provide light, on the basis the sparks were not quite hot enough to ignite the gas. On occasions it caused explosions or fires but it was a major improvement over the naked flame. Lowther also supported experimental work on firedamp by William Brownrigg ,
535-521: A formal apology for Whitehaven's role in the slave trade. Scottish-American naval officer John Paul Jones raided the town in 1778 during the American Revolutionary War , burning some merchant ships in the harbour. During the 19th century the port of Whitehaven was overtaken by Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow, as they had deep-water dock facilities and were closer to large centres of population and industry. The huge development of
642-403: A goods-only station and served as the main goods depot for the town. As in other colliery areas, horse-drawn tramways and then locomotive-powered railways were used extensively to move coal. The first steam locomotive made an early appearance in 1816, to a design similar to the noted Steam Elephant built by William Chapman of Newcastle. However this pioneering engine was not too successful and
749-511: A harbour or landing place at Whitehaven can be traced back to 1517, when quay-dues, otherwise known as wharfage, were recorded. The purchase of the manor of St Bees in 1630 by the Lowther family started the development of Whitehaven harbour primarily to export coal. Sir Christopher Lowther built a stone pier in 1631–1634, and it survives, albeit very modified, as the Old Quay. By the 1660s
856-438: A large marina and fishing harbour, and refocus the town on a renovated harbour. The harbour has seen much other renovation due to millennium developments, and the rejuvenation project cost an estimated £11.3 million. This has provided 100 more moorings within the marina. Another £5.5 million has been spent on developing a 40 m (130 ft) high crow's nest and a wave light feature that changes colour depending on
963-459: A large upland area which has been designated a national park and UNESCO world heritage site . It includes Scafell Pike , England's highest mountain, and Windermere , its longest and largest lake. The county has long coast to the west, which is bordered by a plain for most of its length. In the north-west it borders the Solway Firth , a national landscape, and the southern coast includes
1070-535: A local doctor and scientist, and he presented papers by Brownrigg at the Royal Society . Brownrigg had gas piped from a nearby pit to his workshop, which provided light and heat, and bladders of the gas were taken to London to be demonstrated at the Royal Society. Brownrigg was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) for this work. After Sir James, there was a succession of Lowthers who inherited
1177-528: A local industry since the 19th century. A windmill was also established here in the 19th century. Cumbria Cumbria ( / ˈ k ʌ m b r i ə / KUM -bree-ə ) is a ceremonial county in North West England . It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to
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#17328024018141284-472: A national railway network had also reduced Whitehaven's 18th century competitive advantage of having coal extracted very close to a harbour for shipment by sea. An 1888 legal case , Bush v Whitehaven Port and Town Trustees , was one of a series of legal cases involved in the development of the doctrine of frustration of contract in English law . Bush, the contractor in this case, had contracted to construct
1391-611: A pit had been sunk in any part of Europe) to a three-yard thick coal seam (the Main Band) in twenty-three months, using thirty barrels of gunpowder, and without any loss of life or limb by the workforce'. Saltom Pit ceased working coal in 1848, and is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SM 27801) and is the best known surviving example of an 18th-century colliery layout. Evidence of the shaft, horse gin, stable, winding engine house, boiler house and chimney, cottages, cart roads and retaining walls, all survives. Coal excavated from Saltom Pit
1498-603: A shooting spree that spanned over 24 kilometres (15 mi) along the Cumbrian coastline. Local newspapers The Westmorland Gazette and Cumberland and Westmorland Herald continue to use the name of their historic counties. Other publications, such as local government promotional material, describe the area as "Cumbria", as does the Lake District National Park Authority. Cumbria is the most northwesterly ceremonial county of England and
1605-558: A traditional version of football, with its origins in medieval football or an even earlier form. Players from outside Workington also take part, especially fellow West Cumbrians from Whitehaven and Maryport . Cumbria formerly had minor American football clubs, the Furness Phantoms (the club is now defunct, its last name was Morecambe Bay Storm ) and the Carlisle Kestrels. Barrow and Carlisle United are
1712-491: A water-main for a "slump sum" [ sic ]. His tender was submitted in June, and he was "given to understand" that he could begin the work at once, but part of the land was not available until October. This meant the work took place during the winter, when operations are more difficult and more costly. The jury in this case decided that the timing issue substantially affected the contract, and awarded damages to be paid to
1819-739: Is a very popular sport in south and West Cumbria. Barrow , Whitehaven and Workington play in the Rugby League Championships . Amateur teams; Wath Brow Hornets, Askam , Egremont Rangers , Kells , Barrow Island, Hensingham and Millom play in the National Conference . Cumbria County Cricket Club is one of the cricket clubs that constitute the National Counties in the English domestic cricket structure. The club, based in Carlisle , competes in
1926-527: Is at present the only university in Cumbria and has campuses across the county, together with Lancaster and London. The M6 is the only motorway that runs through Cumbria. Kendal and Penrith are amongst its primary destinations. Further north it becomes the A74(M) at the border with Scotland north of Carlisle . Major A roads within Cumbria include: Several bus companies run services in Cumbria serving
2033-618: Is documented to have "demanded against John Crookdake 25 acres of land, 15 acres of meadow, and 2s 4d rent there; and against Thomas de Langrigg 30 acres of land, and 14 acres of meadow". The historical township includes Bromfield, Greenhow and Crookdake , the latter of which was held for many years by the Musgrave family. Langrigg later fell into the Porter and Osmunderly families; the Osmunderly were of Lancashire origin. The Porters held
2140-473: Is mostly mountainous, with large upland areas to the south-west and east. The south-west contains the Lake District , a national park and UNESCO world heritage site which includes Scafell Pike , England's highest mountain at 978 metres (3,209 ft), and Windermere , its longest and largest lake. The Border Moors and North Pennines lie along the county's eastern border. The south-east contains
2247-506: Is served by the Cumbrian coast railway line and the A595 road . Although there was a Roman fort at Parton , around 1.2 miles (1.9 km) to the north, there is no evidence of a Roman settlement on the site of the present town of Whitehaven. The area was settled by Irish-Norse Vikings in the 10th century. The area name of Copeland , which includes Whitehaven, indicates that the land
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#17328024018142354-522: Is tourism, with the county attracting over 47 million visitors annually. The Lake District National Park alone receives some 15.8 million visitors every year. Despite this, fewer than 50,000 people reside permanently within the Lake District: mostly in Ambleside , Bowness-on-Windermere , Coniston , Keswick , Gosforth , Grasmere and Windermere . Over 36,000 Cumbrians are employed in
2461-469: The American Colonies , with which there were strong trade links. Although Sir Christopher Lowther initially purchased Whitehaven it was his son, Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet, who was responsible for its growth and development. Sir John acquired a market charter in 1660 for the town, but the urban expansion did not start until the 1680s when he laid out a spacious rectangular grid of streets to
2568-530: The American colonies , and was, after London, the second busiest port of England by tonnage from 1750 to 1772. This prosperity led to the creation of a Georgian planned town in the 18th century which has left an architectural legacy of over 170 listed buildings . Whitehaven has been designated a "gem town" by the Council for British Archaeology due to the historic quality of the town environment. Whitehaven
2675-576: The Cartmel and Furness peninsulas. East of the peninsulas, the county contains part of Arnside and Silverdale another national landscape The county contains several Neolithic monuments, such as Mayburgh Henge . The region was on the border of Roman Britain , and Hadrian's Wall runs through the north of the county. In the Early Middle Ages parts of the region successively belonged to Rheged , Northumbria , and Strathclyde , and there
2782-819: The Conference North . Barrow were then promoted to the Conference Premier in 2007/08. In 2020, Barrow were promoted to the Football League as a result of winning the National League . Rugby union is popular in the county's north and east with teams such as Furness RUFC & Hawcoat Park RUFC (South Cumbria), Workington RUFC (Workington Zebras), Whitehaven RUFC, Carlisle RUFC, Creighton RUFC, Aspatria RUFC , Wigton RUFC, Kendal RUFC , Kirkby Lonsdale RUFC, Keswick RUFC, Cockermouth RUFC, Upper Eden RUFC and Penrith RUFC . Rugby league
2889-608: The Cornish and Gouren styles indicating that it may have developed out of a longer-standing Celtic tradition. Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumberland , Cumbria , England. It lies by road 38 miles (61 km) south-west of Carlisle and 45 miles (72 km) to the north of Barrow-in-Furness . It
2996-642: The Furness Line and much of the Settle-Carlisle Railway . Cumbria's largest settlement and only city is Carlisle , in the north of the county. The largest town, Barrow-in-Furness , in the south, is slightly smaller. The county's population is largely rural: it has the second-lowest population density among English counties, and only five towns with over 20,000 people. Cumbria is one of the country's most ethnically homogeneous counties, with 95% categorised as White British (around 471,000 of
3103-625: The Lake Poets . The place names Cumbria and Cumberland both mean "land of the Cumbrians" and are names derived from the term that had been used by the inhabitants of the area to describe themselves. In the period c. 400 – c. 1100 , it is likely that any group of people living in Britain who identified as 'Britons' called themselves by a name similar to 'Cum-ri' which means "fellow countrymen" (and has also survived in
3210-545: The Lakes Aquarium and South Lakes Safari Zoo , the last of which would almost certainly rank within the top five). Cumbria is governed by two unitary authorities, Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council. The Cumberland unitary authority area covers the north and west of Cumbria, and Westmorland and Furness the south and east; they are named after the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland , but have different boundaries. Cumberland has had
3317-832: The National Counties Cricket Championship and the NCCA Knockout Trophy . The club also play some home matches in Workington , as well as other locations. Cumbrian club cricket teams play in the North Lancashire and Cumbria League . Cumbria is home to the Cartmel Valley Lions , an amateur baseball team based in Cartmel. Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling is an ancient and well-practised tradition in
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3424-656: The Orton Fells , Howgill Fells and part of the Yorkshire Dales , which are all within the Yorkshire Dales national park . The Vale of Eden , the valley of the River Eden , runs south-east to north-west between these upland areas, and broadens into the Solway Plain near Carlisle. The county has long coast to the west, which is bordered by a plain for most of its length. In the north-west it borders
3531-668: The Roman Empire had conquered in about AD 85. Based on inscriptional evidence from the area, the Roman civitas of the Carvetii seems to have covered portions of Cumbria. The names Cumbria , Cymru (the native Welsh name for Wales ), Cambria , and Cumberland are derived from the name these people gave themselves, * kombroges in Common Brittonic , which originally meant "compatriots". Although Cumbria
3638-584: The Romantic movement , such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge , lived among, and were inspired by, the lakes and mountains of the region. Later, the children's writer Beatrix Potter also wrote in the region and became a major landowner, granting much of her property to the National Trust on her death. In turn, the large amount of land owned by the National Trust assisted in
3745-610: The Solway Firth , a national landscape , and to the south are the Cartmel and Furness peninsulas. East of the peninsulas, the county contains part of Arnside and Silverdale , also a national landscape. The Lancaster Canal runs from Preston into southern Cumbria and is partly in use. The Ulverston Canal which once reached to Morecambe Bay is maintained although it was closed in 1945. The northernmost and southernmost points in Cumbria are just west of Deadwater, Northumberland and South Walney respectively. Kirkby Stephen (close to Tan Hill, North Yorkshire ) and St Bees Head are
3852-634: The manor , while the Osmunderlys held the demesne . It was owned by William Osmunderly, Sheriff of Cumberland, during the reign of Henry IV . The last of the Osmunderleys, Reverend Salkend Osmunderely, sold the manor to his son in-law Thomas Barwis in 1735 (Barwis is credited with reconstructing the Langrigg Hall). John Barwis (1775–1818), who was also Rector of Niton in the Isle of Wight ,
3959-522: The miners' strike in 1984–85 , contributed to problems at the colliery. The workforce attempted to open a new face, but a decision had been taken to close, and after two years of recovery work, Haig finally ceased mining on 31 March 1986. Today there is no mining carried out in Whitehaven though there is a proposal to sink a new mine out under the sea for coking coal. In November 2019 the UK government gave
4066-484: The 500,000). The larger towns have ethnic makeups closer to the national average. The 2001 census indicated Christianity was the religion with the most adherents in the county. 2010 ONS estimates placed the number of foreign-born (non-United Kingdom) people living in Cumbria at around 14,000 and foreign nationals at 6,000. Population trends indicate a gradual decline in younger demographics, with an increasing proportion of elderly residents. The 2001 UK Census showed
4173-609: The Cumbria coast. The busiest railway stations in Cumbria are Carlisle , Barrow-in-Furness , Penrith and Oxenholme Lake District . The 399 miles (642 km) West Coast Main Line runs through the Cumbria countryside, adjacent to the M6 motorway. The Cumbrian Coast Line connects Barrow-in-Furness to Carlisle and is a vital link in the west of the county. Other railways in Cumbria are the Windermere Branch Line , most of
4280-834: The Cumbrians is Owain ap Dyfnwal , who ruled from c. 915 – c. 937 . Cumbria was created in April 1974 through an amalgamation of the administrative counties of Cumberland and Westmorland , to which parts of Lancashire (the area known as Lancashire North of the Sands ) and of the West Riding of Yorkshire were added. During the Neolithic period the area contained an important centre of stone axe production (the so-called Langdale axe factory ), products of which have been found across Great Britain. During this period, stone circles and henges were built across
4387-583: The Customs Collector did not mention tobacco in his report on Whitehaven. Whitehaven Town Hall , which started life as a private house built for a merchant, was completed in 1710. Daniel Defoe visited Whitehaven in the 1720s and wrote that the town had grown up from a small place to be very considerable by the coal trade, that it is now the most eminent port in England for shipping off of coals, except Newcastle and Sunderland and even beyond
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4494-551: The Liberal Democrats. The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies abolished Copeland, Workington, and Penrith and the Border, replacing them with the new constituencies of Penrith and Solway and Whitehaven and Workington . The three remaining constituencies underwent significant boundary changes, including some electoral wards being transferred from Westmorland and Lonsdale to Morecambe and Lunesdale , making
4601-476: The Lowther holdings in the area, and considerably improved the drainage of his pits; thus allowing mining at greater depths. Sir James Lowther, 4th Baronet FRS (1673–1755) continued the work of his father and reputedly became the richest commoner in England. Between 1709 and 1754, over £46,000 was spent to extend the Lowther holdings of land and coal royalties in West Cumberland. By the 1740s Lowther
4708-678: The North Lonsdale or Furness part of Lancashire , usually referred to as "Lancashire North of the Sands", (including the county borough of Barrow-in-Furness ) and, from the West Riding of Yorkshire , the Sedbergh Rural District . Between 1974 and 2023 it was governed by Cumbria County Council but in 2023 the county council was abolished and replaced by two new unitary authorities Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council. On 2 June 2010, taxi driver Derrick Bird killed 12 people and injured 11 others in
4815-595: The Welsh name for Wales which is Cymru ). The first datable record of the place name as Cumberland is from an entry in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle for the year AD 945. This record refers to a kingdom known to the Anglo Saxons as Cumberland (often also known as Strathclyde) which in the 10th century may have stretched from Loch Lomond to Leeds. The first king to be unequivocally described as king of
4922-417: The area was in 1910 at Wellington Pit, where 136 miners died. In another disaster in 1947 at William Pit, 104 men were killed. Four separate explosions over the period 1922–1931 at Haig Pit together killed 83. Haig was the last pit to operate in Whitehaven. In 1983, a major geological fault was encountered at Haig pit which increased the difficulty of operation. This, combined with the political situation, and
5029-561: The coal interests but did not emulate his close interest. The Lowthers' direct involvement in coal diminished, and in 1888 the mines were leased to the Whitehaven Colliery Company. By 1893 nearly all the coal was being extracted from under the sea, and William pit extended 4 miles out under the Solway. In 1900 the output of the collieries was 536,000 tons. However they became less economic; the company failed in 1933, and
5136-569: The contractor. James Pit is a pit in Whitehaven. The school "St James' Juniors" is on the site of the old pit. The earliest reference to coal mining in the Whitehaven area is in the time of Prior Langton (1256–1282) of St Bees Priory, concerning the coal mines at Arrowthwaite. St Bees Priory was dissolved in 1539, and the lands and mineral rights passed to secular owners. The first of these, Sir Thomas Chaloner , granted leases of land in 1560 for digging coal, and in 1586 he granted St Bees School liberty "to take 40 loads of coal at his coal pits in
5243-540: The county and broadens into the Solway Plain near Carlisle. To the north-east are part of the Border Moors and to the east part of the North Pennines ; the latter have been designated a national landscape . South of the vale are the Orton Fells , Howgill Fells , and part of the Yorkshire Dales , which are all within the Yorkshire Dales national park . The south-west contains the Lake District ,
5350-430: The county comprises two unitary authority areas, Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland . Cumbria was created in 1974 from the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland , the Furness area of Lancashire, and a small part of Yorkshire . The interior of Cumbria contains several upland areas which together fringe the Vale of Eden , the wide valley of the River Eden which runs south-east to north-west across
5457-486: The county with a strong resemblance to Scottish Backhold . In the 21st century Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling along with other aspects of Lakeland culture are practised at the Grasmere Sports and Show, an annual meeting held every year since 1852 on the August Bank Holiday . The origin of this form of wrestling is a matter of debate, with some describing it as having evolved from Norse wrestling brought over by Viking invaders, while other historians associate it with
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#17328024018145564-414: The county, and today, Cumbria has one of the largest number of preserved field monuments in England'. While not part of the region conquered in the Romans' initial conquest of Britain in AD 43, most of modern-day Cumbria was later conquered in response to a revolt deposing the Roman-aligned ruler of the Brigantes in AD 69. The Romans built a number of fortifications in the area during their occupation,
5671-400: The dynamic political situation of the region. There were at least three sieges of Carlisle fought between England and Scotland, and two further sieges during the Jacobite risings . After the Jacobite Risings of the 18th century, Cumbria became a more stable place and, as in the rest of Northern England , the Industrial Revolution caused a large growth in urban populations. In particular,
5778-474: The earliest customers for the newly invented Newcomen engine . Spedding concluded that such an engine would drain a flooded pit in two-thirds the time that horse gins would take, and would do so at a quarter of the cost. Consequently, a small (17-inch diameter cylinder) Engine No. 5 , built by Thomas Newcomen and John Calley , was erected. It was so successful that in 1727 Lowther bought an additional pumping engine. With this proven method of pumping Lowther
5885-430: The following most common countries of birth for residents of Cumbria that year: Fell running is a popular sport in Cumbria, with an active calendar of competitions taking place throughout the year. Cumbria is also home to several of the most active orienteering clubs in the UK as well as the Lakes 5 Days competition that takes place every four years. Workington is home to the ball game known as Uppies and Downies,
5992-433: The formation in 1951 of the Lake District National Park , which remains the largest National Park in England and has come to dominate the identity and economy of the county. The Windscale fire of 10 October 1957 was the worst nuclear accident in Great Britain's history. Cumbria was created in 1974 from the traditional counties of Cumberland and Westmorland , the Cumberland County Borough of Carlisle , along with
6099-419: The green light for this mine to go ahead. In 2007, Copeland Council declared that it could no longer afford to maintain the remaining Saltom Pit buildings, and preserve them from damage by the sea. But after an online campaign by myWhitehaven.net, the council changed their mind. They teamed up with the National Trust to try to save Saltom Pit, and obtained the necessary funding from various sources, including
6206-465: The largest private employer in Cumbria, BAE Systems in Barrow employs around 12,000 with further job growth associated with new contracts expected, the Sellafield nuclear processing site, has a workforce of 10,000. Below is a list of some of the county's largest companies and employers (excluding services such as Cumbria Constabulary , Cumbria Fire and Rescue and the NHS in Cumbria), categorised by district. The largest and most widespread industry
6313-408: The last. They have of late fallen into some merchandising also, occasioned by the strange great number of their shipping, and there are now some considerable merchants; but the town is yet but young in trade. To replace the tobacco trade, Whitehaven turned to importing sugar from Barbados , cotton from Antigua and coffee and cocoa from St Lucia . Due to the coal trade Whitehaven was, after London,
6420-446: The late 18th century as a "dull and dreary common", although the land immediately around it is fertile. Its name, which means long ridge in the Cumbrian dialect , is derived from the ridge of land along which it is located to the east of Bromfield. A river, named Ranny Gill, flows on the eastern side of the village. The township covers an area of 865 ha and includes part of Bromfield Common. A stream known locally as Dub Stangs rises to
6527-545: The latter a cross-county constituency (it had previously been exclusively in Lancashire ). Michelle Scrogham Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are strongest in rural areas, and Labour is strongest in the industrial towns. Although Cumbria has a comprehensive system almost fully, there is one state grammar school in Penrith. There are 42 state secondary schools and 10 independent schools. The more rural secondary schools tend to have sixth forms (although in Barrow-in-Furness district, no schools have sixth forms due to
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#17328024018146634-557: The main towns and villages in the county, with some services running to neighbouring areas such as Lancaster . Stagecoach North West is the largest; it has depots in Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Kendal and Workington. Stagecoach's flagship X6 route connects Barrow-in-Furness and Kendal in south Cumbria. There are only two airports in the county: Carlisle Lake District and Barrow/Walney Island . Both airports formerly served scheduled passenger flights and both are proposing expansions and renovations to handle domestic and European flights in
6741-483: The manor of St. Bees was inherited by Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet, of Whitehaven (1642–1706), who developed the town of Whitehaven, its coal industry and the trade with Ireland. He oversaw the rise of Whitehaven from a small fishing village (at his birth consisting of some fifty houses and a population of about 250) to a planned town three times the size of Carlisle. At his death the 'port of Whitehaven' had 77 registered vessels, totalling about four thousand tons, and
6848-593: The most easterly and westerly points of the county. The boundaries are along the Irish Sea to Morecambe Bay in the west, and along the Pennines to the east. Cumbria's northern boundary stretches from the Solway Firth from the Solway Plain eastward along the border with Scotland . Cumbria is bordered by Northumberland , County Durham , North Yorkshire , Lancashire in England, and Dumfries and Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale in Scotland. Many large companies and organisations are based in Cumbria. The county council itself employs around 17,000 individuals, while
6955-406: The most famous being UNESCO World Heritage Site Hadrian's Wall which passes through northern Cumbria. At the end of the period of British history known as Roman Britain ( c. AD 410 ) the inhabitants of Cumbria were Cumbric -speaking native Celtic Britons who were probably descendants of the Brigantes and Carvetii (sometimes considered to be a sub-tribe of the Brigantes) that
7062-483: The near future. The nearest international airports to south Cumbria are Blackpool , Manchester , Liverpool John Lennon and Teesside . North Cumbria is closer to Newcastle , Glasgow Prestwick and Glasgow International . Barrow-in-Furness is one of the country's largest shipbuilding centres, but the Port of Barrow is only minor, operated by Associated British Ports alongside the Port of Silloth in Allerdale. There are no ferry links from any port or harbour along
7169-421: The north east of the existing tiny hamlet. Sir John specified that the houses were "to be three storeys high, not less than 28 feet from the street level to the square of the side walls, the windows of the first and second storeys to be transomed and the same, together with the doors to be of hewn stone." Ample provision was made for gardens. One block was left vacant for a new church and in 1694 another site
7276-445: The only professional football teams in Cumbria. Carlisle United attract support from across Cumbria and beyond, with many Cumbrian "ex-pats" travelling to see their games, both home and away. Workington —who are always known locally as "the reds"—are a well-supported non-league team, having been relegated from the Football League in the 1970s. Workington made a rapid rise up the non league ladder and in 2007/08 competed with Barrow in
7383-428: The only sixth form college in Cumbria being located in the town) and this is the same for three schools in Allerdale and South Lakeland, and one in the other districts. Chetwynde is also the only school in Barrow to educate children from nursery all the way to year 11. Colleges of further education in Cumbria include: The University of Cumbria is one of the UK's newest universities, having been established in 2007. It
7490-421: The parish of St Bees for the use of the school". Such workings were small-scale and near the surface, using adits and bell pits . But the Lowther family later developed and dominated the coal industry in Whitehaven from the mid 17th century to the early 20th century. Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet (1642–1706) significantly developed the coal industry and the trade with Ireland. He spent over £11,000 in expanding
7597-409: The pier was suffering from storm damage and by the 1670s it was considered too small for the growing number of vessels wanting to use it. In 1677 a description refers to "a little pier, in shallow water, built with some wooden piles and stones". The prospect of a rival pier being built at Parton to the north of Whitehaven galvanised Sir John Lowther into developing the harbour, and by 1679 further work
7704-657: The pits were sold to Priestman collieries. They in turn failed in 1935, and the pits were closed for 18 months. Work resumed with help from a Nuffield foundation, and the Cumberland Coal Company was formed, re-opening the pits in 1937. In 1947 the pits came under the nationalised body, the National Coal Board . In 300 years over seventy pits were sunk in the Whitehaven area. During this period some five hundred or more people were killed in pit disasters and mining accidents . The largest disaster in
7811-489: The priory in 1539, ownership of this estate passed through a number of secular landlords until it passed into the hands of the Lowther family in the 17th century. Whitehaven was a township within the "Preston Quarter" of the parish of St Bees , and the town's churches were chapels-of-ease of St Bees until 1835 when three ecclesiastical districts were created in Whitehaven. The modern growth of Whitehaven started with
7918-477: The purchase by Sir Christopher Lowther of the Whitehaven estate in 1630 and the subsequent development of the port and the mines. In 1634 he built a stone pier providing shelter and access for shipping, enabling the export of coal from the Cumberland Coalfield , particularly to Ireland. This was a key event in the rapid growth of the town from a small fishing village to an industrial port. In 1642
8025-462: The refurbished Beacon museum at the harbour; 10,000 people attended the event. Whitehaven was, with Falmouth , the first post-medieval new planned town in England. It is the most complete example of planned Georgian architecture in Europe and there are over 170 listed buildings . Whitehaven's planned layout was with streets in a right-angled grid which it is thought was imitated by the new towns of
8132-697: The seat since the 2024 United Kingdom general election . Before Brexit , it was in the North West England European Parliamentary Constituency. Prior to the introduction of Cumberland (district) , for Local Government purposes it had the following wards in the Borough of Copeland : The following divisions were included in Cumbria County Council : Whitehaven has its own Parish Council , Whitehaven Town Council . The existence of
8239-521: The second port of England in terms of tonnage of shipping from 1750 to 1772. In 1835 Whitehaven was still the fifth placed port, with 443 ships registered, but by the end of the 19th century only 68 vessels were registered. Whitehaven was involved with the transatlantic slave trade , and records show slave ships leaving Whitehaven for voyages to Africa between 1711 and 1767. In 2006, the Copeland Council (Whitehaven's local authority) issued
8346-689: The south of the town the Corkickle incline, known locally as "The Brake", was built in 1881 from the Furness Railway main line to Croft Pit. This closed in 1931 but was reopened in May 1955 to serve Marchon Products' chemical factory. The Brake closed for good on 31 October 1986, when it was the last commercial roped incline in Britain. It was 525 yards (480 m) in length with gradients of between 1 in 5.2 and 1 in 6.6. The nearby Lowca engineering works began to produce locomotives in 1843, including
8453-568: The south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Carlisle . Cumbria is predominantly rural, with an area of 6,769 km (2,614 sq mi) and a population of 500,012; this makes it the third largest ceremonial county in England by area but the eighth-smallest by population. After Carlisle (74,281), the largest settlements are Barrow-in-Furness (56,745), Kendal (29,593), and Whitehaven (23,986). For local government purposes
8560-623: The southern side of the town, the first section of the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway (W&FJR) opened on 1 June 1849 from a terminus at Whitehaven (Preston Street) to Ravenglass , and thereafter gradually in stages until Barrow in Furness and ultimately Carnforth were reached. This gave access to the south onto the main West Coast line, and later became the main line of the Furness Railway . The two lines were separated by
8667-720: The sovereign, exercises some rights of the Crown in the County Palatine of Lancaster, which includes the Furness area of Cumbria. Until the 2024 general election , there were six parliamentary constituencies in Cumbria: Barrow and Furness , Carlisle , Copeland , Penrith and the Border , Westmorland and Lonsdale , and Workington . Five were won by the Conservative Party in the 2019 United Kingdom general election , with Westmorland and Lonsdale won by
8774-490: The tide, together with The Rum Story on Lowther Street, voted Cumbria Tourism's small visitor attraction of the year 2007. A picture of the harbour was used on the front page of the Tate Modern 's promotional material for an exhibition of Millennium Projects in 2003. In June 2008, Queen Elizabeth II visited Whitehaven as part of the 300th Anniversary Celebrations. The Queen and Prince Philip then officially re-opened
8881-478: The tourism industry which adds £1.1 billion a year to the county's economy. The Lake District and county as a whole attract visitors from across the UK, Europe, North America and the Far East (particularly Japan). The tables below show the twenty most-visited attractions in Cumbria in 2009. (Not all visitor attractions provided data to Cumbria Tourism who collated the list. Notable examples are Furness Abbey ,
8988-523: The town centre, and a tramway was constructed through the market place allowing goods wagons to be horse-drawn from Preston Street to the harbour, but there was still no through route for passenger trains. In 1852, a tunnel 1,333 yards (1,219 m) long was built under the town, and in 1854 the W&;FJR passenger trains ran through to the Bransty station from a new station at Corkickle. Preston Street became
9095-419: The two councils submitted an expression of interest to form a combined authority . Between 1974 and 2023 Cumbria was administered by Cumbria County Council and six district councils : Allerdale , Barrow-in-Furness , Carlisle , Copeland , Eden , and South Lakeland . These were abolished on 1 April 2023, when the two unitary authorities were established. The Duchy of Lancaster , the private estate of
9202-412: The west coast towns of Workington , Millom and Barrow-in-Furness saw large iron and steel mills develop, with Barrow also developing a significant shipbuilding industry. Kendal , Keswick and Carlisle all became mill towns , with textiles, pencils and biscuits among the products manufactured in the region. The early 19th century saw the county gain fame when the Lake Poets and other artists of
9309-493: The west of Langrigg, and flows into the Solway Firth at Allonby Bay . Waldieve, Lord of Allerdale , gave the manor of Langrigg to Dolphin, son of Aylward, whose family held it for generations until it fell to a family who took their name from the township. A Thomas de Langrigg once held property in Langrigg during the reign of Henry II , Langrigg Hall being the principal manor house . Agnes, wife of Gilbert de Langrigg,
9416-591: Was a principality in the Kingdom of Scotland at the time of the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and thus was excluded from the Domesday Book survey of 1086. In 1092 the region was invaded by William II and incorporated into England. Nevertheless, the region was dominated by the many Anglo-Scottish Wars of the latter Middle Ages and early modern period and the associated Border Reivers who exploited
9523-493: Was able to exploit the coal measures under the sea by sinking a pit at Saltom on land below the cliffs south of the harbour, to a depth of 456 ft (138m). Work began early in 1730, and the pit was officially opened in May 1732 with great celebration. Carlisle Spedding had charge of the design and construction, and successfully sank only the second sub-sea pit in Britain. It was reported that "A shaft twelve foot by ten had been sunk seventy-seven fathoms" (141 metres) "(the deepest
9630-652: Was also a Viking presence. It became the border between England and Scotland, and was unsettled until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. During the Industrial Revolution mining took place on the Cumberland coalfield and Barrow-in-Furness became a shipbuilding centre, but the county was not heavily industrialised and the Lake District became valued for its sublime and picturesque qualities, notably by
9737-475: Was built in 1769 for Sir John Lowther as his private residence at the end of Lowther Street, replacing an earlier building destroyed by fire. In 1924, the Earl of Lonsdale sold Whitehaven Castle to Herbert Wilson Walker, a local industrialist. Walker donated the building to the people of West Cumberland , along with £20,000 to convert it into a hospital to replace the old Whitehaven Infirmary at Howgill Street, which
9844-411: Was converted to a pumping and winding engine. Nonetheless, the harbour and collieries eventually developed an extensive network of industrial railways within the constraints of the steep valley sides and the coast. The system had two roped inclines . The Howgill incline connected Ladysmith pit on the steep north-western side of the valley to Wellington pit at the harbour, and operated to the 1970s, and on
9951-668: Was established in 1830. Whitehaven is on the Cumbrian Coast Line which runs from Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness . The town has two railway stations: Whitehaven (Bransty) and Corkickle , joined by a tunnel underneath the town. The first railway to reach Whitehaven was the Whitehaven Junction Railway (WJR) in 1847 from Maryport , which terminated at the Bransty Row station and allowed rail access to Carlisle and Newcastle upon Tyne . On
10058-553: Was eventually quashed in 1827, with compensation of over £13,000 paid to the school. Sir John, and after him Sir James, had concerns that there were few reserves of economically retrievable coal under dry land. They felt that exploration under the sea was necessary, but this carried the risk of flooding. However, Sir James had two very able managers, the brothers Carlisle and John Spedding, who were willing to explore new technology and techniques. In 1712 John Spedding urged Lowther to consider pumping by steam, and in 1715 he became one of
10165-558: Was exporting more than 35,000 tons of coal a year. Whitehaven's growing prosperity was also based on tobacco. By 1685 there were ships regularly bringing tobacco from the British colonies of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania in America, and by the early 18th century about 10% of England's tobacco imports passed through Whitehaven. By the middle of the 18th century it was the second or third port in England for tobacco imports. The tobacco
10272-401: Was given for a Presbyterian chapel. Most of the streets were relatively narrow, about ten yards, but the principal thoroughfare, Lowther Street, which ran through the town centre from the Lowther family residence to the waterfront, was 16 yards wide. The old St Nicholas chapel was demolished in 1693 to make way for Lowther Street, and its materials used to build a new school. Whitehaven Castle
10379-454: Was in the 19th century when West Cumberland experienced a brief boom because haematite found locally was one of the few iron ores that could be used to produce steel by the original Bessemer process . Improvements to the Bessemer process and the development of the open hearth process removed this advantage. In the 20th century, as in most mining communities, the inter-war Great Depression
10486-718: Was one of its prominent owners. and his son William Barwis, was still in possession of Langrigg manor in 1860. In 1876, its ownership changed to Joseph Bowerbank of Cockermouth . The township of Langrigg had a population of 198 in 1801, 194 in 1821, 269 in 1841, and 281 in 1851. The united township of Langrigg and Mealrigg in Bromfield parish became an independent parish following the Local Government Act of 1894, although for ecclesiastical purposes it remained attached to Bromfield. Langrigg Hall Farm produces free-range eggs for Morrisons supermarket. Tile-making has been
10593-619: Was previously believed to have formed the core of the Early Middle Ages Brittonic kingdom of Rheged , more recent discoveries near Galloway appear to contradict this. For the rest of the first millennium, Cumbria was contested by several entities who warred over the area, including the Brythonic Celtic Kingdom of Strathclyde and the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria . Most of modern-day Cumbria
10700-591: Was purchased from the Kingdom of Strathclyde , possibly with loot from Ireland. Following the arrival of the Normans , in about 1120 St Bees Priory was founded by William de Meschin, which was granted a large tract of land from the coast at Whitehaven to the river Keekle, and then south down the River Ehen to the sea. This included the small fishing village of Whitehaven. Following Henry VIII 's dissolution of
10807-405: Was raised by horse gin to the surface, then transported by tramway through a tunnel to Ravenhill Pit for lifting to the cliff top. Saltom Pit was used as a central pumping station, draining many of the other local mines via a drift driven in the 1790s, and continued in use long after it had ceased to work coal. To counter the considerable danger of methane gas explosion, Carlisle Spedding invented
10914-420: Was severe; this was exacerbated for West Cumbria by Irish independence which suddenly placed tariff barriers on its principal export market. The harbour lost its last commercial cargo handling operation in 1992 when Marchon ceased their phosphate rock import operations. Drivers Jonas and marine consulting engineers Beckett Rankine drew up a new master plan to impound the inner basins of the harbour to create
11021-416: Was the administrative seat of the former Borough of Copeland , and has a town council for the parish of Whitehaven. The population of the town was 23,986 at the 2011 census . The town's growth was largely due to the exploitation of the extensive coal measures by the Lowther family , driving a growing export of coal through the harbour from the 17th century onwards. It was also a major port for trading with
11128-604: Was the dominant exporter at every harbour in the Cumberland coalfield and from the late 17th to the mid-19th centuries this coal represented 6%-7% of all English exports to Ireland; most of the coal burnt in Dublin came from here. However, Lowther was noted for his unscrupulous business practices, and a lease of the coal royalties owned by St Bees School was obtained in 1742 on manifestly unfair terms: an annual rent of £3.50, with no payment per ton raised, for 867 years. The lease
11235-423: Was the site of a major chemical industry after World War II, but both that and the coal industry have disappeared, and today the major industry is the nearby Sellafield nuclear complex, which is the largest local employer of labour and has a significant administrative base in the town. Whitehaven includes a number of former villages, estates and suburbs, such as Mirehouse , Woodhouse, Kells and Hensingham , and
11342-573: Was then sold on the domestic market or re-exported, e.g. to Ireland, France and the Netherlands. However, after the Acts of Union 1707 united England with Scotland, thereby abolishing excise duties between them, the port of Glasgow began to take over Whitehaven's tobacco trade, leading to the later creation of Glasgow's Tobacco Lords . By the second half of the 18th century there was a marked decline in shipping of tobacco via Whitehaven, and by 1820
11449-597: Was under way. In the late 17th and 18th century the harbour was extended by ballast walls, moles and piers to become one of the most complex pier harbours in Britain. April 1778 saw the harbour as the first site of an American attack on the British Isles during the American War of Independence . The port's trade waned rapidly when ports with much larger shipping capacity, such as Bristol and Liverpool , began to take over its main trade. Its peak of prosperity
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