Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
National Park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
in
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
, England. Historically in
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
, it lies by road south-west of
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
and to the north of
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
. It is the administrative seat of the 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
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
.
The town's growth was largely due to the exploitation of the extensive coal measures by the
Lowther family This article summarises the relationships between various members of the family of Lowther baronets.
*Sir Christopher Lowther
**Sir John Lowther, of Lowther (d. 1637)
*** Sir John Lowther, 1st Baronet (1605–1675)
**** John Lowther (of Hackthorpe ...
, driving a growing export of coal through the harbour from the 17th century onwards. It was also a major port for trading with 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
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
planned town in the 18th century which has left an architectural legacy of over 170
listed buildings
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. Whitehaven has been designated a "gem town" by the
Council for British Archaeology
The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and futu ...
due to the historic quality of the town environment.
Whitehaven 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
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the nucleus of the atom:
* Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
*Nuclear space
*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
Mirehouse is a 17th-century house to the north of Keswick, Cumbria, Keswick in Cumbria, at the foot of Dodd (Lake District), Dodd, near Bassenthwaite Lake and St Bega's Church, on the A591 road. Although still a family home it and its grounds a ...
Hensingham
Hensingham is a suburb of Whitehaven and former civil parish, now in the parish of Whitehaven, in the Copeland district, in the county of Cumbria, England. The ward population taken at the 2011 census was 4,145. In 1931 the parish had a popula ...
A595 road
The A595 is a primary route in Cumbria, in Northern England that starts in Carlisle, passes through Whitehaven and goes close to Workington, Cockermouth and Wigton. It passes Sellafield and Ravenglass before ending at the Dalton-in-Furness ...
.
Early history
Although there was a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
fort at Parton, around 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
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
in the 10th century. The area name of Copeland, which includes Whitehaven, indicates that the land was purchased from the
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Strathclyde (lit. "Strath of the River Clyde", and Strað-Clota in Old English), was a Brittonic successor state of the Roman Empire and one of the early medieval kingdoms of the Britons, located in the region the Welsh tribes referred to as Yr ...
, possibly with loot from Ireland.
Following the arrival of the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
, in about 1120
St Bees Priory
St Bees Priory is the parish church of St Bees, Cumbria, England. There is evidence for a pre-Norman religious site, and on this a Benedictine priory was founded by the first Norman Lord of Egremont William Meschin, and was dedicated by Archb ...
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
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
's dissolution of 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 This article summarises the relationships between various members of the family of Lowther baronets.
*Sir Christopher Lowther
**Sir John Lowther, of Lowther (d. 1637)
*** Sir John Lowther, 1st Baronet (1605–1675)
**** John Lowther (of Hackthorpe ...
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.
Growth and prosperity
The modern growth of Whitehaven started with 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
The Cumberland Coalfield is a coalfield in Cumbria, north-west England. It extends from Whitehaven in the south to Maryport and Aspatria in the north.
Geology
The following coal seams occur within the Coal Measures Group in this coalfield.Briti ...
, 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 the manor of St. Bees was inherited by
Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet, of Whitehaven
Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet FRS (9 November 1642 – 17 January 1706) was an English gentleman and landowner at Whitehaven.
Lowther was born at Whitehaven, in the parish of St Bees, Cumberland, the son of Sir Christopher Lowther, 1st Baro ...
(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 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 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
The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...
united England with Scotland, thereby abolishing excise duties between them, the port of
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
began to take over Whitehaven's tobacco trade, leading to the later creation of Glasgow's
Tobacco Lords
The Tobacco Lords were a group of Scottish merchants and slave traders who in the 18th century made enormous fortunes by trading in tobacco. Many became so wealthy that they adopted the lifestyle of aristocrats, lavishing vast sums on great hous ...
. By the second half of the 18th century there was a marked decline in shipping of tobacco via Whitehaven, and by 1820 the Customs Collector did not mention tobacco in his report on Whitehaven.
Whitehaven Town Hall
Whitehaven Town Hall is a municipal building in Duke Street in Whitehaven, Cumbria, England. The building, which was the headquarters of Whitehaven Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.
History
The building, which was originally desi ...
, which started life as a private house built for a merchant, was completed in 1710.
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...
visited Whitehaven in the 1720s and wrote that the town had
To replace the tobacco trade Whitehaven turned to importing sugar from
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
, cotton from
Antigua
Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...
and coffee and cocoa from
St Lucia
Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...
. Due to the coal trade Whitehaven was, after London, the second port of England in terms of tonnage of shipping from 1750 to 1772. Even by 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
The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...
, and records show
slave ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...
s leaving Whitehaven for voyages to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
between 1711 and 1767. In 2006, the Copeland Council (Whitehaven's local authority) issued a formal apology for Whitehaven's role in the slave trade.
Scottish-American naval officer
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
raided the town in 1778 during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, 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 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.
Coal mining
James Pit is a pit in Whitehaven. The school "St James' Juniors" is on the site of the old pit.
Early mining
The earliest reference to
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
in the Whitehaven area is in the time of Prior Langton (1256–82) 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 the parish of St Bees for the use of the school". Such workings were small-scale and near the surface, using
adit
An adit (from Latin ''aditus'', entrance) is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, ventilated, and minerals extracted at the lowest convenient level. Adits ...
s and
bell pit
A bell pit is a primitive method of mining coal, iron ore, or other minerals lying near the surface.
Operation
A shaft is sunk to reach the mineral which is excavated by miners, transported to the surface by a winch, and removed by means of a b ...
s. But the Lowther family later developed and dominated the coal industry in Whitehaven from the mid 17th century to the early 20th century.
The influence of the Lowthers
Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet (1642–1706) significantly developed the coal industry and the trade with Ireland. He spent over £11,000 in expanding the Lowther holdings in the area, and considerably improved the drainage of his pits; thus allowing mining at greater depths.Oliver Wood, ''West Cumberland Coal 1600-1982/3'', Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society Extra Series XXIV, Titus Wilson, Kendal, 1988,
Sir James Lowther, 4th Baronet
Sir James Lowther, 4th Baronet, FRS (1673 – 2 January 1755) was an English landowner, industrialist and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons for 54 years between 1694 and 1755. His ownership and development of coal mines around Whi ...
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 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 was eventually quashed in 1827, with compensation of over £13,000 paid to the school.
Mining under the sea
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 the earliest customers for the newly-invented
Newcomen engine
The atmospheric engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, and is often referred to as the Newcomen fire engine (see below) or simply as a Newcomen engine. The engine was operated by condensing steam drawn into the cylinder, thereby creati ...
. Spedding concluded that such an engine would drain a flooded pit in two-thirds the time that
horse gin
A horse mill is a mill, sometimes used in conjunction with a watermill or windmill, that uses a horse engine as the power source. Any milling process can be powered in this way, but the most frequent use of animal power in horse mills was for grin ...
s 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
John Nicholas Calley (July 8, 1930 – September 13, 2011) was an American film studio executive and producer. He was quite influential during his years at Warner Bros., where he worked from 1968 to 1981, and "produced a film a month, on average ...
, was erected. It was so successful that in 1727 Lowther bought an additional pumping engine.
With this proven method of pumping Lowther 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 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
A winding engine is a stationary engine used to control a cable, for example to power a mining hoist at a pit head. Electric hoist controllers have replaced proper winding engines in modern mining, but use electric motors that are also tradition ...
house, boiler house and chimney, cottages, cart roads and retaining walls, all survives. Coal excavated from Saltom Pit 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.
Technical innovation
To counter the considerable danger of
methane gas
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Ear ...
explosion, Carlisle Spedding invented a forerunner to the
Davy Lamp
The Davy lamp is a safety lamp for use in flammable atmospheres, invented in 1815 by Sir Humphry Davy.
Lowther also supported experimental work on firedamp by
William Brownrigg
William Brownrigg ( – 6 January 1800) was a British doctor and scientist, who practised at Whitehaven in Cumberland. While there, Brownrigg carried out experiments that earned him the Copley Medal in 1766 for his work on carbonic acid gas. He ...
, a local doctor and scientist, and he presented papers by Brownrigg at the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
. 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
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
(FRS) for this work.
The decline of Lowther influence
After Sir James, there was a succession of Lowthers who inherited 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 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
The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "v ...
.
Extent of mining
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 accident
A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground coal mining, although accidents also occur in hard rock mining. ...
s. The largest disaster in 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.
Temporary end of coal mining
In 1983, a major geological fault was encountered at Haig pit which increased the difficulty of operation. This, combined with the political situation, and 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 the green light for this mine to go ahead.
Preservation of Saltom pit
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
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
to try to save Saltom Pit, and obtained the necessary funding from various sources, including a 50% grant from the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. 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.
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) is the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
's
Trudy Harrison
Trudy Lynne Harrison (born 19 April 1976) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Copeland since the February 2017 by-election. It was the first time Copeland had elected a Conservative MP sin ...
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
, it was in the
North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
European Parliamentary Constituency.
For Local Government purposes it has the following wards in the Borough of Copeland:
* Whitehaven South
* Whitehaven Central
* Kells
* Hillcrest
* Corkicle
* Sneckyeat
Also the following divisions in
Cumbria County Council
Cumbria County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in the North West of England. Established in April 1974, following its first elections held the previous year, it is an elected local government body respon ...
:
* Bransty
* Kells and Sandwith
* Hillcrest and Hensingham
* Mirehouse
Whitehaven also has its own Parish Council; ''Whitehaven Town Council''.
The harbour
The existence of 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 1631–34, and it survives, albeit very modified, as the Old Quay.
By the 1660s 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 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 American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
.
The port's trade waned rapidly when ports with much larger shipping capacity, such as
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, began to take over its main trade. Its peak of prosperity 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
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is steelmaking, removal of impurities from the iron by ox ...
. 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 depression 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
Drivers Jonas was a longstanding private partnership of chartered surveyors in the United Kingdom. In January 2010, Drivers Jonas LLP merged with Deloitte LLP, combining the firm with Deloitte's property staff, creating a business group called Dri ...
and marine consulting engineers Beckett Rankine drew up a new master plan to impound the inner basins of the harbour to create 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
A crow's nest is a structure in the upper part of the main mast of a ship or a structure that is used as a lookout point.
On ships, this position ensured the widest field of view for lookouts to spot approaching hazards, other ships, or land b ...
and a wave light feature that changes colour depending on the tide, together with
The Rum Story
The Rum Story is a visitor attraction and museum in Whitehaven, Cumbria, England. It presents the story of the rum trade and the creation of rum. It is located in an original 1785 trading shop and warehouses.
The Rum Story was started with Unit ...
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
Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...
's promotional material for an exhibition of Millennium Projects in 2003.
In June 2008,
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
visited Whitehaven as part of the 300th Anniversary Celebrations. The Queen and
Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
then officially re-opened the refurbished Beacon museum at the harbour; 10,000 people attended the event.
Town planning
Whitehaven was, with Falmouth, the first post-medieval new planned town in England. It is the most complete example of planned
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...
in Europe and there are over 170
listed buildings
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. Whitehaven's planned layout was with streets in a right-angled grid which it is thought was imitated by the new towns of 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 the north east of the existing tiny hamlet.Mick Aston and James Bond (2000 revised edition) The Landscape of Towns p130
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 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
Whitehaven Castle is a historic building in Whitehaven, Cumbria. It is a Grade II listed building.
History
The building was constructed for Sir John Lowther as his private residence; it was originally known as Flatt Hall and was completed in 176 ...
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
Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...
, along with £20,000 to convert it into a hospital to replace the old Whitehaven Infirmary at Howgill Street, which was established in 1830.
Railways
Whitehaven is on the
Cumbrian Coast Line
The Cumbrian Coast line is a rail route in North West England, running from Carlisle railway station, Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness via Workington and Whitehaven. The line forms part of Network Rail route NW 4033, which continues (as the Furnes ...
which runs from
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
to
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
Whitehaven Junction Railway
The 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 (as the Furness line) via Ulverston and ...
(WJR) in 1847 from , which terminated at the Bransty Row station and allowed rail access to
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
and
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
. On the southern side of the town, the first section of the
Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway
The 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 (as the Furness line) via Ulverston ...
(W&FJR) opened on 1 June 1849 from a terminus at Whitehaven (Preston Street) to , and thereafter gradually in stages until Barrow in Furness and ultimately
Carnforth
Carnforth is a market town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay. The parish of Carnforth had a population of 5,560 in the 2011 census, an increase from the 5,350 reco ...
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 Furness Railway (Furness) was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.
History
Formation
In the early 1840s, the owners of iron ore mines in the Furness district of Lancashire became interested i ...
. The two lines were separated by 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 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 a goods-only station and served as the main goods depot for the town.
Industrial networks
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 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 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.Quayle (2006), p.60 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 in length with gradients of between 1 in 5.2 and 1 in 6.6.
Engineering
The nearby Lowca engineering works began to produce locomotives in 1843, including the first
Crampton locomotive
A Crampton locomotive is a type of steam locomotive designed by Thomas Russell Crampton and built by various firms from 1846. The main British builders were Tulk and Ley and Robert Stephenson and Company.
Notable features were a low boiler and l ...
s, which became the fastest locomotives of the day; one was reported to have reached 62 mph. Over the life of the works, some 260 locomotives were produced – mainly for industrial lines. The works entered shipbuilding in 1842-3, producing ''Lowca'', the first iron ship launched in Cumberland.
Marchon chemical complex
In 1941, Fred Marzillier and Frank Schon relocated Marchon Products Ltd from London to Whitehaven, which was a special development area, after their offices were destroyed by German bombing. At Whitehaven they started manufacturing firelighters, then in 1943 they moved production to the site of the Ladysmith pit coke ovens at Kells, where they formed a sister company, "Solway Chemicals", to produce liquid fertilisers and foaming agents. At the end of the war, a number of chemists and engineers were released after the closure of the Royal Ordnance Factories at
Drigg
Drigg is a village situated in the civil parish of Drigg and Carleton on the West Cumbria coast of the Irish Sea and on the boundary of the Lake District National Park in the Borough of Copeland in the county of Cumbria, England.
Drigg and ...
and Sellafield. This helped drive the pioneering expansion into detergent bases to include some of the first soap-substitutes to reach the UK market."Marchon – the whitehaven chemical works" A W Routledge, Publisher Tempus, 2005,
The new detergents were a big success, as soap was in short supply after the war; however the original reason for moving to Whitehaven, remoteness from Europe, was now a serious handicap as the site was remote from raw materials. The answer was to manufacture as much processed raw material as possible on the site. New plants were built for the production of
fatty alcohol
Fatty alcohols (or long-chain alcohols) are usually high-molecular-weight, straight-chain primary alcohols, but can also range from as few as 4–6 carbons to as many as 22–26, derived from natural fats and oils. The precise chain length varies ...
s in a pioneering process;
tripolyphosphate
Sodium triphosphate (STP), also sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), or tripolyphosphate (TPP),
was produced on site using phosphate rock from
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
imported via the harbour; and sulphuric acid was produced using
anhydrite
Anhydrite, or anhydrous calcium sulfate, is a mineral with the chemical formula CaSO4. It is in the orthorhombic crystal system, with three directions of perfect cleavage parallel to the three planes of symmetry. It is not isomorphous with the ...
from the specially-created Sandwith mine adjacent to the factory. Production diversified further into specialist additives and chemicals, and continued to expand to become the town's largest employer, with 2,300 employees.
In 1955 the companies were taken over by
Albright and Wilson
Albright and Wilson was founded in 1856 as a United Kingdom manufacturer of potassium chlorate and white phosphorus for the match industry. For much of its first 100 years of existence, phosphorus-derived chemicals formed the majority of its prod ...
, and they in turn were taken over by the French company, Rhodia, in 1999. The decline of this site had started in the late 1980s, and finally in 2005 the site was closed down after a number of production processes had been terminated over the years.
Sekers Fabrics
To help counter the 50% unemployment in the area,
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
, of the West Cumberland Industrial Development Company, invited Miki Sekers and his cousin, Tomi de Gara to establish the West Cumberland Silk Mills at Hensingham, Whitehaven in 1938. The intention was to manufacture high quality silk and rayon fabrics for the fashion trade, but during World War II they mainly produced parachute nylon. After the war, it became Sekers Fabrics and reverted to its original purpose. It supplied material to the great fashion houses such as
Edward Molyneux
Edward Henry Molyneux () (5 September 1891 – 23 March 1974) was a leading British fashion designer whose salon in Paris was in operation from 1919 until 1950. He was characterised as a modernist designer who played with the refinements of co ...
and
Bianca Mosca
Bianca Mosca, born Bianca Lea Rosa Mottironi,England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 was a London-based fashion designer who rose to prominence during the 1940s and was the only woman member of th ...
in London and
Christian Dior
Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...
,
Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin (, , ), born Pietro Costante Cardino (2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020), was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric shap ...
and
Givenchy
Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de ...
in Paris. At the same time it supplied luxury-style dress materials within the purchasing power of most home dressmakers working in nylon.
The company was awarded the Duke of Edinburgh prize for elegant design in 1962, 1965 and 1973, and a Royal warrant was awarded as suppliers of furnishing fabric to Her Majesty the Queen. In 1964, they established a large showroom at 190-192 Sloane Street, London.
Miki Sekers was appointed an
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
in 1955 for services to the fashion industry, and was knighted in 1965 for services to the arts.
The Whitehaven silk mill closed in 2006.
Cumberland Curled Hair Ltd
In 1945, Kurt Oppenheim, a 26-year-old refugee from Nazi Germany, bought the abandoned Whitehaven Brewery site on Inkerman Terrace and began using it to prove both a home for the family and a factory to house the production of curled hair. Curled hair was used as the a part of the filling for bed mattresses, railway and carriage seating, car and domestic upholstery and when rubberised it was used in flooring. Kurt's family had been in the curled hair manufacturing business for many generations in Kassel, Germany and had factories in Kassel and Basel, Switzerland but after the war there was little left of the business, and it offered no assistance to Kurt who started in Whitehaven on a small amount of borrowed funds. The product was manufactured from horse and cow hair sourced from China and Argentina. Hair was cleansed, spun into rope (on machinery mainly produced in continental Europe) and then the rope was broken up to produce the hair with a spring like curl in it. This bulky product was bagged and sent off to customers all over the UK. With the introduction of synthetic upholstery fillings in the late 1950s and early '60s, the UK curled hair business began to contract and Cumberland Curled Hair consolidated the industry by buying up competitors that were closing down and moved their production to Whitehaven. The business expanded into a factory in Hensingham industrial area and brought employment to about eighty people of the town.
In the 1960s the product of choice for furniture, motor and other curled hair users turned towards polyurethane foam. Kurt set about learning from the chemical manufacturers just how foam was produced. The producers were large public companies like Dunlop and Vita-foam to name but two of about five producers. Many small firms sprang up to buy the foam 'blocs' that these prime makers produced , and convert (cut up) the foam into useable shapes for users further down the production chain, like car manufacturers, furniture and bedding etc. A foam production machine was beyond the financial resources of Cumberland Curled Hair Ltd to buy so with the help of his trusty band of factory mechanical fitters and electrician Kurt assembled his own machine – and it worked. It produced smaller but high quality foam blocs than those being produced by the big competitors, and it found a market with one of the UK's then largest furniture manufacturers.
The new foam business was called Cheri Foam and it was not long before its fourteen container lorries were to be seen all over the roads of Cumbria and Northumberland.
By the mid 1960s, the space requirements outgrew the factory in Hensingham and only the offices were kept in the original Tower Brewery in Whitehaven, whilst production of curled hair and flexile urethane foam was moved to an 11-acre site with two large aircraft hangars at
Silloth
Silloth (sometimes known as Silloth-on-Solway) is a port town and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in the county of Cumberland, the town is an example of a Victorian seaside resort in the North of Engl ...
Airfield.
Sport
Rugby League
Whitehaven is a
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
British rugby league system
The British rugby league system is based on a five-tier structure administered by the Rugby Football League.
There is no system of automatic promotion and relegation between all five tiers although teams have moved between them in the past. Since ...
. Their mascot is a lion called "Pride".
Other teams include;
* Kells A.R.L.F.C. play in the
National Conference League
The National Conference League (known as the Kingstone Press National Conference League for sponsorship reasons) is the top English amateur rugby league competition in the Rugby Football League pyramid, and as such is the leading amateur rugby l ...
Premier Division.
* Hensingham ARLFC are an Amateur
Rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
based in Whitehaven. Founded in 1900 It wasn't until 1920 that the Club changed its allegiances to Rugby League. Hensingham is one of the oldest rugby clubs in the country. They play their rugby in the National Conference League Division 3.
* There are several Whitehaven-based teams playing in the amateur
Cumberland League
The league is run by the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA). Teams from the Cumberland league can apply for election to the National Conference League if they meet minimum criteria.
History
The Cumberland League has been in existenc ...
.
* Whitehaven's female amateur R.L.F.C is named the "Wildcats".
Other sports
Whitehaven F.C.
Whitehaven Amateur Football Club is a football club in Whitehaven, Cumbria. The club are currently members of the and play at the County Ground.
History
The club was formed in 1994 from the ashes of Marchon A.F.C. and went on to win the Wear ...
currently play in the
West Lancashire Football League
The West Lancashire Football League is a football competition based in northern England, consisting of five divisions – three for first teams (Premier, One and Two), and two for reserve teams. The league is currently sponsored by Lancaster- ...
.
Whitehaven Cricket Club
Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...
play in the
Cumbria Cricket League
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cu ...
and jointly share their pitch "The Playground" with Whitehaven RUFC.
"Jam eater"
The term "jam eater" is often used by the people of neighbouring
Workington
Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207.
Loca ...
to refer to the people of Whitehaven, or more generally to people from West Cumbria. When the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' ran a lighthearted article on famous feuds in September 2008, featuring this, the local ''Whitehaven News'' published its own complementary feature, reporting that: "The common view is that the term is insulting because it implies people could not afford to buy meat for their sandwiches, so they had to eat jam instead."
The original article had summed up the situation in terms of the long-term rivalry between Whitehaven and nearby Workington: "Legend has it that one town's miners had jam on their sandwiches and the other did not, but no one agrees on which town it was or whether they did it because they were snobs or peasants." A reader from
Maryport
Maryport is a town and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England, historically in Cumberland.
The town is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, at the northern end of the former Cumberland Coalfield.
Locatio ...
, a few miles further up the Cumbria coast (which, as occasionally mentioned in discussions on the topic, used to have a jam factory) reported that he had understood the term originally referred to people from Whitehaven, and this was echoed in the comments on the ''Whitehaven News'' article, suggesting that a former distinction between the Whitehaven "jam eaters" and Workington "high siders" had gradually been lost in the trading of insults across the rugby pitch.
Maritime Festival
Whitehaven has also played host to a Maritime Festival, which started in 1999 and was held every two years, and then annually (the last being in 2013) attracting an estimated 350,000 people to the small town.
Attractions included tall ships, air displays which included the
Red Arrows
The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams ...
and various modern and old planes, street entertainment and firework displays. At the 2003, 2005 and 2007 festivals the local
Sea Cadets
Sea cadets are members of a sea cadet corps, a formal uniformed youth organisation for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or a naval s ...
were very much in evidence, conducting the traditional Evening Colours ceremony each evening aboard one of the visiting tall ships, and also taking part in the festival's official closing ceremony during the late Sunday afternoon each year.
The 2005 festival also marked the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, in which Whitehaven had been designated Cumbria's official commemoration celebration. Up to 1,000 veterans and ex-service personnel took part in the parade from the town's Castle Park to the harbour side, led by members of three military bands. Services were held on the harbour side, and aircraft from the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
provided a tribute display above the harbour.
The Maritime Festivals were founded by Gerard Richardson and organised by the Whitehaven Festival Company, made up of a board of volunteers, who organised 17 major events between 1999 and 2015. The Company was closed in 2016. They organised the Elizabeth II, Queen's visit to Whitehaven in June 2008, followed by the Status Quo (band), Status Quo gig in August of that year. The company staged two events in August 2009. The first was the redesigned festival (known for this year as the Whitehaven Food Festival, although it did still feature tall ships) which offered the usual wide variety of attractions, both around the southern half of the harbour and at St. Nicholas' Church, on 8–9 August. The second event, the following week, was the Here and Now Gig (a music concert with 1980's pop icons). For the June 2010 festival, which was similar in format to 2009, the music performances (Status Quo, N-Dubz and Katherine Jenkins) were moved to the harbour area.
The 2011 festival (featuring Razorlight plus several 1980s acts including Madness (band), Madness) continued the successful culinary theme, with the return of Jean-Christophe Novelli and other favourites. In 2012 the date of the festival was changed to the first weekend in June, to make it part of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration (with a red, white and blue themed firework display).
June 2010 shootings
On 2 June 2010, Whitehaven became a focus in the international media in relation to gun politics in the United Kingdom, gun laws in the United Kingdom, following a killing spree targeting people living in the western area of the county. After killing his twin brother in Lamplugh, and his family solicitor in Frizington, taxi driver Derrick Bird began the spree in Whitehaven, shooting several people on the streets and at the taxi rank where he worked, killing 12.
Digital switchover trial
On 20 July 2006, Broadcasting Minister Shaun Woodward and Industry Minister Margaret Hodge announced that Whitehaven would be the Pilot (experiment), pilot site for Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom#Digital switchover, the switchover to digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom. The selection of a pilot site followed on from trial switchovers held in Ferryside#Analogue television switch off, Ferryside and Bolton.
The switchover began when BBC Two was switched off at 0200 on 17 October 2007. This was followed by the remaining analogue channels at 0200, on 14 November 2007. As a result of the switchover, all televisions in the Whitehaven area had to have a digital terrestrial receiver (Freeview (UK), Freeview) or digital satellite alternative (Freesat, Sky (UK and Ireland), Sky, etc.) The switchover in the Whitehaven area was not entirely successful: in nearby Eskdale, Cumbria, Eskdale, poor signal quality left viewers with blank television screens and the digital switchover was supposed to give over 40 channels but certain areas received fewer than 20.
Notable people
file:'Gunner'_sculpture,_Whitehaven_-_geograph.org.uk_-_88760.jpg, upright=1.4, Modern sculpture commemorating the
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
raid in 1778
In alphabetical order:
*Abraham Acton, VC (1893–1915), British Army recipient of the Victoria Cross in World War I
*Kyle Amor (born 1987), an Ireland national rugby league team, Ireland international
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
footballer
*John Beck (It Bites), John Beck (b. 29 July 1961), keyboard player for It Bites
*John Benson (clockmaker), John Benson (died 1798), clockmaker
*Dame Edith Mary Brown (1864–1956), doctor who founded the first medical training facility for women in Asia
*
William Brownrigg
William Brownrigg ( – 6 January 1800) was a British doctor and scientist, who practised at Whitehaven in Cumberland. While there, Brownrigg carried out experiments that earned him the Copley Medal in 1766 for his work on carbonic acid gas. He ...
(1711–1800), doctor and scientist
*Scott Carson (born 1985), footballer
*Jordan Clark (cricketer), Jordan Clark (born 1990), cricketer
*Craig Cook (born1987), speedway rider
*Stuart Cummings (born 1960), rugby league referee
*Shepherd Dawson FRSE (1880-1935), author and psychologist
*Malcolm Eccles (born 1969), businessman
*Jonny Edgar (born 2004), Formula 3 racing driver
*Mildred Gale (1671–1701), paternal grandmother of George Washington, lived in Whitehaven and is buried in the graveyard of St Nicholas's Church.
*Dean Henderson (born 1997), Premier League footballer with Manchester United F.C., Manchester United
*Brian Higgins (producer), Brian Higgins (born 1959), record producer
*Dick Huddart (1936–2021), rugby league player
*Milton Huddart (1960–2015), rugby league player
*
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
(1747–1792), slave trader and father of the American Navy, began his career in Whitehaven and returned in 1778 aboard the ''Ranger''. He led a John Paul Jones#Ranger attacks the British, naval raid on the town in 1778 in the American War of Independence.
*Brad Kavanagh (born 1992), actor
*Jack Lawson (1881–1965), Lord Lawson of Beamish, British trade unionist and Labour politician
*Guy Lovell (born 1969), cricketer
*Matthew Postlethwaite (born 1991), actor
*Gerard Richardson MBE (born 1962), founder of the International Maritime Festival, author and businessman
*Sol Roper, John "Sol" Roper (1936–2015), professional rugby league footballer and coach
*Robert Salmon, (1775–1844), maritime artist
*Frank Schon, Baron Schon (1912–1995), co-founder of Marchon Chemicals
* Miki Sekers (1910–1972), co-founder of Sekers Fabrics
*Jackie Sewell (1927–2016), footballer
*Adam Summerfield (born 1990), professional ice hockey player for Manchester Phoenix
*Jonathan Swift (1667–1745), claimed an over-fond nurse kidnapped and brought him to Whitehaven for three years in his infancy.
*William Thomson (bishop), William Thomson (1819–1890), Archbishop of York in 1862–1890
*Charlie Woods (born 1941), footballer (Cleator Moor Celtic, Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United, Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town), coach and football scout. Woods became a football coach and scout working alongside England football manager Bobby Robson throughout most of Robson's career including England national football team, England.
*William Wordsworth (1770–1850), Poet Laureate from 1843 to 1850, frequently visited Whitehaven
Twin cities
*Kozloduy, Bulgaria
See also
* Listed buildings in Whitehaven
* Lowther baronets
* The Whitehaven Academy
Notes
References
Further reading
* Daniel Hay ''Whitehaven an illustrated history'', Michael Moon, 1979
External links
* Cumbria County History Trust: Whitehaven (nb: provisional research only – see Talk page) Sekers Silk Mills in the 1940s – archive film
{{Authority control
Whitehaven,
Populated coastal places in Cumbria
Ports and harbours of Cumbria
Towns in Cumbria
1910 in England
1947 in England
Coal mining disasters in England
1910 mining disasters
1947 mining disasters
1910 disasters in the United Kingdom
1947 disasters in the United Kingdom