Moor Row is a village 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 ...

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 ...

. It is in Egremont

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

and lies on a minor road off the

A595 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 by ...

, south-east of

Whitehaven 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 is th ...

. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 759. Moor Row is a residential community on Cumbria's coastal plain. The history of Moor Row goes back to at least 1762, but it was the 19th century discovery of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

in the vicinity that built the 'row of houses on a moor'. Cornish tin miners moved here to work the mines, and their presence is noted in a number of street names such as Penzance Street. Another street, Dalzell, is named after Thomas Henry Dalzell, a mine owner.

Houses

The village name probably refers to the Scalegill street houses, which are noted on an 1860

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

map. The 1859 homes on Dalzell Street are thought to be the oldest of the terraced rows. The village has grown in the 20th century, adding modern suburban homes to the mixture and is continuing to do so in the 21st century.

Mines

Moor Row's Montreal Mines produced 250,000 tons a year, the largest of any mine in the Whitehaven or

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vill ...

district. The mine property covered , half of which was ore bearing. Both open pit and shaft mining took place. Between 1000 and 1200 people were employed locally in the industry.

Railway

Moor Row formerly had a station on the

Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Junction Railway The Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway was an English railway company which built and operated a standard gauge railway in Cumberland, England intended to open up the hematite orefield to the south-east of Whitehaven. It opened for goods ...

. A

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

shunting yard Shunting yard may refer to: * Classification yard * Shunting yard algorithm * British term for rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and ...

was built in the village, bringing further jobs and prosperity to the inhabitants. It became western Cumbria's most important junction and goods yard until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

s and the

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

s brought about the decline of the railways in the UK. The railway closed in 1980 with the closing of the last mine at

Beckermet Beckermet is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cumbria, England, between Egremont, Cumbria, Egremont and Seascale. The parish had a population of 1,619 in the 2011 census. Historically in Cumberland, it is served by Bra ...

. The railway is still in situ and runs to Mirehouse Junction. It is also now part of both the national coast to coast walk and cycleway.

Employment

Westlakes Science and Technology Park is a local employer today. Also the nuclear power plant Sellafield is a few miles away which also offers local employment.

Houses

Mines

Railway

Employment

Sport

References

External links