Maryport, United Kingdom

To the north are the ruins of Netherhall Estate. The only remains of this once grand manor are stables and a 14th-century pele tower, largely built of dressed Roman stones presumably from Alauna Roman fort nearby. The tower was formerly part of a large house of later date which was demolished in 1979 following a fire.

The area was historically called Ellenfoot (meaning [settlement] at the foot of the river Ellen) but the name was changed by Humphrey Senhouse as he began developing the port and new town, following the example of Whitehaven. In 1749 an act of Parliament, the Maryport Harbour Act 1748 (22 Geo. 2. c. 6), was passed to allow the creation of the present town. Humphrey Senhouse named the new town after his wife Mary. The Senhouse family were landowners in the area and responsible for the development of the town and excavation of its Roman past. The family also had interests in the West Indies. In 1770, Humphrey Senhouse's son, William, was appointed Surveyor General of Customs in Barbados where he purchased a sugar plantation and managed another for Sir James Lowther of Whitehaven. William's brother, Joseph, had a coffee plantation in Dominica. Both men were considerable slave-owners.

It was during this period that the town's lighthouse was built.

The town quickly developed as an industrial centre throughout the 19th century. An iron foundry opened and the port developed as did shipyards, such as Wood's yard and Ritson's yard, which was famous for launching ships broadside into the River Ellen because it was not wide enough to allow ships to be launched the usual way.

The Maryport and Carlisle Railway, opened in the 1840s, with George Stephenson as its engineer, made the transport of coal much easier. Large new mines were sunk in the Aspatria area and almost all their production passed through the port. In 1846, 213,152 tons of coal were shipped from Maryport and by 1857 this had risen to more than 340,000 tons. Much of the coal produced in the area was turned into coke for the local iron and steel industry. By 1890, the Allerdale Coal Company had thirty Beehive coke ovens working on its site at Buckhill, Broughton Moor.

In 1874, the owners announced a cut of 10% in the miners' wages. A strike began in the Aspatria pits and then the owners made a further cut of 15%. By December, the strike had spread to the whole area with 2,000 men involved. The strike lasted until March 1875. There was violence when some 'blacklegs' were assaulted and many colliers left the area to seek work elsewhere.

In 1894, John Osmaston who operated the Dearham Colliery became insolvent and the bank took over his pits. Two groups of local miners formed co-operatives and leased the mines at Crosshow and Townhead from the Lowthers. They found it impossible to compete with the other wealthy coal-owners in a tight market and also had serious problems with drainage. This unique experiment ended in 1903 when both companies went into liquidation.

During the early years of the 20th century, trade in the docks remained steady but was badly affected by the 1926 General Strike. Then, in 1927, a new deep-water dock was opened in Workington. Previously, the Workington Iron and Steel works had imported much of their raw material through Maryport but all of this trade was immediately transferred to the new facility. The local Solway Blast Furnaces also closed.

Maryport became a ghost town. The government declared West Cumberland a ‘Special Area' but, by 1933, 57.3% of the town's insured workforce was unemployed. 1,684 men were out of work. Maryport was “for the most part, living on public funds”. In 1936 twenty unemployed men marched from Maryport to join the Jarrow Crusade to London. Known as the Maryport Marchers, they were joined by two marchers from Cleator Moor and two marchers from Frizington. The Maryport Marchers Council organised this.

Despite a minor boom during the Second World War, when coal from North East England was diverted to the port, Maryport never recovered. The docks were closed to cargo ships in the 1960s. The last deep pit in the area, at Risehow, closed in 1966.

Today, after a series of major regeneration projects such as the yacht marina in the local harbour, prospects for the town are starting to look better. It is expected that tourism will play a major role in the future of the town.

In October 2018, it was announced that the Netherhall School community swimming pool was to close.