Workington

Workington is a town with a population of 25,000 inhabitants (2011) on the Irish Sea coast in Cumbria. A regeneration of the town in 2006 installed several works of public art in the town centre.

History
The history of Workington dates back to Roman times, when it was the site of defence structures protecting the coast against attacks from Irish and Scottish tribes, of which the Caledonii were the most infamous and powerful. A fort was constructed, later known as the Burrows Walls, on the north bank of the River Derwent mouth near Siddick Pond and Northside. Another watchtower or fort would have been on How Michael to the south side of the river near Chapel Bank. The fortifications proved to be ineffective, and by the year 122 the Romans had started construction of Hadrian's Wall from Bowness to Wallsend on the North Sea. Remains of a Roman fort have been discovered around the church of Moresby to the south, and more fortifications to the north are further evidence that the coastal wall once extended down the whole Solway coast as part of the Roman Empire's defences. The Burrow Walls fort was likely known as Magis.

The origin of the name Workington dates back well over a millennium, when settlers arrived to the fertile lands led by a man named Weorc. They named their settlement Weorcingas tun, literally the settlement of the people of Weorc. The spelling of the town's named changed over 105 times throughout history, finally settling for current day Workington. The area around St Michael's Church was once home to a community of monks. Considering elevated sea levels at the time, it is possible the community may have lived on an island south of the river's mouth.

The discovery of a Viking sword at Northside indicates the possible existence of a settlement on the river mouth. The area is thought to be part of a burial site, and many more evidence of Viking activity has subsequently been discovered in the area.

Workington remained little more than a fishing village until the 16th century when docks were built to facilitate the export of coal mined around Workington. It industrialized rapidly and became an important hub for the iron and ore industry. Queen Elizabeth encouraged the mining of metal ores in the area around Keswick in 1566, and ships built in Bristol were used to transport ore and metal to other parts of England, and to import timber from Ireland to help smelting ore. At the time, England was short of metals and weapons technology, so the ore was important to support the manufacture of cannons and other weaponry. The combination of iron ore and coal deposits enabled the iron industry to flourish in Cumbria.

When Henry Bessemer introduced his process for steel making, it revolutionized the steel industry in Workington because the abundance of phosphorus-free hematite iron ore served as the prefect precursor for commercial steel production. Bessemer's revolutionary process used a novel furnace that made use of forced air convection through molten pig iron, thus burning off the carbon and turning it into steel. Workington was chosen as the site where Bessemer's company built the first 2 blast furnaces using the process named after him in 1857, and 2 more down south a few years later. The sector would continuously expand until the late 20th century, and eventually included manufacturing of many different steel goods. Workington steel mills were particularly known as manufacturer of railway rails, which were exported worldwide. During the Second World War, the Allies relocated a strategically important electric steel furnace producing aircraft engine ball bearings from Norway to Workington to prevent it from falling into Axis hands when a Nazi invasion of Norway was imminent.

From the 1970s onward, ore and coal mining in Cumbria started to struggle to remain competitive. Cheaper resources were initially imported from Sweden but by 1982 the last steel mill was forced out of business, ending 4 centuries of mineral processing in the town. With the two industries on which it was built shut down, Workington plunged into an economic depression along with many other towns and cities in Cumbria. The economic revival has been slow, and run-down factories and warehouses can still be seen around the area. Some of the workforce has since found reemployment in chemical and cardboard manufacturing industries, waste recycling, and in the nuclear industry hub around nearby Sellafield.

Orientation
Workington lies south of the River Derwent on the West Cumbrian coastal plain of the Irish Sea, a section called Solway Firth. The famous Lake District is immediately to the east.

Visitor information

 * Visitor information for Workington from the Visit Cumbria site

By train
By far the most comfortable way to reach Workington is by train, as the Cumbrian Coast Line passes through the town. Get off at. The journey takes ca. 2 hours from Lancaster, or 1 hour from Carlisle. The station shop sells snacks and beverages but only accepts cash.

By bike
A cycle path runs along the coastline, and the stretches around Workington have been rebuilt since the 2010s and well maintained.

By ferry
There are no scheduled ferry services to/from Workington.

Get around


Buses 30, 31 and 50 travel between the station and the historic centre, where many of the tourist sites are located. Get off at Peter Street. For the Old Mill, take bus 35 of 47 from The Theatre Royal and get off at Calva Brown from where the Mill is a 20-min walk. For Schoose, take bus 302 or X9 and get off at Travellers Rest. Bus 300 covers most of the places of interest to the traveller. A ticket costs £1.80.

See
Almost nothing remains of the historic centre of Workington — most of it was converted into a pedestrian shopping district, and traditional sandstone buildings with green slate roofs were demolished to make space for characterless department stores. A few architectural gems remain, most notably Curwen Hall and the churches around town. The Helena Thompson Museum is the only museum in town. In the area east of St. Michael's Church, around for example, some of the historic outlooks of Workington have been preserved: small worker houses with white painted facade and slate roofs.



Do

 * Rugby League: Workington Town play 13-a-side in League One the third tier, at Derwent Park aka Fibrus Stadium. The playing season is Feb-Sept.
 * Football: Workington FC languish in the lower amateur tiers of soccer. Their home ground is Borough Park.

Buy
Workington is occasionally named as the shopping town for west Cumbria, and has a few dozen shops concentrated around, although few — if any — could be considered noteworthy.

Workington also has a and an  just outside the centre, which are great for stocking up on food and drinks when passing through the area.

Go next

 * Seascale
 * Cockermouth
 * Maryport
 * Carlisle