MY COLLECTION INCLUDES WHAT IS DESCRIBED AS " THE BOROUGH GUIDE TO WHITEHAVEN".IT,S A TINY PUBLICATION MEASURING ONLY APPROXIMATELY 6 BY 4 INCHES.HOWEVER, FOR THOSE OF US WHO LIKE TO LOOK BACK INTO THE TOWN'S PAST, ITEMS LIKE THESE ARE TREASURES FOR THEY ALWAYS INCLUDE ILLUSTRATIONS AS WELL AS INFORMATION HELPING US TO GET A PICTURE OF WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE ALL THOSE YEARS AGO, AND JUST HOW MUCH THINGS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE CENTURY. THERE IS NO INDICATION AS TO WHEN THIS WAS PRINTED BUT ONE OF THE BLACK AND WHITE IMAGES SHOWS THE BEACON MILLS UNDER CONSTRUCTION SO THAT NARROWS IT DOWN TO ABOUT 1906.
Although few of us are 100 years old!!!!!!!Study the accompanying map for a moment and see how many of the 16 places listed have either disappeared altogether or been changed in our own lifetime!!!!
1..hospital.....2..town hall.....3..post office.....4..public library
5..Whitehaven castle.....6..grand hotel.....7..baths..
8..electricity station.....9..infirmary.....10..St James church.....
11..St Nicholas church.....12..Trinity church.....13..S Beghs church.....
14..Christ church.....15..secoundary school.....16..Irish street council school.
7 have disappeared....2 remain empty awaiting their fate..
2 have changed their purpose..1 has dramatically changed in appearance.
4 still serve the local community in the same manner.
Which is which???????
The Welfare State was then still far away and medical facilities were centred on the Howgill Street Infirmary (9).There was also an isolation hospital on Bransty(1).which tended for scarlet fever sufferers.
Howgill Street Infirmary ..opened 1829.
Bransty fever hospital
BOTH OF THESE INSTITUTIONS HAVE GONE!!
In 1906 the seat of local government was a fine building on Duke Street.(2) Built by one of our wealthy 18th century merchants,it was known as the Cupola. Today, the community is served from a brand new creation on Catherine Street while the Duke Street building stands empty awaiting decisions as to it's future.
New Council base on Catherine Street.
Duke Street mansion and former Town Hall.
Whitehaven is described as having a population of 19,048 with early closing day being Friday and the principal market day as Thursday. It tells us that we are distant from London by 304 miles and that the rateable value of the Borough was £74,618.It is a Municipal & Parliamentary Borough & Market town in St Bees Parish, Cumberland and stands on the W.coast,12 miles S. of Maryport,& 28 miles from Keswick. It is supposed to derive its name from the Whithy or Whitten trees which grew in abundance in the district & were used by the Irish to make wicker boats, coracles, noggins etc.
Of its history prior to the year 1620,there are few authentic records except that the manor was purchased by Gerard Lowther in 1599. it began to acquire importance under the influence of the Lowther family, its export of coal raising it to the position of a considerable seaport. "Coal was worked in the E. of Cumberland at an early date" says Mr R.S.Ferguson in his interesting history of that county...The Eastern mines have possible been worked more or less rudely from Roman times down to the present day. The W. coalfields were first worked in 1620 by Sir Christopher Lowther at Whitehaven on estates which had formerly belonged to the dissolved monastery at St Bees.Sir Christopher died in 1644 and was succeeded by his son, Sir John, who put great vigour into the working of the coal at Whitehaven, driving levels, and introducing engines which were to pump the pits out. this Sir John reigned until 1706 and was succeeded by his son Sir James who died in 1755.
The Post Office (3).occupies the very same site today although it's facilities have changed somewhat since 1906.Today it shares the building with radio Cumbria.
The Public Library (4) celebrated it's 150th anniversary this year and still occupies the same site as in 1906.The former Museum building on the corner of Lowther and Catherine streets was demolished in 1961 and thereafter the library was extended to take in the same corner space
Whilst the structure of the building virtually remains the same ,extensions outside and alterations inside have changed the facilities ,appearance and atmosphere of this valuable local asset. It is certainly more informal than it was when the above postcard was issued.
"He(Sir James) spent immense sums....half a million it is said...in the development of his collieries, & in 1718 set up a " fire engine " or steam engine for pumping water out of his pits. This is said to have been the second steam engine erected in England for pumping purposes. Sir James, successors have followed his policy, and the Lowthers must have gained enormous wealth from the collieries at Whitehaven. Up to recently, the Lowthers have always worked these collieries themselves, but in 1889 they for the first time let them out on lease." The same writer says that in 1660 Whitehaven owned a fleet of 40 vessels ranging from the " Content " of 12 tons burthen ,to the "Resolution" of 94 tons, which traded with Virginia for tobacco... a fleet whose safety was much imperilled by Dutch " capers " hanging about the Solway with hostile intent."
Whitehaven castle (5) was still Lowther owned in 1906 , the owner being the famous Yellow Earl,Hugh Lowther.Like the adjoining castle park ,it was a walled estate.
Described in one publication as "One of the finest hotels in the N. of England " the Grand Hotel( 6) dominated Tangier Street for almost 100 years until in January of 1940 it was destroyed by fire with the loss of one life. It lay in ruins for some time but sadly was never replaced and today....66 years later.... we are still talking about the need for a good hotel in town!!!!
In 1832,Whitehaven became a Parliamentary borough with the privilege of sending 1 representative to the House.In 1894 it was incorporated as a Municipal Borough, and is governed today by mayor,6 aldermen & 18 counc8illors.Occupying a healthy situation on a small bay, enclosed by hills, the town has an excellent water supply (drawn from Ennerdale Lake ,9 miles away ), good sanitary arrangements, and is lighted by electricity. It is the seat of petty sessions & County Courts, publishes 4 newspapers, has several flourishing manufactures & possesses one of the most important harbours on the Cumberland coast. The views obtained from the hills on either side of its bay, especially those towards the Isle of Man (which may be seen on a clear day ) and the hills of Scotland , are extremely beautiful, so also are the sunsets, which are a notable feature of this district , and the town itself is pleasantly laid out. Some of the streets possess handsome business and private houses which would compare favourably with many similar buildings in places of larger size.
Although the town had a Bath House as far back as 1814 and yet another baths establishment in New Town in 1858, it was not until 1882 that a Public Baths Co was set up and gave rise to the Baths ( 7) on Duke Street .The building still stands but like several others is closed down and decaying awaiting decisions as to its fate. Currently the talk is of demolition and replacement with apartments.
Its days as the "Park "nightclub over ,the fine
sandstone building embellished
with 3 attractive features reminiscent of
the Baths Co. stands decaying .
Electricity came to Whitehaven in 1893 when the Town & Harbour Trustees set up a generating station( 8) on West Strand where previously the sewage pumping station was sited. Fortunately , this building still stands thanks to an extensive restoration effort in recent years. It now houses the water treatment plant.
The Howgill Street Infirmary (9)served the area until the 1920,s still depending a great deal on endowments, donations and the like. It had expanded since 1829 having wards for men , women and children. It had an x ray room, an operating theatre, a library and recreational space outside but it still needed to cater for its nurses. They had no accommodation and it was trying to solve this problem that gave the governors a wonderful surprise. On the point of committing themselves to a large debt , they were told that someone had bought the castle and donated it to the town as a new hospital. By 1925 , after extensive renovation .patients moved in and from that point onwards until the late 1980,s it catered for the areas medical needs. By that time it too had outlived it's usefulness and was replaced by the West Cumberland Hospital at Hensingham.
Today,100 years later ,the Infirmary has been demolished, the Castle was saved from a similar fate when it was purchased by a developer and now houses private residents.
St James, Church ( 10 ) described rightfully as a "Georgian gem" has overlooked the town from High Street since its consecration in 1753. Designed by our famous engineer Carlisle Spedding it has seen several renovations but remains a truly beautiful church and one which any visitor to the town should hasten to appreciate.
Replacing a tiny chapel which once crossed Lowther Street in the vicinity of the present TSB bank, St Nicholas Church(11) has dominated the centre of town for over 300 years. Sadly, I was never inside but photos reveal that it was a beautiful place of worship. How sad then that in 1971 it was devastated by fire. Thankfully , the ruins were partly restored. a section of the church is still operational and whereas in 1906 the grounds were not as open to the public , today they are always enjoyed by crowds of people especially in Summer when they are gloriously colourful thanks to the efforts of the borough gardeners.
By 1714 Sir James Lowther had inherited the Whitehaven estates and with a population in excess of 4000 it was felt that another church was needed. A site was selected at the junction of Scotch ,Irish and Roper streets and in 1715 Holy Trinity Church (12 )was consecrated . It served until 1949 when it was deemed unsafe due to some subsidence and was demolished. With many of the gravestones fixed to the boundary wall, the area became a garden of rest and it too has splendid floral arrangements every Summer. In recent years a meditative labyrinth was installed .
ST. BEGH'S CHURCH ( 13 ) HAS SERVED THE LOCAL CATHOLIC COMMUNITY SINCE 1868,RECENTLY CELEBRATING ITS TERCENTENARY. THE ORIGINAL BUILDING SEEN ON THE LEFT, HAD A LIGHTNING CONDUCTOR ON THE SPIRE BUT THIS WAS REMOVED IN THE THIRTIES. aPART FROM THIS CHANGE IT REMAINS THE SAME AS IN 1906 BUT THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL ALTERATIONS INSIDE THE BUILDING.
Christ Church ( 14 ) on Preston Street was consecrated in 1847 and is yet another local place of worship that I was never in until it was destroyed by fire in.2003...... The church served an ever diminishing congregation until it was eventually closed down in 1977. Thereafter it served several other purposes and when destroyed by fire which the authorities said " was being treated as suspicious " it was then a keep fit centre.
Although there has been much speculation as to what will replace the church building , the site remains an ugly, empty, sad eyesore.
By 1906 , the government had taken steps to introduce and organise Secondary Education. However, it was not until 1908 that the town's first such school was opened. To help pay for it the Marine School on High Street had to be sold and a site was purchased in Catherine Street to accommodate the new educational venture. What was then called the "County Secondary School " (15 )which most of us remember as the Grammar School was opened .When Secondary Education was re organised on Comprehensive lines in 1966, the "Grammar " was closed down and for years was used by overflows from other local schools. Finally, after several other changes the building stood empty whilst arguments went on as to what purpose it could serve. Unbelievably, in my view, it was decided to demolish the whole structure and replace it with a supermarket!!!!!!
Irish Street School (16 ) was not built until 1911 and possessed Boys,Girls and Infants departments all on the same site. Like other such institutions it was affected by educational re organisations .It's pupil body moved out to occupy the former Grammar School, in 1969. Before it's demise in recent years it served as a community centre for the elderly and later still as the headquarters of the Social Services. Eventually, by 2002, it had came under plans for a new council headquarters and the building was boarded up awaiting demolition.
THAT'S IT.. ..FOR NOW !!!!!
WE WILL GO SHOPPING NEXT!!!!.