Parton, Cumbria

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 54.567
longitude= -3.575
official_name= Parton
population = 924 (2001 census)
shire_district= Copeland
shire_county = Cumbria
region= North West England
constituency_westminster= Copeland
post_town= WHITEHAVEN
postcode_district = CA28
postcode_area= CA
dial_code= 01946
os_grid_reference= NX979205

Parton is a village on the Cumbrian coast, overlooking the Solway Firth, 2km north of the town of Whitehaven. Formerly a port and a mining centre, it is now purely residential, benefiting from its location between the A595 trunk road and the Cumbrian Coast railway line.

History

Beginnings

The sheltered anchorage in Parton Bay was used by the Romans, who had a fort on the high ground to the north of the present village. Later, the bay was used by the inhabitants of Moresby, the village which grew up to the west of the old fort in the Middle Ages. In Elizabethan times a number of small merchant vessels were based in the bay, trading as far as Chester; by this time there was probably also a salt-pan in operation. The port was developed in the early 17th century to cater for Moresby's coal trade, but fell into decline after two generations of the Lowther family turned the hamlet of Whitehaven into a major port. Although the Lowthers theoretically had the legal power to prevent port development at Parton, entrepreneur Thomas Lamplugh teamed up with Henry Fletcher, lord of the manor of Moresby, to "repair" the harbour at Parton, following which Fletcher sold off plots for development along the shore. Within about five years (boosted by Lamplugh's private Act of Parliament in 1705 to break the Lowthers' legal power) a new port community had developed, mainly serving local collieries, but also including industrial facilities such as a glassworks- which was able to export bottles as far as London thanks to the improved harbour.

18th century prosperity

; the coal being mined some distance inland and brought to Parton along a tunnel called the Parton Drift, which also drained the mine workings. To convey coal to the port of Whitehaven a horse-drawn tramway was built along the foot of the cliffs.

19th century onward

In 1840 the Lowca engineering works made the first locomotive for the new Maryport and Carlisle Railway, but ironically, it had to be transported from Parton by seagoing barge. Not until several years later was the technically challenging railway extension to Whitehaven via Parton developed. The railway soon supplanted the old tramway, and brought new opportunities for Parton's industries. The colliery, the engineering works and the brewery all thrived, an iron-foundry opened next to the new railway station, and in the 1870s an ironworks was established on the shore near the Lowca works. Unfortunately, the end of the 19th century was a period of industrial consolidation, and Parton's relatively small businesses began to struggle. By the 1920s, almost all were gone, and Parton became a dormitory town for collieries around Lowca and Whitehaven. Many of the houses in the old village were over 200 years old by this time, and were classified as slums, so over the next half-century new housing estates were developed on top of the Brows- the escarpment overlooking the old port. Although the local collieries have all closed, Parton's dormitory function continues, thanks to its good transport access.

Further reading

*Bradbury, D. "Parton Part One", Whitehaven, PastPresented (2002) ISBN 9781904367048
*Bradbury, D. "Parton Part Off", Whitehaven, PastPresented (2003) ISBN 9781904367192