Parton, Cumbria

Parton
Parton
Village and parish
	Lowther Arms public house, Parton
	Parton Location in the former Copeland Borough Parton Location within Cumbria
Population	914 (2011)
OS grid reference	NX979205
Civil parish	Parton;
Unitary authority	Cumberland;
Ceremonial county	Cumbria;
Region	North West;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WHITEHAVEN
Postcode district	CA28
Dialling code	01946
Police	Cumbria
Fire	Cumbria
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Copeland;
Website	https://partonparishcouncil.com/
	List of places UK England Cumbria 54°34′01″N 3°34′30″W / 54.567°N 3.575°W

Parton is a village and

Cumbrian Coast railway line

.

History

Beginnings

The sheltered anchorage in Parton Bay was used by the

glassworks – which was able to export bottles as far as London thanks to the improved harbour.^{[citation needed}

]

18th century prosperity

Unfortunately, Parton Bay is not as well sheltered as Whitehaven, and within about 15 years, Lamplugh was unable to afford maintenance costs (possibly a contributory factor to the closure of the glassworks and salt-pan about this time). The manor of Moresby was bought in 1722 by one Thomas Brougham, who was able to sideline Lamplugh and develop the port himself, but ironically, in 1738, he sold his rights to the Lowther family. Surprisingly, rather than shut down the port which rivalled Whitehaven, they used it themselves for some of their coal shipments, and Parton prospered for decades. New industries developed, most notably a brewery, but everything was nearly wrecked in 1795, when a storm destroyed the harbour breakwaters. With such extensive damage, the harbour reverted to being a little fishing haven, but the village industries had enough local custom to survive, for a while at least.^{[citation needed]}

Surprisingly, a new and important industrial concern opened to the north of the village in 1800, the

colliery; 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.^{[citation needed}

]

19th century onward

In 1840 the Lowca engineering works of Tulk and Ley 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.^{[citation needed]}

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. Moresby Hall and parish church remain, just outside the village boundary, on the high ground to the north of Parton.^{[citation needed]}