History of Whitehaven
Whitehaven Castle was built in 1769 by Sir John Lowther as his own house, on the site of an earlier mansion. The Lowthers continued to own the site up to the 1920s when it was turned into a hospital. The hospital closed in the 1980s it has now been turned into luxury flats.
Information from Wikipedia
The building was constructed for Sir John Lowther as his private residence; it was originally known as Flatt Hall and was completed in 1769. In 1924, the Earl of Lonsdale sold Whitehaven Castle to Herbert Wilson Walker, a local industrialist, who then donated the building to the people of West Cumberland, along with £20,000 to convert it into a new hospital. Later, a second new hospital, the West Cumberland Hospital was opened in 1964 by the Queen Mother, and Whitehaven Castle then became a facility for the elderly and has since been converted into apartments.
“The Lake District”
The loveliest spot that man hath found
William Wordsworth
1693 The church of St Nicholas was built in Whitehaven.
A fire on 31st August 1971 destroyed the entire fabric of St Nicholas’ Church in Whitehaven, except the Clock Tower and main entrance.
The remaining building has been renovated, and contains a small place of worship, and a Resource Centre used by local schools and youth groups. The centre also contains a volunteer run cafe.
Whitehaven
Originally settled by Irish-Norse Vikings in the 10th century Whitehaven’s historic town was mainly created by the Lowther family in the 17th century. In 1630 Sir Christopher Lowther purchased the estate and used Whitehaven as a port for exporting coal from the Cumberland Coalfield, in particular to Ireland. In 1634 he built a stone pier where ships could load and unload cargoes. This pier still stands here today.
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