Workington Hall, sometimes called Curwen Hall, is a ruined building on the Northeast outskirts of the town of Workington in Cumbria. It is a Grade I listed building. [1]
Workington Hall, sometimes called Curwen Hall, is a ruined building on the Northeast outskirts of the town of Workington in Cumbria. It is a Grade I listed building. [1]
A peel tower was built on the site in 1362. [2] The present house dates back to around 1404 and was built as a fortified tower house. [2] In 1568, Mary, Queen of Scots wrote a letter from Workington Hall to Queen Elizabeth I of England. After the defeat of her forces at the Battle of Langside and disguised as an ordinary woman, Mary [3] crossed the Solway Firth and landed at Workington. She spent her first night in England as an honoured guest at Workington Hall. On 18 May 1568, Mary was escorted to Carlisle Castle after spending a day at Cockermouth. She was 25 years old. [4] Additions to the house were carried out by John Carr in the 1780s [2] and the gardens were laid out by Thomas White at around the same time. [5]
In the early 19th century the lord of the manor at Workington Hall was John Christian Curwen, born John Christian, who inherited the hall from Eldred Curwen in 1790 and took the Curwen name. He was Member of Parliament for Carlisle from 1786 to 1812 and from 1816 to 1820, following this with a period as member for Cumberland from 1820 to 1828. Workington changed radically both economically and socially, during the period when John Christian was lord of the manor (1783–1828). [6] A Curwen through his mother's side, ...he is the man who stands out...who must rank as one of the most interesting and progressive of Cumbrians of his day. [7] The hall remained the family home of the Curwen family until 1929 when it passed to the Chance family by marriage. [8]
The hall was requisitioned by the War Office at the start of the Second World War and suffered a serious fire while the troops were billetted there. [9] The family passed the hall over to Workington Borough Council after the War so it could be used as a Town Hall but conversion to this use never happened. [10]
Cumberland is a historic county in North West England. The historic county is bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish counties of Dumfriesshire and Roxburghshire to the north. The area includes the city of Carlisle, part of the Lake District and North Pennines, and the Solway Firth coastline.
The Battle of Langside was fought on 13 May 1568 between forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, and forces acting in the name of her infant son James VI. Mary’s short period of personal rule ended in 1567 in recrimination, intrigue, and disaster when, after her capture at Carberry Hill, she was forced to abdicate in favour of James VI. Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, while her Protestant half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, was appointed Regent on behalf of his nephew. In early May 1568 Mary escaped, heading west to the country of the Hamiltons, high among her remaining supporters, and the safety of Dumbarton Castle with the determination to restore her rights as queen. Mary was defeated and went into exile and captivity in England. The battle is generally considered the start of the Marian civil war.
Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England, so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cockermouth has a population of 8,204, increasing to 8,761 at the 2011 Census.
Swarthmoor Hall is a mansion at Swarthmoor, in the Furness area of Cumbria, North West England. Furness is part of the historic county of Lancashire. The Hall was home to Thomas and Margaret Fell, the latter an important player in the founding of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) movement in the 17th century. It is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It remains in use today as a Quaker retreat house.
John Curwen was an English Congregationalist minister and diffuser of the tonic sol-fa system of music education created by Sarah Ann Glover. He was educated at Wymondley College in Hertfordshire, then Coward College as that institution became known when it moved to London, and finally University College London.
Carlisle Castle is a stone keep medieval fortress located in the city of Carlisle near the ruins of Hadrian's Wall. First built during the reign of William II in 1092 and rebuilt in stone under Henry I in 1122, the castle is over 930 years old and has been the scene of many episodes in British history.
Seaton is a large village and civil parish in Cumbria, England. Historically part of Cumberland, near the Lake District National Park in England. It is home to around 5,000 people and is one of the largest villages in England. The population of the parish was measured in the 2011 Census as 5,022. Historically a part of Cumberland, it is situated on the north side of the River Derwent, across from the town of Workington, and close to the smaller village of Camerton. Seaton forms part of the Borough of Allerdale.
Bolton Castle is a 14th-century castle located in Wensleydale, Yorkshire, England. The nearby village of Castle Bolton takes its name from the castle. The castle is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War, and “slighted” afterwards, but much of it survived. It has never been sold and is still in the ownership of the descendants of the Scrope family.
Bromfield is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, in the north of England.
Inglewood Forest is a large tract of mainly arable and dairy farm land with a few small woodland areas between Carlisle and Penrith in the English non-metropolitan county of Cumbria or ancient county of Cumberland.
Armathwaite Nunnery was a Benedictine nunnery in Cumbria, England. It was situated near the confluence of the rivers Croglin Water and Eden in the southern angle of the parish of Ainstable, and was first known as the nunnery of Ainstable.
Workington was historically a part of Cumberland now Cumbria, an historic county in North West England; the area around Workington has long been a producer of coal, steel and high-grade iron ore.
Wharton Hall in Wharton, Cumbria, England, is a medieval fortified manor house.
Sir Richard Lowther of Lowther Hall, Westmorland was an English soldier and official. He was twice High Sheriff of Cumberland and Lord Warden of the West March in 1592.
St Michael's Church, Workington is the parish church of the town of Workington, Cumbria, England. It is part of the deanery of Solway, in the archdeaconry of West Cumberland.
St Peter's Church, Camerton is the Church of England parish church of Camerton, Cumbria. It is about 1⁄2 mile (800 m) south of the village.
Workington is a civil parish and a town in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. It contains 58 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, seven are at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. Workington is a port, and its industries in the past have been based on coal mining and steel making. There is a great variety in types of listed buildings. Most of them are houses and associated structures and shops. They also include churches, a fortified house now a ruin, a museum and theatre, public houses, hotels, clubs, a school, a bridge, memorials, and a model farm. There are also remaining industrial buildings.
John Christian Curwen, born John Christian was an English Member of Parliament and High Sheriff.
Our Lady and St Michael's Church also known as Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Michael's Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Workington, Cumbria, England. It was built in 1876 by the Benedictines. It is located on Bank Road and Banklands to the south west of the town centre. It was designed by E. W. Pugin in the Gothic Revival style and is a Grade II listed building.
Henry Curwen (1528–1596) was an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Cumberland.
