Towns Index page 2 Maryport Fleming Square Maryport was named in 1756 in honor of Mary Senhouse. Sir Humphrey Senhouse, having seen the Lowther and Curwen families prosper as they exploited the coal and iron in their estates and developed the ports of Whitehaven and Workington, began to develop his own industry. In 1740 the Ellenborough Colliery was opened and continued in use until the early1900's. Other mines followed, and soon shipbuilding began as did iron and steel works. Buildings to house the new workers sprang up and the town quickly expanded, unrecognisable from its humble beginnings as a small group of fishermen's cottages.
All good things come to an end.
Maryport had a tough time during the Depression, further increased when Workington, not far to the south, opened a new and much larger dock in 1927. This took away even more of Maryport's trade. The last ship was built in 1927. The town never again saw such prosperity as it had in the days of Sir Humphrey. When the Romans came to what is now Maryport they named it Alauna, and used the harbour for supplying the large fort above the town, the outline of which remains.