Workington is easily among the most unique and interesting towns in the county of Cumbria and it is in strong running for one of the most unique towns in the entire United Kingdom. It is hard to pin down how Workington so effortlessly evades a singular description or identity but some clues may be found in the town's famously loose spelling over the years. Workington is very old and throughout the centuries it has had over one hundred different names including Wirchington, Warkington, Wrykinton, and many, many other variations. This is perhaps the best clue as to how old Workington is. Most experts concede the fact that, while the land now known of Workington was no doubt inhabited for years after the last Ice Age, the area didn't truly become a real settlement of any importance until around the first century A.D. In those days Workington was an indispensable piece of land for Rome because it sat on the Cumbrian coast. Rome was at the height of its powers during those days but it was also crumbling from within as it had nearly grown too large to sustain itself. In order to keep the nation from attack, massive watch towers were built along many coastlines that fell under Rome's domain and Workington was originally little more than a place where Roman soldiers sat and waited to defend the country from invaders. In those days the invaders to really look out for were the mighty tribes that were conglomerating in what we now know as Scotland.
At any rate, Workington quickly became a highly sought after town once iron ore was discovered in its earth. By the time the Industrial Revolution rolled around, it was hard for anybody to deny that Workington was one of the best sources for this precious metal and, to be sure, Workington had been a source of high quality iron for long before the revolution changed the world. There was one notable invention, however, that made Workington all the more desirable among the world during the 17th and 18th centuries. Sir Henry Bessemer, a noted inventor and genius, developed the Bessemer process and this allowed iron to be turned into steel. Cumbria just happened to be the spot where the essential ingredients for this process were found to be most plentiful and almost overnight Workington began to set up foundries, factories, and smokestacks that forever changed the town into an industrial burg. The iron and steel industry of course began to fall out of favour throughout the 20th century, though, and the Workington of today depends more on the service industry as well as light industry. Despite this, one can't deny that it was steel that helped Workington become the town that it is today and the city thankfully pays homage to this incredible alloy. Some buildings that hearken back to those glory days are still visible and hopefully they will always be this way so that future generations can know just how pivotal the Industrial Revolution was to the entire world.
| 
+44 (0)1900 603246
