MARYPORT

10 kilometres north of Workington and the southernmost town on the Solway Firth lies Maryport.  In 1749 an Act of Parliment was passed to allow the creation of the present town. Humphrey Senhouse named the new town after his wife Mary. The Senhouse family were landowners in the area and responsible for the development of the town and excavation of its Roman past.

Sitting on the edge of the Coal Fields the mining industry was that which spawned the Railways, along with the Ship building  these were the mainstay of Maryport Industry.

The Industries of mining, shipping brought in time a comparatively huge rail network for both goods and fee-paying passengers, another source of main employment lost, the closing of bread and butter industries forced the Town into a time of great hardship which lasted many years until the Tourist Industry arrived.  At its height Maryport imported iron and timber from all over the World, with 3 shipbuilding yards, second only to Workington which had 5, lives of the era although hard were  good times for the town until, one after the other, they collapsed.

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With Tourism now replacing all of the industries, it is home to the Maritime Museum, the Wave and climbing centre, the Roman Museum, with stories of Steam and coal, its harbor defenses and deep water docks they are the town for what it is now.  For lovers of Roman History and Harbour life, this is no doubt a fabulous destination where all is brought to life and lived. Steam launches, sailing yachts, motor boats, cargo ships, and trawlers all present on the still busy working harbor areas, aside that I found little else of interest on my short visit.

Finally, Space, The ultimate luxury

Like a trawling fisherman homeward bound I was, if not coraled, drawn,  instinctively coastwards, along the main shopping streets, Senhouse Street, the named 'High Street' is entirely residential, despite modernity knocking on its door I was pleased to see that Maryport seems to have escaped the tide of regeneration, the need to ‘knock down and rebuild’ mentality that has seen so many of our towns transformed into Corporate signage overload, where each town across the country seeks to emulate its successful neighbour transforming each into a mirror of the other, not so Maryport which still has a sense of the old days.

This is a Town which is alive through its people, a harbour village, with a population in the region of 10,000 is peppered with delightful shops, ever vigilant behind their counters friendly shopkeepers stand guard over their wares, looking through the windows I feel like a 1960s child stood outside of the windows taking in the treats and watching the shopkeepers, each waiting to gladly share their delights and take your pennies. 

Each shop seems to have a design calling out for an enquiring mind, still with its original hoardings,  I can easily see and feel a sense of historical pride of retaining this image,  with its generations of former occupants their stories could satisfy any I am sure.  I stand in front of an ‘ancient looking’ shopfront, as if a lesson it represents  the weight of History by far outweighing any romantic gestures I may make of present-day Maryport, this once tiny Hamlet  transformed to what is now little more than a small fishing port, its History as complex and important as it is Interesting and fascinating, its History a legacy.

The waves of travellers from distant lands are most evidenced to me in the design elements of some of the areas that I pass through, Maryport was a planned Town and occasionally prompts a hint of 'abroad', I love the square solid-looking buildings, with their framed and painted windows overlooking wide and spacious streets, they are a sign of past wealth and status, more akin and not dissimilar perhaps to a pretty and relaxed French Provincial Town

There is a real Human quality about the Town, built up by the people of the Town through the closure of Mines, Railways and shipyards which devastated the workforce, it is different now, the shops are abundant with goods and filled with local people who give out a real sense of peace after adversity.

For the most, Investment appears to be centered around the Marina areas of Senhouse and Elizabeth Docks a stone's throw from the Wave Centre and other entertainment areas, notwithstanding the Residential Waterside properties.   From the young rejoicing in their present-day life to the older generation reflecting on their history, laughter it seems is in no great shortage even commonplace around the quiet streets, it was after all Sunday, and the sun is shining!

Sitting on the Quayside watching the first signs of incoming tide the tune and some of the words for Eternal Father, The Naval Hymn arrive in my mind, well-known to those who live on or by the sea; and particularly those who serve on ships or lifeboats. It is a tribute to those who served and died at sea.  Death, as any coastal Town resident will inform you, is never far from mind, aside the small plaque that celebrates the life of Marra the Maryport Dolphin, a family favorite washed ashore one sad day, there is also a memorial to those sailors lost at sea and, contemporaneously, posted on the fish loading dock wall, notifications of tragedies, man overboard.

It is easy to imagine that in a place where life is so precarious and at the whim of all of the existing Sea Gods there is an unspoken knowledge that when the men go to work, every goodbye may be the last, with mortality so close to home how can there be any time for misery.

in keeping the colour and life of Maryport History alive, in me it invokes a sort of Nostalgic Time travel experience, I see Maryport, its life, its people and its struggle as a reflection of my own Cornish coastal childhood memories, of Mevagissey and Polperro and Falmouth as I sat with my father touring the county delivering Cream and Dairy Products, Maryport has a marvellous past which governs today in terms of both identity and values, maybe the first treasure of my journey.

Though I am not ready to leave this coastal jewel of a hundred sketches, I do so  happy with the work I have achieved here, with 20 more Towns to go I want to now hurry on to my next destination, to keep the creative energy flowing as I seek out even more sketchbook candy. As the train departs it is as if I am leaving a friend behind, I know for sure that I have not seen all that there is to offer in Maryport, if only a High Tide, I pick up on the thought that, while there remains more reason to enjoy the door will stay open for me to return another day with the Tide.