Workington Hall
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Workington Hall, sometimes called Curwen Hall, is a ruined building on the Northeast outskirts of the town of
Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...
in
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
. It is a Grade I
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.


History

A
peel tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the England, English and Scotland, Scottish Border country, borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and ab ...
was built on the site in 1362. The present house dates back to around 1404 and was built as a fortified tower house. In 1568,
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...
wrote a letter from Workington Hall to
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...
of England. After the defeat of her forces at the Battle of Langside and disguised as an ordinary woman, Mary crossed the
Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...
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 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 yea ...
after spending a day at Cockermouth. She was 25 years old. Additions to the house were carried out by John Carr in the 1780s and the gardens were laid out by Thomas White at around the same time. 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 Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
from 1786 to 1812 and from 1816 to 1820, following this with a period as member for
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
from 1820 to 1828. Workington changed radically both economically and socially, during the period when John Christian was lord of the manor (1783–1828). 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''. The hall remained the family home of the Curwen family until 1929 when it passed to the Chance family by marriage. The hall was requisitioned by the
War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...
at the start of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and suffered a serious fire while the troops were billetted there. 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.


See also

* Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria * Listed buildings in Workington


References

{{Coord, 54.644634, -3.53894, region:BG_type:landmark, display=title Country houses in Cumbria Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria Grade I listed houses History of Cumberland Former country houses in England British country houses destroyed in the 20th century Workington John Carr (architect) buildings