A TALK was given on The Ironworks of the Whitehaven District by Philip Ashforth to the Friends of Whitehaven Museum on March 1.Of the 13 ironworks in West Cumberland in the 19th century there were three in the Whitehaven district. The first to be built, not only in Whitehaven but also in West Cumberland, was the Whitehaven Iron Company, at Cleator Moor. Little is known of the earliest history of these works, but it appears that the main promoter was Thomas Ainsworth, a local iron ore proprietor. Builfding began in 1841 but it was not until December 1843 that the first iron was tapped. By 1849 there were two furnaces, rising to four in 1860 and six in 1866 after a furnace replacement programme of steel clad furnaces had been undertaken. More is known about the company from 1880 when a Deed of Co-partnership was constituted which gave the value of the concern as £30,000 divided into 30 shares held by the partners, although at this time Thomas Ainsworth was not the principal shareholder. It was at this time that the Lindows bought into the partnership.

The company was incorporated in 1871 and voluntarily wound up in 1880 to enable the assets to be vested in a new company styled the Whitehaven Hematite Iron and Steel Co Ltd, but as The Whitehaven News reported it was the old company under a new name. However, the works never made steel. After 1875 no more than two furnaces were ever in blast and often only one, nevertheless the works lasted through the First World War, three larger furnaces having replaced the six furnaces. After the war trade was so depressed that the works were taken over by the Lonsdale Iron Co Ltd of Ulverston, but after 1922 the furnaces were rarely active and were finally blown out in 1929.

The Lonsdale Iron Co, just north of Bransty station was established in 1870 by Scottish proprietors from Ayrshire. The site was difficult to develop, as the rock face had to be cut into to provide sufficient space for the works.

The first furnace was blown-in in August 1872 and a year later three had been erected. A fourth furnace was added in 1877 but by then the company was struggling.

It was incorporated as the Lonsdale Hematite Iron and Steel Co Ltd in 1883 as a private company, most of the then 10 shareholders living in Ayrshire. Despite its name this was another company that never produced any steel although it did achieve its other objectives having interests in collieries, mines, limestone quarrying and brick manufacture. The fortunes of the company continued downhill and although a further restructuring was agreed in 1896 it did not trade under the new style of the Lonsdale Hematite Smelting Co Ltd and this and the old company were wound up. This resulted in the works being demolished in 1904 leaving a lot of creditors (many local) only partly paid.

The Parton Iron Works was a late and very unsuccessful venture into iron smelting. It was entered into by Mary Blair and Gilbert Boyle Vance, in 1872. The speaker adavanced a theory why Mrs Blair might have become involved in the building of an ironworks. She had fought a long legal battle with the partners of the nearby Harrington Ironworks after the death of her husband, (one of the original partners) for what she considered was due to her, but without success. So she may have determined to set up a rival smelting business, but as stated there is no collaborating evidence to support this theory. Whatever the reason she quickly disposed of her interest and a new company – The Parton Hematite Iron Co Ltd was formed in 1874 to operate the two furnaces that had been built. Most subscribers to this company were from the Manchester and Bolton districts of Lancashire and included several well-known industrialists, but despite the eminence of some of the shareholders the price of iron meant that the works could not operate to profit. So in 1883 the members of the company resolved to wind up the business. The works were auctioned in 1890 but this was not successful and so they were demolished.

The illustrated talk ended with a series of photographs as to what remains today to show the former presence of these three ironworks and an interactive exchange with the audience as to why the works can only be considered at best moderately successful.

THE next meeting of the Friends of Whitehaven Museum is on Tuesday, April 5 at 7.30pm in The Beacon when the speaker will be Mr A J Gane on ‘An introduction to Heraldry – Shield, Crest and Banner’.