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Senhouse
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Maryport
was founded in 1749 when Humphrey Senhouse II created the
planned town and improved the harbour, naming it in honour
of his wife Mary.
Fleming
Square, a mixture of late Georgian and early Victorian houses
surrounding a cobbled square.
The
value of the total imports in 1908 amounted to £211,547
of which iron ore was £162,458. The coal shipped in
1908 was 316,593 tons, valued at £328,109.
Originally
a small fishing village called Ellenfoot, the new town of
Maryport grew rapidly and became Cumberland's largest port
by the late 1850's.
The
Golden Lion Hotel, was home to George Stephenson during the
planning stages of the Maryport and Carlisle railway and in
1857 Charles Dickens and his friend Wilkie Collins, at the
time a very popular novelist, stayed here for a short time
while on a tour of the area.
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Charles Dickens has stayed there along with many famous ship captains,
but over the years Fleming Square in Maryport has changed from being
a once vibrant centre of the community, with bustling markets held
every week, to an empty square.
But
people living around the square have joined forces to revamp the
area and they hope to bring the carnival back which once upon a
time used to start off from there.
Working
with Allerdale Borough Council, with £120,000 of funding through
the single regeneration budget and the North-west Development Agency,
residents have put there own designs into practice to rejuvenate
the square as our BBC Bus reporter Steph Lloyd found out...
Hear
Steph Lloyd's report
Fleming
Square, which was once the centre of the Maryport Community, has
declined over the past few years to such an extent that people living
on both sides have taken it into their own hands to see the square
rejuvenated.
They
have been working closely with Allerdale Borough Council and regeneration
groups in the town to revamp the area after the square was identified
as a conservation area three years ago in a regeneration bid.
Mike
Gregson, who lives in Fleming Square, is Co-ordinator of the residents
group that after a lengthy brainstorm decided on what improvements
they'd like to see in the square.
Additions
to the Georgian square include four stone paths, fountains, lighting,
an obelisque in the centre and words carved on the square to reflect
both the martime and industrial heritage of the town and the future,
and become again the jewel in Maryport's crown.
People
living in the square were involved in every step of the project
- the landscape architect even lives on the square, so he took everyone's
ideas and turned them into practical plans.
The
project may have improved the physical attraction of the area for
tourists and people living there but for Mike the project was also
an opportunity to add to the improvements taking place over the
whole of the town.
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