Harrington, Cumbria
| Harrington | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's Parish Church, Harrington |
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 Harrington
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| Harrington shown within Cumbria | |
| Population | 3,167 (Ward, 2011) |
| OS grid reference | NX985255 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WORKINGTON |
| Postcode district | CA14 |
| Dialling code | 01946 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Harrington is on the Cumbrian coast south of Workington and north of Whitehaven. Historically part of Cumberland, its industrial history, which largely ended in the late 1930s, included an iron works, coal mining and steel making. It once had five railway stations. It still has one railway station, on the Cumbrian Coast Line, near the harbour.
Today, with a population of about 3,000, measured at 3,167 in the 2011 Census, it is largely a dormitory town for the employees of the shops and offices and light industry found in Workington and Whitehaven, and also British Nuclear Fuels down the coast at Sellafield.
The parish consists of Harrington itself, High Harrington and Salterbeck, which is a large housing estate on the Workington side of the parish.
The name Harrington, is derived from three Anglo-Saxon words; Har or Harr (a man's name), ingas (people) and ton (settlement/estate/enclosure). The original settlers were a group of people whose leader called himself Har. The original inhabitants of land would have called themselves Haringas (Har's people) and the settlement Haringa tun (estate of the Haringas). Other local place names with similar origins would be Workington, Distington and Frizington.
In 1760, Henry Curwen built a quay at Harrington on the south side of the River Wyre. Coal and limestone were soon being exported from Harrington, and the increase in trade led to the development of the local shipbuilding industry. A decline in manufacturing industry saw the harbour's usage drop dramatically during the latter part of the 19th century.
Eventually the harbour was sealed off and used as a reservoir for a nearby magnesium works. The secret "Magnesite" plant at Harrington was set up during the Second World War by the Ministry of Aircraft Production to extract magnesium from seawater, for use in aircraft components and incendiary bombs. At the time it was one of only two plants in the country, making some 40,000 long tons (41,000 t) per annum.
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