Workington

Workington: steam engine house at Jane PitRuins of the steam engine house at Jane Pit, a 19th-century coal mine in Workington, Cumbria, Eng.

Workington, town (parish) and port in Allerdale district, administrative county of Cumbria, historic county of Cumberland, northwestern England. It is located on the Solway Firth where it joins the Irish Sea.

The town lies at the mouth of the River Derwent. During the 19th century it grew up around a medieval castle as a coal-mining and iron and steel centre. Coal mining has ceased, but steel production and other manufactures continue. The port is centred on the Prince of Wales Dock, opened in 1927. Pop. (2001) 24,295; (2011) 25,207.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kenneth Pletcher.