Workington
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- For other uses, see Workington (disambiguation).Template:GBmap
Workington is a town on the west coast of Cumbria, England at the mouth of the River Derwent. The area around Workington has long been a producer of coal and steel.
Workington has a population of around 25,000 people (1991) and is an industrial town. It is the seat of Allerdale Borough Council, which is one of five borough councils in Cumbria.
Workington has a non league and former professional football team, Workington Reds, as well as a Pro rugby league and former challenge cup winning team, Workington Town, and a professional speedway team, the Workington Comets.
The town has rail and bus connections to other towns and villages in West Cumbria, Penrith, Carlisle, Barrow-in-Furness and occasional through trains to Newcastle.
Workington once celebrated its own version of 'Easter Football'.
The somewhat questionable glories of Workington Easter football play have passed away, partly in consequence of the occupation of a portion of the playing ground by railways and works, and not less because of a change of feeling. How long these Easter Tuesday matches between "Uppies" and "Downeys" have gone on no man can tell. In the 19th century it was reported in the Pacquet that the game in 1849 "was played with all the vigour of former days, from times beyond 'the memory of the oldest inhabitant.'" The goals are about a mile apart, one being a capstan at the harbour, and the other the park wall of Workingham (?? Workington) Hall. There are no rules except those suggested by cunning and skill, while brute force is of the greatest importance. If the ball is "haled" over the park wall a sovereign is given by the owner of the estate to the winners, and of course it is spent in liquor. The players sometimes number hundreds, and thousands of people attend as spectators.
Mary, Queen of Scots after the defeat of her forces at the Battle of Langside fled to England by crossing the Solway Firth, and landed in the vicinity of Workington . She spent her first night in England as an honoured guest in Workington Hall, but was soon moved on to Carlisle Castle.
The 'Jam Eaters' - a very old rivalry between Workington and the neighbouring town of Whitehaven has led to both parties in this rivalry calling each other "jam eaters" as a form of insult. Legend has it that it arises from the mining days and the sandwich filling preference of miners from each town. (Another version is that rates of pay were marginally better in one of the two towns; the inhabitants of one could afford jam on their bread when their poorer neighbours could not). The insult isn't just exclusively used by Workington and Whitehaven, towns such as Maryport which lies north of Workington also makes heavy use of the insult against Whitehaven. Strangely enough, jam was in fact produced in Maryport for many decades and as a result Whitehaven accuses Maryport of being the "real" Jam Eaters.
External Links
- Workington Town Centre (http://www.workingtontowncentre.co.uk/)