Winscales

Township in Workington parish, in Allerdale above Derwent ward, Cumberland. Winscales CP gained parts of Stainburn and Workington Rural CPs 1934.

Acreage:

974 acres [394 ha] before boundary changes. Workington and Winscales Common (c.1,000 acres [c.400 ha]), straddling boundary between townships, enclosed 1815.

Population:

165 in 1811, declining to c.100 by 1881 and remaining at that level until 1931 (last census year before boundary change). Landownership: part of manor of Workington (q.v.).

Economy:

largely agricultural until 19th century. Distington ironworks (opened 1879; closed 2007) located at Lillyhall in southern corner of Winscales township; site and surroundings subsequently became Lillyhall Industrial Estate and business park. Opencast coal mining in 1970s; wind farms from 1999.

Places of worship:

none.

Schools and other institutions:

Board school, built 1891, near Lillyhall (now demolished). Lakes College, West Cumbria, moved from Workington to new purpose-built campus at Lillyhall 2001.