Pub history

The Bransty Arch

Discover old photographs of Whitehaven.

The Bransty Arch was one of Whitehaven’s best-known landmarks, crossing Bransty Row in front of this pub. Coal and ship-building were once the lifeblood of Whitehaven. The coal was carried over the Bransty Arch to ships waiting in the harbour. Built around 1800, to transfer coal to the dockside, the arch was demolished in the late 1920s.

Prints and text about coal and ships in Whitehaven

The text reads: Coalmining was begun locally by the monks of St Bees, but it was the Lowther family who developed the industry. More than 70 pits were sunk in the area, the last closing in 1986.

The shipbuilding industry was established in Whitehaven around 1690 by Sir John Lowther. More than 1,000 ships were subsequently built here at Whitehaven.

Above, left: Wellington Pit, 1900
Above, right: Launch of the ‘Patterdale’
Left: Custom House Dock, 1859
Right: The William Pit

Illustrations, prints and text about the changing times

The text reads: Originally, Whitehaven was just a few cottages, whose occupants served the monks of St Bees Priory. Edmund Grindal was born in the parish in 1519, and became Archbishop of Canterbury.

In 1600, the Whitehaven estate passed to the Lowther family. The mansion known as the Flatt was later transformed into ‘Whitehaven Castle’.

Above, left: St Bees Priory
Above, right: Whitehaven Castle
Left: Edmund Grindal
Right: Sir James Lowther, who rebuilt the Flatt in 1769 and renamed it Whitehaven Castle