The existence of a harbour or landing place at Whitehaven can be traced back to 1517, when quay-dues – otherwise known as wharfage – were recorded.

The Lowther family purchased the manor of St Bees in 1630 by the Lowther family; this started the development of Whitehaven harbour primarily to export coal.
Sir Christopher Lowther built a stone pier in 1631-34, and it survives, albeit very modified, as the Old Quay.

By the 1660s the pier was suffering from storm damage and by the 1670s it was considered too small for the growing number of vessels wanting to use it.
In 1677 a description refers to "a little pier, in shallow water, built with some wooden piles and stones".

The prospect of a rival pier being built at Parton to the north of Whitehaven galvanised Sir John Lowther into developing the harbour, and by 1679 further work was under way.
In the late 17th and 18th century the harbour was extended by ballast walls, moles and piers to become one of the most complex pier harbours in Britain.
April 1778 saw the harbour as the first site of an American attack on the British Isles during the American Revolutionary War.

The port's trade waned rapidly when ports with much larger shipping capacity, such as Bristol and Liverpool, began to take over its main trade.
Its peak of prosperity was in the 19th century when West Cumberland experienced a brief boom because haematite found locally was one of the few iron ores that could be used to produce steel by the original Bessemer process.
Improvements to the Bessemer process and the development of the open hearth process removed this advantage.
In the 20th century, as in most mining communities, the inter-war depression was severe; this was exacerbated for West Cumbria by Irish independence which suddenly placed tariff barriers on its principal export market.

The harbour lost its last commercial cargo handling operation in 1992 when Marchon ceased their phosphate rock import operations.
Drivers Jonas and marine consulting engineers Beckett Rankine drew up a new master plan to impound the inner basins of the harbour to create a large marina and fishing harbour, and refocus the town on a renovated harbour.

The harbour has seen much other renovation due to millennium developments, and the rejuvenation project cost an estimated £11.3 million.
This has provided 100 more moorings within the marina.
Another £5.5 million has been spent on developing a 40 m (130 ft) high crow's nest and a wave light feature that changes colour depending on the tide, together with The Rum Story on Lowther Street, voted Cumbria Tourism's small visitor attraction of the year 2007.
A picture of the harbour was used on the front page of the Tate Modern's promotional material for an exhibition of Millennium Projects in 2003.

In June 2008, Queen Elizabeth II visited Whitehaven as part of the 300th Anniversary Celebrations.
The Queen and Prince Philip then officially re-opened the refurbished Beacon museum at the harbour.
10,000 people attended the event.
The existence of a harbour or landing place at Whitehaven can be traced back to 1517, when quay-dues – otherwise known as wharfage – were recorded.
The Lowther family purchased the manor of St Bees in 1630 by the Lowther family; this started the development of Whitehaven harbour primarily to export coal. Sir Christopher Lowther built a stone pier in 1631-34, and it survives, albeit very modified, as the Old Quay.
By the 1660s the pier was suffering from storm damage and by the 1670s it was considered too small for the growing number of vessels wanting to use it. In 1677 a description refers to "a little pier, in shallow water, built with some wooden piles and stones".
The prospect of a rival pier being built at Parton to the north of Whitehaven galvanised Sir John Lowther into developing the harbour, and by 1679 further work was under way. In the late 17th and 18th century the harbour was extended by ballast walls, moles and piers to become one of the most complex pier harbours in Britain. April 1778 saw the harbour as the first site of an American attack on the British Isles during the American Revolutionary War.
The port's trade waned rapidly when ports with much larger shipping capacity, such as Bristol and Liverpool, began to take over its main trade. Its peak of prosperity was in the 19th century when West Cumberland experienced a brief boom because haematite found locally was one of the few iron ores that could be used to produce steel by the original Bessemer process. Improvements to the Bessemer process and the development of the open hearth process removed this advantage. In the 20th century, as in most mining communities, the inter-war depression was severe; this was exacerbated for West Cumbria by Irish independence which suddenly placed tariff barriers on its principal export market.
The harbour lost its last commercial cargo handling operation in 1992 when Marchon ceased their phosphate rock import operations. Drivers Jonas and marine consulting engineers Beckett Rankine drew up a new master plan to impound the inner basins of the harbour to create a large marina and fishing harbour, and refocus the town on a renovated harbour.
The harbour has seen much other renovation due to millennium developments, and the rejuvenation project cost an estimated £11.3 million. This has provided 100 more moorings within the marina. Another £5.5 million has been spent on developing a 40 m (130 ft) high crow's nest and a wave light feature that changes colour depending on the tide, together with The Rum Story on Lowther Street, voted Cumbria Tourism's small visitor attraction of the year 2007. A picture of the harbour was used on the front page of the Tate Modern's promotional material for an exhibition of Millennium Projects in 2003.
In June 2008, Queen Elizabeth II visited Whitehaven as part of the 300th Anniversary Celebrations. The Queen and Prince Philip then officially re-opened the refurbished Beacon museum at the harbour. 10,000 people attended the event.
Whitehaven