Harrington, Cumbria

Harrington
St Mary's Church and War Memorial
Harrington
Location within Cumbria
OS grid referenceNX985255
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWORKINGTON
Postcode districtCA14
Dialling code01946
PoliceCumbria
FireCumbria
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament

Harrington is a suburban village on the southern outskirts of Workington, in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It was formerly a separate village and parish; it has been administered as part of Workington since 1934, and is now classed as part of the Workington built up area. It lies on the coast and has a small harbour. Harrington railway station is on the Cumbrian Coast Line.

In the late 18th century, the old village of Harrington, which stood a little way inland from the coast, was expanded into a planned town around a new harbour built to serve the local coal mines. Through the 19th century and into the 20th century, industries in Harrington included iron works, shipbuilding and chemical works. The major heavy industries had closed by the mid 20th century. Much of the 18th century planned town was demolished in slum clearance schemes in the 1960s, and the site is now public open space south of the harbour. Harrington today is in two main parts: the main part lies on the inland side of the coastal railway, and High Harrington is further inland to the east.

The old parish of Harrington also included a rural area to the south, which became the separate parish of Lowca in 1934 when the rest of Harrington was absorbed into Workington. Harrington today gives its name to an electoral ward, which covers a different area to the old parish. The ward additionally includes Salterbeck and Winscales, which were historically part of Workington parish.