Page "Maryport" Paragraph 5

For many years the town was named Ellenfoot but the name was changed by Humphrey Senhouse as he began developing the town as a port, following the example of Whitehaven.

In 1749 an Act of Parliament was passed to allow the creation of the present town.

Humphrey Senhouse named the new town after his wife Mary.

The Senhouse family were landowners in the area and responsible for the development of the town and excavation of its Roman past.

The family also had interests in the West Indies.

In 1770, Humphrey Senhouse ’ s son, William, was appointed Surveyor General of Customs in Barbados where he purchased a sugar plantation and managed another for Sir James Lowther of Whitehaven.

William ’ s brother, Joseph, had a coffee plantation in Dominica.

Both men were considerable slave-owners.