Georgian Buildings

Whitehaven has some magnificent streets of Georgian style buildings. This has led to it being named as 1 of fifty "Gem Towns" in the country and also to the Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments of England dedicating a book to the town in 1991. Whitehaven was one of the first towns with a planned layout after 1600 and thus has a regular grid structure of streets.

The houses were built to cope with the rapid expansion of a prosperous 17th Century port. Unlike other planned towns, although Sir John Lowther owned the estate, the houses were built by independent owners and they therefore have individual characters.

The late 18th century brought a prolonged recession to the town and therefore little new building took place, preserving many of these early buildings. Although the 20th century saw the demolition of what had become slums recent planning has recognised the importance of the town's Georgian character and set about a policy of conservation and restoration.

Some of the buildings were modified to the more ornate neo-classical Italianate style in the 19th century.