MARYPORT, a chapelry and market-town and sea-port, in the parish of CROSS-CANNONBY, AXLERDALE ward below Darwent, county of CUMBERLAND, 30 miles (S. W. by W.) from Carlisle, and 3091 (N. W. by N.) from London, containing 3514 inhabitants. This place, situated at the foot of the river Ellen, which intersects the town, was a very inconsiderable fishing-town, called Ellen-foot, and consisting only of a few small huts, previously to 1750, at which period the foundations of the present town and harbour were laid, by Humphrey Senhouse, Esq., the proprietor of the land, who bestowed upon it the present name of Maryport, in compliment to his lady. It is irregularly built, partly on the sea-shore, and partly on the cliff; the streets are spacious, and the atmosphere healthy: during the bathing-season it is resorted to by a few visitors, the adjacent sands affording great convenience for bathing. The subterraneous productions of the neighbourhood are coal, limestone, and red freestone, the export of which to Ireland, Scotland, and other places, constitutes the chief trade of the port, which possesses one hundred and thirty-four ships, and is a member of the port of Whitehaven. There are three yards for ship-building, and a patent slip; and many vessels of considerable burden have been built for the coasting and foreign trade, by means of which timber is imported from America and the West Indies, and iron and flax from the Baltic. A railway has been constructed for the more ready conveyance of the coal wagons to the harbour: adjoining the town is a large corn-mill. The manufactures consist chiefly of cotton and linen checks, sailcloth, cables, coarse earthenware, leather, nails, and anchors. The herring fishery is productive, and considerable quantities of salmon trout are caught in tire river. The principal market is on Friday, but not for corn; and there is likewise an inferior one on Tuesdays. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Carlisle, endowed with £200 private benefaction, £200 royal bounty, and £ 1600 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of H. Senhouse, Esq. The chapel, erected in 1760, and consecrated by Bishop Lyttleton, in 1763, is dedicated to St. Mary. There are places of worship for Baptists, Burghers, the Society of Friends, Presbyterians, and Wesleyan Methodists. A school, in which one hundred and fifty children are educated on the Madras system, is supported by subscription, each scholar paying one penny per week; the salary of the master is £40 per annum. A school of industry for twenty girls is supported by voluntary contributions. There are several other benevolent institutions for the benefit of the indigent poor. The remains of an important Roman station, with military roads leading to Moresby, Old Carlisle, and Ambleside, are visible on an eminence northward of the town, at the village of Ellenborough: they consist of a square area with double ditches, in which are four entrances; the numerous relics of antiquity discovered are altars, inscriptions, vases, and implements of various kinds, several of which are preserved in the adjoining grounds and mansion of Nether-hall. From this station a wall, extending to Worldngton, is said to have been constructed by the Romans, as a protection against the invasions of the Picts and Scots. In the southern part of the town is Mote hill, on which is an artificial moated mound, one hundred and sixty yards in circumference.