Introduction

Cumberland, Westmorland and the Furness district of Lancashire form a distinct physical region of England. The area is bounded by the Pennine summits to the east and north-east, the Irish Sea to the west, and the waters and sands of Morecambe Bay to the south and south-west. This chapter reviews transport conditions in an earlier period and discusses nineteenth century road transport. Road transport in this region can be traced back to Roman times. Economic developments were most rapid and widespread in West Cumberland. In the first half of the eighteenth century, the mining of coal was becoming increasingly important in the economy of the area; coalfields extending from Maryport to St Bees Head produced the greater part of a total Cumberland coal production of about 500,000 tons a year by the 1780s. The initiative of local landlords played a large part in these mining and urban developments.