Murderous Workington

Workington, in Cumbria, is a quiet and peaceful town, yet like many other places, it has a more sinister side, hidden deep in history. Wherever human beings settle in large numbers, there is always crime, and some of this is violent. Murder, manslaughter and vicious assaults are things more readily associated with big cities, but Workington has had its share of them, and its placid streets have witnessed events which reflect the worst of human behaviour, as well as some of the best.It is interesting to the historian to see how such incidents were dealt with by the authorities, by the courts, by the perpetrators, and by the people of the town. Much can be learned about a society by looking at the way it reacts to crime. A lot may be seen of the attitudes of people, how they lived, worked and loved. In short, violent crime provides a magnifying glass with which to examine both the best and worst aspects of how civilisation works.Workington remains a quiet and peaceful town. But she has her secrets, and some of them are very surprising indeed.