Church of St Mary (RC), Trumpet Terrace, Cleator

In the earlier part of the nineteenth century iron ore mining dramatically increased in the area, blast furnaces were built and the population increased rapidly. Irish Catholic immigrants formed a large part of this increase, and initially they travelled into Whitehaven each Sunday for Mass.

 in 1853 the first Roman Catholic church was built, at Cleator, dedicated to St. Bega. However, the population continued to grow rapidly, and within sixteen years it was necessary to begin construction of a larger building. This second church, dedicated to 'Our Lady of the Sacred Heart,' was designed by E. W. Pugin and was built at a cost of £6000 to provide seats for 1,000 people.  The Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle laid the foundation stone on the 3rd October 1869, and returned on the 23rd June 1872 for its opening.