The Helena Thompson Museum, originally known as Park End, was the home of Helena Thompson, M.B.E., J.P., for over seventy years and it was her gift to the people of Workington upon her death, on the condition that it be made into a museum for Workington and the surrounding district.
Miss Thompson's family had been associated with the house since the late 18th century. Park End was built as the residence of the steward, or land agent, of the Curwen family, whose estates were centred on the nearby Workington Hall. Her grandfather, Benjamin Thompson, a solicitor in the town, acted as the Curwen's agent and lived in Park End during the early part of the 19th century. After his death in 1839, it became the residence of Edward Stanley Curwen, heir to Workington Hall.
Around 1850, Shipbuilder Charles Lamport, leased Park End for ten years or so, then in 1865 the lease was obtained by Benjamin Thompson's son, William, a former banker and magistrate for the county of Cumberland. William Thompson returned to his childhood home with his own young family, which included Helena.
None of William Thompson's five children ever married and Helena, the eldest, outlived them all. She purchased Park End from the Curwen Estate in 1934 so that she might leave the historic Georgian house to
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Helena Thompson Museum