Cockermouth
Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. The name refers to the town's position by the confluence of the River Cocker into the River Derwent. At the 2021 census, the built up area had a population of 8,860.
Cockermouth is situated a short distance outside the English Lake District on its north-west fringe. Much of the architectural core of the town remains unchanged since the basic medieval layout was filled in the 18th and 19th centuries. The regenerated market place is now a central historical focus within the town and reflects events from its 800-year history. The town is prone to flooding and experienced severe floods in 2005, 2009 and 2015.
Mary, Queen of Scots, came to Cockermouth in 1568, after her defeat at the Battle of Langside. She is said to have stayed at the house of Henry Fletcher, who gave her a velvet gown and she later sent him a letter of thanks. Fletcher's son moved from Cockermouth to Moresby Hall in Parton, Cumbria.
Toponymy
Cockermouth is "the mouth of the River Cocker"; the river takes its name from the Brythonic Celtic word kukrā, meaning 'the crooked one'. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.History
The Romans built a fort at Derventio Carvetiorum, now the adjoining village of Papcastle, to protect the river crossing on a major route for troops heading towards Hadrian's Wall.The main town developed under the Normans who, after occupying the former Roman fort, built Cockermouth Castle closer to the river crossing; little remains today of the castle thanks to the efforts of Robert the Bruce. The market town developed its distinctive medieval layout, of a broad main street of burgesses' houses, each with a burgage plot stretching to a "back lane": the Derwent bank on the north and Back Lane, on the south. The layout is largely preserved, leading the British Council for Archaeology to say in 1965 that it was "worthy of special care in preservation and development."
Although Carlisle was considered the county town of Cumberland, the county's assizes sometimes sat at Cockermouth, and the county's quarter sessions were held alternately at Carlisle and Cockermouth. Prior to the Reform Act 1832, Cockermouth was the usual venue for electing knights of the shire. Cockermouth borough was also a parliamentary borough from 1641 to 1918, returning two MPs until 1868 and one thereafter.
Market centre
The town market pre-dates 1221, when the market day was changed from Saturday to Monday. Market charters were granted in 1221 and 1227 by King Henry III, although this does not preclude the much earlier existence of a market in the town. In recent times, the trading farmers market now only occurs seasonally, replaced by weekend continental and craft markets.In the days when opening hours of public houses were restricted, the fact that the pubs in Cockermouth could open all day on market days made the town a popular destination for drinkers, especially on Bank Holiday Mondays. The Market Bell remains as a reminder of this period, while the 1761 and Castle pub have been renovated to reveal medieval stonework and 16th and 18th-century features.
Flooding
Cockermouth suffered badly in the nationwide floods of 19 and 20 November 2009. Over 200 people needed to be rescued, with helicopters from RAF Valley, RAF Boulmer and RAF Leconfield retrieving about 50 and the remainder being rescued by boats, including those of the RNLI. Water levels in the town centre were reported to be as high as and flowing at a rate of 25 knots. Many historic buildings on and adjacent to Main Street sustained severe damage, as did a number of bridges in and around the town. Recovery from the devastation was slow, with residents placed in temporary accommodation and some businesses temporarily relocated to Mitchells auction mart. By the summer of 2011, most of the damage had been repaired and buildings re-occupied, though some remained empty or boarded up.Flooding occurred again in 2015, when the River Derwent burst its banks on 5 December, with several hundred homes and businesses affected.
The rear part of the Old Courthouse collapsed into the River Cocker in October 2023.
Architecture
Much of the centre of the town is of medieval origin, substantially rebuilt in Georgian style with Victorian infill. The tree-lined Kirkgate offers examples of unspoilt classical late 17th and 18th-century terraced housing, cobbled paving and curving lanes which run steeply down to the River Cocker. Most of the buildings are of traditional slate and stone construction with thick walls and green Skiddaw slate roofs.Many of the facades lining the streets are frontages for historic housing in alleyways and lanes to the rear. There are examples of Georgian residences near the Market Place, St. Helens Street, at the bottom of Castlegate Drive and Kirkgate.
Cockermouth may have been the first town in Britain to have piloted electric lighting. In 1881, six electric lamps were set up to light the town, together with gas oil lamps in the back streets. The electrical service was intermittent, so the town returned to gas lighting.
In 1964, Cockermouth was named one of 51 Gem Towns in the UK, by the Council for British Archaeology. This recognised the importance of the historic buildings and the need for effective traffic management and urban development.
Geography
Cockermouth owes its existence to the confluence of the rivers Cocker and Derwent, historically being the lowest point at which the resultant fast flowing river powered by the Lake District could be bridged. Cockermouth is situated a few minutes' travelling distance from lakes such as Buttermere, Crummock Water, Loweswater and Bassenthwaite.Climate
Cockermouth has a temperate climate that is influenced by the Irish Sea and its low-lying elevation; it receives slightly below average rainfall compared with the UK average. Temperatures are also about average compared with other parts of the UK. The nearest weather station, for which online records are available, is Aspatria, about north-north-east of the town centre.The hottest temperatures recorded in the area were at Lorton on 19 July 2006 and at Aspatria during August 1990, with the coldest being during January 1982 at Aspatria and at Lorton on 8 December 2010. West Cumbria gets relatively little snow in comparison with the Lake District and Eastern Cumbria, owing to its proximity to the Irish Sea and its low height above sea level.
Governance
There are two tiers of local government covering Cockermouth, at parish and unitary authority level: Cockermouth Town Council and Cumberland Council. The town council is based at Cockermouth Town Hall on Market Street.The town has been part of the Penrith & Solway constituency since 2024 and has been represented by Markus Campbell-Savours of the Labour Party since the 2024 general election.
Administrative history
Cockermouth was historically a township in the ancient parish of Brigham, in the historic county of Cumberland. From the 13th century, the town was described as a borough. It was a seigneurial borough, remaining under the control of the lord of the manor rather than developing its own municipal independence. It was also a parliamentary borough, returning MPs in 1295 and again from 1640 until 1885, when it was reformed into a wider county constituency of Cockermouth.The township of Cockermouth took on civil functions under the poor laws from the 17th century onwards. As such, the township also became a civil parish in 1866, when the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws. In ecclesiastical terms, Cockermouth's church of All Saints was a chapel of ease to St Bridget's Church at Brigham until 1806, when Cockermouth became a separate ecclesiastical parish.
In 1864, the township of Cockermouth was made a local government district, administered by an elected local board. Such districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894. The urban district council later acquired a former Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on Market Street and converted it into the Town Hall in 1934.
Cockermouth Urban District was abolished in 1974. The area became part of the borough of Allerdale in the new county of Cumbria. A successor parish of Cockermouth was created covering the former urban district, with its parish council taking the name Cockermouth Town Council. Allerdale was abolished in 2023 when the new Cumberland Council was created, also taking over the functions of the abolished Cumbria County Council in the area.
Present
The centre of Cockermouth retains much of its historic character and the renovation of Market Place has been completed, now with an artistic and community focus. The Kirkgate Centre is the town's major cultural focus and offers regular historical displays by the Cockermouth Heritage Group in addition to holding major cultural events including theatre, international music and world cinema. The tree-lined main street boasts a statue of Lord Mayo, formerly an MP for Cockermouth, who became British Viceroy of India and whose subsequent claim to fame was that he was assassinated.The renovated arts and cultural zone in the 13th-century Market Place has undergone something of a regeneration following European Union funding; it is now pedestrian-friendly adorned with stone paving and roadways, underground lighting and seating in bright colours to reflect the area's facades. Pavement art and stonework commemorate eclectic historical events, John Dalton's atomic theory, local dialect, flooding and a curious range other memorabilia.
A shared-use path runs along the former Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway route and spans a high bridge over the Cocker, affording views of the town and river-scape.