history of cockermouth...
In the 2nd century AD, the Romans built a large fort (Derventio) to the northwest of Cockermouth (at Papcastle) to house a cavalry unit. The fort was sited on a Roman crossroads, guarding routes to Carlisle and Maryport and across the Northern Lakes. In later years, much of the stone was plundered for houses (and to build Cockermouth Castle). Today, the fort lies hidden under fields and housing.
Nearby at Cockermouth a Norman castle was built on a promontory near to where the river Cocker joins the River Derwent. Cockermouth grew up around its castle, with Castlegate, now lined with fine Georgian terraces, the oldest part of the town. At the foot of Castlegate is Percy House, one of the oldest buildings in the town (1598). It is now an art and craft gallery, but many original features survive including an original bread oven, ornate ceiling decoration and plasterwork bearing the Percy coat of arms.
Cockermouth was one of the earliest towns to be granted a market charter (in 1226), and developed as a natural market centre for the buying and selling of livestock reared in the surrounding countryside - a role it still serves today.
'cockermouth grew up around its castle, with castlegate, now lined with fine georgian terraces, the oldest part of the town''
Pastoral wealth, coupled with ample supplies of water, gave rise to several water-powered mill industries - corn milling, textile manufacture, rope making and hat production. One of the largest, Derwent Mill, made the well-known Harris embroidery silks and linen threads, and once employed around 800 people. Jennings Brewery (established in 1828 by the Jenning Brothers in Lorton) moved to its current site in 1874, and continues to brew traditional real ales. Water (the brewing liquor) is taken from a well that once supplied the castle with clean water.
The heyday of building was between 1720 and 1830, when many fine Georgian buildings were built It was during this time that William Wordsworth was born, along with other notable figures from history - Fletcher Christian (1764-1793), leader of the mutiny on ‘The Bounty', born near Eaglesfield; John Dalton (1766-1844), inventor of atomic theory, also born at Eaglesfield; and Fearon Fallows (1789-1831), Astronomer Royal, born in Cockermouth.
Did you know?
William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was the second of five children born to John and Ann Wordsworth. His father, as land agent to Sir James Lowther, lived in Wordsworth House as part of the job, and William spent a happy childhood here. Unfortunately, his mother died when he was only eight, and when his father died five years later in 1783, William and his older brother were sent to Hawkshead Grammar School to continue their education. In 1795, William met Robert Southey and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who were key influences on his work. Along with Southey and Coleridge, he became one of the Lake Poets and helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature. In 1799 William moved to Dove Cottage and later to Rydal Mount near Grasmere, becoming Poet Laureate in 1843. William Wordsworth died in 1850 and is buried at St Oswald's Church in Grasmere.
The Mutiny on the Bounty
On 28 April 1789, Fletcher Christian and other sailors on the Bounty overthrew the tyrannical Captain Bligh and some of his crew and cast them adrift on a boat. The mutineers reached the Pitcairn Islands where most were murdered. It is uncertain whether Fletcher Christian was killed or whether he escaped back to England, but it is believed that he and a few other crew members founded a colony on the Pitcairn Islands, which is still inhabited by his descendants today.
