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The town is probably most famous for being the birthplace of the Lakeland poet, William Wordsworth. On Main Street will be found the 18th century house in which he was born, in 1770 and lived there until his mother died. The house is open to the public ...seven rooms are open to view all furnished in 18th century style,along with several of the poet's personal effects; even his childhood garden with its terraced walk.
Beside the house is a little lane leading down to the riverside with views of the castle and brewery. Wordsworth's father, John Wordsworth, is buried in the churchyard of All Saints Church. He was Steward to Sir James Lowther...who owned most of the nearby Cumberland coalfields.
Cockermouth has been a market town since 1226, and today cattle auctions are held here each Monday and alternate Wednesdays...with additional sheep sales on Fridays in the autumn. Mondays is for the stalled market held (logically enough) in Market Place...which in the summer months is announced by the traditional ringing of the 'Butter Bell'.
The first historical mention of Cockermouth is made in the year 1069, when the then County of Cumberland formed part of Scotland. It was gifted to Ranulph des Meschines, and subsequently added to England. Later it came into the possession of Waltheof, First Baron of Allerdale, who, it is said, built the Norman castle, with most of the stone coming from the Roman fort at Papcastle.
Most of what we see was built in the 13th and 14th centuries, and the structure is divided into two wards by a group of buildings in the middle. The lower ward has the flag tower and the great gatehouse, with its barbican walls seven feet thick, and its arms of famous families. The ruined walls of the upper yard are shaped like the bows of a mighty ship, with three storeys of windows at the tip looking out over the Derwent far below. The central buildings include a inner gatehouse and a roofless tower with two storeys. The upper storey was the kitchen and still has two wide fireplaces. The lower seems to have escaped damage and is the best complete room in the ruins, with a finely vaulted ceiling supported by a single column in the middle. There are also two little vaulted dungeons.
In 1221, the Sheriff of Westmorland was bidden by the King to besiege and destroy the castle. The lower part of the western tower shows traces of this siege.
The Castle was again besieged some 400 years later during the Civil War, and subsequently relieved on the 29th September 1648 by Parliamentary troops, sent out by Cromwell from Lancashire...Regretfully thereafter the building was partly dismantled and allowed to fall into decay..in fact much as it stands today...with the exception of one wing re-built during the last century. Mary Queen of Scots was one of the famous visitors who stayed there in 1658, after with 16 followers from her defeat near Glasgow, and here she was received by the wealthy merchant Henry Fletcher, who gave her 16 ells of rich crimson velvet to replace the poor clothes in which she stood.With Darnley murdered, Bothwell taking refuge far away, her throne gone, and her cause lost, her visit here would have been amongst her last days of freedom before the long years of imprisonment ahead.
The castle nowadays is rarely open to the public (being lived in by the Egremont family) and even then only to groups or parties by appointment.
The oldest part of the town is at the bottom of Castlegate. Percy House was built in 1598 by Henry Percy, Ninth Earl of Northumberland. Originally the home of the Earls bailiff, though now converted to three shops. One of the upstairs room's, even today, bears the coat of arms of the Percys.
The churchyard is a place of many memories. It has the grave of Wordsworths father. John, along with Fearon Fallows. As a boy friends sent him to develop his genius at Cambridge, and by 1820 he became the first Astronomer Royal at the Cape of Good Hope. He planned the first observatory there and saw it built...he made a catalogue of southern stars;and he died far from home at the early age of 43.
The town has several links with famous people...apart from the Wordsworth's John Dalton the mathematician and chemical philospher was born nearby in 1766. He was the inventor of atomic theory.A little known fact is that he was a child prodigy, even teaching at Pardshaw Hall school at the early age of 13 years!
Turner stayed here in 1809, and his painting of the castle now hangs in the Turner Room at Petworth. Robert Louis Stevenson was another visitor staying in the town in 1871.
Fletcher Christian, the leader of the 'Mutiny on the Bounty' was born at Moorland Close in 1764. He was educated at the old Grammar School...now the site of the church rooms. Many people think that he is buried in the churchyard here...where an elaborate tombstone records members of his clan. If he had returned to England then he could easily have been the inspiration for S T Coleridge's 'The Ancient Mariner' More accurately however is the fact that he is buried on the Pitcairn Islands, and where todays his descendants populate the islands.
A common visitor to Cockermouth was the singer Bing Crosby on his regular fishing visits.
Other attractions in Cockermouth is the Cumberland Toy and Model Museum, situated in Market Place, and Jennings Brewery close to the castle. It is of interest to know that the well which originally served the castle with water is now used to produce beer and those people who tour the brewery can sample the Sneck Lifter, together with other Jennings fine ales.
In the old brewery buildings is now also housed the vehicle exhibition, 'Aspects of Motoring'. One of the best attractions to come to Cockermouth is the Lakeland Sheep and Wool Centre at the junction of the A66 and the Egremont Road. In addition to an excellent static display there are also live demonstrations involving sheep as well as a well-stocked store of various kinds of woollen goods and clothing. There is also the "Cum-West" exhibition where visitors approaching from the direction of Keswick and the M6 can find out all about the entire Western Lakes area.
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