History
and Heritage
The history of any
town is important. After all, without history
there is no heritage, and without heritage there
is no past on which to build. With such a colourful
history however, Penrith has much upon which
to build – and unearthing some of its
past is the particular aim of the Town Trails,
a series of selected walks which illustrate
the town’s colourful history and provide
answers to many, who, where, why, when and how
questions. If a blend of yesterday and today
interests you, you’ll be interested in
finding out more about The
Penrith Town Trails. Printed copies of the
guided walks can be found at the Tourist Information
Centre, or Penrith Partnership town centre office.
Penrith
Town & Markets
St Andrews
Church
Wordsworth
Penrith
Museum
Penrith
Castle
Beacon
Hill
Brougham
Castle
Penrith
Town & Markets
Penrith
hosts two markets, the traditional market held
every Tuesday in Great Dockray and Cornmarket
and a new local farmers market every 3rd Tuesday
of the month in Market Square. The Certified
Farmers Market sells a tempting array of fresh,
local produce and speciality goods and crafts.
Penrith
was granted a market charter in 1223 by Henry
III. In 1854 the market rights were leased by
the Board of Health until they were eventually
bought outright in 1878 for £4140. Today
Eden District Council holds the rights to the
market, ensuring that they are well populated
with sellers and that they are promoted and
publicised to the public.
Visiting the town on ‘market
day’ was an important part of the week
and gave villagers the opportunity to catch
up on the local news and gossip while shopping
for essential supplies and the occasional luxury
item.
Traditionally
farmers brought their produce into Penrith on
a horse and cart, the need for stabling explains
the many alleyways which lead from the front
of inns to the stables behind. Today these alley
ways are very much in use and lead to a variety
of delightful courtyard spaces, where you can
find delightful restaurants and specialist shops.
At
one time Penrith had 57 public houses, with
a population of 9182! However the inns and pubs
had many uses other than eating and drinking.
Inns were recognised places by which sell local
produce at the markets. Grain sales were held
outside the inns in the Cornmarket area of town
(hence the name). Traditionally the Blackbull
was Rye, the Black Lion,Wheat, The Fish Inn
and White Hart Oats and the Griffin Barley.
As the town grew and prospered more areas of
the town established their own specific markets.
The
oldest recorded streets in Penrith are Burrowgate
and Sandgate. Devonshire Street was the site
of The Old Shambles, the place that animals
were slaughtered and butchered. Bull- baiting
was a legal requirement and it was an offence
to sell meat unless the bull had been baited
by Mastiffs first! Sandgate held the hiring
fairs at Whitsuntide and Martinmass, when farm
hands could look for new employment.
Narrowgate, between Middlegate
and Devonshire Street is the second narrowest
place in the country on the traditional route
from London to Scotland at just 12ft wide. The
narrowest point is in St Albans.
Devonshire
Arcade which now hosts a variety of specialist
shops was a market hall selling fruit, vegetables,
meat and dairy, before it was refurbished in
1991. Today fresh fish and meat can still be
purchased here.
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St
Andrews Church
St
Andrews Church was built on an existing church
site which dates back to at least 1133. The
church tower has the appearance of and in times
of trouble could have offered much the same
protection as a Pele tower. The church now houses
one of the finest organs in Northern England.
The grounds of the church are open to the public
and provide an oasis of green just off the main
street through Penrith.
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Wordsworth
Wordsworth spent
a large amount of his childhood in Penrith,
attending The Dame School run by Anne Birkett.
The building over looks St Andrews Church is
probably the earliest example of a residential
residence in Penrith.
Directions:
Leaving Penrith town centre at Market Cross
walk down the narrow footpath in to St Andrews
Square.
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Penrith
Museum
Penrith
Museum is housed in Robinson's School, an Elizabethan
building dating from 1670 and used as a school
until the early 1970s. It was originally a charity
school for poor girls but was converted by Eden
District Council in 1990 into an attractive
local history museum and Tourist Information
Centre.
Inside
the museum you can explore the history, geology
and archaeology of Penrith and the Eden Valley.
Exhibits include pottery from the Roman fort
near Plumpton and a prehistoric 'cup and ring'
stone from Little Meg Stone Circle. There is
also gallery space which provides a year-round
programme of exhibitions of both historical
and contemporary arts interest.
For more information about
the museum visit Penrith
Museum. Penrith Partnership would like to
thank Penrith Museum for the supplying historical
photography.
Directions:
Leaving penrith town centre at Market Cross
walk against he one way system along Devonshire
Street and Middlegate. The TIC and Penrith Museum
are situated at the top of Middlegate by the
crossing.
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Penrith
Castle
Penrith
Castle probably owes its origin to Ralph Neville
1st Earl of Westmorland who acquired the Manor
of Penrith in 1396. The tower does look like
a Pele Tower which was designed to with stand
short sieges and are numerous in the Border
region, due to frequent raids by the Scots.
Today there is a wooden footbridge
leading to the red sandstone castle remains,
which are open to the public and can be explored.
Castle Park is situated next to the ancient
ruins and has tennis courts, a bowling green
and a children’s play area. There is a
monument to those that died in the Boar War
called The Angel of Death at the entrance of
Castle Park, the park is the largest area of
green space in Penrith.
Directions:
Leaving penrith town centre at Market Cross,
follow the one way system up Cornmarket and
on to Castlegate, turn left at the roundabout
at the top of Castlegate on to A592 (Ullswater
Road), Penrith Castle is immediately on the
left.
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Beacon
Hill
Beacon
Hill was formally known as Penrith Fell, “Bekyn"
trails were established in the 1400's as important
lines of communication across north England,
these signal fires quickly spread the word of
any impending attack, at that time mainly from
the Scots. The Beacon fire at Penrith sent information
to Dale Raughton (Kirkoswald) and the beacon
on Orton Scar, and information was received
from Carlisle Castle.
The summit height of Beacon
Hill is 937ft; there are wonderful views across
to the Lake District mountains, the Pennine
fells and the mountains of Scotland.
A monument was built (the
Pike), of red sandstone in 1719. The square
tower has 4 arched windows (one in each side)
and a pyramid shaped roof. The Pike is possibly
built on the site of an older building which
may have been used to store the fuel for the
signal fires or to offer shelter to the watchmen.
Today a permissive right of way from Beacon
Edge leads up to the Summit and the Pike.
Directions:
Leaving Penrith town centre at Market Cross
walk against the one way system along Devonshire
Street and Middlegate, turn right onto Sandgate.
At the mini roundabout at the top of Sandgate
cross over and walk up Fell Lane, turn left
at the top of Fell Lane on to Beacon Edge and
cross over the road. The footpath to the Beacon
is signed posted on Beacon Edge.
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Brougham
Castle
Brougham
Castle is a 13th century fortress built along
the banks of the River Eamont, just on the outskirts
of Penrith. Lady Anne Clifford inherited the
estate and spent the latter years of her life
restoring the castle amongst others to its former
glory, she died in 1676 age 86. Today just the
ruins remain and are in the care of English
Heritage, the site is open to the public during
the summer months.
Directions:
Leaving Penrith town centre at Market Cross
take the A6 (King Street) at the main roundabout
(meeting of A6 and A66) take the A6 towards
Shap and Kendal. After following the A6 through
Eamont Bridge take the B6262 towards Brougham
and Brougham Castle.
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