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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