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Market Place to Kirkgate junction damage to corner building. This corner has been damaged many times, the latest in 2024 when a long mobile crane forced its way through. In the 1800s this was the main route to Lorton because the Victoria Jubilee bridge was not built until 1887, and this narrow passage once went over a ford and if you walk (carefully) onto the narrow part and look at the base of the building on the left, you will see the top of a window that once extended further down when the orginal road was much lower. At that time only horse and carts would use the lower bridge and continue up Kirkgate. Remember there was no other access to Kirkgate until Queen Victoria, and there was no footbridge over the Cocker at South Street until 1887 when the Quakers built it to give easier access to the Quaker Meeting House at the top of Kirkgate.
As traffic increased (horse and carts) in the late 1890s, there was a discussion about widening this entrance, but to no avail.
Note that there was a similar narrow entrance opposite Wordsworth House to Sullart Street and this was eventually widened by the demolition of Wordsworth Tavern and the row of houses that had no rear yard, eventually Wordworth Court was built in the area. c 1970
Market Place 1 Sun Inn became Seths Bar. Mrs Duff craft shop on right was a craft beer shop until closing in 2024. c 1960 p3
Market Place 1 Sun Inn white building to its left is entrance to Kirkgate left foreground is Sizzles Pizzas. The narrow entrance to Kirkgate has caused many vehicles to damage the edge of this building. Note the wide Market Place with lots of parking and two way traffic. Note on the right the protrusion of a building onto the pavement; towards the viewer are shops, one of which used to be the petrol filling station with a swing arm pump for fuelling cars.
Market Place 10 J L Renney plumbing heating Calor Gas delivered by road when many rural houses were not on mains gas (even now). Note the protrusion onto the pavement of the window of a private house, this was later removed and conveted into a shop. Note the extreme right is the protrusion of the entrance area that still exists in 2024, in Google street view it is House of Beauty. c 1950
Market Place Cockermouth’s Monday market with pedestrians wandering and intermingling with traffic. Note the pub sign on the left for the Ship Inn, now renamed the Castle Bar. This market tradition was ended in 2015 by a High Court order, see https://www.timesandstar.co.uk/news/17031280.all-markets-banned-from-market-place/ c 1970
Market Place 14 The Ship Inn becomes the Castle Bar, carefully and sensitively renovated but keeping its historic interior.
16 Cockatoo Restaurant with the archway is now the Bamboo restaurant, now a fast food takeaway with the archway converted into a rectangular door entrance. Further left past the unknown that is now Blocks, is now Allerdale Court Hotel. c 1960
Market Place 14 The Ship Inn before parking restrictions
16 after the rounded archway was replaced by this horizontal board. It is now the Bamboo takeaway. To the right of the Ship Inn is the Wool Shop and further right is Billy Bowman Music Shop, now in Lowther Went. Note that at this time, between the Wool Shop and Billy Bowman there is a private house with its front room partly extended onto the pavement. c 1965
c 1960 p3
Market Place when parking was encouraged for shopping.. Note the Ford Zephir with the rear wings. c 1960
Market Place 16 J Dickson & Sons Motor Engineers with Esso filling station. To the right number 4 was G Dickson also a petrol station National Benzol who also ran taxis. Ellwoods petrol station was also in Market Place, the one with the arm that came out. Three petrol stations in Market Place. This number 16 is now Bamboo restaurant number 4 is now Castle Antiques & Curios.
Market Place 16 now Bamboo note the ballustrade now removed. The doorways and windows have been very tastefully improved and the painting colour scheme adds to the quality of these greatly improved buildings. The Bush on the right is now Castle Bar.
Market Place 22 Red House Linton Tweeds This is now Bamboo restaurant. To the left is R Moffat which is now Blocks. Note the petrol pump on the extreme right of the picture of the Motor Depot of Graham & Roberts Carlisle business. There was another petrol pump further to the right of Gordon Dickson who also had taxis. Another petrol filling point was next to Jacy lingerie on the way to Cocker bridge.
The Motor Depot on the right was originally J Dickson number 16, and he sold it to Graham & Roberts of Carlisle.
The Red House is seen in other photos and at this time is two shops, on the left is Bonnington a photographer, both supplies and a photographic studio. Linton Tweeds who may have been from Carlisle Denton Holme – please tell us.
c 1960
St Helens Street Mitre Court looking to Market Place the gable end facing us on the right was partly demolished for access behind. The house had been the Crown and Mitre public house which was later converted into four flats, the front door was blocked and there had been an alley under a house on the right that has now been demolished to make access to the flats from the rear and also to make access for a new detached house further back.
Market Place 22 was Hewitson fruit shop, then R Moffat fruit shop, then Holliday Antiques, then Allerdale Court Hotel. Note on the far left is the rounded arch top of 24, Cockermouth’s first bank, re-purposed at the time of this photo. c 1950
Market Place 24 on left which had been Cockermouth’s first bank, looking to St Helens Street market in progress. Note that above what is now 16 Bamboo restaurant the roof has an elevated extension of the front which has now been removed. Castle Antiques of Geoff Holliday now Allerdale Court Hotel behind the awnings. Note the road sign for Keswick before the bypass c 1960
Market Place 24 Luchini Pure Ices with old road of Market Street to Town Hall with gum and cigarette machine on wall. The buildings on left and right were demolished and a new road made to the area behind these buildings that was cleared of congested old housing and became the Town Hall car park, and the new buildings arranged to have a pedestrian access in the similar place to this. c 1970
Market Place 24 on the left with the old road of Market Street before demolition of buildings. 1968 p3
Market Place 24 on left was Cockermouth’s first bank. The road is before road calming humps and restricted parking c 1980
Market Place 24 on left was Cockermouth’s first bank, later amalgamated. A signpost creates a difficult turn to Market Place but parking is available but other photos show the congestion of cars and lorries and frustrated police dealing with the traffic. On the immediate right is a row of two storey buildings and a three storey building. These were demolished and a new road to the area behind these buildings was built and the building behind them were demolished to make the Market Street car park.
On the left, behind the man with the cap, is the black fronted tallest building with a balustrade at roof level. At ground level you can see the AA sign and the Esso petrol station sign. There is another petrol station further down the street, note the red car in the distance, that may be someone filling the car from ???? petrol station. Behind us to the right Market Place swings round past what is now an empty shop between Jacy’s and Clothing Down outdoor shop – that shop was another petrol station with a swing arm pump. Other photos show vehicles blocking the road while filling with fuel. There was a big incentive to build the WCF petrol station on the land that had been used to graze cattle below Cockermouth railway station, then the congestion of vehicles filling, and fire risk of adjacent shops from petrol storage tanks could end. c 1970
Market Place 24 was Cockermouth’s first bank, here Wilson Bros store. Left is Fletcher gents hairdresser, now the Bespoke Florist. To the right of 24 is 22 Castle Studios with the doorway to the left which leads to Herberts Court – see separate photos. Towards the end of the row is a three storey projection onto the pavement and on its side is a tiny sloping roofed extension to someone’s front room – later removed. c 1950
Market Place before the building was demolished and the building now used for the bike shop and the road on right pedestiran only and the new road to the car park is where the second tree is. The cigarette dispensing machine is on the wall of Sadie Lucini’s shop, demolished for new access to the Town Hall car park, and Market Street on the right is now pedestrianised.
To the rear of the blue vehicle is Market Street in its original location. The buildings left were all demolished and replaced with a new building and the Market Street became pedestrianised and a new vehicle entrance was made to the new car park behind. Fine Fare is now Cockermouth Kitchens and to its right is J Banks and to the left at that time were three separate shops, now all joined to be Percy House Gallery. c 1960
