COCKERMOUTH, a chapelry and market-town and borough (unincorporated),
in the parish of BRIGHAM, ALLERDALE ward above Derwent, county of
CUMBERLAND, 25 miles (S. W.) from Carlisle, and 305 (N. W. by N.) from
London, containing 3790 inhabitants. The name is derived from the
situation of the town at the mouth of the river Cocker, which here
unites with the Derwent. The barony, now called the Honour of
Cockermouth, was assigned, soon after the Conquest, by William de
Meschines to Waldeof, Lord of Allerdale, son of Gospatrick, Earl of
Northumberland, from whom it descended to Fitz-Duncan, nephew to
Malcolm, King of Scotland; and his co-heiresses, one of whom married
into the family of Albemarle, and the other into that of Lucy, shared
it in moieties. On the death of William de Fortibus, Earl of
Albemarle, and his countess Isabel, without issue, their moiety of the
castle and honour lapsed to the crown, and was bestowed upon Piers
Gavestone, in whose possession it continued for some time; but, in
1323, it was granted by Edward II. to Anthony, Lord Lucy, proprietor
of the other moiety by inheritance. After his death, which took place
in 1369, Maud, his sister and heiress, settled the castle and honour
on her second husband, Percy, Earl of Northumberland. They next passed
to Charles Seymour, Duke of Somerset, by marriage with the only
daughter of Joceline, the last earl of Northumberland, and ultimately,
in like manner, came into the possession of the earls of Egremont, the
present earl being lord paramount of the honour. The castle, formerly
the baronial seat of the lords of Allerdale, stands on the edge of a
precipitous eminence, on the northern side of the town, opposite the
confluence of the two rivers; it is supposed to havebeen erected by
Waldeof, soon after the Conquest (although the remains are not,
apparently, of earlier date than the fourteenth century), and to have
been constructed with the materials of an older castle, called
Papcastle, the former residence of Waldeof, a Roman fortress, about a
mile and a half distant, on the other side of the Derwent; it was
originally an extensive and very strong building, and was garrisoned
for the royal cause, but reduced and dismantled in 1648, after a
month's siege, by the parliamentarians, who are stated to have
destroyed part of the town also. The only perfect and habitable parts
are the gate-house, with two rooms adjoining, and the court-house at
the eastern angle of the area: underneath the ruins of the great tower
is a spacious vault, thirty feet square, the roof of which is formed
of groined and intersecting arches, and supported by an octagonal
central pillar, with pilasters at the corners and sides; this vault,
from being called Mary Kirk, is supposed to have been the chapel,
dedicated to St. Mary. On each side of the entrance gateway is a
dungeon, capable of containing fifty prisoners, who probably entered
through a small aperture visible in the corner of the arch. Mary,
Queen of Scots, after her escape from the castle of Dunbar, rested
some time at Cockermouth, on her way from Workington to Carlisle, and
was also hospitably entertained at Hutton Hall, then belonging to the
Fletchers. In 1647, the plague swept off nearly two hundred of the
inhabitants. The town is situated in a narrow valley, amid scenery
richly diversified with hill and dale, wood and water: the Derwent
flows on the northern side of it, and is crossed by a handsome stone
bridge of two arches, connecting the town with the hamlet of Goat, two
hundred and seventy feet in length, and completed in 1822, at an
expense to the county of £3000: on the margin of this river is an
agreeable promenade, about one mile in length, terminated at one
extremity by lofty well-wooded cliffs,'and at the other by the ruins
of the castle, and the elevated bowling green. The river Cocker
divides the town into two parts, and is crossed by a bridge of one
arch, rebuilt on a wider and improved plan in 1828, at an expense of
£2600. The streets, with the exception of the High-street, a fine
broad street, are but indifferently paved, and not lighted: there is
an ample supply of water from the rivers Derwent and Cocker, from some
streams which flow through the town, and from pumps connected with
most of the dwellings: the houses are in general built of stone,
roofed with blue slate, and of respectable appearance. Considerable
improvement has lately been effected, particularly in the erection and
widening of the bridges, and in the market-place, above the bridge
over the Cocker. There is a small subscription library; also a
parochial library over the grammar school, containing upwards of five
hundred volumes, founded by Dr. Bray and his associates, to which Dr.
Keene, Bishop of Chester, was a great benefactor. Cockermouth is a
town of considerable trading importance, enjoying, within a very
limited distance, the advantage of three sea-ports. A great trade is
carried on in cotton, linen, and woollen articles, for which there are
some extensive manufactories; also in the tanning and dressing of
leather, and the manufacture of hats, stockings, paper, &c.: in the
vicinity are considerable coal mines. The moor, containing about
twelve hundred acres, was enclosed and divided under an act obtained
in 1813. The market is held on Monday, at which a considerable
quantity of grain is pitched in the market-place; and there is an
inferior market on Saturday, for provisions, &c. Fairs for cattle are
held. on every alternate Wednesday from the beginning of May till the
end of September; and there is a great fair for horses and horned
cattle on the 10th of October . there are also two great annual fairs,
or statutes, for hiring servants, on the Mondays at Whitsuntide and
Martinmas. This town has no separate jurisdiction: the chief officer
is a bailiff, who is chosen annually at Michaelmas, at the court leet
for the manor, from among the burghers, by a jury of burghers, which
is a special jury appointed for regulating the internal affairs of the
town; he acts as clerk of the market, but exercises no magisterial
functions, and has no local authority, the county magistrates having
jurisdiction in the borough, and holding a petty session every Monday,
to transact the business of the borough and regulate the police. The
steward of the manor holds a court every three weeks, for the recovery
of debts under 40s., and a court leet at Michaelmas and Easter: he
also, aided by commissioners appointed for the government of the
several manors comprised within the honour, holds a court of
dimissions at Christmas, in the castle. The Epiphany quarter session
for the county is held here in January. The moot-hall, formerly an old
dilapidated structure inconveniently situated in the market-place, has
been recently rebuilt in a more commodious manner, and on a more
eligible site. There is a small house of correction in St. Helen's
street. In the 23rd of Edward I. this borough returned members to
parliament, but from that date till the 16th of Charles I. the
elective franchise was suspended; it was then restored by a resolution
of the House of Commons, determining, " That the borough of
Cockermouth be restored to the ancient privilege of sending burgesses
to parliament " and has from that period regularly returned two
members, who are elected by the burgage tenants, about three hundred
in number, chiefly in the interest of the Earl of Lonsdale: the
bailiff is the returning officer. The election of knights for the
shire takes place here. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the
archdeaconry of Richmond, and diocese of Chester, endowed with £800.
private benefaction, £200 royal bounty, and £1900 parliamentary grant,
and in the patronage of'the Earl of Lonsdale. The old church, or
chapel, erected in the reign of Edward III., was taken down, with the
exception of the tower, and the present edifice of freestone built by
means of a brief in 1711, and dedicated to All Saints: it was enlarged
and beautified in 1825, to wards defraying the expense of which the
Incorporated Society for building new churches contributed £175; it
contains one thousand free sittings. There are places of worship for
the Society of Friends, Independents, and Wesleyan Methodists. The
free grammar school was founded in 1676, by Lord Wharton, Sir Richard
Graham, and others; it was further endowed with £10 annually, charged
upon the great tithes, and paid by the Earl of Lonsdale, who also
contributes £10 annually as a gratuity, the whole income being not
more than £24 per annum; the children pay a quarterage. A charity
school, founded in 1784, is supported by voluntary contributions, and
contains at present sixtythree scholars. There is a free school,
supported in a similar manner, for thirty girls, who are admitted from
the age of eight to fcmrteen, and taught reading, writing, and
needlework. In 1785,, a Sunday school was founded by subscription, for
the instruction of one hundred children. In 1760, the Rev. Thomas
Leathes gave a house in Kirk-gate, and the interest of £100, to which
his daughter added £ 50, for the maintenance of six poor widows, or
unmarried women, above sixty years of age. The interest of about £800,
the amount of several benefactions, is distributed by the
churchwardens among the poor inhabitants weekly, in bread and money. A
dispensary, established in 1785, is liberally supported; and there are
four friendly societies, comprising in the whole about five hundred
members. In addition to these, there are different benevolent
societies, established at various periods. A savings bank was opened
in May 1818, which, in November 1827, contained deposits to the amount
of £17,167.15.5. The hills on each side of the Derwent are interesting
to the naturalist, consisting of calcareous stone, almost entirely
composed of shells of the genus ammonia. On the north side of the town
is a tumulus, called Toot-hill; and one mile westward are the rampart
and ditch of a fort, or encampment, triangular in form, and. nearly
seven hundred and fifty feet in circumference. The Honour of
Cockermouth confers the title of baron on the family of Wyndham, Earls
of Egremont.