Cockermouth Market Place
The dayglow new seats may have raised a few eyebrows, but the feeling in Cockermouth's Market Place is that things are on the up and up at long last. During the Georgian Fair the traditional heart of the old town came into its element and was thronged with people.
| While one or two shops still await the final drying out and renovation, the tide has clearly turned. Just a few weeks before the Fair the new Carlins Bar and Bistro at the Allerdale Court Hotel re-opened with a exciting new menu. The famous Jacksons ironmongers was among the first to reopen after the floods and they have now been joined by the Market Place Bookshop and 4Play cycle specialists. Adam Stitt at 4Play has taken the opportunity to totally redevelop and create a more spacious feel to the shop. Here you can hire bikes, and repair and buy top of the range mountain and road bikes. They even stock wicked skateboard designs. |  |
Dawn Baker's Lily and Co is open again as the in place for contemporary interiors. It seems so appropriate to have small shops with taste and character in the more pedestrian friendly Market Place.
The nightlife in the Market has grown and grown, despite the floods. The superb historic building of the Castle Bar jostles for custom with other popular venues such as Bamboo Chinese, 1761 and the Front Room. Shows and films at the Kirkgate Centre are often enjoyed after a meal in the Market Place restaurants. Many other small businesses dotted about the Market Place make it increasingly popular. In the car park to the south the public conveniences have also been completely modernised.
As well as hairdressers such as Mottrams (temporarily relocated from Main Street), Toni Marks and Xtreme there is also gents hairdressers the original barber company. And in a Political Correctness gone OTT one local newspaper reported that residents have complained to the town council about the statue of a black member of a singing barber quartet outside the Original Barber Shop Company on Market Place. But owner Amir Jojo has hit out at these claims, saying he is not racist and the statue has become a tourist attraction. Mr Jojo, of West African and Lebanese origin, said they have had numerous positive comments about it.
Jan Manbsergh from Jacy's lingerie now plans to move temporarily to one of the prime locations by the Cocker Bridge at no 46 Market Place. The building is owned by Firth Properties (John Lloyd Thomas and Alistair Silver) who renovated the former Jennings building six years ago. The shop was only affected on the lower floor and Firth have taken the opportunity to upgrade the premises.
The oldest town house on the Market, that of Percy House is still awaiting groundfloor repairs after the floods but gallery proprietors, Viv Austin and Karen Cottier are adamant the gallery will reopen as soon as possible. The galleries wonderful upper rooms and rare 16th century features were unaffected by the floodwater.
Watching over all the busy life of the Market is of course the market bell, nestling in a cavity in the wall on the south side. It was this bell that was rung to mark the start of hiring day when local farmers struck deals with willing craftsmen and labourers. It was interesting that Melvyn Bragg who recently visited the town to support the traders, featured the Cockermouth hiring in his Cumbrian classic The Hired Man.
Just behind the Market Place is the Town Hall which this summer hosts and unusual exhibition. To aid Cumbria's recovery after the floods last year, Cumbria Tourism launched the Wish You Were Here campaign and invited celebrities to pen personal postcards to Cumbria to help spread the word that the county is open for business and welcoming visitors. So the exhibition will show a unique collection of over 80 postcards from Britain's most famous faces at a free public exhibition.
The Wish You Were Here exhibition will take place at Cockermouth Town Hall six months after the floods from the 20th of May to the 2nd of June 2010. It will be free to all with any voluntary donations going to the Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund and the Lake District Search and Rescue Association.
This will be a rare chance to see postcards with pencil drawings, watercolour paintings, personal anecdotes, private photographs and messages of support, all written specially for Cumbria, by stars of stage, screen, music and sport. Oscar winners, West End legends, world sports champions and music icons have all contributed postcards for Cumbria to form this exclusive heart-warming exhibition.
