| Penrith | |
|---|---|
 The Market Square | |
 Flag | |
  Penrith Location withinCumbria | |
| Population | 16,987 (Parish, 2021)[1] 16,700 (Built up area, 2021)[2] |
| Demonym | Penrithian |
| OS grid reference | NY515305 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PENRITH |
| Postcode district | CA10, CA11 |
| Dialling code | 01768 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
| 54°39′53″N2°45′17″W / 54.6648°N 2.7548°W /54.6648; -2.7548 | |
Penrith (/ˈpɛnrɪθ/,/pɛnˈrɪθ/) is amarket town and civil parish in theWestmorland and Furness district ofCumbria, England. It is less than 3 miles (5 km) outside theLake District National Park and about 17 miles (27 km) south ofCarlisle. It is between the RiversPetteril andEamont and just north of theRiver Lowther. It is part ofhistoricCumberland.
The etymology of "Penrith" has been debated. Several writers argue for theCumbric orWelshpen "head, chief, end" (both noun and adjective) with the Cumbricrid, Welshrhyd "ford", to mean "chief ford", "hill ford", "ford end", or Whaley's suggestion: "the head of the ford" or "headland by the ford".[3][4][5]
The centre of Penrith, however, lies about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the nearest crossing of the River Eamont atEamont Bridge. An alternative has been suggested consisting of the samepen element meaning "head, end, top" + the equivalent of Welshrhudd "crimson".[6][7] Research on the medieval spelling variants of Penrith also suggests this alternative etymology.[8] The name "red hill" may refer to Beacon Hill, to the north-east of today's town. There is also a place calledRedhills to the south-west, near theM6 motorway, and a place calledPenruddock, about 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Penrith. These names all reflect the local geology, as red sandstone is abundant in the area and was used for many buildings in Penrith.
The origins of Penrith go far back in time. There is archaeological evidence of "early, concentrated and continuous settlement" in the area.[M 1] TheNeolithic (c. 4500–2350 BCE) or early-Bronze Age (c. 2500–1000 BCE) sites at nearbyMayburgh Henge,King Arthur's Round Table, Little Round Table,Long Meg and Her Daughters, andLittle Meg, and the stone circles at Leacet Hill andOddendale are some of the visible traces of "one of the most important groups of prehistoric ritual sites in the region." In addition there have been various finds (stone axes, hammers, knives) and carvings found in the Penrith area.[M 2]
For theCeltic (Iron Age) era (c. 800 BCE – 100 CE), nearbyClifton Dykes has been proposed as the centre of theCarvetti tribe, due to the large enclosure discovered there and assumptions about the strategic position of the Penrith area in the communications systems running north–south through the Eden Valley and east–west across Stainmore.[9]
Penrith itself was not established by the Romans, but they recognised the strategic importance of the place, especially near the confluence of the rivers Eamont and Lowther, where the Roman road crossing the Pennines (the present A66) came through. In doing so, they built the fort atBrougham (Brocavum) along with another road (the present A6) going north over Beacon Hill to the large fort atPlumpton (Voreda) – and from there northwards to Carlisle (Luguvallium).[M 3] Brocavum may also have been built in order to have a military presence close to the centre of the Carvetti.[10]
TheRomanfort of Voreda occupied the site now known asOld Penrith, five miles north of the town.[11] The 18th-century antiquarian and vicar of Penrith,Dr.Hugh Todd, speculated that theAla I Petriana may have been stationed there, giving its name to the subsequent town,[M 4] but see the "Toponymy" section above.
TheRoman road from Manchester to Carlisle ran through the area.[12] Excavations before an extension to Penrith Cemetery showed the road had survived better at the edges of the field. The cobble and gravel surfaces seemed to have been ploughed out at the centre. The road was constructed by excavating a wide, shallow trench below subsoil level.[13] Large cobbles were probably obtained nearby, as they did not appear frequently in the subsoil in the excavated area. They were added to the excavated subsoil dumped back into the cut to form a stable foundation,canted at the centre of the road.
The two forts close to where Penrith is today would have had avicus, an ad-hoc civilian settlement nearby, where farmers supplying food to the forts, and traders and others supplying goods and services lived and died. There is evidence of continuous settlement throughout the Roman period and into the post-Roman era.[M 5]
Penrith's history has been defined primarily by its strategic position on vital north–south and east–west communications routes. This was especially important in its early history, whenAnglo-Scottish relations were fraught. Furthermore, Penrith was a Crown possession in its early phase, though often granted to favoured noble families. It did not become acharteredborough or amunicipal corporation and had no representation in Parliament. It also gained growth from its proximity to theInglewood Forest and to the fertileEden valley, and largely depended upon agriculture, especially cattle rearing anddroving.
After the departure of the Romans (c. 450 CE), the north became a patchwork of warring Celtic tribes (Hen Ogledd). One of these may have beenRheged, perhaps with a centre in the Eden valley and covering the area formerly held by the Carvetti. However, this has been disputed by historians. The Rheged Centre, just outside Penrith, commemorates the name.
During the 7th century, the region was invaded by theAngles, a Germanic tribe which moved west fromNorthumbria. The Celtic place-names in the region such as Penrith,Blencow,Culgaith,Penruddock, were now joined by settlements ending in "-ham" (estate) and "-ton" (farm), such asAskham,Barton,Clifton,Plumpton andStainton.[M 6]
From about 870, the area became subject to Viking settlement byNorse from Dublin and the Hebrides, along with Danes from Yorkshire. Settlements with names ending in "-by" ("village") and "-thorpe" ("hamlet") were largely on higher ground – the Vikings were pastoralists, the Angles arable farmers. Examples areMelkinthorpe,Langwathby,Lazonby, andOusby. Little and Great Dockray (not to be confused with the nearby villageDockray) in Penrith itself are Norse names.[M 7]
ThePenrith Hoard of Viking silver brooches was found in the Eden valley at Flusco Pike, Penrith, as were 253 pieces of silver at Lupton.[14]
Two cross-shafts and fourhogbacks, along with a small cross found immediately to the west ofSt Andrew's Church, known as the "Giant's Grave" and "Giant's Thumb" (c. 920s), have long prompted speculation. They may have been separate items brought together by anantiquary or they may be a genuine group. They appear to be an Anglo-Norse fusion of Christian and Norse motifs, but it is still debated whether they are linked to the King of the Strathclyde Cumbrians,Owain ap Dyfnwal (fl. 934).[M 8] It is thought thatStrathclyde British had settled in parts of north Cumbria in the 10th century.[M 9]
On 12 July 927,Eamont Bridge (or possibly the monastery atDacre, Cumbria, or the site of the old Roman fort atBrougham or even the church at Penrith, or a combination of these) was the scene of a gathering of kings from throughout Britain as recorded in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle and the histories ofWilliam of Malmesbury andJohn of Worcester. Present wereAthelstan, King of the Anglo-Saxons and then of the English,Constantín mac Áeda (Constantine II), King of Scots,Owain of Strathclyde, King of the Cumbrians,Hywel Dda, King of Wales, andEaldred son of Eadulf, Lord of Bamburgh. Athelstan took the submission of some of these other kings, presumably to form some sort of coalition against the Vikings. The growing power of the Scots and perhaps of the Strathclyders, may have persuaded Athelstan to move north and attempt to define the boundaries of the various kingdoms.[15] This is generally taken as the date of foundation of theKingdom of England, whose northern boundary was the Eamont river, with Westmorland outside the control of Strathclyde. Penrith was effectively held by the Scottish king as overlord of the Strathclyde Cumbrians, until theNorman takeover in 1092. Thereafter Penrith's fortunes varied according to the state of play between England and Scotland over ownership of Cumberland, Westmorland and Northumbria.
Penrith may have been founded before the arrival of the Normans. A ditched oval enclosure surrounding the area now occupied bySt Andrew's Church (aburh - hence "Burrowgate") has been excavated. A church on the site may date back to the time of BishopWilfrid, (c. 670s) whose patron saint wasSaint Andrew.[M 10]
The Norman conquest of north Cumbria took place in 1092 underWilliam Rufus, who retained Carlisle, Penrith and some other manors round Penrith asdemesne.[M 11] The Norman andPlantagenet rulers thereafter held Penrith as a crown estate ("Penred Regis"), along with a group of others locally, includingCarlatton,Castle Sowerby,Gamblesby,Glassonby,Langwathby,Great Salkeld,Little Salkeld andScotby. The group became known as the "Queen's Hames" ("Queen's Homes") from 1330 onwards.[M 12]
Membership of the group fluctuated over time. In 1187 a sub-set including Penrith, Langwathby, Great Salkeld, Gamblesby, Glassonby and Scotby was referred to as theHonour of Penrith.[M 13] From 1242 to 1295, the Honour of Penrith (created "the liberty of Penrith" by theTreaty of York in 1237) was in the hands of the King of Scots, in return for renouncing his claims to Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland.King Henry III had been reluctant to cede Penrith to the Scots, as it was a good source of Crown income: the right to hold a market and fair was granted in 1223 by Henry, and arable farming produced good yields and taxes.[M 14] Tensions between the English Crown's agents in Cumberland and the Scottish agents attempting to defend the rights of the Scottish king and his tenants in the liberty of Penrith, may have influenced the mindset of the Scots leading up to the outbreak of theWars of Scottish Independence.[16]
King Edward I took Penrith and the other manors back into Crown possession (having been taken from the Scots and given toBishop Anthony Bek).[M 15] Perhaps to underline the authority of the Crown, Edward also established anAugustinian Friary in 1291. This succumbed to theReformation in 1539. The Friarage house was built on the site in 1717.[M 16]
With theWars of Scottish Independence, Penrith suffered destruction by Scottish forces in 1296 (William Wallace), 1314, 1315–1316 and 1322 (Robert the Bruce). Meanwhile climatic change caused poor harvests. Penrith went from incipient economic growth in the early 14th century to poverty by the third decade.[M 17] Recovery in the 1330s was again reversed by the devastating Scottish raid of 1345 (David II of Scotland) and theBlack Death of 1348–1349 and subsequent years. However, Penrith, Castle Sowerby and the other manors were valuable as a source of royal income, paying debts the Crown owed to those leading the fight against the Scots, such asRoger de Leybourne,Anthony de Lucy andAndrew Harclay, 1st Earl of Carlisle.[M 18]
There is evidence of a protective wall built round the town after the Scottish raid of 1345. This was strengthened in 1391 by the townspeople and Penrith's patron,William Strickland, Bishop of Carlisle, after another Scottish raid by the 1stEarl of Douglas in 1380, and others in 1383 and 1388, whenBrougham Castle was probably destroyed as well.[M 19] It is thought that Strickland built and strengthened the "pele tower" in Benson Row, behind Hutton Hall. He also endowed a chantry (1395) in St Andrew's Church, (where the chantry priest may have taught music and grammar), and created Thacka Beck, diverting clean water from theRiver Petteril, which was notably valuable for the tanning and related industries.[M 20]
Strickland shared power in Penrith with theNeville family, which had beenpromoted in the North byRichard II of England to offset the influence of thePercies. In 1396,Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and his wife Joan gained the manors of Penrith and Castle Sowerby: windows in St Andrew's Church may depict the Nevilles along with Richard II. Ralph probably started buildingPenrith Castle, which was continued by his son,Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, father ofRichard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, the "Kingmaker", whose death in theBattle of Barnet in 1471 ledEdward IV of England to grant the Castle and Penrith manors toRichard of Gloucester, the future Richard III, to keep themYorkist. Richard III used Penrith as a baseagainst the Scots and to promote a Yorkist "affinity" in the area to offset Lancastrian loyalties at nearby Brougham, Appleby (Clifford) and Greystoke (Baron Greystoke) and elsewhere. Tradition has Richard staying in what is now Dockray Hall (once theGloucester Arms) during building work on the castle. The latter was more of a palace than a military stronghold, with a chantry chapel endowed by Richard.[M 21]
TheTudor period saw the centralising tendencies of the Yorkist government continued. TheEnglish Reformation, economic and social progress, educational change, the rise of the non-noblelanded gentry and the depredations of the plague all affected Tudor England, and Penrith was no exception.[M 22]
The eclipse of the Nevilles and Percies by the end of theWars of the Roses opened the field for families such as theCliffords, theDacres and theMusgraves to jostle for position in the North (including those of theSheriff of Cumberland, theWarden of the West March and the keeper of Penrith Castle).[M 23]
Penrith people were involved in a rebellion of 1536/1537 known as thePilgrimage of Grace. Eight town residents were executed as a result. The motives seem to have been partly religious, partly to do with a desire for more English government protection against Scottish raids.[M 24]
The reformation went on apace afterwards – the Augustinian Priory was dissolved and the two chantry bequests closed later. The Strickland bequest partly funded thePenrith Grammar School, founded 1564, in the reign ofElizabeth I. Many governors of the new foundation in St Andrew's churchyard were risingProtestant gentry, who moved into various houses in Penrith: the families of Whelpdale (whose coat of arms adorns Dockray Hall), Carleton, Bost and Hutton (who had taken over the pele tower in Benson Row), and Richard Dudley ofYanwath Hall. The foundation was overseen bySir Thomas Smith, one of Elizabeth's trusted Protestant counsellors.
Penrith was not involved in theRising of the North in 1569, despite involvement bySir Richard Lowther and his younger brother Gerard, whose house in Penrith became the formerTwo Lions Inn. The merchant, Robert Bartram, may have built the Tudor House in St Andrew's Place (1563), indicating a trading class operating in Penrith.[M 25]
However, there may have been a substantial underclass as well, as shown by possible poverty and poor nutrition causing a high death rate in 1587, when there may have been atyphus epidemic. TheBubonic plague may have caused some 615 deaths in 1597–1598, according to the vicar's register (2,260 according to a brass plaque inside St Andrew's Church).[M 26]
Penrith inStuart times was affected by political and religious upheavals that saw theEnglish Civil War, theCommonwealth and theGlorious Revolution, but was spared any fighting. It also escaped thewitch-craze phenomenon that afflicted other parts of England. TheUnion of the Crowns and suppression of thereiver clans such as the Grahams, gave Penrith relief from Scottish raiding and a boost to Penrith's commercial prosperity.James VI and I and his entourage of 800 visited Brougham Castle in 1617, which boosted commerce. However, Penrith's crossroads position on the north–south and east–west routes made it vulnerable to starving vagrants bringing disease. This, plus a national food shortage, may have led to a typhus epidemic in 1623.[M 27]
During the Civil War, Penrith's gentry were mostly Royalist, but Penrithians seem to have been neither for nor against the King. During the first war (1642–1646),General Leslie took over Brougham Castle for theCovenanters and Penrith became a supply centre for Parliament. In the second civil war starting in 1648, Brougham and Penrith castles were strategic assets.Major-General Lambert, the Parliamentary commander, took over Penrith in June 1648 until forced out by Scottish royalists aided bySir Philip Musgrave of Edenhall. The Covenanters supported the futureCharles II after 1648. He stayed at Carleton Hall in 1651 on his way south to defeat at theBattle of Worcester.[M 28]
Because Penrith lacked borough or corporation status, governance fell on the local nobility, gentry and clergy, (such asHugh Todd). During theCommonwealth,Presbyterian "Godly rule" was administered at St Andrew's Church by the localJustice of the peace, Thomas Langhorne, who had bought Lowther's Newhall/Two Lions house.[M 29] Meanwhile, Penrith benefited from work on restoration of Brougham and other castles, and by charitable donations undertaken byLady Anne Clifford.[M 30] The gradual rise in religious toleration eventually saw in 1699 the establishment, by theQuakers, of Penrith's second place of worship, the Friends' Meeting House in Meeting House Lane.[M 31]
Leading gentry of Cumberland and Westmorland gathered at theGeorge Inn on 4 January 1688 at the behest ofLord Preston, theLord Lieutenant of Cumberland andWestmorland. He was attempting to gauge the views of leading figures in the counties (deputy-lieutenants, andJ.P.s) on the intention ofKing James II to introduce greater religious toleration. Partly due to efforts byJohn Lowther, 1st Viscount Lonsdale, the attendees were persuaded to give a non-committal reply. TheWhig Lowther went on to contribute to securing the two counties forKing William in theGlorious Revolution and advancing his career, unlike his local (Tory) rivalChristopher Musgrave of Edenhall who had been more dilatory in his support for William. This exemplified local politics feeding into national politics.[M 32][18]
The economy of Penrith "continued to rely on cattle rearing, slaughtering and the processing of cattle products" (leather goods, tanning, shoemaking).[M 33]
There are two tiers of local government covering Penrith, atparish (town) andunitary authority level: Penrith Town Council andWestmorland and Furness Council. The town council is based at Church House on Friargate.[19] Westmorland and Furness Council also has an office in the town, at Voreda House on Portland Place,[20] which achieved thePassive house standard for energy efficiency in 2024.[21]
For national elections, Penrith forms part of thePenrith and Solway constituency, which has been represented byMarkus Campbell-Savours of theLabour Party since the2024 general election.[22]
Penrith was anancient parish, which formed part of thehistoric county ofCumberland from the county's creation in the 12th century.[23] The parish was made alocal board district in 1851. Such districts were reconstituted asurban districts under theLocal Government Act 1894.[24]
In 1904, the urban district council bought a pair of large semi-detached houses at the corner of Corney Square and Portland Place, which had been built in 1791. They were converted intoPenrith Town Hall, which opened in 1906.[25]
In the 1920s,Penrith Castle came into council possession, its grounds becoming a public park. Castle Hill (Tyne Close) Housing Estate was built nearby. Furthercouncil housing was built at Fair Hill and Castletown before the Second World War, and after the war at Scaws, Townhead and Pategill. The district was bordered on three sides byPenrith Rural District, the southern boundary marked by the River Eamont being withWestmorland.
Penrith Urban District was abolished in 1974.[26] The area became part ofEden District in the new county of Cumbria.[27][28] Nosuccessor parish was created for the former urban district at the time of the 1974 reforms, and so it became anunparished area. It was therefore directly administered by Eden District Council, which based itself in the town, at both the old urban district council's headquarters at the Town Hall and the old rural district council's offices at Mansion House on Bishop Yards.[29] A new civil parish of Penrith was subsequently established in 2015, with its parish council taking the name Penrith Town Council.[30]
Eden was abolished in 2023 when the new Westmorland and Furness Council was created, also taking over the functions of the abolished Cumbria County Council in the area.[31] There were some protests at Penrith's inclusion in Westmorland and Furness rather than the newCumberland unitary authority, on the basis that the town was historically part of the county of Cumberland rather than Westmorland.[32] The Town Hall and Mansion House passed to the new Westmorland and Furness Council, and closed in 2024 when Voreda House opened.[33]
Penrith lies in the Eden Valley, just north of theRiver Eamont. Other local rivers bounding the town are theLowther andPetteril. ThackaBeck flows through the town centre partly in a culvert,[34] remaining mostly underground. It links the River Petteril and the River Eamont. For many centuries, the Beck provided Penrith's main water supply. Thacka Beck Nature Reserve provides flood storage to protect buildings in Penrith.[35][36] Another stream, the Myers or Dog Beck, flows through and under the south-west of the town, joining Thacka Beck near Tynefield Court. The Dog Beck section has also been known as Scumscaw Beck or TyneSyke. In 2014 the pub chainWetherspoons opened a branch in Penrith, naming it theDog Beck. There are also streams or becks running through the Carleton area of the town.
Castletown, west of theWest Coast Main Line, includes the GilwillyIndustrial Estate and some of the Penrith or Myers Industrial Estate. The area, originally built for workers on the railway line, mostly consists of late 19th and early 20th-century terraced housing, including some council housing. Since the 1990s, private developments such as Greystoke Park, Castletown Drive and Castle Park have appeared.
There was until March 2010 a pub in the suburb,The Castle Inn, and in previous years a sub-post office, aCo-op store and other shops, all now closed. Until the 1970s, Castletown had itsChurch of England St Saviour's in Brougham Street, acting as achapel of ease to Penrith'sparish church of St Andrew, originally built as aPrimitive Methodist chapel. As of 2017, the Oasis Evangelical Church holds services at Brackenber Court sheltered housing complex in Musgrave Street. The Church in the Barn,Elim Pentecostal church, meets at the community centre at Gilwilly.
The suburb has acommunity centre on therecreation ground at Gilwilly and until recently held an annual gala day and parade throughout Penrith. At one time in the mid-20th century elections were held amongst regulars at theCastle pub to find aMayor of Castletown. There is longstanding rivalry between the Castletown and Townhead districts.
Townhead is the town's northern area, including the Fair Hill district and the Voreda Park or Anchorhousing estate. It mainly flanks theA6 road, heading uphill towards Carlisle. The road is named Stricklandgate and Scotland Road, but on maps before the mid-19th century it appears as Town Head. It was one of sevenconstablewicks into which the ancient Penrith parish divided, alongside Middlegate, Burrowgate, Dockray and Netherend in the town proper and Plumpton Head and Carleton beyond.
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New Streets marks an area between Townhead and Scaws on the side of the Beacon Hill orFell, with steep streets of some terraced housing, but mainly detached and semi-detached houses of the late 19th century. These streets from north to south are Graham, Wordsworth, Lowther and Arthur Street. The term sometimes includes Fell Lane, which is actually the ancient east road from Penrith town centre toLangwathby), and Croft Avenue and Croft Terrace (from about 1930), which were not developed till later. At the foot is Drovers Lane, once Back Lane, subdivided into Drovers Terrace, Wordsworth Terrace, Lowther Terrace, Bath Terrace, Arthur Terrace, Lonsdale Terrace, and finally Meeting House Lane. Along the top is Beacon Edge, with extensive views over the town and towards the Lake District. Until the turn of the 20th century, Beacon Edge was known as Beacon Road. Apart from the streets up the fellside there are some that link smaller housing developments between them.
The fellside is known to have been used as a burial ground for victims of bubonic plague, which struck Penrith down the centuries. There are also areas that still have farming names, such as a wooded enclosure in Fell Lane known as the Pinfold (or Pinny) – once a pound for stray animals until owners paid to reclaim them. One lane off Beacon Edge is stillIntack Lane, i. e. the lane to farmed land. Most of what formed the intack was passed to Penrith Cemetery.
The Scaws Estate was built by Penrith Urban District Council afterWorld War II on land hitherto known as the Flatt Field and Scaws Farm, as part of theLowther Estates. Scaws Farm is now Coldsprings Farm. Later some private housing was built on higher parts of the estate.
Beaconside Primary School stands in the centre of the estate, where there were once three corner shops and a launderette. Adjoining Scaws are the private Barcohill and Meadow Croft housing estates.
Carleton was once a separate settlement of houses along one side of theA686 road following the boundary of the built-up area. Carleton Hall holds the headquarters of theCumbria Constabulary.[37] The area is the home of Carelton Banks FC, colloquially the Pinks.[38]
Adjoining Carleton is the Pategill Housing Estate. It began as a council estate on land once part of the Carleton Hall estate and is still mostly owned byhousing associations. Two streets, Prince Charles Close and Jubilee Close, were opened bythe Prince of Wales in 1977. The centre of the estate is accessible by foot only and there was until 2012 a smallconvenience store. Several properties are run assheltered housing for the elderly.
The Wetheriggs, Skirsgill and Castle Hill or Tyne Close areas were developed in the 1920s by Penrith Urban District Council on land formerly known as Scumscaw. The first private housing was developed in Holme Riggs Avenue and Skirsgill Gardens just before World War II. Further development did not start until the 1960s and 1970s, on land between Wetheriggs Lane and Ullswater Road. Not until the late 1980s were the two roads connected by the Clifford Road extension, which saw the Skirsgill area developed. There are three schools: Ullswater Community College. North Lakes Junior and Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS). The Crescent in Clifford Road holds sheltered accommodation for the elderly. There was once a shop at the junction of Huntley Avenue and Clifford Road and another at the foot of Holme Riggs Avenue. The large North Lakes Hotel and Spa stands at the junction of Clifford and Ullswater Roads, overlooking the Skirsgill Junction 40 Interchange of theM6 motorway, A66 andA592 roads.
Plans to expand Penrith town centre south into the Southend Road area began by expanding the swimming pool area into a leisure centre, to replace a previous car park and sports fields, including ones used by Penrith and Penrith United football clubs. Plans for the rest of the scheme were drawn up by a property firm and included a supermarket[39] and shopping streets, car parking and housing.Penrith New Squares refers to shops to be centred round two squares for parking and public entertainment.[40]
Work here was suspended in October 2008 due to the financial crisis,[41] but a new deal was agreed with Sainsbury's and it resumed in 2011. The update includes less new housing, with parts deferred for up to five years.[42] Sainsbury's opened in December 2011. In June 2013, the first shop in the squares opened, along with a walk through from Sainsbury's to the town centre.
The main church is St Andrew's, built in 1720–1722 in an imposingGrecian style, abutting a 12th/13th-century tower. The churchyard has ancient crosses andhogback tombstones known as the Giant's Grave (early 10th century) and Giant's Thumb (remains of a Norse cross from about 920).[43]
Ruins ofPenrith Castle (14th–16th centuries) can be seen from the adjacent railway station. It is run byEnglish Heritage. To the south-east of the town are more substantial ruins ofBrougham Castle, also held by English Heritage, as are the ancienthenge sites known asMayburgh Henge andKing Arthur's Round Table to the south.
The town centre has a Clock Tower erected in 1861 to markPhilip Musgrave ofEdenhall. Hutton Hall in Friargate has a 14th-centurypele tower at the rear, attached to an 18th-century building. Dockray Hall (once theGloucester Arms) dates from about 1470 and may include remains of another pele tower.[44] Richard, Duke of Gloucester resided there before becoming KingRichard III and carried out extensive work at Penrith Castle about 1471.
Penrith has manywells.Well-dressing ceremonies took place on days in May. Three miles south-east, on the River Eamont oppositeNinekirks, are the "Giants' Caves", with a well dedicated toSt Ninian. These are enlarged out ofLower Permiansandstone and their associated breccias and purpleshales.
Just north of the town is a wooded signal-beacon hill named Beacon Hill, originally Penrith Fell. Its last use was probably in 1804 in the war againstNapoleon. Traditionally, Beacon Pike warned of danger from Scotland. Though ringed by commercial woodland appropriated by Lowther Estates, it still has natural woodlands visited by locals and tourists. On a clear day most of Eden Valley, local fells, Pennines and parts of the North Lakes can be seen. Beacon Hill possibly gave Penrith its Celtic name of "red hill".
A fibreglass 550 cm (18 ft)-tallstatue of King Kong once stood in the Skirsgill Auction Mart.[45]
Penrith station is a stop on theWest Coast Main Line. It is served by twotrain operating companies:[46]
Local bus services are operated mostly byStagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire, with links to Carlisle,Keswick andUllswater, with less frequent ones toWindermere,Appleby-in-Westmorland andKendal. There is also a 646 town service, run by the local NBM Motors, serving most of the town once an hour. Fellrunner buses connect Penrith to villages in the Eden Valley. A daily service toAlston andNewcastle is run by Wright Brothers ofNenthead. The bus station is in the town centre, off Sandgate; many services also stop at the railway station.[49]
National Express operate two long-distance coach routes with stops in Penrith. Route 182 runs fromBirmingham toEdinburgh and the 590 linksGlasgow toLondon.[49]
Penrith is close to junction 40 of theM6 motorway. TheA66,A6 andA686 intersect in the town.
The town has severaltaxi firms licensed byEden District Council. The main rank is in Sandgate in the middle of town, near the bus station, with another outside the railway station.
TheNational Cycle Network's major National Route 7 runs through the town and National Route 71 stops just short of its southern edge.
Penrith Hospital and Health Centre lies along Bridge Lane at the southern entrance to the town, close to the Kemplay Bank roundabout, where theA6,A66 andA686 meet. These are administered by the Cumbria PartnershipNHS Trust. It opened in 1970 to replace Jubilee Cottage Hospital on Beacon Edge, Fairhill Fever Hospital and the maternity home at the oldworkhouse in Castletown. It has wards for the elderly, mental health care and minor injuries, and a Primary Care Assessment unit, a maternity wing and theLady Anne Clifford Day Hospital. Various weekly clinics are held at the hospital and the adjacent health centre, which opened in 1983 and brought all three NHS medical practices into one building – two have since merged. There is also apharmacy in the centre.
There are several private and National Health Service dental practices in the town.
Penrith falls comes underCumbria Constabulary, with headquarters at Carleton Hall on the outskirts of the town. The town's own police station was in Hunter Lane, but has since been replaced by a smaller one close to Carleton Hall. Carleton Hall also houses Penrith's fire station and the headquarters ofCumbria Fire and Rescue Service.
TheNorth West Ambulance Service has a base in Tynefield Drive, close to the hospital. TheGreat North Air Ambulance Service has its Cumbrian base close to Penrith atLangwathby and was at one time-based at Carleton Hall. The PenrithMountain Rescue team, whose operating area covers the Eden Valley, North Pennines and the area towards the Scottish border, also has a base in Tynefield Drive.
At the2021 census the parish had a population of 16,987,[1] and the built-up area had a population of 16,700.[2] The built-up area population was 15,181 at the 2011 census.[50]
In order of birth:
Like other rural towns of its size, Penrith relies onpublic houses to form the basis of social entertainment. It was once famous for the sheer number of its pubs, served by five workingbreweries. The trend of pub closures continues, but many remain. They range from small traditional pubs with a loyal clientele to bigger bars that form part of the "circuit". Penrith also has numerous dining places and restaurants.
The Lonsdale (formerly the Alhambra) in Middlegate is acinema with three screens built in 1910 by William Forrester. There was until the 1980s another cinema called the Regent on Old London Road.
Amateur dramatics and musicals are staged at the Penrith Players Theatre,Ullswater Community College and Queen Elizabeth Grammar School.
The Penrith dialect known as Penrithian, spoken around the Penrith and Eden district area, is a variant of theCumbrian dialect.
The local newspaper, theCumberland and Westmorland Herald appears on Saturdays. Sections are updated every following Tuesday on their website. It is independently owned, with offices on King Street, but printed at theNewsquest's printing works inGlasgow, along with the weeklyCumberland News and dailyNews and Star which also cover some news items from Penrith. A separate edition of theHerald is published for theKeswick area, known as theLake District Herald.
The Free, monthly circulated Eden Local community magazinehttp://www.cumbrianlocal.co.uk/ has been posted through doors since 2010 in Penrith and in areas surrounding it in the Eden Valley. It was set up to launchhttps://www.edenfm.co.uk/ It reached its 200th publication in 2023.
Penrith lies with theITVBorder region and theBBC North East and Cumbria. There were three local radio stations serving the Penrith area.Eden FM which is based in Penrith launched in 2011. There were two others based in Carlisle. These beingBBC Radio Cumbria and what wasindependent stationCFM, that from 3 April 2023, rebranded to Greatest Hits Radio.
Penrith was used as a setting in the 1940 bookCue for Treason byGeoffrey Trease. It was also a setting forBruce Robinson's 1987 filmWithnail and I, although the Penrith scenes were actually filmed inStony Stratford, Buckinghamshire.[52]
Penrith hosts twoCommunity Cadet Forces units: 1247 Squadron of theAir Training Corps and Penrith Detachment of CumbriaArmy Cadet Force.
Former schools in the town include:
The town also has two places of worship forIslam. It has an Islamic centre called the "Quba Islamic Centre"[55] and amosque called the "Al-Amin Mosque". Both are close to each other and on both Middlegate and Bluebell Lane.
As a market town relying heavily on the tourist trade, Penrith benefits from some high-street chain stores and local specialist shops alongside other businesses such asbanks,building societies andtravel agents.
Market days are traditionally Tuesday and Saturday. On Tuesdays there was a small outdoor market in Great Dockray and Cornmarket. This ceased in the early 21st century, since when a smallfarmers' market has been held in the Market Square once a month. On Saturdays, Cumbria's largest outdoor market takes place at the Auction Mart alongside the M6 motorway junction 40.
The main central shopping areas are Middlegate, Little Dockray, Devonshire Street/Market Square, Cornmarket, King Street, Angel Lane and the Devonshire Arcade and Angel Square precincts, with some shops in Burrowgate, Brunswick Road and Great Dockray.
Although the main industries are based around tourism and agriculture, some others are represented. For example, in 2011Greggs opened a newbakery at Gilwilly, replacing two bakeries in the Friargate area that used to belong to the Penrith-based Birketts firm.Domino's Pizza had a dough manufacturing site at Gilwilly until 2019. The model firmLilliput Lane (now part ofEnesco) was founded in Penrith and until March 2009 had its main factory at Skirsgill Park. Also at Penrith Industrial Estate is the Penrith Door Company factory, formerly part ofMagnet Joinery, now of the American-basedJELD-WEN group.
Agriculture-based industries includeFor Farmers, which has a largeanimal feed mill on the Penrith Industrial Estate. Until 2005 there was another feed mill at Gilwilly, originally belonging to Cumberland and Westmorland Farmers Ltd, but eventually becoming part of theCarrs Milling Industries group. Localbutchers Cranstons have an expanding meat packing, pie and sandwich-manufacturing site alongside their shop and head office on Ullswater Road.
Penrith was known for itstanning industry and breweries. The tanneries were mainly in the Friargate/Old London Road area of the town. There were at one time five working breweries. Penrith in recent years has attracted many larger international haulage firms to open depots beside the M6.
Fylde Guitars is a manufacturer of hand-made fretted musical instruments, founded in Penrith in 1973 byluthier Roger Bucknall. Its instruments command high prices. All are hand-made using traditional techniques and have been developed in collaboration with professional players. Fylde Guitars is the only UK guitar maker to have been awarded the Acoustic Guitar Magazine "Gold Award", in 2000.
Penrith is home toPenrith Rugby Union Football Club, which currently plays in the RFUNational League 3 North. Home games are played at Winters Park in Penrith.
Penrith Netball Club has been active in the town since 2002.[56] They cater for junior players from the age of 11, as well as adults, playing at both secondary schools (QEGS andUllswater Community College) in the town. Penrith Netball are currently playing in the Carlisle Netball League.
Penrith A.F.C. plays in theNorthern Football League.
There is askate park area by the Penrith Leisure Centre. The skate park opened in 2007.[57]
Penrith has a golf club and driving range. Penrith Castle Park houses the town's Bowling Club.
Penrith Swimming Club was founded in 1881 and was then based at Frenchfield in theRiver Eamont. Training sessions originally involved great variations of conditions that challenged the skills of any swimmer. Icy water, strong currents and obstacles like weed and the odd eel or two provided the ultimate test of stamina. It was all a far cry from conditions for today's training sessions, held at Penrith Leisure Centre.[58]
Penrith Canoe Club, founded in 2012, trains at the local leisure centre. Its main activity is canoe polo, in which the club was represented at the World Championships in Syracuse, Italy 2016 by its under-21 women's squad, which finished a respectable fourth.
Penrith Tennis Club is located in the grounds of Penrith Rugby Club at Carleton Village.
Since 1989, Penrith has had atwinning arrangement with theAustralian city named after it inNew South Wales.[59]
Like most of theBritish Isles, Penrith has amaritime climate with mild summers and winters. The nearest Met Office weather station is atNewton Rigg, about a mile outside of the centre. Temperatures have ranged from 33.3 °C (91.9 °F) in July 1901,[66] down to −17.8 °C (0.0 °F) in February 1969,[67] although this was nearly exceeded by a fall to −17.7 °C (0.1 °F) in December 2010.[68] Newton Rigg also holds a record for the coldest April temperature reported in England: −15.0 °C (5.0 °F) in April 1917.[69]
| Climate data for Newton Rigg, elevation: 169 m (554 ft), 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1906–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) | 14.4 (57.9) | 21.1 (70.0) | 24.6 (76.3) | 27.2 (81.0) | 29.7 (85.5) | 29.5 (85.1) | 31.1 (88.0) | 26.7 (80.1) | 24.4 (75.9) | 17.2 (63.0) | 17.2 (63.0) | 31.1 (88.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.1 (43.0) | 6.6 (43.9) | 8.8 (47.8) | 11.6 (52.9) | 15.1 (59.2) | 17.4 (63.3) | 19.5 (67.1) | 19.0 (66.2) | 16.3 (61.3) | 12.5 (54.5) | 8.8 (47.8) | 6.4 (43.5) | 12.4 (54.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.4 (38.1) | 3.6 (38.5) | 5.4 (41.7) | 7.4 (45.3) | 10.4 (50.7) | 13.0 (55.4) | 15.1 (59.2) | 14.6 (58.3) | 12.3 (54.1) | 9.1 (48.4) | 5.9 (42.6) | 3.4 (38.1) | 8.6 (47.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.6 (33.1) | 0.6 (33.1) | 2.0 (35.6) | 3.2 (37.8) | 5.7 (42.3) | 8.6 (47.5) | 10.7 (51.3) | 10.2 (50.4) | 8.2 (46.8) | 5.7 (42.3) | 2.9 (37.2) | 0.4 (32.7) | 4.9 (40.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −16.7 (1.9) | −20.0 (−4.0) | −13.9 (7.0) | −15.0 (5.0) | −5.0 (23.0) | −0.6 (30.9) | 1.1 (34.0) | 0.0 (32.0) | −2.8 (27.0) | −6.7 (19.9) | −12.6 (9.3) | −17.7 (0.1) | −20.0 (−4.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 101.5 (4.00) | 74.3 (2.93) | 75.8 (2.98) | 52.2 (2.06) | 56.1 (2.21) | 58.6 (2.31) | 70.2 (2.76) | 70.1 (2.76) | 76.3 (3.00) | 106.9 (4.21) | 100.1 (3.94) | 105.0 (4.13) | 947.0 (37.28) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 15.1 | 11.2 | 13.1 | 10.8 | 10.6 | 10.4 | 11.1 | 11.5 | 11.6 | 15.3 | 15.3 | 14.4 | 150.4 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 38.8 | 59.0 | 97.0 | 135.4 | 166.9 | 161.7 | 160.1 | 145.5 | 114.6 | 79.4 | 41.7 | 37.2 | 1,237.3 |
| Source 1:Met Office[70] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:KNMI[71] Meteo Climat[72] | |||||||||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
