| The Old Courthouse | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2011 | |
| Location | Main Street, Cockermouth |
| Coordinates | 54°39′50″N3°21′45″W / 54.6639°N 3.3625°W |
| Built | 1829 |
| Architectural style(s) | Tudor Revival style |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | The Old Courthouse |
| Designated | 26 July 2024 |
| Reference no. | 1144708 |
  Shown in Cumbria | |
The Old Courthouse is a former judicial building on Main Street in Cockermouth in Cumbria in England. The building, which is currently vacant, is a Grade II listed building. [1]
The first municipal building in the town was a moot hall in the Market Place which dated back at least to the 17th century. [2] After it became dilapidated, civic leaders decided to demolish it and to commission a new building. The site they selected was on the north side of the Main Street on the west bank of the River Cocker. [2] The new building, which became known as the courthouse, was financed by public subscription. It was designed in the Tudor Revival style, built at a cost of £1,300 using materials which had been recovered from the Moot Hall and donated by the local landowner, George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont, and was completed in 1829. [2] [3]
The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing Main Street. The centre bay featured a short flight of steps leading up to an opening with a four-centred arch. The other bays on the ground floor were fenestrated by windows with four-centred arches and all the windows on the first floor were fenestrated by sash windows with hood moulds. At roof level, there was a modillioned cornice. Internally, the principal rooms included a courtroom, a bank and a newsroom. [2]
Following significant population growth, largely associated with the status of Cockermouth as a market town, the area became an urban district in 1894. [4] The old courthouse served as the town hall for the new council as well the local judicial facility. [2] A plaque, which had originally fixed to a clock intended to commemorate the life of Edward Waugh, the former Member of Parliament for Cockermouth, was placed on the front of the old courthouse in 1932. [5]
By the early 1930s, in the context of its increasing responsibilities, the council was seeking more substantial facilities. The old courthouse ceased to be the local seat of government when the council relocated to an old Methodist chapel in Market Street in 1934. [6] The old courthouse was subsequently disposed of for commercial use and was owned by one family from the 1970s until well into the 21st century. [7] The building was rented out as a restaurant, operated by the Ryan family as the Honest Lawyer Restaurant, from 2007. [8] [lower-alpha 1] Other tenants included an antiques market and a hairdresser. [10]
The building was badly affected during the floods in November 2009, [11] and, after a stone section underneath was eroded in November 2021, it was declared unsafe and temporary repairs were carried out by divers. [12] A London property consultant, Samiul Ahmed, acquired the building at auction, in July 2022. [13]
The rear part of the building collapsed into the River Cocker in October 2023. [14] [15] [16] The owner was put on notice to carry out the repairs in January 2024, [17] [18] but, after discussions with the new owner broke down, Cumberland Council initiated essential stabilisation and demolition works in March 2024. [19] [20] [21] Then, in August 2024 during Storm Lilian, the scaffolding erected to undertake the repair works collapsed into the river. [22] [23]
Cumbria is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Carlisle, which is also its county town.
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Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England, so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cockermouth has a population of 8,204, increasing to 8,761 at the 2011 Census.
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The River Cocker is a river in the Lake District in North West England, in the county of Cumbria. Its source is at the head of the Buttermere valley. It flows north through Buttermere and then Crummock Water, through Lorton Vale, to the town of Cockermouth, where it joins the River Derwent. It is roughly 12 miles (19 km) long. The river takes its name from the Brythonic Celtic word kukrā, meaning 'the crooked one.'
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Cockermouth Castle is in the town of Cockermouth in Cumbria on a site by the junction of the Rivers Cocker and Derwent. It is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.
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Cockermouth School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Cockermouth in the English county of Cumbria.
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The 2009 Great Britain and Ireland floods were a weather event that affected parts of Great Britain and Ireland throughout November and into December 2009. November was the wettest month across the United Kingdom since records began in 1914 and had well above average temperatures. The worst affected area in Great Britain was the English county of Cumbria. The Irish counties of Clare, Cork, Galway and Westmeath were among the worst affected areas of Ireland.
Cockermouth is a civil parish and a town in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. It contains 105 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, six are listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, seven are at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. Cockermouth is a market town at the confluence of the Rivers Derwent and Cocker, and bridges crossing these rivers are listed. The oldest surviving building is Cockermouth Castle, parts of which are in ruins, and parts are inhabited; these are all listed. Historically the town's industries have been milling and brewing. Former mills that have been adapted for other uses, and part of a brewery are listed. Most of the other listed buildings are houses, cottages and associated structures. A variety of other buildings are listed, including schools, churches, hotels, public houses, a former hospice, a milestone, a former court house, a former bank, a statue, and the town hall.
Bourn Windmill is an open trestle post mill at Bourn in Cambridgeshire, England, which was standing in 1636. It is a Grade I Listed building and a Scheduled Monument. It is the oldest surviving windmill in the United Kingdom. The mill ceased work commercially in 1927 and was preserved in 1932. In November 2021, it was placed on the Heritage at Risk Register as being in danger of collapse.
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