Kirkgate Quarter Chronicle : July 2024

Welcome to the July 2024 edition of the Kirkgate Quarter Chronicle.

What a wonderful start to the month! The weather behaved itself for Cockermouth Live, and we had a busy weekend at the Kirkgate Centre, with ‘Blazin’ Fiddles’ and ‘This Flight Tonight’ performing to sell out audiences, as well as Oppgard and Friends on Saturday afternoon, plus our very own Youth Theatre and more live music on Sunday.

The live music continues throughout the summer with Martin Stephenson this weekend, followed by The Joshua Burnell Band, A Celebration of Simon and Garfunkel with Tim Chu and Ian Bailey, Rob Heron and the Teapad Orchestra and more!

We also had a record breaking weekend in June, with the best selling Cockfrock since our sales started! We’ve decided to make a few tweaks to the format for the next sale, in the autumn. You will be sent a link to download all instructions and labels when you register to sell so do make sure you read through carefully!

As the Cockfrock events are now running so smoothly we’ve decided to try another style… September will see our very first Kirk- Kit event. This is the same format as Cockfrock- where you can register as a seller then drop your items off for us to sell on your behalf. Click on the button below for more info.

We’re also continuing our Kirkgate Monthly Market sales, with the addition of plants and a community cafe in the summer months. Click here for more info.
Kirk-Kit second hand sporting goods sale
Register to sell at our Autumn Cockfrock event

@HOME@KIRKGATE

We love to find out more about the people and organisations who hire the centre for their varied activities, and this month we hear from Sophie at Mayfield St Joseph’s School. The pupils came to the centre for some very important research… and a really fun morning!

“Students from Mayfield St Joseph’s LOVED their visit to the Kirkgate cinema on the 27th June to watch Grease the musical.  The students were transfixed, it wasn’t long before they were singing and dancing in their seats!
The students are currently rehearsing for their own adapted performance of Grease.  We know their visit to the Kirkgate inspired our students and they recognised it as a fantastic reward.  The performance will take place at Mayfield’s Whitehaven campus on the 16th July, they have been working hard learning their lines, practicing the songs, designing the set and costumes and the students have worked together superbly.

They loved their morning of wonderful entertainment.  The performance will be exceptional, a showstopper and we expect it to be a sell out!

Watching one of the best loved musicals in such a fabulous setting was a fantastic experience for our students, we could say it was electrifying!  The musical is colourful and energetic with lots of great numbers that all the staff are still humming!
We know our student’s talent will shine, and their humour.  Our young people love to have fun, and they had a great time watching the film and will have a fantastic time on the stage.

We really appreciate the support we receive from the Kirkgate and the wider community.  Our St Joseph’s campus opened in September 2023, this is the sister site to our Whitehaven campus, whilst we now have 2 sites, we remain one school. It is a privilege to have our second site in Cockermouth, this site homes our older pupils, currently from 14 to 19 years of age. We feel truly blessed, the young people have transitioned with ease, the children are thriving in this setting, the opportunities to work with the community are exceptional and we have been made to feel very welcome by the local community.”

We could hear the singing from the office! What a great bunch of students, and amazing teachers at Mayfield. We wish them all the best with their performance next week. If you would like to find out more about Mayfield School you can visit their website here.

UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS

Hot on the heels of Cockermouth Live we’re all about the music over July and August! There really is too many gems to include them all in the Chronicle so do head over to the website and browse the eclectic selection!

This weekend we’ve got one of the most loved singer songwriters of the last few decades coming to visit. Martin Stephenson, described as ‘witty’, ‘engaging’ and ‘exuberant’, is a must see for any fans of folk-rock (or anyone who appreciates a well written song!). See him in Cockermouth on Sunday 14th July at 8pm.

Another highlight this month is the return of our Jocelyn! Not back to the busy office but for a serene and mindful afternoon of creativity. Flower Pressing with Jocelyn West is the latest of our crafts@Kirkgate workshops, on Saturday 27th July at 2pm.
Jazz@Kirkgate this month is shaping up to be another treat! Session musicians are the absolute masters of their craft, and with the resume of Groove Crusade… well… we think you’d struggle to find this level of talent in the same place!! Steely Dan fans, don’t miss this one! Find out more about them here. Described by one punter at a previous gig as ‘jazz for people who don’t like jazz!’. Whether you consider yourself a jazz fan or not, you can’t argue with a good groove! Sunday 28th July 7.30pm.

Our next highlight is the return of FEVER with another night of drag cabaret entertainment. We must mention though- we will be having some work done on our lift at the centre during August, so sadly the lift will be out of action for this FEVER night. We know a number of our audience rely on this and we are truly sorry. On the plus side, the lift will be much more pleasant (and reliable!) after this important work is completed.
Come along on Saturday 10th August at 8pm for a sparkling extravaganza hosted by Rosie Zinfandel. Doors open at 7 so remember- get there early to get a round in before the show!

A DAY IN THE LIFE

We have a young volunteer in the centre this week, on a work experience placement from Cockermouth School.

“Hello, my name is Jayden Pearson-Butler, I am a student at Cockermouth school just finishing year 10. For my work experience I decided to go to the Kirkgate Centre, and I have had a brilliant time. From working in the office compiling volunteer rotas to making trailer slides for movies, I have learnt a lot of new skills that I wouldn’t normally do.

During the past week I have taken part in many activities with my brother to help the Kirkgate, such as painting doors, cleaning out the projection room, helping to get a movie ready for a school visit and adding events on to ENTS24. That is a listing website that email subscribers with information on all sorts of different events at different places.
Touching up the paintwork in the backstage area.
Having worked in the office with the staff, I know now how hard it is to get the word out so using other listing sites as well as local press is really useful. My favourite part of the week was looking through and sorting out the old cinema posters into tubes, for them to be easily accessible if wanted to be used again, or sold to collectors (there were a lot!). Katie, my supervisor, told me that she once stuck a poster to a wall with glue then found out that it was worth over £100!

The experience I gained out of the work placement has contributed significantly to my communication skills. It has helped me a lot while working, and I am confident it will impact my future career.”
We’ve loved having Jayden, and his older brother Gordon, helping at the Kirkgate this week. Gordon began volunteering here as part of his Duke Of Edinburgh Award a couple of years ago, and it’s been great to have him back at the centre. We’re hoping both Jayden and Gordon will continue to spend time with us, they’ve been so helpful!

KIRKGATE QUARTER

Did you know that next week is the Cockermouth Chamber of Trade Charities week? Sue Cliff has a special request for Kirkgate Arts customers, read more below…

The Cockermouth Chamber of Trade’s Charities week this year is 15th to 21st July.

In 2022 it raised £12K and 2023 £18K for a great variety of charities, both local and national. The fundraising centered around the shops and businesses in town, all doing a different activity to get money in the collective pot.

This year it is expanding the initiative to include individuals who live in the town, so they can “help out” a charity. Hopefully, you would like to “help out” the Kirkgate Centre!

This idea is that during that week,  you as an individual (or couple) invite friends and relatives to your house for a gathering: coffee and cake, bbq, lunch, dinner or whatever, and you ask them for a contribution to your chosen charity.  The choice of charity is up to you and what your “eat in” activity is up to you. Whatever amount is raised is great- even if three of you have a coffee and put a £1 each in the pot!

The collective amount, across Cockermouth is the goal- its one way we can market the town as a great place to visit and live!

So…

  • Decide on a date between 15th and 20th July.
  • Decide on what you are going to do.
  • Invite as many people as you can.
  • Tell them what it is for.
  • Let the Chamber know- who you are, what you are doing and which charity it is for. (eatinto@aol.com)
  • Hold your event.
  • Send your money to the Kirkgate.
  • Let the Chamber know how much you have raised- no matter how large or small.

The collective amount raised should be known by the end of July- watch the Facebook page for more info!

KIRKGATE HISTORY AND HERITAGE

We have another exhibition coming up in August at the Kirkgate Centre, as the In My Shoes project comes towards an end.  It follows on the heels (couldn’t resist that one!) of the Millers exhibition last November.

The new exhibition is about people who have come to Cockermouth from other places, for many different reasons, and have made it their home.  They are often referred to as ‘offcomers’ and our exhibition is a celebration of some of the experiences of those people, many of whom stayed and raised families here.

Some people came with the prospect of jobs in industry (e.g. textiles, and hat-making), others came to help build railways and roads.  With two World Wars Cockermouth became home to more ‘offcomers’, including Italian and German prisoners-of-war and Displaced Persons (at Moota) during WWII.  Many evacuees too came to Cockermouth at that time and were taken into people’s homes, safe from the threat of bombing raids in other parts of the country.  That was usually with good grace, but not exclusively as one letter to the Chief Billeting Officer shows: a lady complained that her maid could not possibly cope with small children in the house!  Earlier, during WWI, the entire country had opened its arms to Belgian refugees after the German invasion of their country.

Belgian refugees came to Cockermouth too, with five houses in Derwent Street (Gas Row) being given over for their accommodation, together with another house in Horsman Street and one on the Gote.  One of those Belgian refugees was Octavie Adriaenssens who arrived in Cockermouth in 1916 where she met local man Dickie Stewart, married him, and settled here to raise a family in Derwent Street.  Their children were Harold and  Marie.  Marie Winter will be well known to older Cockermothians, along with her daughter Octavie Smith (named after her grandmother, and known as Occy).  Mother and daughter entertained Cockermouth Carnival crowds year after year with their antics in the processions.
Octavie Adriaenssens
Octavie Smith and her mother Marie Winter in the Cockermouth Carnival
Willi Ullrich returning to Moota when it was a motel after the war
Two Ullrich children in Derwent Street
Another man who was well-known to local people, mainly through the many paintings that he produced and sold locally when he had finished his day job, emptying bins around the town, was Willi Ullrich.  He was a former POW at Moota during WWII, who stayed in Cockermouth after the war, married and raised a family, also in Derwent Street.

You can find out more about some of those journeys made by people to Cockermouth at the exhibition which opens on Friday 16th August and runs until 4 p.m. on Sunday 1st September (free admission, open every day 11-4).  We look forward to seeing you there and maybe hear some of your own stories.
Gloria Edwards
Cockermouth Heritage Group

If you would like to get involved with our heritage group do get in touch.

AN UNOFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE KIRKGATE

HAVING THE LAST WORD

Leafing through the programme archive (yes we have all the programmes from 1996 onwards) I found a copy of the “Readers Viewpoints” page of the Times and Star for 23 March 2001, which brought to mind a notorious spat we had with the paper.

Here’s my letter :
“SIR – I am disgusted that your unnamed reviewer sought to use a review of CADS “She Stoops to Conquer” to launch an attack on the Kirkgate Centre.
“It is entirely disingenuous of him to state “I wouldn’t want to knock the Kirkgate Centre, when the headline “Terrific Show- shame about the venue” does precisely that -delivers a gratuitous kick in the teeth to all those unpaid volunteers (including CADS members) who, over the past 10 years have devoted vast amounts of time and effort to creating and maintaining a theatre in Cockermouth – more than a theatre, a multi-purpose venue for cinema, dance, jazz, folk ,cabaret, conferences and exhibitions, parties and beer festivals.

“To describe the Kirkgate as “under-sized” and “makeshift” is insulting and untrue.

“Any such venue is a compromise. The seating at the Sands Centre , for example, is notoriously uncomfortable. Those who use the Kirkgate regularly are well aware of its limitations : in my experience it is no less comfortable than the Theatre Royal or the Carnegie and your reviewer is the first person to complain publicly about inadequate lines of vision.

As for the town deserving a “proper” theatre, it may well be that there is a useful article to be written about why Cockermouth has received only a minute fraction of the taxpayers money lavished on the Carnegie, the woefully under-used Greenhouse, the Maryport Civic Hall and the Blue Box and Theatre by the Lake. I have been told often enough by Allerdale Councillors that the Kirkgate must survive on its own efforts.…..”

Bob Pritchard, Hon Vice-President CADS and Programme Co-ordinator, Kirkgate Centre.

Chris George, then Chairman of CADS and John Barker, Treasurer of Kirkgate Centre Trust both wrote in the same vein. Unfortunately I don’t seem to have the actual review that provoked this outburst. It was actually written by regular reporter Phil Cram and the editor commented that his name was not withheld purposely, but was a production error. The readers’ viewpoints on this occasion were entirely taken up by letters supporting the Kirkgate. Grudges were not held, and Phil Cram himself went on to write many more positive reviews about events at the Centre.

When we see how well-established and well-respected the Kirkgate now is, let’s remember the generations of volunteers and supporters whose dedication and hard work was not always appreciated, yet who still kept the vision alive.

Sadly for local journalism, I think the Kirkgate is now in a far healthier state than the “Times and Star”.

Bob Pritchard

**Editors note: Thanks to the hard work of Bob, and other volunteers and staff, local councils have been much more supportive of our endeavours in recent years, something which we are very grateful for.

GENERAL MANAGER’S LETTER
After reading Bob’s unofficial history this month I can’t help but smile… Having started my own Kirkgate journey as a volunteer well over ten years ago I know that it isn’t just hard work our team put in to Kirkgate Arts- It’s a passion and a commitment to keep building on successes and to keep bringing the best in cinema, music, dance etc etc to the heart of our community. We’ve had our ups and downs, and funding disappointments in the past, but the team at Kirkgate Arts (whether staff, volunteers or loyal customers) keep on keeping on! Doing our best to make the most of the building we have and always looking to the future and what we can do to make sure the Kirkgate Centre remains part of the cultural fabric of the town.

You’ll have noticed that the rather unsightly (and asbestos filled) hut on the other side of the car park from us is now no more, which brings great relief to our operations manager. We wont be letting her rest on her laurels though, it’s all go in the Kirkgate Centre with more and more improvements in the pipeline. Work is being finished off at the moment on our lighting around the centre, with our old outdated lights being replaced by modern, energy efficient, fixtures. We’ll be asking for some feedback on the work we’re doing so look out for an email about that, you might be one of the lucky candidates!

Here in the office we’re all still over the moon about our recent funding success, and the enormous changes that will bring over the next few months and beyond. Next on our list is the lift, as mentioned above, which will be out of action from Monday 5th August. Thankfully this work shouldn’t take more than a fortnight to complete so we are planning to remain open and go ahead with all our planned events, but we do apologise to anyone that this will prevent from attending.

We’re looking forward to seeing Jocelyn back in the centre for her flower pressing workshop, a far cry from chasing up invoices and mastering the financial spreadsheets in the office. I know which activity I’d rather spend a Saturday afternoon immersed in! Speaking of spreadsheets, we now have a new Finance and Admin Officer, who we will introduce in next month’s Chronicle.

Jocelyn’s workshop is part of our Crafts@Kirkgate programme, for anyone interested in learning a new skill. We have more creative workshops to come so do keep an eye on our events page as new information is added over the next few weeks.

We’re hoping the sunshine will make a return before long, but in the meantime why not dodge the clouds and find something indoors to keep you entertained on these soggy days and nights, you can find details of all our upcoming events here.

Emma Heys
General Manager