Kirkgate Quarter Chronicle July 2026

Kirkgate Quarter Chronicle
July 2026


What a weekend! Have we all recovered from Cockermouth Live yet? We had some fantastic music at the Kirkgate over the weekend, and as always we’re delighted to be part of this really special festival.
Snake Davis and his band played to a sell out audience on Friday night
Cockermouth Live is organised by a dedicated team of volunteers, if you would like to stay in the loop on future events, or maybe get more involved and join the team, get in touch via their website by clicking on the button below.
Keep in touch with Cockermouth Live here
Did you spot our lovely Egremont Room appearing in a David Harper video recently? One of our regular hirers are WeBuyVintage, who visit every few months to value items (and sometimes offer to buy them!). It’s always worth diving into your drawers and cupboards to see what treasure might be lurking, as this customer found out…
We aren’t all lucky enough to have a rolex in the dresser, but there’s often value in items we no longer need. We’re well into summer now, and the weather is so glorious it’s teh perfect time to be dusting off the camping gear and getting ready for the great outdoors. If you’re upgrading your outdoor kit why not sell off any of those bits and pieces that are taking up room in the garage?

September is time for another Kirk Kit sale! A great way to make a few ££’s while recycling your old walking boots, camping stove, yoga mats or anything else sporty or outdoorsy that you no longer need.

Click here for more information on selling your pre-loved sports and outdoor items at Kirk Kit.
It’s not all about sports, we also have another Cockfrock event this autumn and of course our monthly markets where you can buy and sell all sorts of treasures!

@Home@Kirkgate

We have a number of groups, people and organisations who regularly hire the centre for all sorts of events and activities. This month we hear from Sandy Smith who is returning to Cockermouth with her popular show ‘Cilla and the Swinging Sixties’ on Saturday 25th July.
“I’m really looking forward to coming back to the Kirkgate this month. It’s been a busy time for me recently- as I write this I’m on my way to the other end of the country with shows at The Keay Theatre, St Austell, and the Shaftesbury Theatre in Dawlish. I hope I don’t melt in this latest heatwave…

The new stage lights at Kirkgate will be a godsend if the heatwave continues, as those old tungsten stage lights would probably cook sausages in this weather! Having such an adaptable tech set up makes life a lot easier, and the shows a lot snappier, so thanks to the team for all the time and investment on those improvements.”
Sandy is such a joy to have at the centre, she’s got a wealth of performance experience so you’re guaranteed a great night out enjoying the sounds of Cilla and the Swinging 60s.
Book your tickets for Cilla and the Swinging 60s here

Volunteer@Kirkgate

One of the roles at the Kirkgate Centre that has seen a lot of changes is our box office team. The box office is staffed while doors are open for all our events, and is also currently open for a couple of hours during the day on a Monday and Friday. We’ve made the decision to close our daytime box office from the end of this month and wanted to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to our box office manager, Tess.
Our box office has changed enormously over the last few years, going from paper tickets and outdated software (with customer details all recorded by hand) to a state of the art booking system. The ‘new’ booking system has been in use for several years now and has revolutionised our humble box office. Online booking means that customers no longer have to call in or ring to make sure they have tickets, and can book whenever it is convenient.

This has meant our box office volunteers often have very little to do! We know that some of our customers rely on telephone or ‘in person’ booking, so this is still very much possible. Our duty managers are all trained in using the box office software so you can pop in to any evening event to book for future shows and screenings. Our office staff are available through the week if you can’t get to an evening show to make your booking, but we are a busy bunch so do please bear with us- if you can’t get through on the phone do leave a message and we will call back when we can.

Our final daytime box office will be on Friday 31st July, 10am – midday.
Above is the view from our newly painted box office, which you can now access from the bar at our evening events. 
Enormous thanks to Tess, and her box office team (Alison, Val and Gill) who have provided our customers with a smile and a chat as they book their tickets. It won’t be the last time you see them though, as all of them are volunteers in different roles around the centre!

Kirkgate History and Heritage

Here’s heritage group member Eloise with some reflections on Cockermouth past…

“As we arrive at peak tourism season, I’ve been diving into the historical guidebooks of Cockermouth.

The earliest, by John Askew in 1872, is a historical guide, exploring back to the origins of Cockermouth, which he says, “is a town which has been gradually improved since the year 1820.”

He refers to many of the original thatched buildings being replaced by modern shops and taverns, and the building of the new Cocker Bridge (at a cost of £3000) as a significant upgrade to the town. Cockermouth would have looked very different before this time, with timber shambles, and the old moot hall.

Mate’s 1905 practical guide is for railway tourists. “A few minutes after leaving Embleton station, the passenger on the look-out may see a tall spire above the low cutting on his right… This belongs to the splendidly situated church of All Saints….”

There are many beautiful photos of the town by local photographer Nainby, and a full walking guide to the town. Dozens of local shops are advertised- JB Banks ltd. is identical 120 years later, and Allison’s chemists advertises ‘prescriptions accurately dispensed’ and mineral waters on syphon- ‘soda, potash, lithia and lemonade.’ (A little worrying by modern standards!)
By 1947 Cockermouth was ‘the western gate to the lake district’ for motorists and tour-goers. with an emphasis on our Georgian heritage and dotted with quotes from William Wordsworth. The 1960 and 71 guidebooks, built on this, including this rather surprising accolade:

“Cockermouth’s motto is health is wealth and with its wide, well-kept, well lighted streets, up-to-date sanitation, pure water supply and smoke-free, health-giving air, it offers everything that an open-air loving visitor…could desire.”
Today we are a ‘gem’ town- recognised for our place in the wider history of towns in the UK, but I a visit to Cockermouth now is very similar to a visit then. The layout of the town is so similar, our access to the lake district, our heritage and our shops are still the main attractions. I like to think that this gives us a real an insight into what visitors 100 years ago would have enjoyed and seen.”

Eloise Stott

Kirkgate Quarter


Do you run a local business or organisation that would like to feature in our newsletter? We love hearing local stories, and supporting everyone and anyone who is active in the community we all love. If you’d like to feature in our Kirkgate Quarter Chronicle then get in touch with katie@thekirkgate.com for more information.

EMMA’S LETTER
As we’re nearing the end of the school term it’s all hands on deck at our house- time to sort, organise and streamline. I have no doubt we’ll be registering to sell at Kirk Kit, with kids growing out of their outdoor gear every season! It’s always fun to see just what we end up with on the day, there’s been paddle boards, punchbags, bicycles, even skis! September seems a long way off at the moment, but you can register now to get your labels ready for a summer clear out.

We’ll be sad to see our long serving daytime box office become a thing of the past, but as most of our customers book online we couldn’t leave our volunteers twiddling their thumbs! It was such a leap forward to move into more modern facilites for customers, several years ago now, and we are working to make things even better. Keep an eye out for some handy new online tools… two of our staff spent the day in Manchester last month at a Ticketsolve workshop, and they came back full of ideas of how we can use our booking system more effectively, and provide all the information you need when booking tickets.

Each month that passes we seem to make another leap forward. We do hope that you spot the improvements, both large and small, and that they make your visit to the centre better each time- after all, you’re why we’re here!

Emma Heys
Chief Executive