Welcome to the October 2024 edition of the Kirkgate Quarter Chronicle.
The nights are drawing in and the leaves are falling, we love this time of year- such beautiful colours, and a good excuse to have a hot chocolate and get cosy! It’s now we’re really feeling the benefit of those new windows and the boilers that we had replaced a few years ago. Remember the days of bringing a blanket to a film night in case the heating wasn’t behaving? What a relief not to have to worry!
There’s more about building improvements as you scroll down, I know we’re been bleating on lately, but it truly is astonishing how far we’ve come in just a few short years. It’s all too easy to forget how much work and effort the whole team put in to keeping the place ship shape, as well as continuing to bring the best in live entertainment and cinema to Cockermouth, not to mention the wonderful work that our community projects officer has been involved with. ‘In My Shoes’ was a mix of events with storytelling, music, exhibitions and more. There’s no rest for Helen though, as we are already into our next Heritage project, all about beer and brewing. Read more below.
Have you ever thought about getting involved more? If you would like to volunteer with us, whether that’s serving drinks in the bar, or helping with press releases, even doing a bit of tidying up here and there. There’s always plenty to do, and we’re a friendly bunch to work with. Read more about ways to get involved here. |
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@HOME@KIRKGATE
Last month you may remember mention of a show in development. We invited a select audience to the Kirkgate to enjoy a brand new work from Ragged Edge, one of the perks of being a ‘Friend of Kirkgate Arts & Heritage’ (read more about becoming a ‘Friend’ here).
The audience had a blast, creating characters and bringing them to life in…Cockermouth – the Puppet Musical!
Let’s make the show right here!
The evening was a hands-on, hilarious, creative get-together where everyone helped create a new hit musical.
“In this event you get to make a puppet character to appear in a unique musical show that celebrates where you live” Stefan explains. “Our creative team take you on a fast, fun-filled journey to create the puppets and story and we add the hit songs. Who knows – it could be the West End hit of tomorrow!”
Previous puppet characters have included an acrobatic Super-Hero dog, a tiny ghost and a Grandma with a romantic secret! |
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| Owen Evans, Stefan Escreet and Imogen Barnfather. |
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| Did you catch the performance? Let us know what you thought! We’re looking forward to seeing this show as it decelops, the fully formed ‘Puppet Musical’ may end up in a venue near you!
Pictured below, the audience busy with their paper puppet characters. Sometimes the words ‘audience participation’ can fill customers with dread!! But this show isn’t about putting anyone on the spot, it’s about coming together to share ideas and have fun, and, with the musical and theatrical talent of Stefan and the team, see those ideas come to life in a hilarious way. |
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UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS
There’s more from Crafts@Kirkgate, Cooking@Kirkgate and all our usual regular events throughout October but the big ticket this month has to be…
Open this weekend from 10.30am on Saturday until 6pm, then again on Sunday from 10am until 1pm, it’s always a busy weekend! This year we have offered sellers the chance to slash their prices for the Sunday morning sale, but you know you’d be devastated if someone else snaps up that dress you had your eye on! Another change this year is FREE entry for shoppers.
If you are a member of our ‘Friends of Kirkgate Arts & Heritage’ scheme don’t forget to check your inbox… You will have received an invitation to our exclusive ‘Friends’ pre-sale opening! We welcome friends of ‘Friends’ too, so why not make a night of it and get the girls together for a Friday night shop before we open to the general public.
Find out more about becoming a ‘Friend’ here. |
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| A special treat on the big screen this month as Shakespeare’s Globe present ‘Othello’. This is not your average Shakespeare however! Director Ola Ince transforms sixteenth-century Venice to modern-day London’s Docklands, as Othello grapples with many of the same issues that successful Black people have faced for centuries. This is an Othello for our times. Experience Shakespeare’s confronting look at the destructive impact of institutional racism, toxic masculinity, and a justice system locked in a vicious cycle of self-fulfilling prophecy. Thursday 24th October 7pm book here.
Music this month welcomes a well known local singer songwriter, as JP Worsfold joins the line up setting the scene for Anna Anise as they support Hands of the Heron on their autumn UK tour. Saturday 26th October at 8pm. This is going to be a dreamy night of folk inspired, beautiful music. Check out Hands of the Heron below, and book your tickets here. |
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| Hands of the Heron, coming to Cockermouth this month! |
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| As always Jazz@Kirkgate brings us some exceptional musicians, this time with The John Ellis Quartet, featuring Zoe Kyoti on guitar and vocals, Eryl Roberts on drums and Lala Robinson on bass guitar. Not forgetting John Ellis himself, on keyboards, harmonica and vocals “A secret ingredient in albums by The Cinematic Orchestra, Lily Allen, Corinne Bailey Rae, Tom Jones, James Yorkston, John Squire (The Stone Roses), DJ Vadim amongst many others…” Book your tickets here.
Something for the creative types among us, another chance to fine tune your writing skills with a five week creative writing course run by Jacqui Currie (MA). The classes will help you to write either fact or fiction. They will also complement The Kirkgate’s In My Shoes project which aims to share and celebrate West Cumbria’s diverse culture and heritage. The classes will help anyone who is unearthing local and personal history to record it for generations to come. Classes will be held weekly running from 10am to 12 starting from Thursday 31st October. The classes will be structured in a block of five sessions costing £80 for the block. For more information click here, and to book your place visit our products page here. |
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KIRKGATE HISTORY AND HERITAGE
The history of beer and brewing in Cockermouth
Our latest heritage project is exploring the history of beer and brewing and brewing in Cockermouth. The Heritage Group will be exploring the origins of brewing as a cottage industry in the town up to the closure of Jennings and the effect that has had on the local community.
The project will be running until the end of December 2024, with a series of free events leading up to an exhibition about the history of Jennings Brewery which will be on display at The Kirkgate Centre from the 6th – 16th December. The Beer and Brewing in Cockermouth Project has been funded by UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. |
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| Monday 11th November, 6pm – Beer and Brewing in Cockermouth talk with Phil Tattershall
Phil Tattershall will be talking about beer and brewing, as well as sharing some stories from Jennings Brewery in Cockermouth. Phil was a tour guide at Jennings Brewery from 2005 until COVID put an end to the tours in 2020. Book here: https://thekirkgate.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873665440
Monday, 9th December, 6pm – Tales of a pub landlord with Joe Fagan
Joe Fagan will be sharing his experiences as a pub landlord in Cockermouth. Well-known in the town, Joe was the landlord first at The Bush on Main Street in 2009, and then The Swan on Kirkgate, from 2016 until his retirement earlier this year. Book here.
As part of the project we are launching the Cockermouth Crack reminiscence group, on the 7th November and 5th December (first Thursday of the month) from 1pm – 3pm.
A time to chat and share memories about Cockermouth’s past over a cup of tea/coffee. From food to school days, to work and travel and all sorts in between. We’ll have some photos and artefacts from the Cockermouth Heritage Collection out for you to have a look at. Free and open to all, you don’t have to be ‘local’ to join in. No need to book, drop in when you can.
Did you work at Jennings, or one of the pubs in Cockermouth? Or are you related to someone who did?
We want to hear your stories and memories, we’d also love to see any photos, memorabilia, scrapbooks and more you might have at home… We might even include some of them in our Brewing in Cockermouth exhibition in December.
We’re holding two drop-in sessions on 22nd October, come along any time between 1pm – 3pm or 6:30pm – 7:30pm.
We’ll also get out a few beer and pub related items in the Heritage Collection for you to have a look at.
From Fabric to Fashion at The Beacon Museum in Whitehaven
We’re really excited that Miller’s shoes from our Cockermouth Heritage Collection are currently on loan to the Beacon Museum in Whitehaven for their Fabric to Fashion exhibition. A few photographs from the collection are also on display.
The Fabric to Fashion exhibition uncovers the stories of local manufacturers Edgards, Kangol, Millers and Sekers, their role in the community and how they exported their work around the world. It’s on display until 5th January in the Light and Dark Gallery. |
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| If you would like to know more about the Cockermouth Heritage Group, visit our website. |
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| We have some changes to the team at the centre, and with all the exciting events planned for our brewing project there’s only one person we could feature in this months focus on volunteers… |
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| We’re delighted to welcome Joe Fagan to our board of trustees, with a wealth of local knowledge and experience he’s also an obvious choice for one of our brewing project events later in the year. Don’t miss the chance to hear from him on the 9th December (we think booking will be essential for that event!). |
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| Behind the bar at The Swan. |
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| After many years as a pub landlord in town Joe had his retirement party at the centre in February this year. We knew then he wouldn’t be sitting on his laurels for long! An active member of Cockermouth’s community he’s a perfect match to become a trustee.
Joe has always gone above and beyond for local charities, he even took to the stage to perform at our ‘Strictly Kirkgate’ fund raising event in 2014. This was no small commitment! With couples training for weeks to entertain the audience at the centre over three nights. We’re sure there are still one or two copies of the DVD hiding in the building… Perhaps a big screen revisit is in order! |
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| Putting on the glitz at ‘Strictly Kirkgate’ |
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| Joe’s retirement party was a packed out night at the Kirkgate! |
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| Joe’s interests lie in the community and heritage of the town, so he will be working closely with our Heritage Group over the coming months. We have no doubt that his local knowledge will benefit the group enormously, and his infectious enthusiasm will bring fresh energy to our board of trustees.
A warm welcome to the Kirkgate team, Joe! |
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AN UNOFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE KIRKGATE
We’re giving Bob the month off, and instead of an unofficial history for October we are looking at news of the present, with a little update on various works that are going on around the centre. |
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| Parts one and two of our building improvements are now complete! (*edit from operations manager- apart from the paint touch ups!!) Ok so they are almost complete, but who’s worried about a bit of painting when the lift interior looks THIS good!? The new parts installed in the plant room mean behind the scenes the lift is working much more efficiently, and the fully refurbished interior makes the journey between floors much more pleasant. |
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| We had to take this opportunity to show off the new spotlights again, part of the overall lighting improvements. We are now up to date with our lighting fixtures throughout the centre, with energy efficient LED units replacing the old outdated lights, from the entrance all the way through to the storage cupboards.
Work is well underway on our first floor accessible WC, and ‘re-jig’ of the admin office. We’re hoping to be back in our newly refurbished office by November. Look out for photo’s in the next Chronicle! The room looks very different now that the stud wall which previously split the room into office and ‘kitchen’ space has gone. This also reveals the full sash window at the back of the building, ready for replacement to match the windows on the car park side- and give us some extra insulation for the chilly days to come. |
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| You’ll have to wait for the December Chronicle to find out news of the next stages, and if all goes to plan (quick! touch wood!) some pictures of the staff enjoying the new office space. |
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A SPECIAL THANK YOU
Technology moves so swiftly these days, and it’s always difficult to find spare capacity in our budget for the techie tools we need to keep the administrative side of the organisation running smoothly. This month we were over the moon to receive a donation of four refurbished laptops from accountancy, business and financial advisory firm Armstrong Watson, based at Europe Way, Cockermouth. |
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| The new computers enable our small team of staff to work anywhere in the building, essential while improvement works are ongoing! “the laptops are already making life easier for staff and volunteers” our operations manager Katie tells us “as we’ve been thrown to all corners of the centre while the upstairs WC is installed. They also enable us to work from home, which is a huge bonus when there are funding applications that need undivided attention. We are welcoming local students on work placements this month too, so the additional IT equipment means that they can get to work immediately on producing marketing material, keeping our social media up to date and working on other admin tasks that need a PC”
Toby Woodhead, Head of Technology at Armstrong Watson, said: “We’re so pleased to be able to donate our refurbished laptops to small charities like Kirkgate Arts and Heritage and we’re thrilled to hear they have been well received. Technology can make a real difference but it’s also a big investment and it can be a challenge to fund new devices. It’s great to know this will enable the Kirkgate Centre to offer more volunteering opportunities and work placements for local young people. Supporting our local communities is important to us and through this initiative we’re able to give something back.”
We’d like to pass on a huge thank you to Armstrong Watson for their generosity, these laptops compliment the refurbished desktop computers which were donated when we re-opened after the lockdown closures. It’s great to have up to date computers, rather than hearing the creaking cogs of the old obsolete PCs!
Find out more about the company here. |
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| Another packed month, with lots going on in terms of events, projects, building works and more. It’s never easy when the working day is so disrupted, but we are certain that it will be more than worth it once the work is complete.
We’ll be putting the newly refurbished lift through it’s paces with Cockfrock this weekend. It’s one of the busiest events in our calendar, and not only benefits the centre, but sellers and buyers too. We also love the fact that while grabbing bargains, and making a few ££ the event is also good for the planet. Reduce, reuse and recycle all the way.
Did you manage to get along to Kirk-Kit? We were so pleased with how well received that off-shoot from Cockfrock was with our customers! So much so we’re already looking ahead to next year and another Kirk-Kit event, so look out for details of that.
I’m looking forward to seeing the December Heritage Exhibition, Helen has been working closely with our Heritage Group to bring together images, information and interesting items all related to brewing in the area. It won’t just be Jennings, although of course the Jennings Brewery has been a significant part of Cockermouth’s story. I had no idea that home brewing was so popular in years gone by, not sure I could have coped with the smell of hops in my living room- I’ll leave the beer to the experts.
All this talk of beer reminds me that it isn’t long until we are home to the Cockermouth Round Table Beer Festival, another big test for the lift!
This month we also hosted our second ‘Sunday Session’ which I have been told had a lovely warm friendly atmosphere. Our operations manager Katie even borrowed a guitar to share a song or two, and new volunteer Laura Bailey entertained with her original (and brilliant) songs. There’s been talk of some more collaboration as these afternoon sessions develop- perhaps a Christmas sing-song in December? All are welcome, whether you want to join in or just enjoy.
Emma Heys
General Manager |
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