Heritage Talk: Cockermouth in the Middle Ages – Angus Winchester

8th September 2025 6:00pm

Kirkgate Centre

When and why was Cockermouth founded? Why is it where it is? What was life in the town like in medieval times? This talk will explore these questions, focusing on the origins of Cockermouth in the 12th century, and the nature of the urban community and economy as recorded in some of the remarkable documents which survive from the Middle Ages.

Angus Winchester, Emeritus Professor of History at Lancaster University, was brought up in Cockermouth and has a life-long interest in the local history of the area. His research has focused on the landscape history of northern England and has included studies of the evolution of rural and urban settlement in medieval Cumbria.