History of Cockermouth
Situated just outside the boundary of the Lake District National Park, Cockermouth is an attractive market town not overwhelmed by the tourist atmosphere of Keswick and Ambleside. Cockermouth developed at the junction of the two most important rivers in the area, where the River Cocker meets the River Derwent.
Visitors today are attracted by the town's calm peaceful lakes and mountains, and the fact that Dorothy and William Wordsworth were born here. The large Georgian house in the Main Street where they were born, is now in the care of the National Trust. Another famous son of Cockermouth was Fletcher Christian, the man who led the mutiny on 'The Bounty'. He was born about a mile from the town at Eaglesfield in 1764, and attended the same school as Wordsworth. John Dalton, born in 1766 also at Eaglesfield, was one of the most brilliant scientists of his time.
Cockermouth received its Market Charter in 1221, and has held on to its importance as a market town ever since. Quarrying and mining for lead and iron were later developments outside the town, and a brewery has been built at the foot of the castle mound, where the two rivers meet.