19/08/2026
CIVIC TRUST MEMBERS’ MEETINGS 2026/27 - TOPICS
The new season of meetings for members of Cockermouth Civic Trust begins on 5th October with the programme below, this year all meetings being held in St Joseph’s Church Room. Entry is free for members. Annual membership costs £7.50 per person, with an additional £5 per person for other members in the same household. If you wish to join, you can apply through our website, cockermouthcivictrust.co.uk or in person at a meeting.
7,30pm, Monday 5th October – Cumbria’s Postal Paths – by Alan Cleaver
Alan Cleaver, author of The Postal Paths, talks about the Cumbrian postal routes walked, and sometimes cycled, by rural postmen and women. These routes could be up to 20 miles long through beautiful but difficult terrain. Alan will outline the routes (which are all public paths) and reveal something of the loyal public servants who walked them six days a week in all weathers. All rural post has, since the mid-1970s, been delivered by van. Alan will ask whether there is a future for the handwritten letter in an age of texts, emails and other digital messaging.
7.30pm, Monday 2nd November – AGM and ‘Book of Spells’, by Sharon Arrowsmith
Sharon Arrowsmith will talk about the ‘Book of Spells’. This is a 17th century manuscript which opens a portal into life on Muncaster Estate against a backdrop of local and national events. The talk will highlight revelations from the accounts which relate to the young heir, William Pennington’s guardianship after his father died. She will discuss some of the activities, superstitions and recipes for potions which gave the book its name. Sharon has worked at Muncaster as Castle Curator, responsible for caring for the castle’s archives and the ‘Book of Spells’ was one of the first books that she transcribed, with the help of her team.
7.30pm, Monday 7th December – The Story of German Miners in Elizabethan Cumbria by Mark Hatton
Mark Hatton from The Cumbria Amenity Trust Mining History Society will be talking to us about a colony of copper miners who arrived in Keswick from Germany in 1564. They brought advanced technology, innovative business models and forged new legal structures. Their arrival sparked a baby boom and led to violence, which culminated in murder. The talk considers whether their period in the Lake District is a key milestone in the industrial and commercial development of the British Isles and asks ‘is Keswick the birthplace of capitalism, advanced technology, process industries and company law in Britain’.
7.30pm, Monday 1st February – Cumbria Vernacular Buildings by John McDowell
‘Vernacular’ means local and in building terms relates to the period before national architectural designs became fashionable. In Cumbria, many of the traditions resulted from the need to protect buildings from the weather and the availability of local materials. These differed across local regions, for example clay dabbins on the Solway, slate in the central lakes, red sandstone in north-east Cumbria and the west coast and limestone in the south. The Cumbria Vernacular Buildings Group, (CVBG) was established in 2013 with an objective to study, research and record examples of Cumbria’s vernacular buildings. John McDowell will talk about the activities of the CVBG and the different types of vernacular buildings throughout Cumbria, focusing on buildings that the CVBG has taken a specific interest in.
7.30pm, Monday 1st March – Wordsworth House Flood Recovery, 2009 – by Paul Lewis
No doubt we all remember the devastation in Cockermouth following the 2009 flood but how many of us understand the work that was required to restore Wordsworth House and garden, a Grade 1 listed building? The house is at the lowest point on Main Street and received the full force of water, which flooded the basement, destroying the garden and demolishing walls. Paul Lewis, a Historic Building Consultant, was called in by the National Trust to help and he will describe the issues including the choice and sourcing of materials.
