Egremont is a
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
district of
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
, England. It is situated just outside the
Lake District National Park
The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
, south of
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...
and on the
River Ehen. The parish also includes the villages of
Bigrigg and
Moor Row. At the
2021 census the built up area had a population of 5,795 and the parish had a population of 7,735.
The town lies at the foot of the
Uldale valley and
Dent Fell. It has a long industrial heritage including dyeing, weaving and iron ore mining. The modern economy is based around the nuclear industry at nearby
Sellafield
Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste storage, nuclear waste processing and storage and nucle ...
.
Egremont Castle was built in the 12th century on the site of an earlier fortification. The castle ruins stand at the southern end of Main Street, near where the street widens out to serve as the market place. Egremont was granted a
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
for a market and annual fair by
King Henry III around 1266. The fair continues as the Crab Fair, which now hosts the World
Gurning Championships.
History
The Barony of Copeland (or Egremont)
Egremont pre-dates the
Norman conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
. The
Danes
Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
History
Early history
Denmark ...
first established a fort on the site of Egremont Castle around the end of the first millennium AD.

When
William Rufus
William II (; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third son of William the Co ...
extended Norman rule into Cumbria in around 1092, control of the area was given to
Ivo Taillebois
Ivo Taillebois (died 1094) was a powerful Norman nobleman, sheriff and tenant-in-chief in 11th-century England.
Life
Ivo Taillebois was a Norman most probably from Taillebois, now a small hamlet in Saint-Gervais de Briouze, Calvados.K.S.B. Ke ...
, who was married to
Lucy of Bolingbroke, heiress of extensive lands in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
. When Ivo died in 1094, this authority passed to Lucy's second husband Roger fitz Gerold de Roumare, who survived for only two more years, then to her third husband Ranulph le Meschines. On his becoming the
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester () was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, ...
, his estates were returned to the Crown towards paying for the earldom. Around 1120,
Henry I gave the Barony of
Copeland to Ranulph's son William who made his home at Egremont and began to build the castle, which took approximately 150 years to complete. The Barony was inherited by William's son Ranulph . With Ranulph having no male heir, the Barony passed to his sister Alice, who married the Scottish prince,
William Fitz Duncan
William fitz Duncan (a modern anglicisation of the Old French Guillaume fils de Duncan and the Middle Irish language">Middle Irish Uilleam mac Donnchada) was a Scottish prince, the son of King Duncan II of Scotland by his wife Ethelreda, daughte ...
; they had a child who, after his death, became known as "the Boy of Egremont"; again, with no living male heir, William Fitz Duncan's estates passed to his three daughters Annabel, Cecily and Alice.
The estates passed down to Annabel's son
Richard de Lucy. Richard's two daughters married two brothers of the
de Multon family, Alice (now called de Morville) married Alan de Multon and Annabel (also now called de Morville) married Lambert de Multon. Annabel and Lambert de Multon inherited the Barony of Copeland and again, the castle had a lord in residence.
Around 1205, the tale of Grunwilda was told; she was the wife of Richard de Lucy and was killed by a wolf on a hunting trip; this tale is recounted in the poem "The Woeful Chase". Again leaving no male heir, Richard died and the superstition began that no male heir should inherit Egremont Castle because of the conduct of the forefathers. Egremont was granted a
market charter
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
by
Henry III in 1266 or 1267, with the right to hold a weekly market and an annual fair.
When the last male Multon died in 1335, one of the co-heiresses married Thomas Lucy, grandson of Thomas Multon. Anthony, the last Lord Lucy, died in 1369, and the lands passed to his brother-in-law
Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, 4th Baron Percy, titular King of Mann, KG, Lord Marshal (10 November 134120 February 1408) was the son of Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy, and a descendant of Henry III of England. His mother was M ...
, staying with the Percy family and its successors ever since.
The present lord is
John Max Henry Scawen Wyndham,
Baron Egremont and
Baron Leconfield, who lives in the family home, one of the earliest Percy possessions:
Petworth House
Petworth House is a late 17th-century Grade I listed English country house, country house in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England. It was built in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the desi ...
in West Sussex. The
dowager
A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property – a "dower" – derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles.
In popular usage, the n ...
Lady Egremont, Pamela, lived at
Cockermouth Castle
Cockermouth Castle () is in the town of Cockermouth in Cumbria on a site by the junction of the Rivers Cocker and Derwent. It is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.
History
The first castle on this site was built by the Normans ...
until her death in 2013.
The town
In 1322,
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...
attacked the town, causing a huge death toll. For the next 100 years or so an uneasy peace followed and the castle fell into ruins.
In 1565, a stone bridge was built over the River Ehen to access the town, which was now smaller because of frequent
Scottish raids. Little changed for a century, until new stone buildings appeared on the Main Street, probably built with stone from the castle. In 1683, Edward Benn and his heirs were given land with the provision that they rebuild the stone bridge and maintain it for ever.
In 1748, another bridge was built at Briscoe Mill at a cost of £28-15s-0d (£28.75), paid for by John Pearson, a local hatter. Soon Egremont began to service the Port of
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...
and in 1830, iron ore was mined over several sites.
Over the next 60 years new schools and churches were built. The town's
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
parish church of St Mary and St Michael was rebuilt in 1881, retaining some fabric from the previous church building which had stood on the site since the 12th century.
New housing estates were also built to accommodate the growing town, with many old parts of the town being demolished in 1968.
In 1964,
Wyndham School was built, an early
comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...
. In 1970, there was a large increase in workers moving into the town to work on the
new nuclear site.
In 1990, the Egremont
by-pass was opened.
On 2 June 2010, the town was the scene of some of the
Cumbria shootings. Derrick Bird, a 52-year-old local taxi driver, shot and killed twelve people, two of them in Egremont, before committing suicide.
Industrial history
Historically, dyeing and weaving were traditional local industries based around the River Ehen. Iron ore mining and quarrying has been established in Egremont for more than 800 years. Industrial mining of iron ore started around 1830 with many mines being opened, and ended when the Florence Mine closed in 2007.
Around the early 17th century, agricultural lime was mined at Clints Quarry, with more heavy duty mining being undertaken to supply the iron and ore industry in the mid 19th century, finally ending in 1930. Clints Quarry (now a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
) can be found just north of Egremont town.
In 1950,
Rowntrees built a chocolate crumb factory near Christie Bridge and the nuclear industry became established at Sellafield. The Rowntrees site has become a new housing estate, York Place, which is located at the northern end of Main Street.
Governance
There are two tiers of local government covering Egremont, at
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
(town) and
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
level: Egremont Town Council and
Cumberland Council. The town council meets and has its offices at the Market Hall on Market Street. For national elections, Egremont forms part of the
Whitehaven and Workington constituency.
Administrative history
Egremont was an
ancient parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
historic county of
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
.
In 1879, the parish was made a
local government district
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
, administered by an elected local board.
Egremont Town Hall was completed in 1890 to serve as the board's headquarters.
Local government districts were reconstituted as
urban districts under the
Local Government Act 1894
The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...
.

Egremont Urban District was abolished in 1934, with Egremont instead being given a parish council and reclassified as a
rural parish within the
Ennerdale Rural District.
[ Ennerdale Rural District was abolished in 1974, becoming part of the ]Borough of Copeland
The Borough of Copeland was a local government district with borough status in western Cumbria, England. Its council was based in Whitehaven. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the Borough of Whitehaven, Ennerdale Rural Distri ...
in the new county of Cumbria. Copeland was in turn abolished in 2023 when the new Cumberland Council was created, also taking over the functions of the abolished Cumbria County Council in the area.
Economy
Manufacturing industries have declined but service, new media and tourism industries have taken their place.
Egremont's Florence Mine was (until 2008) the last working deep iron ore mine left in Western Europe and produced ore, products for the cosmetics industry and high quality haematite for jewellery. The pit head is a listed building. The Florence Mine can be found just south of Egremont.
A large local employer is the nuclear site at nearby Sellafield
Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste storage, nuclear waste processing and storage and nucle ...
. The last few years have seen the running down of the nuclear power industry
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
and the growth of the nuclear decommissioning industry.
Transport
Egremont formerly had a railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
on the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway. It was first closed in 1935, with cycles of reopening and closure ending in 1947, but with a special school service running from 1964 to 1969. The nearest railway station is at Nethertown, but with a reduced service. St Bees railway station is the nearest mandatory stop station with a full service.
Bus services 6 and X6 link Egremont to Seascale
Seascale is a village and civil parish on the Irish Sea coast of Cumbria, England, historically within Cumberland. The parish had a population of 1,754 in 2011, barely decreasing by 0.4% in 2021.
History
The place-name indicates that it was i ...
, Gosforth
Gosforth is an area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, situated north of the Newcastle City Centre, City Centre. It constituted a separate Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district of Northumberland from 1895 until 1974 before of ...
and towns south of Egremont. There is one other bus service operated by Stagecoach that links to Whitehaven, Workington and Maryport (30).
The A595 bypasses Egremont, which gives strong links to to the south and to the north, Whitehaven and Workington.
Tourism
Egremont has Egremont Castle, Florence Mine, Hartley's Ice Cream, Lowes Court Gallery, various walks, Clint's Quarry (SSSI) and cycle paths.
Community and culture
Egremont has a castle, several churches, two supermarkets and a market selling a variety of goods held every Friday.
It has had a brass band since 1904. The band aims to promote brass band music in the local area.
The town has one secondary school, West Lakes Academy, and four primary schools, which are Bookwell, Orgill and Thornhill primary schools, plus St Bridget's Catholic Primary School.
It has an active public and community arts programme, called Creative Egremont. The town is home to Florence Arts Centre, based at the nearby Florence Mine (now disused), which has a programme of live events - gigs, theatre and stand-up comedy - and an art gallery. There is a studio on-site for the Florence Paintmakers, a co-operative of artists who use the local iron ore pigment to make oil and watercolour paints, pastels and other art materials.
Egremont also has a dedicated town freesheet, published by Egremont & District Labour Party and delivered to thousands of addresses in the town several times a year. The paper is financed by the Copeland Constituency Labour Party, and its treasurer is David Southward MBE.
Crab Fair
Egremont's Crab Fair is held on the third Saturday in September annually, and features unusual events—such as the World Gurning Championships and greasy pole climbing. This fair is a major local event, with the town's high street being closed to normal traffic for street dancing and a parade, while sports such as Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling are held on a field nearby.
The fair's origins go back to 1267, and it is claimed to be one of the oldest fairs in the world. The Lord of Egremont started a tradition of giving away crab apples, from where the fair gets its name.
The Crab Fair was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. It was scheduled for the following year, but the Egremont Crab Fair Committee made the decision to cancel the 2022 event due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The Crab Fair returned in 2023 after a three-year hiatus.
Demography
At the 2021 census the built up area had a population of 5,795,[ and the parish had a population of 7,735.][ The parish population had been 7,444 in 2001, and 8,194 at the 2011 census.]
Notable residents
* William Benn English Non-Conformist Minister and author (b. 1600)
*Musician and songwriter Francis Dunnery
Francis Dunnery (born 25 December 1962) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and record label owner.
Dunnery was the lead singer and guitarist for British prog- pop band It Bites between 1982 and 1990. Since 1990 he has ...
(the former frontman of It Bites
It Bites are an English progressive rock and pop fusion band, formed in Egremont, Cumbria, Egremont, Cumbria, in 1982 and best known for their 1986 single "Calling All the Heroes", which gained them a Top 40, Top 10 UK Singles Chart hit.
Initi ...
, who scored a Top Ten British chart hit in 1986 with " Calling All the Heroes") was born and brought up in Egremont, as were his It Bites bandmates Bob Dalton and Dick Nolan.
* Martin Hodgson, the 1930s rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
all-time-great forward for Swinton, Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
and Great Britain was born (1909) and bred in the town.
* Rob Purdham, international Rugby League player, was born in Egremont in 1980.
* John Lindow Calderwood, lawyer & politician, was born and brought up in Egremont, where his father was a local doctor.[John Venn, Ernest Stewart Roberts, & Edward John Gross, ''Biographical history of Gonville and Caius college'', vol. 4 (1912)]
p. 69
online
See also
* Listed buildings in Egremont, Cumbria
References
External links
Cumbria County History Trust: Egremont
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
Visit Egremont
– official Egremont information website
Virtual Egremont
– website of the Egremont and Area Regeneration Partnership with listings, what's on, news, cycling and walking routes and links to Creative Egremont, the town's innovative cultural programme.
{{authority control
Market towns in Cumbria
Civil parishes in Cumbria
Towns in Cumbria
Cumberland (unitary authority)