Editing Penrith, Cumbria

{{Short description|Market town in Cumbria, England}}
{{Other places|Penrith (disambiguation){{!}}Penrith}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2007}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country = England
|coordinates = {{coord|54.6648|-2.7548|display=inline,title}}
|official_name = Penrith
|population = 16,984
|population_ref = (2021 census)<ref name="bua2011">{{cite web |title=Penrith
|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/northwestengland/admin/eden/E04012411__penrith/ |website=City population |access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref> 
|population_demonym    = Penrithian
|unitary_england= [[Westmorland and Furness]]
|lieutenancy_england= [[Cumbria]]
|region = North West England
|constituency_westminster = [[Penrith and Solway (UK Parliament constituency)|Penrith and Solway]]
|post_town = PENRITH
|postcode_district = CA10, CA11
|postcode_area = CA
|dial_code = 01768
|os_grid_reference = NY515305
|static_image_name = Market Square, Penrith.jpg
|static_image_caption = The Market Square
|static_image_2_name = [[File:Penrith_town_flag.svg|150px]]
|static_image_2_caption = Flag
}}
'''Penrith''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɛ|n|r|ɪ|θ}}, {{IPAc-en|p|ɛ|n|ˈ|r|ɪ|θ}}) is a [[market town]] and civil parish in the [[Westmorland and Furness]] district of [[Cumbria]], England. It is less than {{convert|3|mi|km|0}} outside the [[Lake District|Lake District National Park]] and about {{Convert|17|miles|km}} south of [[Carlisle]]. It is between the Rivers [[River Petteril|Petteril]] and [[River Eamont|Eamont]] and just north of the [[River Lowther]]. The town had a population of 15,181 at the 2011 census.<ref name=census2011>{{NOMIS2011 |id=E34000039 |title=Penrith Built-up area |access-date=18 April 2021}}</ref> It is part of [[Historic counties of England|historic]] [[Cumberland]].

From 1974 to 2015, it was an [[unparished area]] with no local council. A [[civil parish]] was reintroduced on 1 April 2015 with the first election for Penrith Town Council on 7 May 2015. The town was previously part of the 1974-created [[Eden District]] until 2023.

==Toponymy==
[[File:Penrith War Memorial to Boer War.jpg|thumb|Penrith War Memorial to Boer War by [[Francis William Doyle Jones|F W Doyle Jones]]]]
The etymology of "Penrith" has been debated. Several writers argue for the [[Cumbric]] or [[Welsh language|Welsh]] {{lang|xcb|pen}} "head, chief, end" (both noun and adjective) with the Cumbric {{lang|xcb|rid}}, Welsh {{lang|cy|rhyd}} "ford", to mean "chief ford", "hill ford", "ford end", or Whaley's suggestion: "the head of the ford" or "headland by the ford".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ekwall |first=E |title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names |year=1947 |publisher=OUP |location=Oxford, UK |page=345}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mills |first=A. D. |title=Dictionary of British Place Names |year=1991 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=0-19-852758-6 |page=366}}</ref><ref name="Whaley">{{Cite book |last=Whaley |first=Diana |title=A dictionary of Lake District place-names |location=Nottingham |publisher=English Place-Name Society |year=2006 |pages=lx,423 p. 263 |isbn=0904889726}}</ref>

The centre of Penrith, however, lies about {{convert|1|mile}} from the nearest crossing of the River Eamont at [[Eamont Bridge]]. An alternative has been suggested consisting of the same {{lang|xcb|pen}} element meaning "head, end, top" + the equivalent of Welsh {{lang|cy|rhudd}} "crimson".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williamson |first=W. A. |title=Local Etymology; or names of places in the British Isles, and in other parts of the world |year=1849 |page=92}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Joan |title=Place Names of Cumbria |year=1998 |publisher=Heritage Services |location=Carlisle, UK |isbn=0-905404-70-X |page=65}}</ref> Research on the medieval spelling variants of Penrith also suggests this alternative etymology.<ref>Tino Oudesluijs (2020). {{Cite web |url=https://kelten.vanhamel.nl/k85-2020-oudesluijs-place-names-british-celtic-old-english-lenition |title=Revisiting some problematic British-Celtic place names in Northwest England}} in {{Cite web |url=https://kelten.vanhamel.nl/Home |title=Kelten. Mededelingen van de Stichting A. G. van Hamel voor Keltische Studies.}}</ref> The name "red hill" may refer to Beacon Hill, to the north-east of today's town. There is also a place called [[Redhills, Cumbria|Redhills]] to the south-west, near the [[M6 motorway]], and a place called [[Penruddock]], about {{convert|6|mile}} west of Penrith. These names all reflect the local geology, as red sandstone is abundant in the area and was used for many buildings in Penrith.

==Prehistory==
The origins of Penrith go far back in time. There is archaeological evidence of "early, concentrated and continuous settlement" in the 
area.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), p. 5.</ref> The [[Neolithic]] (c. 4500–2350 BCE) or early-[[Bronze Age]] (c. 2500–1000 BCE) sites at nearby [[Mayburgh Henge]], [[King Arthur's Round Table]], Little Round Table, [[Long Meg and Her Daughters]], and [[Little Meg]], and the stone circles at Leacet Hill and [[Oddendale]] are some of the visible traces of "one of the most important groups of prehistoric ritual sites in the region." In addition there have been various finds (stone axes, hammers, knives) and carvings found in the Penrith area.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), p. 5.</ref>

For the [[Celts|Celtic]] ([[British Iron Age|Iron Age]]) era (c. 800 BCE – 100 CE), nearby [[Clifton, Cumbria|Clifton]] Dykes has been proposed as the centre of the [[Carvetti]] tribe, due to the large enclosure discovered there and assumptions about the strategic position of the Penrith area in the communications systems running north–south through the Eden Valley and east–west across Stainmore.<ref>Higham and Jones (1985), p. 10.</ref>

===Roman period===
[[File:Roman road 428.jpg|thumb|General view of Roman road looking south]]
Penrith itself was not established by the Romans, but they recognised the strategic importance of the place, especially near the confluence of the rivers Eamont and Lowther, where the Roman road crossing the Pennines (the present A66) came through. In doing so, they built the fort at [[Brougham, Cumbria|Brougham]] ([[Brocavum]]) along with another road (the present A6) going north over Beacon Hill to the large fort at [[Plumpton, Cumbria|Plumpton]] (Voreda) – and from there northwards to Carlisle ([[Luguvallium]]).<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 7–12.</ref> Brocavum may also have been built in order to have a military presence close to the centre of the Carvetti.<ref>Higham and Jones (1985), p. 66.</ref>

The [[Ancient Romans|Roman]] [[castra|fort]] of Voreda occupied the site now known as ''Old Penrith'', five miles north of the town.<ref>Roman Britain. [http://www.roman-britain.org/places/voreda.htm "Voreda".] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008081047/http://www.roman-britain.org/places/voreda.htm |date=8 October 2014}}</ref> The 18th-century antiquarian and vicar of Penrith, [[Hugh Todd (author)|Dr.Hugh Todd]], speculated that the [[Ala I Petriana]] may have been stationed there, giving its name to the subsequent town,<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), p. 3.</ref> but see the "Toponymy" section above.
[[File:Brocavum.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Brocavum|Banks of Brocavum Roman fort in foreground, [[Brougham Castle]] behind, and 18th-century [[Carleton, Eden#History|Carleton Hall]] to the left]]

The [[Roman roads in Britain|Roman road]] from Manchester to Carlisle ran through the area.<ref>Cumbria SMR no. 11055: Site of Roman road.</ref> Excavations before an extension to Penrith Cemetery showed the road had survived better at the edges of the field. The cobble and gravel surfaces seemed to have been ploughed out at the centre. The road was constructed by excavating a wide, shallow trench below subsoil level.<ref>R. G. Collingwood and I. Richmond, ''The Archaeology of Roman Britain'' London, Methuen, 1969.</ref> Large cobbles were probably obtained nearby, as they did not appear frequently in the subsoil in the excavated area. They were added to the excavated subsoil dumped back into the cut to form a stable foundation, [[Cant (road/rail)|canted]] at the centre of the road.

The two forts close to where Penrith is today would have had a [[vicus]], an ad-hoc civilian settlement nearby, where farmers supplying food to the forts, and traders and others supplying goods and services lived and died. There is evidence of continuous settlement throughout the Roman period and into the post-Roman era.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 10–12.</ref>

==History==
Penrith's history has been defined primarily by its strategic position on vital north–south and east–west communications routes. This was especially important in its early history, when [[Anglo-Scottish Wars|Anglo-Scottish relations]] were fraught. Furthermore, Penrith was a Crown possession in its early phase, though often granted to favoured noble families. It did not become a [[royal charter|chartered]] [[borough]] or a [[municipal corporation]] and had no representation in Parliament. It also gained growth from its proximity to the [[Inglewood Forest]] and to the fertile [[River Eden, Cumbria|Eden valley]], and largely depended upon agriculture, especially cattle rearing and [[droving]].

===Early medieval period===
After the departure of the Romans (c. 450 CE), the north became a patchwork of warring Celtic tribes ([[Hen Ogledd]]). One of these may have been [[Rheged]], perhaps with a centre in the Eden valley and covering the area formerly held by the Carvetti. However, this has been disputed by historians. The Rheged Centre, just outside Penrith, commemorates the name.

During the 7th century, the region was invaded by the [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]], a Germanic tribe which moved west from [[Northumbria]]. The Celtic place-names in the region such as Penrith, [[Blencow]], [[Culgaith]], [[Penruddock]], were now joined by settlements ending in "-ham" (estate) and "-ton" (farm), such as [[Askham, Cumbria|Askham]], [[Barton, Cumbria|Barton]], [[Clifton, Cumbria|Clifton]], [[Plumpton, Cumbria|Plumpton]] and [[Stainton, Eden|Stainton]].<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 14–15.</ref>

From about 870, the area became subject to Viking settlement by [[Norsemen|Norse]] from Dublin and the Hebrides, along with Danes from Yorkshire. Settlements with names ending in "-by" ("village") and "-thorpe" ("hamlet") were largely on higher ground – the Vikings were pastoralists, the Angles arable farmers. Examples are [[Melkinthorpe]], [[Langwathby]], [[Lazonby]], and [[Ousby]]. Little and Great Dockray (not to be confused with the nearby village [[Dockray, Eden|Dockray]]) in Penrith itself are Norse names.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 16–17.</ref>[[File:Brooches from the Penrith Hoard.jpg|thumb|right|[[Fibula (brooch)|Fibula]]e from the [[Penrith Hoard]], 10th century (British Museum)]]

The [[Penrith Hoard]] of Viking silver brooches was found in the Eden valley at Flusco Pike, Penrith, as were 253 pieces of silver at Lupton.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.archaeology.eu.com/vikings/weblog/2007/09/treasure-found-in-cumbria.html |title=Viking Archaeology: Treasure found in Cumbria |date=13 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602141603/http://www.archaeology.eu.com/vikings/weblog/2007/09/treasure-found-in-cumbria.html |archive-date=2 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 
[[File:Giants Grave. - geograph.org.uk - 243538.jpg|thumb|left|'Giant's Grave', St. Andrew's churchyard, Penrith, an unusual arrangement of two Viking-age cross-shafts with four hogbacks (in the foreground). In addition, there is a smaller, Viking-age, wheel-headed cross just visible in the background (the "Giant's Thumb"). The group might commemorate the gathering of kings in 927 or Owain of Strathclyde.]]

Two cross-shafts and four [[Hogback (sculpture)|hogback]]s, along with a small cross found immediately to the west of [[St Andrew's Church, Penrith|St Andrew's Church]], known as the "Giant's Grave" and "Giant's Thumb" (c. 920s), have long prompted speculation. They may have been separate items brought together by an [[antiquary]] or they may be a genuine group. They appear to be an Anglo-Norse fusion of Christian and Norse motifs, but it is still debated whether they are linked to the King of the Strathclyde Cumbrians, [[Owain ap Dyfnwal (fl. 934)]].<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), p. 32.</ref> It is thought that [[Kingdom of Strathclyde|Strathclyde British]] had settled in parts of north Cumbria in the 10th century.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 29–31.</ref>

On 12 July 927, [[Eamont Bridge]] (or possibly the monastery at [[Dacre, Cumbria]], or the site of the old Roman fort at [[Brocavum|Brougham]] or even the church at Penrith, or a combination of these) was the scene of a gathering of kings from throughout Britain as recorded in the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' and the histories of [[William of Malmesbury]] and [[John of Worcester]]. Present were [[Athelstan]], King of the Anglo-Saxons and then of the English, [[Constantín mac Áeda]] (Constantine II), King of Scots, [[Eógan I of Strathclyde|Owain of Strathclyde]], King of the Cumbrians, [[Hywel Dda]], King of Wales, and [[Ealdred I of Bernicia|Ealdred son of Eadulf]], Lord of Bamburgh. Athelstan took the submission of some of these other kings, presumably to form some sort of coalition against the Vikings. The growing power of the Scots and perhaps of the Strathclyders, may have persuaded Athelstan to move north and attempt to define the boundaries of the various kingdoms.<ref>Newman (2014), p. 47.</ref> This is generally taken as the date of foundation of the [[Kingdom of England]], whose northern boundary was the Eamont river, with Westmorland outside the control of Strathclyde. Penrith was effectively held by the Scottish king as overlord of the Strathclyde Cumbrians, until the [[Normans|Norman]] takeover in 1092. Thereafter Penrith's fortunes varied according to the state of play between England and Scotland over ownership of Cumberland, Westmorland and Northumbria.

Penrith may have been founded before the arrival of the Normans. A ditched oval enclosure surrounding the area now occupied by [[St Andrew's Church, Penrith|St Andrew's Church]] (a [[burh]] - hence "Burrowgate") has been excavated. A church on the site may date back to the time of Bishop [[Wilfrid]], (c. 670s) whose patron saint was [[Andrew the Apostle|Saint Andrew]].<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 33–34.</ref>

===Later medieval period: Normans and Plantagenets===
The Norman conquest of north Cumbria took place in 1092 under [[William II of England|William Rufus]], who retained Carlisle, Penrith and some other manors round Penrith as [[demesne]].<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), p. 35.</ref> The Norman and [[Plantagenet]] rulers thereafter held Penrith as a crown estate ("Penred Regis"), along with a group of others locally, including [[Carlatton and Cumrew|Carlatton]], [[Castle Sowerby]], [[Gamblesby]], [[Glassonby]], [[Langwathby]], [[Great Salkeld]], [[Little Salkeld]] and [[Scotby]]. The group became known as the "Queen's Hames" ("Queen's Homes") from 1330 onwards.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 37–39.</ref>

Membership of the group fluctuated over time. In 1187 a sub-set including Penrith, Langwathby, Great Salkeld, Gamblesby, Glassonby and Scotby was referred to as the [[Inglewood Forest#Honour of Penrith|Honour of Penrith]].<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), p. 40.</ref> From 1242 to 1295, the Honour of Penrith (created "the liberty of Penrith" by the [[Treaty of York]] in 1237) was in the hands of the King of Scots, in return for renouncing his claims to Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland. [[Henry III of England|King Henry III]] had been reluctant to cede Penrith to the Scots, as it was a good source of Crown income: the right to hold a market and fair was granted in 1223 by Henry, and arable farming produced good yields and taxes.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 44–55.</ref> Tensions between the English Crown's agents in Cumberland and the Scottish agents attempting to defend the rights of the Scottish king and his tenants in the liberty of Penrith, may have influenced the mindset of the Scots leading up to the outbreak of the [[Wars of Scottish Independence]].<ref>Stringer (2019), pp. 73–84.</ref>

[[Edward I of England|King Edward I]] took Penrith and the other manors back into Crown possession (having been taken from the Scots and given to [[Antony Bek (bishop of Durham)|Bishop Anthony Bek]]).<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 56–63.</ref> Perhaps to underline the authority of the Crown, Edward also established an [[Penrith Friary|Augustinian Friary]] in 1291. This succumbed to the [[English Reformation|Reformation]] in 1539. The Friarage house was built on the site in 1717.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 64–65.</ref>

With the [[Wars of Scottish Independence]], Penrith suffered destruction by Scottish forces in 1296 ([[William Wallace]]), 1314, 1315–1316 and 1322 ([[Robert the Bruce]]). Meanwhile climatic change caused poor harvests. Penrith went from incipient economic growth in the early 14th century to poverty by the third decade.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 66–76.</ref> Recovery in the 1330s was again reversed by the devastating Scottish raid of 1345 ([[David II of Scotland]]) and the [[Black Death]] of 1348–1349 and subsequent years. However, Penrith, Castle Sowerby and the other manors were valuable as a source of royal income, paying debts the Crown owed to those leading the fight against the Scots, such as [[Roger de Leybourne]], [[Anthony de Lucy]] and [[Andrew Harclay, 1st Earl of Carlisle]].<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 66–88.</ref>
[[File:Penrith_Castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_19095.jpg|thumb|left|Penrith Castle]]
[[File:Penrith castle 18th-century.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Penrith Castle]] in 1772, built 1399–1470.<ref name="Gilpin">Gilpin, William (1786), ''Observations relative chiefly to Picturesque Beauty, Made in the year 1772.... Cumberland & Westmoreland.'' R. Blamire, London. Facing p. 85.</ref>]]
There is evidence of a protective wall built round the town after the Scottish raid of 1345. This was strengthened in 1391 by the townspeople and Penrith's patron, [[William Strickland (bishop)|William Strickland]], Bishop of Carlisle, after another Scottish raid by the 1st [[William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas|Earl of Douglas]] in 1380, and others in 1383 and 1388, when [[Brougham Castle]] was probably destroyed as well.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 90–97.</ref> It is thought that Strickland built and strengthened the "pele tower" in Benson Row, behind Hutton Hall. He also endowed a chantry (1395) in St Andrew's Church, (where the chantry priest may have taught music and grammar), and created Thacka Beck, diverting clean water from the [[River Petteril]], which was notably valuable for the tanning and related industries.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 93–105.</ref>

Strickland shared power in Penrith with the [[House of Neville|Neville family]], which had been [[History of Cumbria#The Percies, the Nevilles, and the Wars of the Roses|promoted in the North]] by [[Richard II of England]] to offset the influence of the [[House of Percy|Percies]]. In 1396, [[Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland]] and his wife Joan gained the manors of Penrith and Castle Sowerby: windows in St Andrew's Church may depict the Nevilles along with Richard II. Ralph probably started building [[Penrith Castle]], which was continued by his son, [[Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury]], father of [[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick]], the "Kingmaker", whose death in the [[Battle of Barnet]] in 1471 led [[Edward IV of England]] to grant the Castle and Penrith manors to [[Richard III of England|Richard of Gloucester]], the future Richard III, to keep them [[Yorkist]]. Richard III used Penrith as a base [[Richard III of England#War with Scotland|against the Scots]] and to promote a Yorkist "affinity" in the area to offset Lancastrian loyalties at nearby Brougham, Appleby ([[Baron de Clifford|Clifford]]) and Greystoke ([[Baron Greystoke]]) and elsewhere. Tradition has Richard staying in what is now Dockray Hall (once the ''Gloucester Arms'') during building work on the castle. The latter was more of a palace than a military stronghold, with a chantry chapel endowed by Richard.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017a), pp. 106–126.</ref>

===Early modern period (1485–1714)===
====Tudor period====
The [[Tudor period]] saw the centralising tendencies of the Yorkist government continued. The [[English Reformation]], economic and social progress, educational change, the rise of the non-noble [[landed gentry]] and the depredations of the plague all affected Tudor England, and Penrith was no exception.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017b), pp. 7–11.</ref>

The eclipse of the Nevilles and Percies by the end of the [[Wars of the Roses]] opened the field for families such as the [[Baron de Clifford|Cliffords]], the [[Baron Dacre|Dacres]] and the [[Musgrave baronets|Musgraves]] to jostle for position in the North (including those of the [[Sheriff of Cumberland]], the [[Lord Warden of the Marches|Warden of the West March]] and the keeper of Penrith Castle).<ref group=M>Mullett (2017b), pp. 15–21.</ref>
[[File: Two Lions, Penrith - geograph.org.uk - 911055.jpg|thumb|The former Two Lions, Penrith - previously the townhouse of Gerard Lowther called Newhall]]

Penrith people were involved in a rebellion of 1536/1537 known as the [[Pilgrimage of Grace]]. Eight town residents were executed as a result. The motives seem to have been partly religious, partly to do with a desire for more English government protection against Scottish raids.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017b), pp. 26–35.</ref>

The reformation went on apace afterwards – the Augustinian Priory was dissolved and the two chantry bequests closed later. The Strickland bequest partly funded the [[Penrith Grammar School]], founded 1564, in the reign of [[Elizabeth I]]. Many governors of the new foundation in St Andrew's churchyard were rising [[Protestant]] gentry, who moved into various houses in Penrith: the families of Whelpdale (whose coat of arms adorns Dockray Hall), Carleton, Bost and Hutton (who had taken over the pele tower in Benson Row), and Richard Dudley of [[Yanwath|Yanwath Hall]]. The foundation was overseen by [[Thomas Smith (diplomat)|Sir Thomas Smith]], one of Elizabeth's trusted Protestant counsellors.

Penrith was not involved in the [[Rising of the North]] in 1569, despite involvement by [[Richard Lowther (1532-1608)|Sir Richard Lowther]] and his younger brother Gerard, whose house in Penrith became the former ''Two Lions Inn''. The merchant, Robert Bartram, may have built the Tudor House in St Andrew's Place (1563), indicating a trading class operating in Penrith.<ref group=M>Mullett (2017b), pp. 41–98.</ref>[[File:Former school, now a library - geograph.org.uk - 2866111.jpg|thumb|left|Former Grammar School, now the public library]]

However, there may have been a substantial underclass as well, as shown by possible poverty and poor nutrition causing a high death rate in 1587, when there may have been a [[typhus]] epidemic. The [[Bubonic plague]] may have caused some 615 deaths in 1597–1598, according to the vicar's register (2,260 according to a brass plaque inside St Andrew's Church).<ref group=M>Mullett (2017b), pp. 99–125.</ref>

====Stuart period====
Penrith in [[House of Stuart|Stuart]] times was affected by political and religious upheavals that saw the [[English Civil War]], the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]] and the [[Glorious Revolution]], but was spared any fighting. It also escaped the [[Witch-hunt|witch-craze]] phenomenon that afflicted other parts of England. The [[Union of the Crowns]] and suppression of the [[Border reivers|reiver]] clans such as the Grahams, gave Penrith relief from Scottish raiding and a boost to Penrith's commercial prosperity. [[James VI and I]] and his entourage of 800 visited Brougham Castle in 1617, which boosted commerce. However, Penrith's crossroads position on the north–south and east–west routes made it vulnerable to starving vagrants bringing disease. This plus a national food shortage may have led to a typhus epidemic in 1623.<ref group=M>Mullett (2018), pp. 5–18.</ref>

During the Civil War, Penrith's gentry were mostly Royalist, but Penrithians seem to have been neither for nor against the King. During the first war (1642–1646), [[David Leslie, 1st Lord Newark|General Leslie]] took over Brougham Castle for the [[Covenanters]] and Penrith became a supply centre for Parliament. In the second civil war starting in 1648, Brougham and Penrith castles were strategic assets. [[John Lambert (general)|Major-General Lambert]], the Parliamentary commander, took over Penrith in June 1648 until forced out by Scottish royalists aided by [[Sir Philip Musgrave, 2nd Baronet|Sir Philip Musgrave]] of Edenhall. The Covenanters supported the future [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] after 1648. He stayed at Carleton Hall in 1651 on his way south to defeat at the [[Battle of Worcester]].<ref group=M>Mullett (2018), pp. 25–31.</ref>
[[File:Carleton Hall. - geograph.org.uk - 146542.jpg|thumb|285px|Carleton Hall - now Cumbria Police HQ]]
[[File:Penrith Railway Station from the west.jpg|thumb|285px|Penrith Railway Station from the west]]
Because Penrith lacked borough or corporation status, governance fell on the local nobility, gentry and clergy, (such as [[Hugh Todd (author)|Hugh Todd]]). During the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]], [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] "Godly rule" was administered at St Andrew's Church by the local [[Justice of the peace]], Thomas Langhorne, who had bought Lowther's Newhall/Two Lions house.<ref group=M>Mullett (2018), pp. 32–41.</ref> Meanwhile, Penrith benefited from work on restoration of Brougham and other castles, and by charitable donations undertaken by [[Lady Anne Clifford]].<ref group=M>Mullett (2018), pp. 67–76.</ref> The gradual rise in religious toleration eventually saw in 1699 the establishment, by the [[Quakers]], of Penrith's second place of worship, the Friends' Meeting House in Meeting House Lane.<ref group=M>Mullett (2018), pp. 101–102.</ref>

Leading gentry of Cumberland and Westmorland gathered at the ''George Inn'' on 4 January 1688 at the behest of [[Richard Graham, 1st Viscount Preston|Lord Preston]], the [[Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland]] and [[Lord Lieutenant of Westmorland|Westmorland]]. He was attempting to gauge the views of leading figures in the counties (deputy-lieutenants, and [[Justice of the peace|J.P.s]]) on the intention of [[James II of England|King James II]] to introduce greater religious toleration. Partly due to efforts by [[John Lowther, 1st Viscount Lonsdale]], the attendees were persuaded to give a non-committal reply. The [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]] Lowther went on to contribute to securing the two counties for [[William III of England|King William]] in the [[Glorious Revolution]] and advancing his career, unlike his local ([[Tory]]) rival [[Sir Christopher Musgrave, 4th Baronet|Christopher Musgrave of Edenhall]] who had been more dilatory in his support for William. This exemplified local politics feeding into national politics.<ref group=M>Mullett (2018), pp. 83-96.</ref><ref>Colman (2003), pp. [237]–258.</ref>

The economy of Penrith "continued to rely on cattle rearing, slaughtering and the processing of cattle products" (leather goods, tanning, shoemaking).<ref group=M>Mullett (2018), pp. 103–104.</ref>

===Local government before 1974===
{{Infobox historic subdivision|
|Name = Penrith Urban District
|HQ = Penrith Town Hall
|Status = [[Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland)|Urban district]]
|Start = 1894
|End = 1974
|Replace = [[Eden, Cumbria|Eden District]]
|Image =
|AreaFirst =
|AreaLast =
|AreaFirstYear = 1894
|AreaLastYear = 1974
|PopulationFirst =
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|PopulationLastYear =
}}
Penrith was an [[Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland)|urban district]] from 1894 to 1974, when it merged into [[Eden (district)|Eden District]]. It was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith, although when the council was abolished, Penrith became an [[unparished area]]. The area had been an [[sanitary district|urban sanitary district]] presided over by a Local Board of Health. The district also contained the hamlets of Carleton (now a suburb of Penrith), Bowscar, Plumpton Head and some of the village of Eamont Bridge. It was split into four wards – North, South, East and West – which remained the basic local-government divisions in the town until the 1990s.

In the 1920s, [[Penrith Castle]] came into council possession, its grounds becoming a public park. Castle Hill (Tyne Close) Housing Estate was built nearby. Further [[council housing]] was built at Fair Hill and Castletown before the Second World War, and after the war at Scaws, Townhead and Pategill. The district was bordered on three sides by [[Penrith Rural District]], the southern boundary marked by the River Eamont being with [[Westmorland]].

==Governance==
===UK Parliament===
Penrith is in the [[United Kingdom Parliament constituencies|parliamentary constituency]] of [[Penrith and Solway (UK Parliament constituency)|Penrith and Solway]].  Its [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) since 2024 is [[Markus Campbell-Savours]] ([[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]).

===Local government===
Since 2023, Penrith has had two levels of local government – Westmorland and Furness unitary authority (see below) and Penrith parish (town).

Until 2023, for county purposes, it was governed by [[Cumbria County Council]], whose social services and education departments used to have area offices in the town. It was the seat of administration for [[Eden District|Eden District Council]], one of the largest districts by area in England and the most sparsely populated. It was based at offices in [[Penrith Town Hall]] and at the building now known as Mansion House, formerly Bishop Yards House.

A civil parish of Penrith was first formed in 1866. Between 1894 and 1974, the Urban District council acted as the parish council, but on its abolition, its successor authority, Eden District Council, decided that Penrith would become an unparished area under the district council's direct control. In 2014 a referendum was held open to all registered voters in the unparished area of Penrith to see if they wanted a parish council for Penrith, and the result was in favour. The first elections to this were held on 7 May 2015. Initially the town council was based in offices in St Andrews Place; however, since 2017, it has taken the former county council offices in Friargate.

===Former local government divisions===
For electing [[councillors]] to Eden District Council and to Penrith Town Council, the civil parish of Penrith was divided into six [[Ward (subnational entity)|ward]]s:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.penrithtowncouncil.co.uk/ |title=Penrith Town Council}}</ref>
*'''Penrith West''': Castletown and parts of the town centre and Townhead
*'''Penrith North''': part of the town centre, the New Streets, most of Townhead and the outlying settlements of Roundthorn, Bowscar and Plumpton Head
*'''Penrith South''': Wetheriggs, Castle Hill, a small part of the town centre, part of Eamont Bridge and part of the Bridge Lane/Victoria Road area
*'''Penrith East''': part of the town centre, Scaws, Carleton Parklands and Barco
*'''Penrith Carleton''' (formerly part of Penrith East): Carleton Village, High Carleton, Carleton Heights, Carleton Hall Gardens
*'''Penrith Pategill''' (formerly part of Penrith East): Pategill, Carleton Drive/Place, Tynefield Drive/Court and part of Eamont Bridge

Penrith West and South wards made up the Penrith West Electoral Division of Cumbria County Council, while East, Carleton and Pategill wards combine as Penrith East division. Penrith North, along with the rural Lazonby ward, made up Penrith North division.

===2023 changes to Local Government===
In 2023, Cumbria County Council and the 6 District councils within the county were abolished and replaced by two new [[unitary authority|unitary authorities]]. Eden along with [[South Lakeland]] and the [[Borough of Barrow-in-Furness]] became the new unitary District of [[Westmorland and Furness]].  The first elections to the new authority took place in May 2022.  Penrith was divided into two new wards for the new council – Penrith North (the former Eden council wards of Penrith North and East) and Penrith South (the former West, South, Carleton and Pategill wards).

A nascent campaign has arisen, demanding that Penrith be included within [[Cumberland (district)|Cumberland]], given that it forms part of the historic county of [[Cumberland]] and has never been part of [[Westmorland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/23428694.protest-held-town-penrith-new-cumberland-authority/|title=Protest held to move town of Penrith into new Cumberland authority|publisher=[[News and Star]]|date=1 April 2023|first=Bridget|last=Dempsey|accessdate=17 July 2024}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{NSEW|[[Plumpton, Cumbria|Plumpton]]|[[Shap]]|[[Langwathby]]|[[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick]]|||||}}

===Watercourses===
[[File:Thacka Beck.jpg|thumb|Thacka Beck emerging from its culvert behind the [[Tourist information centre]]]]Penrith lies in the Eden Valley, just north of the [[River Eamont]]. Other local rivers bounding the town are the [[River Lowther|Lowther]] and [[River Petteril|Petteril]]. Thacka [[Beck (stream)|Beck]] flows through the town centre partly in a culvert,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://library.thehumanjourney.net/2322/ |title=Thacka Beck Flood Alleviation Scheme, Penrith, Cumbria- Measured Building Survey of Culverts |last=Taylor |first=Karl |year=2010 |publisher=[[Oxford Archaeology North]]}}</ref> remaining mostly underground. It links the River Petteril and the River Eamont. For many centuries, the Beck provided Penrith's main water supply. Thacka Beck Nature Reserve provides flood storage to protect buildings in Penrith.<ref>Under the ALFA (Adaptive Land Use for Flood Alleviation) scheme: [http://www.alfa-project.eu/en/regional/eden/ Eden] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222145455/http://alfa-project.eu/en/regional/eden/ |date=22 December 2015}}, ALFA</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/thakka-beck |title=Thacka Beck |access-date=1 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229021236/http://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/thakka-beck |archive-date=29 December 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Another stream, the Myers or Dog Beck, flows through and under the south-west of the town, joining Thacka Beck near Tynefield Court. The Dog Beck section has also been known as Scumscaw Beck or Tyne [[Sike (stream)|Syke]]. In 2014 the pub chain [[Wetherspoons]] opened a branch in Penrith, naming it the ''Dog Beck''. There are also streams or becks running through the Carleton area of the town.

===Divisions and suburbs===
====Castletown====
Castletown, west of the [[West Coast Main Line]], includes the Gilwilly [[Industrial Estate]] and some of the Penrith or Myers Industrial Estate. The area, originally built for workers on the railway line, mostly consists of late 19th and early 20th-century terraced housing, including some council housing. Since the 1990s, private developments such as Greystoke Park, Castletown Drive and Castle Park have appeared.

There was until March 2010 a pub in the suburb, ''The Castle Inn'', and in previous years a sub-post office, a [[Penrith Co-operative Society|Co-op store]] and other shops, all now closed. Until the 1970s, Castletown had its [[Church of England]] St Saviour's in Brougham Street, acting as a [[chapel of ease]] to Penrith's [[parish church]] of St Andrew, originally built as a [[Primitive Methodist]] chapel. As of 2017, the Oasis Evangelical Church holds services at Brackenber Court sheltered housing complex in Musgrave Street. The Church in the Barn, [[Elim Pentecostal]] church, meets at the community centre at Gilwilly.

The suburb has a [[community centre]] on the [[recreation ground]] at Gilwilly and until recently held an annual gala day and parade throughout Penrith. At one time in the mid-20th century elections were held amongst regulars at the ''Castle'' pub to find a ''Mayor of Castletown''. There is longstanding rivalry between the Castletown and Townhead districts.

====Townhead====
Townhead is the town's northern area, including the Fair Hill district and the Voreda Park or Anchor [[housing estate]]. It mainly flanks the [[A6 road (Great Britain)|A6 road]], heading uphill towards Carlisle. The road is named Stricklandgate and Scotland Road, but on maps before the mid-19th century it appears as Town Head. It was one of seven [[parish constable|constablewicks]] into which the ancient Penrith parish divided, alongside Middlegate, Burrowgate, Dockray and Netherend in the town proper and Plumpton Head and Carleton beyond.

====New Streets====
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2012}}
New Streets marks an area between Townhead and Scaws on the side of the Beacon Hill or [[Fell]], with steep streets of some terraced housing, but mainly detached and semi-detached houses of the late 19th century. These streets from north to south are Graham, Wordsworth, Lowther and Arthur Street. The term sometimes includes Fell Lane, which is actually the ancient east road from Penrith town centre to [[Langwathby]]), and Croft Avenue and Croft Terrace (from about 1930), which were not developed till later. At the foot is Drovers Lane, once Back Lane, subdivided into Drovers Terrace, Wordsworth Terrace, Lowther Terrace, Bath Terrace, Arthur Terrace, Lonsdale Terrace, and finally Meeting House Lane. Along the top is Beacon Edge, with extensive views over the town and towards the Lake District. Until the turn of the 20th century, Beacon Edge was known as Beacon Road. Apart from the streets up the fellside there are some that link smaller housing developments between them.

The fellside is known to have been used as a burial ground for victims of bubonic plague, which struck Penrith down the centuries. There are also areas that still have farming names, such as a wooded enclosure in Fell Lane known as the Pinfold (or Pinny) – once a pound for stray animals until owners paid to reclaim them. One lane off Beacon Edge is still [[Intack]] Lane, i. e. the lane to farmed land. Most of what formed the intack was passed to Penrith Cemetery.

====Scaws====
The Scaws Estate was built by Penrith Urban District Council after [[World War II]] on land hitherto known as the Flatt Field and Scaws Farm, as part of the [[Earl of Lonsdale|Lowther Estates]]. Scaws Farm is now Coldsprings Farm. Later some private housing was built on higher parts of the estate.

Beaconside Primary School stands in the centre of the estate, where there were once three corner shops and a launderette. Adjoining Scaws are the private Barcohill and Meadow Croft housing estates.

====Carleton====
{{Main|Carleton, Eden}}
Carleton was once a separate settlement of houses along one side of the [[A686 road]] following the boundary of the built-up area. Carleton Hall holds the headquarters of the [[Cumbria Constabulary]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1312133 |desc=Carleton Hall (Cumbria Police Headquarters)  |access-date=23 October 2020}}</ref> The area is the home of Carelton Banks FC, colloquially the Pinks.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/carletonbanksfc/news/match-report-ambleside-united-1495201.html |title=Ambleside United Sink The Pinks |date=18 September 2015 |first1=Ben |last1=France |first2=Liam |last2=Jackson |access-date=23 October 2020}}</ref>

====Pategill====
Adjoining Carleton is the Pategill Housing Estate. It began as a council estate on land once part of the Carleton Hall estate and is still mostly owned by [[housing associations]]. Two streets, Prince Charles Close and Jubilee Close, were opened by [[Charles, Prince of Wales|the Prince of Wales]] in 1977. The centre of the estate is accessible by foot only and there was until 2012 a small [[convenience store]]. Several properties are run as [[sheltered housing]] for the elderly.

====Wetheriggs====
The Wetheriggs, Skirsgill and Castle Hill or Tyne Close areas were developed in the 1920s by Penrith Urban District Council on land formerly known as Scumscaw. The first private housing was developed in Holme Riggs Avenue and Skirsgill Gardens just before World War II. Further development did not start until the 1960s and 1970s, on land between Wetheriggs Lane and Ullswater Road. Not until the late 1980s were the two roads connected by the Clifford Road extension, which saw the Skirsgill area developed. There are three schools: Ullswater Community College. North Lakes Junior and Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS). The Crescent in Clifford Road holds sheltered accommodation for the elderly. There was once a shop at the junction of Huntley Avenue and Clifford Road and another at the foot of Holme Riggs Avenue. The large North Lakes Hotel and Spa stands at the junction of Clifford and Ullswater Roads, overlooking the Skirsgill Junction 40 Interchange of the [[M6 motorway]], A66 and [[A592 road|A592]] roads.

====Penrith New Squares====
Plans to expand Penrith town centre south into the Southend Road area began by expanding the swimming pool area into a leisure centre, to replace a previous car park and sports fields, including ones used by Penrith and Penrith United football clubs. Plans for the rest of the scheme were drawn up by a property firm and included a supermarket<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.cwherald.com/a/archive/council-rejects-tesco-s-millions-in-penrith-supermarket-deal.257285.html |access-date=11 November 2017 |newspaper=[[Cumberland and Westmorland Herald]] |date=29 December 2001 |title=Council rejects Tesco's millions in Penrith supermarket deal|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112131748/http://www.cwherald.com/a/archive/council-rejects-tesco-s-millions-in-penrith-supermarket-deal.257285.html|archivedate=12 November 2017}}</ref> and shopping streets, car parking and housing. '''Penrith New Squares''' refers to shops to be centred round two squares for parking and public entertainment.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.penrithnewsquares.co.uk/ |title=New Homes in Penrith - Living at Penrith New Squares |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121233506/http://www.penrithnewsquares.co.uk/ |archive-date=21 November 2008}}</ref>

Work here was suspended in October 2008 due to the financial crisis,<ref>[http://www.cumberland-news.co.uk/news/1.253132 Cumberland News 10 October 2008] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013213934/http://www.cumberland-news.co.uk/news/1.253132 |date=13 October 2008}}</ref> but a new deal was agreed with Sainsbury's and it resumed in 2011. The update includes less new housing, with parts deferred for up to five years.<ref>[http://www.eden.gov.uk/your-council/communicating-with-the-public/media-releases/media-releases-2010/new-squares-proposal-gets-go-ahead/ Eden District Council Press Releases] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109072019/http://www.eden.gov.uk/your-council/communicating-with-the-public/media-releases/media-releases-2010/new-squares-proposal-gets-go-ahead/ |date=9 January 2011}}</ref> Sainsburys opened in December 2011. In June 2013, the first shop in the squares opened, along with a walk through from Sainsburys to the town centre.

==Landmarks==
[[File:Penrith1835.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|The Giant's Grave in 1835.]]
The main church is St Andrew's, built in 1720–1722 in an imposing [[Architecture of ancient Greece|Grecian]] style, abutting a 13th-century tower. The churchyard has ancient crosses and [[hogback (sculpture)|hogback]] tombstones known as the Giant's Grave (early 10th century) and Giant's Thumb (remains of a Norse cross from about 920).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CUL/Penrith/ |title=PENRITH, Cumberland-Church history |publisher=GENUK |access-date=9 December 2010}}</ref>

Ruins of [[Penrith Castle]] (14th–16th centuries) can be seen from the adjacent railway station. It is run by [[English Heritage]]. To the south-east of the town are more substantial ruins of [[Brougham Castle]], also held by English Heritage, as are the ancient [[henge]] sites known as [[Mayburgh Henge]] and [[King Arthur's Round Table]] to the south.

[[File:Gloucester Arms Pub - geograph.org.uk - 705105.jpg|right|thumb|Dockray Hall]]
The town centre has a Clock Tower erected in 1861 to mark [[Sir Philip Musgrave, 2nd Baronet|Philip Musgrave]] of [[Edenhall]]. Hutton Hall in Friargate has a 14th-century [[Peel tower|pele tower]] at the rear, attached to an 18th-century building. Dockray Hall (once the ''Gloucester Arms'') dates from about 1470 and may include remains of another pele tower.<ref>{{PastScape |mnumber=12326 |mname=Dockray Hall |access-date=4 June 2011}}</ref> Richard, Duke of Gloucester resided there before becoming King [[Richard III of England|Richard III]] and carried out extensive work at Penrith Castle about 1471.

Penrith has many [[Water well|wells]]. [[Well dressing|Well-dressing]] ceremonies took place on days in May. Three miles south-east, on the River Eamont opposite [[Ninekirks]], are the "Giants' Caves", with a well dedicated to [[St Ninian]]. These are enlarged out of [[Permian Period|Lower Permian]] [[sandstone]] and their associated breccias and purple [[shale]]s.

Just north of the town is a wooded signal-beacon hill named Beacon Hill, originally Penrith Fell. Its last use was probably in 1804 in the war against [[Napoleon]]. Traditionally, Beacon Pike warned of danger from Scotland. Though ringed by commercial woodland owned by Lowther Estates, it still has natural woodlands visited by locals and tourists. On a clear day most of Eden Valley, local fells, Pennines and parts of the North Lakes can be seen. Beacon Hill possibly gave Penrith its Celtic name of "red hill".

A fibreglass {{Convert|550|cm|ft|0|abbr=on}}-tall [[King Kong statue|statue of King Kong]] once stood in the Skirsgill Auction Mart.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk/news/king-kong-sculpture-soon-to-tower-over-cumbrian-saturday-market-1.803980 |title=King Kong sculpture soon to tower over Cumbrian Saturday market |date=2011-01-28 |work=[[Cumberland News]] |access-date=22 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324011228/http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk/news/king-kong-sculpture-soon-to-tower-over-cumbrian-saturday-market-1.803980 |archive-date=24 March 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Caldbeck Fells, West of Penrith, viewed from Culgaith.JPG|800px|thumb|centre|[[Blencathra]] and Caldbeck Fells, west of Penrith, viewed from the B6412 road at [[Culgaith]]]]

==Transport==

===Railway===
[[Penrith railway station|Penrith station]] is a stop on the [[West Coast Main Line]]. It is served by two [[train operating companies]]:<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20240102093349/https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:PNR/2024-01-03/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=pax-calls&order=wtt Services calling at Penrith North Lakes on 3 January 2024] [[Realtime Trains]]</ref>
* [[Avanti West Coast]] operates inter-city services between [[Euston railway station|London Euston]], [[Glasgow Central railway station|Glasgow Central]] and [[Edinburgh Waverley railway station|Edinburgh Waverley]], with trains calling at [[Birmingham New Street railway station|Birmingham]], [[Carlisle railway station|Carlisle]], [[Crewe railway station|Crewe]], [[Lancaster railway station|Lancaster]] and [[Preston railway station|Preston]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our latest timetables and ticket info |work=[[Avanti West Coast]]|date=May 2023 |access-date=20 August 2023 |url= https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/travel-information/plan-your-journey/timetables |quote=}}</ref>
* [[TransPennine Express]] operate services between [[Manchester Airport railway station|Manchester Airport]] and Glasgow Central.<ref>{{Cite web |work=[[TransPennine Express]]|title=Timetables |date=21 May 2023 |access-date=20 August 2023 |url= https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/travel-updates/timetables |quote=}}</ref>

===Buses and coaches===
Local bus services are operated mostly by [[Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire]], with links to Carlisle, [[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick]] and [[Ullswater]], with less frequent ones to [[Windermere]], [[Appleby-in-Westmorland]] and [[Kendal, Cumbria|Kendal]]. There is also a 646 town service, run by the local NBM Motors, serving most of the town once an hour. Fellrunner buses connect Penrith to villages in the Eden Valley. A daily service to [[Alston, Cumbria|Alston]] and [[Newcastle-upon-Tyne|Newcastle]] is run by Wright Brothers of [[Nenthead]]. The bus station is in the town centre, off Sandgate; many services also stop at the railway station.<ref name=BT>{{Cite web |title=Penrith Bus Services |work=Bus Times |date=2023 |access-date=20 August 2023 |url= https://bustimes.org/localities/penrith |quote=}}</ref>

[[National Express Coaches|National Express]] operate two long-distance coach routes with stops in Penrith. Route 182 runs from [[Birmingham coach station|Birmingham]] to [[Edinburgh bus station|Edinburgh]] and the 590 links [[Buchanan Street bus station|Glasgow]] to [[Victoria coach station|London]].<ref name=BT/>

===Roads===
Penrith is close to junction 40 of the [[M6 motorway]]. The [[A66 road (Great Britain)|A66]], [[A6 road (Great Britain)|A6]] and [[A686 road|A686]] intersect in the town.

The town has several [[taxi]] firms licensed by [[Eden District Council]]. The main rank is in Sandgate in the middle of town, near the bus station, with another outside the railway station.

===Cycling===
The [[National Cycle Network]]'s major National Route 7 runs through the town and National Route 71 stops just short of its southern edge.

==Public services==
[[File:Penrith Town Hall, Cumbria.jpg|thumb|[[Penrith Town Hall]]]]

===Health===
Penrith Hospital and Health Centre lies along Bridge Lane at the southern entrance to the town, close to the Kemplay Bank roundabout, where the [[A6 road (England)|A6]], [[A66 road|A66]] and [[A686 road|A686]] meet. These are administered the Cumbria Partnership [[NHS Trust]]. It opened in 1970 to replace Jubilee Cottage Hospital on Beacon Edge, Fairhill Fever Hospital and the maternity home at the old [[workhouse]] in Castletown. It has wards for the elderly, mental health care and minor injuries, and a Primary Care Assessment unit, a maternity wing and the [[Lady Anne Clifford]] Day Hospital. Various weekly clinics are held at the hospital and the adjacent health centre, which opened in 1983 and brought all three NHS medical practices into one building – two have since merged. There is also a [[pharmacy]] in the centre.

There are several private and National Health Service dental practices in the town.

===Police and fire===
Penrith falls comes under [[Cumbria Constabulary]], with headquarters at Carleton Hall on the outskirts of the town. The town's own police station was in Hunter Lane, but has since been replaced by a smaller one close to Carleton Hall. Carleton Hall also houses Penrith's fire station and the headquarters of [[Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service]].

===Ambulance===
The [[North West Ambulance Service]] has a base in Tynefield Drive, close to the hospital. The [[Great North Air Ambulance Service]] has its Cumbrian base close to Penrith at [[Langwathby]] and was at one time-based at Carleton Hall. The Penrith [[Mountain Rescue]] team, whose operating area covers the Eden Valley, North Pennines and the area towards the Scottish border, also has a base in Tynefield Drive.

==Notable people==
{{see also|Category:People from Penrith, Cumbria}}
In order of birth:
*[[Richard III]] (1452–1485) lived at [[Penrith Castle]] for a time. The links to him in the town include two fragments of medieval glass. One in St Andrew's Church is taken to show the heads of [[Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York|Richard Plantagenet]] and [[Cecily Neville]] – Richard III's parents. The other, on display in the town, shows the [[Musgrave family|Musgrave]] coat of arms. Richard III is thought to have stayed at the ''Gloucester Arms'', then a large private house. The bar has panelling of various periods, behind which is an early screen carved with a design taken to be [[Genisteae|broom]] ''(Planta genista)'', an emblem of the [[Plantagenet]] kings.
*The [[Scotland|Scottish]] road-builder and engineer [[John Loudon Macadam]] (1756–1836), inventor of macadamized roads, lived for a while at Cockell House in Townhead. Close by are streets named Macadam Way and Macadam Gardens.
*[[John Littlejohn (preacher)|John Littlejohn]] (1756-1836), an American Methodist preacher and [[Circuit rider (religious)|circuit-rider]], was born in Penrith.
*Penrith was the home town of the mother of the poet [[William Wordsworth]] (1770–1850). He spent some of his childhood there, attending school with Mary Hutchinson, his later wife.
*[[George Leo Haydock]] (1774–1849), noted for an annotated edition of the Catholic [[Douay-Rheims Bible|Douay Bible]], served as Catholic priest here from 1839 until his death in 1849.
*The [[Victorian literature|Victorian writer]] [[Frances Trollope]] (1779–1863), [[Anthony Trollope]]'s mother, lived for a while at a house called Carleton Hill (not Carleton Hall) outside the town on the Alston road.
*[[Samuel Plimsoll]] (1824–1898), [[Member of Parliament|MP]] and social reformer, spent some of his childhood at Page Hall in Foster Street. The houses at Townhead called Plimsoll Close are named after him.
*[[Percy Toplis]] (1896–1920), the "monocled mutineer", was shot and killed on the run by police at Plumpton, near Penrith. He is buried in Penrith's Beacon Edge Cemetery in an unmarked grave. His monocle is on display in [[Penrith and Eden Museum]].
*[[Mary Wilson, Baroness Wilson of Rievaulx|Mary]] (1916–2018), wife of [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Harold Wilson]], lived in Penrith whilst her father was minister at the [[United Reformed Church|Congregational Church]] in Duke Street.
*[[Stuart Lancaster (rugby union)|Stuart Lancaster]] (born 1969) became head coach of the England national rugby union.
*[[Paul Nixon]] (born 1970), [[Leicestershire County Cricket Club|Leicestershire]] wicket-keeper and [[England cricket]] international, was born in Carlisle, but grew up in the Penrith area. Nixon retired from professional sport in 2011.
*[[Angela Lonsdale]] (born 1970 in Penrith), actress, is perhaps best known as policewoman Emma Taylor in [[Coronation Street]] and currently stars as DI Eva Moore in the BBC soap [[Doctors (2000 TV series)|Doctors]].
*[[Charlie Hunnam]] (born 1980), the actor, attended [[Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith]] (QEGS) and lived locally in his teenage years. He claimed it is "just about the worst place you could hope to live".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cwherald.com/a/archive/actor-claims-penrith-is-just-about-worst-place-you-could-hope-to-live.276685.html |title=Actor claims Penrith is "just about worst place you could hope to live" |website=cwherald.com |language=en |access-date=2017-03-17}}</ref>
*[[Lewis Guy|Lewis Brett Guy]] (born 1985), former professional footballer.
*[[Danny Grainger]] (born 1986), footballer, scored [[Heart of Midlothian F.C.|Heart of Midlothian]]'s third goal in the [[2012 Scottish Cup Final|2012 Scottish Cup final]] against [[Hibernian F.C.|Hibernian]].
*[[Oliver Turvey]] (born 1987), racing driver, attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School and lives locally.
*[[Stephen Hindmarch]] (born 1989), a professional footballer, was born here.

==Night life==
Like other rural towns of its size, Penrith relies on [[public house]]s to form the basis of social entertainment. It was once famous for the sheer number of its pubs, served by five working [[breweries]]. The trend of pub closures continues, but many remain. They range from small traditional pubs with a loyal clientele to bigger bars that form part of the "circuit". Penrith also has numerous dining places and restaurants.

The Lonsdale (formerly the Alhambra) in Middlegate is a [[Movie theater|cinema]] with three screens built in 1910 by William Forrester. There was until the 1980s another cinema called the Regent on Old London Road.

Amateur dramatics and musicals are staged at the Penrith Players Theatre, [[Ullswater Community College]] and Queen Elizabeth Grammar School.

==Penrith dialect==
The Penrith dialect known as Penrithian, spoken around the Penrith and Eden district area, is a variant of the [[Cumbrian dialect]].

==Media==
The local newspaper, the ''[[Cumberland and Westmorland Herald]]'' appears on Saturdays. Sections are updated every following Tuesday on their website. It is independently owned, with offices on King Street, but printed at the [[Newsquest]]'s printing works in [[Glasgow]], along with the weekly ''[[Cumberland News]]'' and daily ''[[News and Star]]'' which also cover some news items from Penrith. A separate edition of the ''Herald'' is published for the [[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick]] area, known as the ''Lake District Herald''.

The Free, monthly circulated Eden Local community magazine http://www.cumbrianlocal.co.uk/ has been posted through doors since 2010 in Penrith and in areas surrounding it in the Eden Valley. It was set up to launch https://www.edenfm.co.uk/ It reached its 200th publication in 2023.

Penrith lies with the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] [[Border Television|Border]] region and the [[BBC North East and Cumbria]]. There were three local radio stations serving the Penrith area. [[Eden FM Radio|Eden FM]] which is based in Penrith launched in 2011. There were two others based in Carlisle. These being [[BBC Radio Cumbria]] and what was [[Independent Local Radio|independent]] station [[CFM Radio|CFM]], that from 3 April 2023, rebranded to Greatest Hits Radio.

Penrith was used as a setting in the 1940 book ''[[Cue for Treason]]'' by [[Geoffrey Trease]]. It was also a setting for [[Bruce Robinson]]'s 1987 film ''[[Withnail and I]]'', although the Penrith scenes were actually filmed in [[Stony Stratford]], Buckinghamshire.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Scovell |first1=Adam |title=In search of the Withnail & I locations 30 years on |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/withnail-i-richard-grant-paul-mcgann-locations |access-date=14 March 2019 |work=British Film Institute |date=11 April 2017}}</ref>

==Education==
===Uniformed youth organisations===
Penrith hosts two [[Community Cadet Forces]] units: 1247 Squadron of the [[Air Training Corps]] and Penrith Detachment of Cumbria [[Army Cadet Force]].

===Primary schools===
*Brunswick School (formerly County Infants), Brunswick Road
*Beaconside Primary, Eden Mount/Brent Road. Until 2008 there were separate Beaconside Infant and [[Junior school]]s.
*North Lakes School (formerly Wetheriggs Junior; was at first a girls-only school), Huntley Avenue – North Lakes was one of the first schools in England to be awarded a [[Sing Up]] Gold Award (in December 2008) and their highest accolade, a Sing Up Platinum Award (likewise in December 2008).
*St Catherines Roman Catholic Primary, Drovers Lane
*Hunter Hall ([[Private schools in the United Kingdom|private]] [[Preparatory school (UK)|preparatory school]]), Frenchfield

===Secondary schools===
*[[Ullswater Community College]] (formerly Ullswater High School, and before that, two single sex secondary modern schools on the same site called Tynefield (girls) and Ullswater (boys)), Wetheriggs Lane
*[[Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith|Queen Elizabeth Grammar School]] (QEGS) (selective), Ullswater Road

===Further education===
*The former [[Newton Rigg College]] had its campus just outside the town. Its most recent owner was [[Askham Bryan College]] but in the past it has been part of [[UCLAN]] and subsequently the [[University of Cumbria]]. Since the closure some facilities remain available for public and educational use,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://cwherald.com/save-newton-rigg/newton-riggs-new-owners-show-their-hand/|title=Newton Rigg's new owners show their hand|date= 10 November 2021|newspaper=[[Cumberland and Westmorland Herald]]}}</ref> for example the Equestrian Centre re-opened in February 2022<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.futureofnewtonrigg.co.uk/news/re-opening-of-newton-riggs-equestrian-centre-is-pivotal-moment-for-cumbria|title=Re-opening of Newton Rigg's equestrian centre is pivotal moment for Cumbria|website=Newton Rigg Ltd|date=2 February 2022|accessdate=30 May 2022}}</ref>
*Ullswater Community College had a large further or adult education centre.

Former schools in the town include:
*Girls National School (building now housing school replaced by Beaconside Juniors), Drovers Lane
*Boys National School or St Andrews School for Boys (building now demolished school replaced by Beaconside Juniors), Benson Row
*National Infants School (now Penrith Playgroup [[Nursery School]]), Meeting House Lane
*Robinsons School – this was a girls-only school founded with 29 pupils, which later became a mixed (infant) school founded in 1670 by William Robinson, a local merchant who made good in London. It now houses the town's [[Penrith and Eden Museum|museum]] and tourist information centre, Middlegate, and has the following inscription above the door: "''{{Lang|la|Ex sumptibus DN Wil Robinson civis Lond anno 1670 DN}}''"
*County Girls School (building now part of Brunswick Infants, the school was replaced by Wetheriggs), Brunswick Road
*County Boys School (the building now QEGS [[Sixth form|Sixth Form]] Centre, also for a while an annexe to Wetheriggs). The school merged with Wetheriggs Girls to form Wetheriggs Junior, Ullswater Road
*Tynefield [[Secondary Modern School|Secondary Modern]] (originally [[co-educational]] but later girls only), Wetheriggs Lane
*Ullswater Secondary Modern (boys only), Wetheriggs Lane. Ullswater and Tynefield schools and buildings merged to create Ullswater High in 1980.

==Places of worship==

===Church  of England ===
[[File:St Andrew's Church, Penrith.jpg|thumb|St Andrew's Church, Penrith]]
*[[St Andrew's Church, Penrith|St Andrew's Church]] is the ancient [[parish church]] of Penrith [[Ecclesiastical parish|Parish]], sited in the centre of Penrith. It is the largest of four parishes making up the Penrith Team Ministry.
*Christ Church, Drovers Lane/Stricklandgate, opened in 1850 as a separate parish, but from 1968 to 2008 was part of the United Parish of Penrith. It is now again a separate parish church for the northern part of the town, remaining within the Penrith Team Ministry.

===Roman Catholic Church===
*St Catherine's, Drovers Lane

===Methodist Church of Great Britain===
*Penrith Methodist Church, Wordsworth Street

===Other churches===
*[[Society of Friends]], Quaker Meeting House, Meeting House Lane
*[[Gospel Hall Assemblies|Gospel Hall]] Evangelical Church, Albert Street/Queen Street
*King's Church Eden - part of the [[Newfrontiers]] family of churches
*Oasis Evangelical Church, Brackenber Court, Musgrave Street
*[[Salvation Army]], Hunter Lane
*Church in the Barn, Castietown Community Centre, Gilwilly
*Influence Church [[Assemblies of God]], Burrowgate
* Jehovah's Witnesses, Skirsgill Lane, Eamont Bridge

===Mosques===
The town also has two places of worship for [[Islam]]. It has an Islamic centre called the "Quba Islamic Centre"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mosque Map |url=https://mosques.muslimsinbritain.org/maps-mobile.php?id=2686 |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=mosques.muslimsinbritain.org}}</ref> and a [[mosque]] called the "Al-Amin Mosque". Both are close to each other and on both Middlegate and Bluebell Lane.

==Economy==
[[File:Penrith Co-Op.jpg|thumb|right|The former [[Penrith Co-operative Society]] had a large [[department store]] and [[supermarket]] in the town centre - now closed.]]
As a market town relying heavily on the tourist trade, Penrith benefits from some high-street chain stores and local specialist shops alongside other businesses such as [[bank]]s, [[building societies]] and [[travel agents]].

Market days are traditionally Tuesday and Saturday. On Tuesdays there was a small outdoor market in Great Dockray and Cornmarket. This ceased in the early 21st century, since when a small [[farmers' market]] has been held in the Market Square once a month. On Saturdays, Cumbria's largest outdoor market takes place at the Auction Mart alongside the M6 motorway junction 40.

The main central shopping areas are Middlegate, Little Dockray, Devonshire Street/Market Square, Cornmarket, King Street, Angel Lane and the Devonshire Arcade and Angel Square precincts, with some shops in Burrowgate, Brunswick Road and Great Dockray.

Although the main industries are based around tourism and agriculture, some others are represented. For example, in 2011 [[Greggs]] opened a new [[bakery]] at Gilwilly, replacing two bakeries in the Friargate area that used to belong to the Penrith-based Birketts firm. [[Domino's Pizza]] had a dough manufacturing site at Gilwilly until 2019. The model firm [[Lilliput Lane]] (now part of [[Enesco]]) was founded in Penrith and until March 2009 had its main factory at Skirsgill Park. Also at Penrith Industrial Estate is the Penrith Door Company factory, formerly part of [[Magnet Kitchens|Magnet Joinery]], now of the American-based [[JELD-WEN]] group.

Agriculture-based industries include [[BOCM Pauls|For Farmers]], which has a large [[compound feed|animal feed]] mill on the Penrith Industrial Estate. Until 2005 there was another feed mill at Gilwilly, originally belonging to Cumberland and Westmorland Farmers Ltd, but eventually becoming part of the [[Carr's|Carrs Milling Industries]] group. Local [[butchers]] Cranstons have an expanding meat packing, pie and sandwich-manufacturing site alongside their shop and head office on Ullswater Road.

Penrith was known for its [[tanneries|tanning]] industry and breweries. The tanneries were mainly in the Friargate/Old London Road area of the town. There were at one time five working breweries. Penrith in recent years has attracted many larger international haulage firms to open depots beside the M6.

[[Fylde Guitars]] is a manufacturer of hand-made fretted musical instruments, founded in Penrith in 1973 by [[luthier]] Roger Bucknall. Its instruments command high prices. All are hand-made using traditional techniques and have been developed in collaboration with professional players. Fylde Guitars is the only UK guitar maker to have been awarded the Acoustic Guitar Magazine "Gold Award", in 2000.

==Sport==
Penrith is home to [[Penrith RUFC|Penrith Rugby Union Football Club]], which currently plays in the RFU [[National League 3 North]]. Home games are played at Winters Park in Penrith.

Penrith Netball Club has been active in the town since 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://penrithnetballclub.co.uk|title=Penrith Netball Club|accessdate=13 June 2022}}</ref> They cater for junior players from the age of 11, as well as adults, playing at both secondary schools ([[Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith|QEGS]] and [[Ullswater Community College]]) in the town. Penrith Netball are currently playing in the Carlisle Netball League.

[[Penrith A.F.C.]] plays in the [[Northern Football League]].

There is a [[skateboarding|skate park]] area by the Penrith Leisure Centre. The skate park opened in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.eden.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/leisure-facilities/penrith-skate-park/ |title=Penrith Skate Park |access-date=24 March 2015}}</ref>

Penrith has a golf club and driving range. Penrith Castle Park houses the town's Bowling Club.

[[Penrith Swimming Club]] was founded in 1881 and was then based at Frenchfield in the [[River Eamont]]. Training sessions originally involved great variations of conditions that challenged the skills of any swimmer. Icy water, strong currents and obstacles like weed and the odd eel or two provided the ultimate test of stamina. It was all a far cry from conditions for today's training sessions, held at Penrith Leisure Centre.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Penrith Swimming Club |url=http://penrithswimmingclub.co.uk/ |website=penrithswimmingclub.co.uk |access-date=2016-02-19}}</ref>

Penrith Canoe Club, founded in 2012, trains at the local leisure centre. Its main activity is canoe polo, in which the club was represented at the World Championships in Syracuse, Italy 2016 by its under-21 women's squad, which finished a respectable fourth.

Penrith Tennis Club is located in the grounds of Penrith Rugby Club at Carleton Village.

==Twin town==
Since 1989, Penrith has had a [[Town twinning|twinning arrangement]] with the [[Penrith, New South Wales|Australian city]] named after it in [[New South Wales]].<ref>[http://www.eden.gov.uk/main.asp?page=1686 Sister city arrangements for Penrith] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070612193052/http://eden.gov.uk/main.asp?page=1686 |date=12 June 2007}}</ref>

==Regular events==
;Mayday Carnival: On the [[May Day|first Monday in May]], Penrith holds a Mayday Carnival run by Penrith Lions Club. It includes a parade, street dancers and fairground rides in the Great Dockray and Market Square car parks of the commercial area. The procession includes floats, vintage cars and tractors, a marching band, various local celebrities and members of the Penrith Lions Club. It starts in the yard of [[Ullswater Community College]] and ends in the bus station car park. Many roads in the centre are closed for the event.<ref>Photographs etc. [http://www.penrithlions105bn.co.uk/activities/may-day-carnival/ Retrieved 26 August 2021.]</ref>

;Penrith Agricultural Show: The first Penrith Show was held in 1834. From 2019 the event takes place on the 3rd Saturday in July.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/16751604.downpours-didnt-dampen-spirits-at-penrith-show/ |title=Downpours didn't dampen spirits at Penrith Show |newspaper=[[News and Star]] |date=22 July 2017}}</ref>

;The Winter Droving: Held in late October/early November 'The Winter Droving Festival' celebrates all things rural, traditional and fun. The highlight is a torch-lit procession through the town, featuring fire, lanterns, masquerade and music and mayhem. The event is a celebration of Penrith and its age-old role as the market place for the local area, where for centuries livestock and produce has been brought for sale.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/16748490.winter-droving-set-to-bring-colourful-end-to-cumbrias-summer/ |title=Winter Droving set to bring colourful end to Cumbria's summer |newspaper=News and Star |date=28 October 2017 |first=Jonny |last=Irving}}</ref>

;[[Kendal Calling]]: Music Festival held in late July each year at Lowther Deer Park has had headline acts that included [[the Stereophonics]], [[Tinie Tempah]], [[Editors (band)|Editors]] and [[the Manic Street Preachers]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/kendal-calling-2017-pictures-crowd-13408876 |title=Kendal Calling 2017 in pictures – Stereophonics, Tinie Tempah, Editors, Manic Street Preachers and more |first=Simon |last=Binns |date=31 July 2017 |newspaper=[[Manchester Evening News]]}}</ref>

;[[Potfest]]: Ceramic festivals take place as '''Potfest in the Pens''' and '''Potfest in the Park''' at Skirsgill Auction Mart and [[Hutton in the Forest]].<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Great British Life|date=20 June 2019|title= Potfest in Penrith celebrates 25th anniversary|url= https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/things-to-do/whats-on/22611503.potfest-penrith-celebrates-25th-anniversary/}}</ref>

;Lowther Show: Held at nearby [[Lowther Castle]] each August, this includes the Lowther Horse Driving Trials as attended in the past by [[Prince Philip]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/Lowther-Show-given-royal-seal-of-approval-by-Prince-Philip-df03861e-c393-4f6f-ad20-458c88bdbd66-ds |title=Lowther Show given royal seal of approval by Prince Philip |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107004508/http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/Lowther-Show-given-royal-seal-of-approval-by-Prince-Philip-df03861e-c393-4f6f-ad20-458c88bdbd66-ds |archive-date=7 November 2017 |date=11 August 2014 |newspaper=News and Star}}</ref>

==Climate==
Like most of the [[British Isles]], Penrith has a [[maritime climate]] with mild summers and winters. The nearest Met Office weather station is at [[Newton Rigg College|Newton Rigg]], about a mile outside of the centre. Temperatures have ranged from {{convert|33.3|C|F}} in July 1901,<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=Trevor Harley |url=https://www.trevorharley.com/hottest-day-of-each-year-from-1875.html |date=April 2020|title=1900 record}}</ref> down to {{convert|-17.8|C|F}} in February 1969,<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=[[KNMI (institute)|KNMI]] |url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=8&year=1969&indexid=TNn&stationid=1804 |title=1969 temperature}}</ref> although this was nearly exceeded by a fall to {{convert|-17.7|C|F}} in December 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=[[UKMO]] |url=http://metofficenews.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/min-temps.jpg |title=2010 temperature}}</ref> Newton Rigg also holds a record for the coldest April temperature reported in England: {{convert|-15.0|C|F}} in April 1917.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=[[UKMO]] |url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/extremes/monthly_temperature_country.html |title=1917 temperature |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206164520/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/extremes/monthly_temperature_country.html |archive-date=6 February 2012}}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Newton Rigg, elevation: {{convert|169|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1906–present
|collapsed    = 
|metric first = y
|single line  = y
|Jan record high C = 13.9
|Feb record high C = 14.4
|Mar record high C = 21.1
|Apr record high C = 24.6
|May record high C = 27.2
|Jun record high C = 29.7
|Jul record high C = 29.5
|Aug record high C = 31.1
|Sep record high C = 26.7
|Oct record high C = 24.4
|Nov record high C = 17.2
|Dec record high C = 17.2
|Jan high C = 6.1
|Feb high C = 6.6
|Mar high C = 8.8
|Apr high C = 11.6
|May high C = 15.1
|Jun high C = 17.4
|Jul high C = 19.5
|Aug high C = 19.0
|Sep high C = 16.3
|Oct high C = 12.5
|Nov high C = 8.8
|Dec high C = 6.4
|year high C = 12.4
|Jan mean C = 3.4
|Feb mean C = 3.6
|Mar mean C = 5.4
|Apr mean C = 7.4
|May mean C = 10.4
|Jun mean C = 13.0
|Jul mean C = 15.1
|Aug mean C = 14.6
|Sep mean C = 12.3
|Oct mean C = 9.1
|Nov mean C = 5.9
|Dec mean C = 3.4
|year mean C = 8.6
|Jan low C = 0.6
|Feb low C = 0.6
|Mar low C = 2.0
|Apr low C = 3.2
|May low C = 5.7
|Jun low C = 8.6
|Jul low C = 10.7
|Aug low C = 10.2
|Sep low C = 8.2
|Oct low C = 5.7
|Nov low C = 2.9
|Dec low C = 0.4
|year low C = 4.9
|Jan record low C = -16.7
|Feb record low C = -20.0
|Mar record low C = -13.9
|Apr record low C = -15.0
|May record low C = -5.0
|Jun record low C = -0.6
|Jul record low C = 1.1
|Aug record low C = 0.0
|Sep record low C = -2.8
|Oct record low C = -6.7
|Nov record low C = -12.6
|Dec record low C = -17.7
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 101.5
|Feb precipitation mm = 74.3
|Mar precipitation mm = 75.8
|Apr precipitation mm = 52.2
|May precipitation mm = 56.1
|Jun precipitation mm = 58.6
|Jul precipitation mm = 70.2
|Aug precipitation mm = 70.1
|Sep precipitation mm = 76.3
|Oct precipitation mm = 106.9
|Nov precipitation mm = 100.1
|Dec precipitation mm = 105.0
|year precipitation mm = 947.0
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 15.1
|Feb precipitation days = 11.2
|Mar precipitation days = 13.1
|Apr precipitation days = 10.8
|May precipitation days = 10.6
|Jun precipitation days = 10.4
|Jul precipitation days = 11.1
|Aug precipitation days = 11.5
|Sep precipitation days = 11.6
|Oct precipitation days = 15.3
|Nov precipitation days = 15.3
|Dec precipitation days = 14.4
|year precipitation days = 150.4
|Jan sun = 38.8
|Feb sun = 59.0
|Mar sun = 97.0
|Apr sun = 135.4
|May sun = 166.9
|Jun sun = 161.7
|Jul sun = 160.1
|Aug sun = 145.5
|Sep sun = 114.6
|Oct sun = 79.4
|Nov sun = 41.7
|Dec sun = 37.2
|year sun = 1237.3
|source 1 = [[Met Office]]<ref name="Met Averages">{{Cite web |url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19812010/sites/newton_rigg.html |title=Newton Rigg 1981–2010 averages |access-date=11 August 2020 |publisher=Met Office |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031164407/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19812010/sites/newton_rigg.htmll |archive-date=31 October 2012}}</ref>
|source 2 = [[Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute|KNMI]]<ref>{{Cite web
|url=https://eca.knmi.nl//download/millennium/millennium.php |title=Indices Data – Newton Rigg STAID 1804 |access-date=11 August 2020 |publisher=[[KNMI (institute)|KNMI]]}}</ref> Meteo Climat<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/station-2256-1906-2020.php |title=STATION NEWTON RIGG |access-date=23 November 2020 |publisher=[[KNMI (institute)|KNMI]]}}</ref>
}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Cumbria}}
*[[Listed buildings in Penrith, Cumbria]]
*[[Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway]]
*[[Penrith and The Border (UK Parliament constituency)]]
*[[Mountain Rescue England & Wales|Penrith Mountain Rescue Team]]
*[[Penrith Hoard]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Mullett references===
{{Reflist|group=M|25em}}

==Sources==
*{{Cite journal|last=Colman|first=Clark Stuart|title=The Glorious Revolution of 1688 in Cumberland and Westmorland: "the merit of this action"|journal=Northern History|year=2003|volume=40|issue=2|pages=[237]–258|doi=10.1179/nhi.2003.40.2.237|s2cid=155007993}}
*{{Cite book|last=Ewanion|title=History of Penrith : from the earliest record to the present time | location=Carlisle | publisher=Bookcase | year = 1993 | edition= Reprint of 1894 | pages=vii, 376 | isbn=0-9519920-3-1}}.
*{{Cite book|last1=Higham|first1=N.J.|last2=Jones|first2=G.D.B.| title=The Carvetii | series=Peoples of Roman Britain | location=Stroud |publisher=Alan Sutton | year=1985|pages=xiii, 1–158|isbn=978-0862990886}}
*{{Cite book |last=Mullett |first=Michael A. |title=A New history of Penrith: book I: from pre-history to the close of the Middle Ages |location=Carlisle |publisher=Bookcase |year=2017a |pages=iv, 172 pp |isbn=9781901414998}}
*{{Cite book |last=Mullett |first=Michael A. |title=A New history of Penrith: book II: Penrith under the Tudors |location=Carlisle |publisher=Bookcase |year=2017b|pages=1–164 |isbn=9781912181049}}
*{{Cite book |last=Mullett |first=Michael A. |title=A New history of Penrith: book III: Penrith in the Stuart century, 1603–1714 |location=Carlisle |publisher=Bookcase |year=2018 |pages=1–193 |isbn=9781912181100}}
*{{Cite book |last=Mullett |first=Michael A. |title=A New history of Penrith: book IV: Penrith in the eighteenth century, 1715-1800 |location=Carlisle |publisher=Bookcase |year=2019 |pages=1–297 |isbn=9781912181209}}
*{{Cite book |last=Mullett |first=Michael A. |title=A New history of Penrith: book V: Penrith in the nineteenth century, 1800-1901: chapters on the Victorian town |location=Carlisle |publisher=Bookcase |year=2020 |pages=1–402 |isbn=9781912181346}}
*{{Cite book |last=Mullett |first=Michael A. |title=A New history of Penrith: book VI: Penrith in the twentieth century, 1900-1974: essays on the public realm |location=Carlisle |publisher=Bookcase |year=2022 |pages=1–346 |isbn=9781912181520}}
*{{cite book|last=Newman|first=Rachel|chapter=Shedding light on the 'Dark Ages' in Cumbria : through a glass darkly|title=North-West England from the Romans to the Tudors : essays in memory of John Macnair Todd|editor=Keith J. Stringer|location=Carlisle|publisher=Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society|year=2014|series=Extra Series |volume= XLI|pages=xviii, 288, pp. [29]–60|isbn=9781873124659}}
*{{Cite book |last=Stringer |first=Keith J. |title=The Kings of Scots, the liberty of Penrith, and the making of Britain (1237-1296) |location=Kendal |publisher=Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society |year=2019 |series=Tract series no.28 |isbn=9781873124802}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Penrith, Cumbria}}
{{Wikivoyage|Penrith}}
*[http://www.cumbriacountyhistory.org.uk/township/penrith Cumbria County History Trust: Penrith] (nb: provisional research only - see Talk page)
*[https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/eden/penrithlc Penrith Leisure Centre]
*[http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/AreaProfile2.do?tab=1 Area profile based on 2001 census Details]

{{Cumbria}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Penrith, Cumbria|Penrith]]
[[Category:Market towns in Cumbria]]
[[Category:Cumberland]]
[[Category:Towns in Cumbria]]
[[Category:Eden District]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Cumbria]]