Egremont

Grid Ref : NY 010105

Egremont is a small market town, which has held a market charter since 1267. It has a wide main street, overlooked by the remains of a Norman Castle.

Egremont Castle was built about 1130. and stands on a mound above the River Ehen. The ditches are well preserved. Part of the wall and the gatehouse are in a reasonable state of repair. The massive wall at the end of the outer bailey was part of the Great Hall.

Lowes Court Gallery shows a wide range of paintings, prints and craft work. There are monthly exhibitions of new and established artists. The Gallery is also the Tourist Information Centre providing local information and an accommodation booking service.

St Michael & St Mary’s Church, a minor gem of Victorian gothic architecture, was built in the Early English style in 1881, to a design by T.L Banks of Whitehaven, replacing an earlier church on the same site.

‘When I was a Lad’ by Colin Telfer. Dedicated to the children of Egremont.

Opposite Lowes Court Gallery are two sculptures by Colin Telfer commemorating the towns history of iron ore mining. They are made from a mixture of iron ore dust from the nearby Florence Mine, and resin.

About a mile south of the town is Florence Mine which was the last working iron ore mine in Europe, and part of the rich mining history of West Cumbria. Now disused, the Florence Iron Ore Mine houses the Florence Arts Centre – a multipurpose arts centre and a hub for the arts in West Cumbria with a Gallery, exhibition spaces, an auditorium and a small café.

Throughout the year the centre holds a wide range of activities including art and craft workshops, live music gigs, film screenings, theatre, stand-up comedy and more. There is also a small studio onsite where the Florence Paintmakers are using the raw iron ore pigment from the mine to make artists’ materials including watercolours, oil paints, pastels etc in their bespoke colour ‘Egremont Red’. The centre is open 10am to 4pm every day from Wednesday to Sunday, and in the evening for events.