IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
King Street, WIGTON, CA7 9EB

Formerly the Cumberland Union Bank and appearing on the 1864 OS Map, it became part of the Midland Bank and later HSBC. An undated notice in the window informs local HSBC customers they must now travel to Carlisle.

The archway on the right suggests this may have originally have been a coaching house.

Situated on King Street just below the closed HSBC Bank (see: Image] ) both pre-date the 1864 OS Map. The small two-storey "Black Swan" was once cleverly painted to represent stone blocks. Neither buildings are specifically named on the 1892 OS Map, so may have closed before the end of the 19th Century. Local historian Trevor Grahamslaw ("Wigton Through Time" - Amberley Publishing 2010) records that the hotel eventually became a Co-Operative store, while both buildings became Haldane's grocery store. Current use is clear! See also: Image] . Photograph is for record only - I have no connection with any business seen in the view and cannot advise on their products or services.

For information on these buildings, see: Image

Pink restaurant on Wheatsheaf Lane.

In Meetinghouse Lane, on the north side of King Street.

The fruit and vegetable market was once held here - other markets were situated around the town. The upper storeys of the shops retain their Georgian facades largely unaltered (information from Wigton Town Guide http://www.pluspublishing.co.uk/assets/applets/Wigton_10-12_web.pdf ). View from High Street to the junction with West Street (left) and King Street (right). Standing on an island is the Moore Memorial Fountain Image .

There is an Ordnance Survey benchmark Image on the near corner, right hand face, of the shop

In the market place is an elaborate 19th Century fountain erected in 1872 by George Moore of Whitehall in Mealsgate, in memory of his wife. It is built of granite, and features four fine bronze relief of the Acts of Mercy by the Pre-Raphaelite sculptor Thomas Woolner. On the north side is 'Visiting the Afflicted', the east illustrates 'Clothing the Naked', the south has 'Instructing the Ignorant', and the west side has 'Feeding the Hungry'.

Shoppers stroll through the centre of this pleasant Cumbrian town on a bright autumn morning. Wigton traces its history back to 1100 when the local Lord of the Manor built a church from the remains of a nearby Roman fort. In 1262 Henry II granted a market charter and by the 18th century the town had become associated with the weaving trade. Later dye works were established and calico printing was important in the early 19th century. Other industries including metal working and clock making gradually established themselves but by the end of the 19th century the town found itself unable to compete with the larger industrial centres further south and the area became quite seriously depressed. Today the largest employer is a company producing polypropylene - a thermoplastic polymer used mainly in packaging - which has a workforce of about 900.