IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Market Place, WIGTON, CA7 9NW

Closed at the time of visit

Late 18th or early 19th Century hotel, which closed some years ago and suffered a serious fire in April 2017. Although Grade II listed, its future is uncertain. Alexander P Kapp photographed the hotel in 2008, see: Image] .

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 .

In the centre of Wigton's Market Place is the memorial fountain erected to the memory of the wife of George Moore.

The Moore Memorial Fountain, erected in 1872 by George Moore in memory of his first wife, Eliza. George Moore came from a modest background at Mealsgate near Wigton. He made his fortune in the manufacture of lace, donating much of it to charitable works. Detailed information about him can be seen here http://www.mealsgate.org.uk/george-moore.php . The fountain stands at a busy road junction Image, but a recent suggestion by the Cumbria Highways department that it might be moved has met with considerable opposition from townspeople http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-12169901 .

On West Street.

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.

George Moore was a local philanthropist and he had this memorial to his wife erected in the market place in 1872. The bronzes around the fountain were by Thomas Woolner.

For a wider view of this memorial see Image