Description

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COCKERMOUTH
BREWERY LANE
Maltings at Jennings Brewery, Castle Brewery

29-JAN-10

II
A malthouse and barley kiln of 1889 associated with Jennings Brewery, architect unknown.

MATERIALS: rock-faced red sandstone with dressed quoins, window and door surrounds of the same material beneath slate roofs.

PLAN: L-shaped.

EXTERIOR: the maltings' east gable elevation is of four bays with a modern double door entrance beneath a modern canopy with a double ground-floor access door to the right. The left corner of the building is recessed to ground- and first-floor level to enable easier passage for vehicles along Brewery Lane. The south elevation is of six bays with two doors to the ground floor and a timber pitched-roof hoist housing to the upper floor that projects outwards and continues above the roof line. The stair tower has a door to the south face and windows in its east face only. The kiln tower has windows to the ground and two of the upper floors only and a blocked doorway on the ground floor. It is topped by a pyramidal roof that finishes with a timbered square ventilation tower that displays signs with the word 'JENNINGS' on three faces. The building possesses a variety of different window frames of different dates and styles throughout.

INTERIOR: this multi-storey malthouse is accessed from a modern door at its east end which leads to a stairwell containing a lift shaft and a relatively modern iron staircase with wooden treads. The ground floor of the maltings is currently used for barrel storage. Of the two former growing floors on the first and second floor, the first floor is currently used for storage whilst the one on the second floor is unused. The former grain storage floors on the third floor and attic both contain inserted offices but only those in the attic, which contains roof lights, are operational. At the western end of the attic there is in situ grain moving equipment including line shafting, belts and wheels. The stair tower towards the western end of the building has stone steps with iron balusters and handrail. The kiln tower contains a brick furnace on the ground floor above which is the kiln supported by brick vaulting strengthened by vertical iron banding. Third floor of the kiln tower has been subdivided to provide a small former Managing Director's office. The fourth floor contains a boardroom above which is an open space to the pyramid roof. A much altered single-storey former bottling plant attached to the west end of the maltings is not included in the listing.

HISTORY: Jennings Brewery was founded in the village of Lorton, a short distance south of Cockermouth (birthplace of William Wordsworth), in 1828. By 1874 the company had moved its production into buildings on the south side of Brewery Lane in Cockermouth. The brewery expanded over the coming years and in 1889 a five-storey maltings and six-storey barley kiln were erected on the north side of Brewery Lane. The building is no longer used as a maltings and at unspecified date the upper two floors were converted into offices, windows were inserted in place of louvres throughout, and a boardroom was inserted within the tower.

SOURCES: Patrick, Amber, Maltings in England: Strategy For The Historic Industrial Environment Report No.1. English Heritage, (2004).

Reasons for Listing

The maltings at Jennings Brewery is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Externally it remains clearly legible as a maltings and retains original features such as regularly spaced windows, hoist housing and a kiln tower topped by a pyramidal roof creating a notable local landmark
* Important original internal features survive including the kiln furnace with its vaulted brick support structure and vertical iron banding, growing and storage floors, iron column floor supports and a range of in situ machinery associated with the movement of grain
* Jennings Brewery is synonymous with Cockermouth, making a major contribution to its definition and identity.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26672801

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)