Qualla: Jennings Brewery

Jennings Brewery: Introduction

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mick Knapton, CC BY-SA 3.0. John Jennings Snr was a maltster's son, and in 1828 he turned the family trade into a brewery in the village of Lorton, between Buttermere and Cockermouth. The arithmetic was favourable: a Lake District valley meant good water; west Cumbrian agriculture supplied the malt; and a thirsty mill-town economy down at the coast supplied the customers. Forty-six years later, in 1874, Jennings moved to its most famous home - the Castle Brewery in Cockermouth, directly beneath the leaning tower of the Norman castle, on the banks of the River Cocker. The brewery brewed there continuously, with one notable interruption, for the next 148 years.

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Image: Mick Knapton | CC BY-SA 3.0

Jennings Brewery: What Went Into the Tank

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mick Knapton, CC BY-SA 3.0. Jennings's identity was tied to its ingredients in a way that grew increasingly unusual as British brewing industrialised. Water came from the brewery's own well, drawing from the Lakeland aquifer beneath the site. Malt was Maris Otter barley from Norfolk - a heritage variety pri...

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Image: Mick Knapton | CC BY-SA 3.0

Jennings Brewery: Cumberland Ale and Cocker Hoop

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit MarcusBritish at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0. The flagship was Cumberland Ale at 4.0% abv, the brewery's biggest seller in the late 20th century. Jennings Bitter (3.5%) was the original and dominated in west Cumbria. The seasonal range read like a small dialect dictionary. Sneck Lifter at 5.1% - launched as a winter ale in 1...

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Image: MarcusBritish at en.wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

Jennings Brewery: Sold, Merged, Closed

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mick Knapton, CC BY-SA 3.0. In May 2005, Jennings was purchased by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries, which renamed itself Marston's PLC in 2007. The Campaign for Real Ale opposed the sale on the grounds that consolidation would eventually close the Cockermouth site. Marston's initially invested £250,000 in ...

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Image: Mick Knapton | CC BY-SA 3.0

Jennings Brewery: Coda: An Auction and a Revival

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mick Knapton, CC BY-SA 3.0. The site went on the market the following month at an asking price of £750,000. In March 2024, it failed to reach its reserve at auction. The estate agents said they would keep trying. Then, in February 2025, an announcement: Kurt and Rebecca Canfield, new owners, had bought the ...

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Image: Mick Knapton | CC BY-SA 3.0