Archive record · Brewery
Jennings Brewery
Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom
- Founded
- 1828
- Closed
- Year unknown
- Archive ID
- TB-KVGAWX0B
- Last checked
- 2026-09-10
Who owns this brewery?
Independent ownership is recorded. No parent company is held in the archive.
From the record
Summary
Founded 1828 in Cockermouth; survived 200 years of floods and takeovers. CMBC moved brewing to Burton and closed the Castle Brewery site in November 2022 — then local owners Kurt and Rebecca Canfield bought it in February 2025 and brewing returned in July 2025, back in independent family hands for the first time since 2005.
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Tally’s Take
A legendary Lake District brewery that survived 200 years of floods, only to be permanently closed by CMBC for efficiency.
Where it is
54.66490, -3.36320
Supplied by the research pass; method not recorded
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Timeline
- 1828Founded
Jennings Brewery established in Lorton, Cumbria by John Jennings.
- 1874Expansion
The brewery relocated its primary operations from Lorton to the larger Castle Brewery site in Cockermouth to accommodate growing demand.
- 2005Acquired
Acquired by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries, later renamed Marston's PLC.
- 2022Closed
Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company announced the permanent closure of the historic Cockermouth brewery site.
The People
Behind the beer
Established the brewery at Cockermouth in Cumbria in 1828; it closed under Marston's in 2022.
The Beer Library
Beers
Sneck Lifter
Year-RoundStrong Ale
Cumbrian dialect for the money you needed to lift the latch on a pub door. Brewed in Cockermouth with water from the brewery's own well since 1828.
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Follow the money
How it changed hands
1 recorded move- 1828Founded
- 2005Acquired
Acquired by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries, later renamed Marston's PLC.
No current parent in the archive's records — the moves above are history, not present ownership.
Show your working
Sources
- controlConfirmed
Jennings Brewery is controlled by Foundation / nonprofit.
Carlsberg Group Annual Report 2025 · Carlsberg Group · 2026-02
PrimaryHigh reliabilitySource accessed 2026-08-05Claim last checked 2026-08-05
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Jennings Brewery
- Who owns Jennings Brewery?
- Jennings Brewery is independently owned — there is no parent company above it on record. It is based in Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom.
- Is Jennings Brewery independent?
- Yes. Jennings Brewery is recorded as independent, with no parent company. Independence is recorded as the brewery states it; where a stake is a minority holding or joint venture, this archive leaves it unmapped rather than calling it ownership.
- Is Jennings Brewery still open?
- No. Jennings Brewery has closed. The archive has not established the year it stopped. Founded 1828 in Cockermouth; survived 200 years of floods and takeovers. CMBC moved brewing to Burton and closed the Castle Brewery site in November 2022 — then local owners Kurt and Rebecca Canfield bought it in February 2025 and brewing returned in July 2025, back in independent family hands for the first time since 2005.
- When was Jennings Brewery founded?
- Jennings Brewery was founded in 1828 in Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom.
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