The Auctioneer

History

The pub at the cattle mart, and the only venue on this site that exists because of livestock. It stands at Borderway Mart on the Rosehill estate, off junction 43 of the M6, and the name is literal: it is named for the men selling the stock next door.

Carlisle's auction marts used to be in town. Mr Harrison's mart on Botchergate held a Christmas fatstock show in the 1890s, and Telfords' mart stood on Earl Street. Harrison & Hetherington have been auctioneers in Carlisle since the 1890s, when Mr Hetherington of Kendal bought the auctioneering business on Earl Street, and in 1973 they took a ninety-nine year lease at Rosehill and built a new mart there. The Shepherds Inn, the function-room half of the building, opened alongside in August 1974, built by Pioneer Foods, and the Auctioneer, the restaurant and bar, followed in 1991.

It has held its reputation for food since then, under head chef Karl Gray. Silverside of beef is the dish it is known for, with roast lamb, pork and turkey most days, and the pub standards alongside: battered haddock, wholetail scampi, Cumberland sausage. Vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options are on the menu too, and the Shepherds Inn takes the weddings, functions and corporate events.

It is a different kind of pub from most here. No old building, no scheme history, no street corner. It serves farmers on sale days, coach parties, wedding guests and people coming off the motorway, which is a fair description of what Carlisle's edge looks like now.