The Cockpit

The Cockpit was a music venue with three performance spaces located beneath railway arches on Swinegate. The main room accommodated around 500 people, while two smaller stages provided more intimate settings for shows.

The Cockpit opened in 1994 in a building that previously operated as the Cock of the North pub. The venue remained a performance space for more than 20 years before closing in 2014.

The venue played a key role in launching careers of British rock and indie musicians who performed and developed their sound here. Many artists built their following from nights on these stages before achieving wider recognition.

The venue organized different music nights throughout the week, with each night featuring its own program and style. Visitors could check the schedule to find the type of music that matched their interests.

The underground location beneath active railway arches created distinct acoustic qualities that shaped how performances sounded in this space. This unusual setting under the tracks gave each show a specific character that was hard to replicate elsewhere.