town, Eden district, administrative county of Cumbria, historic county of Cumberland, England. It is situated on a main route to Scotland, at the foot of the 937-foot (286-metre) Penrith Beacon overlooking the mountains of the scenic Lake District.

Penrith Castle was built in the 14th century as a defense against the Scottish raids and was dismantled during the mid-17th-century English Civil Wars. The parish church of St. Andrew, of Norman foundation, has a 13th-century tower, but the body of the building is 18th-century.

The town, on the edge of the Lake District National Park, is now a tourist and agricultural centre with a weekly livestock market. Places of interest include the Giant's Grave and Giant's Thumb (graves marked by pre-Norman cross shafts) in the churchyard and the Gloucester Arms (associated with Richard III of England 【reigned 1483–85】). The ruins of Brougham Castle, with a 12th-century keep, stand on the site of a Roman fort 1.5 miles (2.5 km) to the southeast. Pop. (2001) 11,988.

city, east-central New South Wales, Australia, on the Nepean River, a section of the Hawkesbury River. Founded in 1815, it was known as Evan and Castlereagh before being renamed after Penrith in Cumberland (now in Cumbria), England. It was declared a municipality in 1871 and a city in 1959. A suburb of Sydney (30 miles 【48 km】 east), to which it is linked by rail and the Great Western Highway, Penrith is also a resort and agricultural centre (dairying, fruits, poultry, vegetables, and beef). Its industries include the manufacture of aluminum foil, concrete and building materials, plastics, textiles, pharmaceutical products, and engineering and electrical products. Pop. (2006) local government area, 172,140.