A Quick Reminder: Looking back through the archives of The Keswick Reminder from around this week 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago.
20 years ago
Regeneration of lake foreshore
Allerdale Borough Council has been committed for some time to the concept of regenerating the Derwentwater foreshore and this week a spokesman confirmed it is now exploring options to extend this review to include the adjacent areas at Lakeside where the land belongs to the local authority: Lakeside Car Park, Theatre by the Lake and the Tea Gardens.
Derwentwater’s foreshore is one of Cumbria’s most visited and photographed viewpoints, but now development is expected to extend to the nearby Tea Gardens linking “cultural, entertainment and catering facilities” to the adjacent Theatre by the Lake. The council hopes to be at the forefront of redeveloping the Tea Gardens site from the existing collection of “poor quality” buildings.
The dramatic proposals, which are likely to cost millions of pounds, will include a new permanent building to blend in with the spectacular landscape and the nearby theatre, a £6.2 million project which opened in 1999 and has already achieved national status.
A spokesman for Allerdale Borough Council said: “It is a rare opportunity to enhance a unique area for the environmental, social, cultural and economic benefit of Keswick. Talks and negotiations will be taking place in the coming months to clarify and develop this major scheme.”
30 years ago
Wilk
One of Keswick’s best known “characters” has died at the age of 87. Although he spent all his life in Keswick, where he was born, Billy Wilkinson was one of Cumbria’s best known artists, known simply as “Wilk”, and he immortalised dozens of local characters in his cartoons, many of which can be seen in local pubs in the area.
Billy began drawing as a boy and it was an interest he pursued throughout his life. Indeed, being the subject of a “Wilk” cartoon was a seal of approval for locals! And his fame had spread through visitors to the town into many parts of the world.
He was born at Brigham and went to Brigham School. His first job, while still a schoolboy, was helping Joe Clark of Brigham Farm with his milk rounds.
As a 14 year old Billy would be up at 6-30 a.m. for the morning round with Ernest and Joe Clark, and he was out again on the same round at night.
He worked for a time at the Bobbin Mill before getting a job at the Keswick Gas Company which was at that time in private Ownership. Billy was employed as a gas fitter for over thirty years and afterwards he and his wife, Mary, ran a general store opposite the Twa Dogs Inn at Brigham for some twenty years.
Wilk was a great supporter of good causes and with his cartoons he helped organisations such as the Leukaemia Fund, the Heart Foundation, Brigham School and the Blencathra Hunt by donating his work for sale.
He enjoyed the social side of country sports and many of his cartoons featured hunting personalities — the four huntsmen he had hunted with over the years, Jim Dalton, Geordie Bell, Johnnie Richardson and Barry Todhunter were special favourites. Three years ago he was the recipient of an award from the British Field Sports Society.
Billy died at his home in Brigham on Friday. He is survived by his wife, Mary, and by his three children in whom the influence of their father as an artist has been clearly evident.
His son Donald is an etcher and print maker with a studio near Brampton, while his daughter, Jill, is a former art teacher in London. His son Bill is a sculptor who lives at Berrier near Greystoke. Bill has recently completed a sculpture entitled “A Letter to My Dad” which formed the centrepiece of an exhibition by the newly formed Keswick Artshare group in the Keswick Hotel last weekend.
The funeral took place on Wednesday afternoon at St. John’s Church and was attended by representatives of the Blencathra Hunt and many other local organisations as well as members of the Wilkinson family.
Local ‘apathy’ condemned
The new president of Keswick Chamber of Trade, David Rowbotham, has told the annual meeting that local apathy needs a good shake-up!
Mr. Rowbotham was referring to the poor attendance at meetings during the year. He said: “I would like to see local of the town here. On the top table this evening there are two people who have not been in Keswick much above a couple of years. The apathy of locals wants shaking in some respects.”
He added that locals were not sufficiently involved in several organisations and he made a plea for more local people, or those who had been in Keswick for some time, to get involved.
The treasurer, Graham Darby, said only eight businesses were represented at the annual meeting out of around 130 in the town. He posed the question: “Is it worth continuing? Is the interest there or is it a waste of time?”
Roger Purkiss pointed out that 110 people had paid a subscription and if they were disinterested in the Chamber they would keep their hands in their pockets.
40 years ago
Possible district move discussed
Keswick Town Council have given its Management Committee a mandate to look into the implications of a suggested switch from Allerdale to Eden district.
In April a Boundaries Commission review will be launched throughout the country, and there is a feeling amongst some local Councillors that it could relate to Keswick’s current situation.
The Council’s moves, which so far have been conducted in private, follow a considerable volume of criticism in the town of Allerdale Council’s attitude towards Keswick. Recent controversies over lack of cash support for tourism and car park charges have brought the simmering discontent to a head.
The Mayor Councillor Martin Jordan said: ‘In response to a suggestion that Keswick consider transfer into Eden District Council, the Town Council asked their Management Committee to consider the full implications of such a proposal.”
Wintry weather in Lakeland
Following last week’s severe gales, winter set in with a vengeance in the Lake District this week.
Many roads in the Keswick area have been affected by the snow and some of the minor roads have proved virtually impassable. At one stage earlier in the week the only routes open leading out of Keswick were the A.66 and A.591 in the direction of West Cumbria.
The A.66 between Keswick and Penrith and the A.591 from Keswick to Ambleside were both closed to traffic at various times, and some local motorists had to make extensive detours via Carlisle and West Cumbria to get to Keswick from the east of the county.
By mid-week County Council workmen, with gritters and snowploughs, had got most roads passable with care – only to be informed of further even more adverse weather on the way!
Mr Frederick W. Tee
The funeral service of Mr. Fred Tee took place at Crosthwaite Church on Wednesday morning.
Mr. Tee, who was born in Leicester, moved to Manchester with his parents when he was a child and was educated at Manchester Grammar School, and at Manchester University where he gained his B.Sc. in chemistry. He became an Associate of the Royal Institute of Chemistry in 1937, at which time he was working for I.C.I.’s Dyestuffs Division as an industrial analytical chemist.
He came to Keswick while still employed by I.C.I. in 1939 to advise the Cumberland Pencil Company on chemical and pigment colourants, and two years later joined the Pencil Company as an industrial chemist. During the war years, the company was unable to obtain a full range of pigments, but Mr. Tee was able to obtain sample pigments and he did a great deal of research and development which resulted in the production of new ranges in the post war years. These included the Derwent Artists range of 72 colours, which is now known in all parts of the world.
Mr. Tee became a Director of the Cumberland Pencil Company, and he remained on the Board until his retirement when the company was taken over by Twinlock in 1975. But even after his retirement he kept contact with the Company and its employees through his membership of their “25 Year Club” for employees of more than twenty-five years service to the company.
One of Mr. Tee’s special interests was chess and his name appears many times on the trophies of Keswick Chess Club. He used to play chess regularly with Hugh Walpole and with Ashley and George Abraham and he represented the Northern Counties on several occasions.
He was also interested in walking, gardening, local dialect and local history, and over a number of years he formed a collection of items and article connected with the history of the pencil industry in this area, some of which are now on loan to the Pencil Museum at the Pencil Company’s Southey Works.
Mr. Tee and his wife, formerly Miss Doris Annie Walton of Thirlmere, were married in 1946 and for two years they lived in Station Street, Keswick, over “Jonty” Pearson’s outfitters shop before they moved to Moss Garth in Portinscale in 1958. This was the family home for Mr. Tee until his death at the weekend, and it is still the home of his son David, daughter-in-law Linda, and grandchildren Emma and Daniel. Mrs. Tee died nearly five years ago.
50 years ago
A66
Two schemes essential to the construction of the Keswick section of the new A66 trunk road were approved by Cockermouth Rural Council on Monday.
These are for the use of the derelict railway line between High Briery and the new Crosthwaite roundabout as a haul road by Tarmac Construction Ltd., for work on the northern by-pass; and for the proposed service area at Thornthwaite.
Thornthwaite is also one of the areas which is to receive a public water supply under a guarantee agreement entered into between the Council and the West Cumberland Water Board.
