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
80th anniversary of Walker Park
This month is the 80th anniversary of Keswick people using Walker Park as the town’s football ground – in 1924 the land was given to the people of Keswick by Mr Walker, who then turned the former refuse tip site into a football field.
After much hard work by the town’s residents the inaugural match on Walker Park was played between a Cumberland select team and Manchester United. The game was played in front of a crowd estimated to be in the region of 3,000.
There is currently a different outlook regarding Walker Park and Keswick Football Club, as eighty years of football and, latterly, caravans around the pitch has taken its toll on the surface – basically, it is worn out!
For the last two decades, at least, the question of whether or not the club should be at Walker Park or be relocated has been rumbling on. Eight years ago the changing rooms in the shower block were knocked down by Allerdale Borough Council and, if it were not for the town’s Rugby Club who offered to accommodate the football teams, the future of Keswick FC would have been fragile.
For the last few years the club has been in talks with both the Town Council and Allerdale with regard to moving from Walker Park — the club was told that in the best interests of the town it would be better for Keswick FC to move. With this in mind, the club thought long and hard about this and, after carrying out a feasibility study on other suitable locations around the town, the Hospital field was chosen as the best site, which would enable the senior club and the junior club to merge and base at one location.
Funding of the relocation would prove to be the major stumbling block — no grant funding would be available for part or all of the costs of moving from Walker Park; this would be made into a touring caravan park run by the Caravan and Camping Club on behalf of Allerdale, meaning that a third party would gain financially from the move with no funding for Keswick FC.
However, a decision has to be made one way or another in the next few months and Keswick FC is hoping that everything will be sorted out so that development can proceed.
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Can you, or any of your readers, please explain to me exactly what is now going on in the centre of Keswick?
For many weeks now it has been the same inexplicable thing. Building workers set about uprooting all the cobbles in the street on either side of the Moot Hall. Then they replace them with another set of cobbles. It looks as if it would last at least 50 years. Then they set off uprooting them all again.
Why? Who is paying for all this work? How much are they paying? All that seems to be achieved is the disruption of the delightful Saturday morning market. What on earth is going on?
Alan Hankinson
Keswick
30 years ago
70th anniversary
Mr. & Mrs. Percy Robinson celebrate 70 years of marriage on Saturday. They were married at St. John’s Church by the Revd. Sidney Metcalfe on 17th September 1924 and they have lived all their married life in Keswick.
Mrs. Robinson was formerly Miss Martha Griffiths of Workington, and Mr. Robinson was born and brought up in Keswick. In his younger years Mr. Robinson worked for Lake Hotel Coaches before going to Bawdens, the grocers in Lake Road, as van driver.
Mr. Robinson, who is 92 years of age, is now at Nether Place Nursing Home and his wife still lives at their home in Skiddaw Street. They have a son, Brian, and a daughter, Mrs. May Dixon, who both live in Keswick and an elder daughter, Mrs. Jean Waine, who lives in Newcastle. There are ten grandchildren and eighteen great grandchildren.
Emma’s long service
Nineteen year old Emma Seddon is leaving the Calvert Trust Riding Centre at Old Windebrowe to take a course at Newton Rigg College where she hopes to gain further qualifications.
Emma has already worked at the Riding Centre for nine years! She began as a volunteer helper at the age of ten, and during her six years at Keswick School she gave up her free time to help with the disabled riders and the Centre’s horses.
When she was sixteen, Emma obtained a YTS placement and for the past three years she has helped hundreds of visitors to enjoy the thrill of riding or driving horses. A Trust spokesman said Emma’s cheerful smile will be remembered and missed by the staff and visitors to the Riding Centre.
40 years ago
“Endeavour” launched on Bassenthwaite Lake
A Wayfarer dinghy named the Endeavour” was officially launched by the Calvert Trust Adventure Centre for the Disabled on Bassenthwaite last Friday. And “Endeavour” was a wholly appropriate choice of title, for it was through the endeavour of a number of local people that the money was raised for this latest addition to the Trust’s fleet.
The bulk of the purchase price was raised by the Cumbria Centre of the Caravan Club. They produced £1,500 from their rally at Scarness earlier in the year.
A further £500 came from local runner Lyn Thompson’s efforts in the London Marathon. Lyn came back from a winter of injury problems to pound the streets for more than 26 miles. A further £60 was contributed by another local runner Chris Hayes who participated in the Keswick half marathon in May.
Unfortunately Chris was not able to attend Friday’s launching, but Lyn — who chose the name for the dinghy — and representatives of the Caravan Club were there to see it take to water and have a sail.
The ceremony was performed by Border T.V. announcer Angus Simpson, who also opened the Caravan Club fete earlier in the year. He was particularly pleased to be invited back to see the results of that event.
Representing the Calvert Trust were the warden and assistant Mr. and Mrs. Peter Lingard, the chairman of the Trustees Lady Rochdale and Mr. John Spedding, chairman of the Management Committee, and Mrs. Spedding, committee member.
Skiddaw’s Sting For Long Distance Walker George
Long distance walker George Keeping climbed 277 of Scotland’s highest mountains in all weathers ranging from mist and rain to heat. But Skiddaw, one of just four 8,000 ft, peaks in the Lake District, had a sting in the tail for him at the week-end. George arrived and set up camp to climb the mountain but had to leave his tent in a hurry when he was blown off the fell.
However George, 26, a museum conservator from Preston, was able to add the four Lakeland peaks, Skiddaw, Helvellyn, Scafell and Scafell Pike, to his list by Wednesday.
The purpose of his expedition is to climb all the mountains over 3,000 ft. in Britain and link them together in a continuous traverse on foot. The only mechanised transport he has used have been ferries to the islands of Skye and Mull and across Loch Lomond.
There are 290 hills over 3,000 ft. in Britain and George’s entire journey is one of 2,000 miles. He has ascended all the Scottish Munros having started the walk at Altnaharra in the north of Scotland back in April. His route has led him through the Borders to the Lake District and he intends to go on via Lancashire to Snowdonia for the last leg. He plans to finish his walk with an ascent of Snowdon around about the 25th of September.
50 years ago
The Pencil Industry
Encouraging news for those concerned in Keswick’s traditional industry of pencil manufacturing comes in a report from the chairman of the Cumberland Pencil Company’s parent company, Twinlock Ltd.
British Pens Ltd., whose subsidiary is the Cumberland Pencil Company, have had an excellent year, says the report, and both the Stationery and engineering divisions of British Pens have had a strong start to 1974/75.
The Pencil Company is the biggest employer of local labour in Keswick, and this report speaks well for the efforts of all concerned and for the future of the industry.
Friends of the Lake District
In their report published on Tuesday, the Friends of the Lake District welcome the bye-laws which prohibit the use of power boats on twenty of the smaller lakes and tarns, and support the Planning Board’s proposals for speed limits on Derwentwater, Coniston Water and Ullswater.
In the case of Derwentwater they say they would like to go further and prohibit power boating completely, except for the launches.
“Derwentwater is a small lake in a superb setting,” states the report, “on which power boats at any speed are a damaging and unnecessary intrusion. The lake is perfectly suited for rowing and sailing and is adequately served with craft for these far more appropriate purposes.”
In a paragraph devoted to the use of Windermere, the report states: “Of the many and vociferous objections from power boat owners and water skiers to the imposition of speed limits on Derwentwater, Coniston and Ullswater, the only one which we believe could have tenable grounds is that the restriction will put increased use on Windermere. This is, however, not an argument for keeping the three other lakes open, but for control over Windermere also.”
