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
Letter to the Editor
The crisis in dentist provision will affect everybody directly or indirectly. After moving from an expensive Denplan service I have been struck off a Penrith list due to excess demand.
Now when I visit my ‘local’ dentist I may well be visiting Northumberland for the day – the nearest available dentist as NHS and Denplan practices are now full. My school students will therefore have a full-in teacher, as I take a day off work to have a check up.
I wonder if our local politicians (and equal public servants) face the same dilemma.
M Beechey
Keswick
World heritage status
A final “make or break” meeting, to see if there is still support throughout Cumbria to try to obtain World Heritage Status for the Lake District National Park, is to be called together as soon as possible.
Members of the LDNPA Policy and Overview Committee has approved a suggestion to bring all interested parties together to push for “one last attempt” to gain the prestigious award for the area, which was first suggested 20 years ago. The idea for the “make-your-mind-up” meeting came from National Park Officer Paul Tiplady in a lengthy and detailed report, which members agreed to support and accept.
30 years ago
Trust’s centenary regatta
Joseph Pocklington, once the owner and resident of Derwent Island, would have enjoyed last weekend’s National Trust Centenary celebrations which included a staging of his Derwentwater Regattas of two hundred years ago.
In spite of the poor weather the “battle” for the island was witnessed by a good sized crowd, who enjoyed the raft races and the dragon boat event. Several contestants had a cold ducking in the late when, on two occasions, dragon boats overturned, spilling out their crews but the six safety boats on the lake quickly picked them up and took them to safety.
In the battle the new tenant of Derwent Island, Peter Sorton, played the role of “King Pocky’, as Joseph Pocklington once styled himself. He and some friends who were staying on Derwent Island dressed up in the costume of the late 18th century and faced the assault by some 70 territorial volunteers of the King’s Own Royal Border Regiment, led by Captain Tim Ripley. The attack, on behalf of ‘Admiral Crosthwaite’, was made in assault craft manned by the Assault Pioneer Company who also provided the safety boats for the regatta. At one Stage they had to rescue the KORBR dragon boat crew when they overturned in the choppy water!
The Signals Platoon from Kendal provided communications, safety cover and stewards. Captain Ripley said: “It has been a rare opportunity for us to train in the wonderful surroundings of the National Park. The Army is helping the National Trust as well as providing a good training opportunity for soldiers to do their jobs for real. It is the ideal chance to show the public what the TA does.”
Meanwhile, on Derwent Island, members of the Army Cadet Force supported King Pocky. The operation was co-ordinated by Captain Trevor Keough of Keswick who acted as linkman with the National Trust.
Memories of Derwent Island
The news coverage of the National Trust’s centenary regatta and of Derwent Island have brought back memories of her former home to Mrs. McVitie who lives near Keswick.
Mrs. McVitie lived on Derwent Island for fourteen years. She and her former husband, Guy Ferrier, came as the National Trust’s first tenants of the island in 1951 and she said this week: “I hope my new friends Peter and Vanessa Sorton are feeling the same happiness about the island as my husband Guy Ferrier and I did.”
She continued: “There were difficulties many times with the weather but the family all coped together – Jim and Dorothy Gill and their son, John, but we managed. We never had a winter without a frozen lake as far as I can remember. We often walked across. When the thaw started my cocker spaniel, Reva, would lead me across, taking me not the usual way to the landing stage but heading towards Friars Crag, sitting down occasionally and looking back to see that I was following, and then going ahead again. We eventually reached the shore safely.
“The views changed every few minutes. We all felt much happiness in living there. We were all a very happy family and even after the sadness of the deaths of Guy and Jim we still meet often and keep in touch, remembering our old home.”
Mrs. McVitie says they decided it would be necessary to make several improvements and her husband got all the plans made for getting mains water and mains electricity to the island. She said: “This was all arranged and then he became ill again and we were advised to go to Edinburgh where he had tests.” Sadly, Mr. Ferrier, who had been an RAF pilot in the war, died at the early age of 53.
The work of taking water and electricity to the island went ahead – a major and very involved task. But Mrs. McVitie remembers the excitement when the lights were switched on, watching her new TV, and using her new cooker.
During her time on the island the Ferriers received visits from relatives of Denis Marshall who had given Derwent Island to the National Trust. She also enjoyed visits from her own family, especially the younger members who spent their long holidays on Derwent Island, visiting other islands by rowing boat as part of their pastime.
40 years ago
Council drops boundary change issue
Following a special meeting last Thursday, Keswick Town Council announced that they had formally dropped all further thoughts of a boundary change affecting their current status within Allerdale.
For the past year the Council has been investigating the likely effects of an application for a review to the Boundaries Commission including the consequences of a move into Eden or South Lakeland District Council areas.
However after Thursday’s meeting the retiring Mayor, Mr. Eric Impey, said that the decision to drop further inquiries about boundary alterations had been a unanimous one. He accused Eden of ‘completely snubbing’’ the Town Council’s overtures and said: “We will work closely now with Allerdale and we would hope that the improved relationship with them will continue.”
Mr. Impey added: “It is Eden’s loss, not ours. We would have increased Eden’s rate income by 25 per cent.”
A week earlier the Town Council Management Committee had met at short notice to prepare a list of facts and figures about income from the town for the information of Eden. It had been expected that the matter would then come before a full meeting of Eden Council at the end of last week, but Mr. Impey said nobody had raised the question of Keswick and there was no discussion on the item.
“I would have thought they would have had the courtesy to allow us to speak to their officers at least,” he said. “Any suggestion that Keswick Town Council should engage consultants, which could cost up to £5,000, was quite inappropriate.”
Hospital party for retiring matron
Tributes to the retiring matron of the Mary Hewetson Hospital, Mrs. Liz Scoon, were paid by a large gathering of staff of the hospital, district nurses, ambulance staff, members of the Friends committee, former colleagues, local clergy and friends at a party held in the Physiotherapy Room at the Hospital on Wednesday evening.
Dr. J. D. Mitchell spoke of the leadership given to the nursing staff by Sister Scoon which was reflected in the happy atmosphere in the hospital and the praise which was often received from patients, their relatives, and visitors to the area.
A bouquet from the staff was presented by Sister Strong to Mrs. Scoon, and the new matron, Mrs. Moira Mayhew, who takes over on June 1st, was also the recipient of a bouquet.
Crisis facing Borrowdale Institute
A meeting is to be held on June 12th which could be of critical importance to the future of the Borrowdale Institute at Rosthwaite.
The annual meeting of the Parish Council on Wednesday was told that the building was seriously affected by dry rot and that it could cost up to £4,500 to put it back in order.
Mr. John Bainbridge, a Council representative on the Institute Committee, said that the downstairs portion of the building was riddled with dry rot. An expert had stated it would cost about £2,000 to deal with the problem and a further £2,500 or so to reinstate the hall to its former condition.
Parish Council clerk Mr. Bill Hind told the “Reminder”: ‘‘The hall is not in a good way at all. A lot will depend on people’s response at that public meeting.”
50 years ago
Industrial site
Much confusion has been caused lately by apparently conflicting reports on a proposed trading estate for Keswick.
Eight Keswick businessmen have asked Allerdale District Council for a site on which they could have larger business premises, and are apparently prepared to meet a cost of up to £15,000 each.
Mr. Frank Wilson, Allerdale’s chief planning officer, discussed this question at a meeting of the Industrial Development Sub-Committee held in Workington last week, when a number of sites were considered. The Sub-Committee are in favour of developing the Greta Grove site, although the County Council (with whom the Allerdale Development Sub-Committee are in continued discussion on the matter) consider this site might be expensive to develop as flooding protection would be essential.
At a meeting between the Lake District Special Planning Board, the County Council and the six local Councils held some four weeks ago in Keswick, it was stated that the County’s Policy and Resources Committee thought the best site was the railway station, but the Planning Board did not agree.
It is understood that officers of the County Council have conducted an examination of all the sites under consideration, and prefer a site at High Hill – some 15.57 acres at an estimated development and land purchase cost of £11,000 per acre. This site would also require some flood protection, and the officers agree that full development of the site, beyond the existing housing limit, would probably receive objection from the Planning Board.
Several local folk have been wondering why land owned by the Gas Board at Bell Close could not have been used for some industrial premises. They argue that this land is, at present, used as another car park – one which is badly signed, and superfluous now that the whole of Bell Close is one large car park.
This site, it is argues, may not be quite large enough for the trading estate the County and District Councils have in mind, but perhaps one smaller site such as this and permission for one or two premises to be built or altered in other parts of the town might be more in keeping with the town’s character that one large industrial site with eight or more premises.
