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
Rail company’s complaint
Cedric Martindale, a director of CKP Railways plc, the company which is planning to re-open the Keswick to Penrith railway link, has made a formal complaint to Eden District Council over a planning decision which they claim could add millions of pounds to the final cost.
The company said that Keswick Town Council and other local organisations had also written to Eden demanding an explanation of their decision to allow development at Flusco. Mr Martindaler said diverting around Flusco would not be a simple matter; massive earthworks and bridges would be involved, adding millions to reconstruction costs, and wasting miles of existing trackbed. He said: “No physical work has yet taken place on the site so it is not too late.”
Vicar of Keswick St John to move
The Reverend Canon Brian Smith MTh has been appointed by the Lord Bishop of Sodor & Man as Archdeacon of Man and Vicar of St George’s Douglas.
Canon Smith, who is currently Vicar of the Parish of Keswick St John, Rural Dean of Derwent and an Honorary Canon of Carlisle Cathedral, is expected to take up the position after Easter 2005.
He has been the incumbent of Keswick St John since 1995 and Rural Dean since 1998. Prior to this he served eighteen years as a RAF Chaplain in the Royal Air force Chaplains’ Branch.
Brian and his wife, Chris, will be greatly missed in Keswick and the Derwent Deanery. Their work at St John’s has been amazing, both in the improvement of the church structure and furbishment, and in the forming of pastoral groups.
On the announcement of his appointment, Canon Smith said: “I will be sorry to leave Keswick St John after nearly 10 years. Both Chris and I have been pleased to call Keswick our home and it will always have a special place in our hearts.”
30 years ago
Whinlatter Forest celebrations
A tree which had been planted on a bare and windswept hillside at Whinlatter 75 years ago was felled as part of the Forestry Commission’s 75th anniversary celebrations on Friday.
The felling was undertaken by 60 year old Hedley Grave, the longest serving employee of the Forestry Commission in Cumbria and Lancashire. Mr Grave has spent nearly forty years of his working life in the Whinlatter Forest where the Norway spruce tree was planted on 9th December 1919 as part of a 25 acre plantation.
The tree is being put to good use; it will be made into a bench for the forest trail, picnic facilities and bird boxes for conservation projects.
It has been replaced immediately with a sitka and rowan, as symbols of the continuing work of the Forestry Commission.
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor, – As a small boy I heard Canon Rawnsley preach in Crosthwaite Church, which I regularly attended. Now, as a very old ex-pupil of Crosthwaite Old Boys School, Head Boy of Keswick School in 1928, Teacher at Crosthwaite Senior School 1930-40, and finally as a former Deputy Head at Cockermouth Grammar School, I feel compelled to support and endorse enthusiastically the letter in the Reminder of 3rd December of Mr. Alan Hankinson – a timely and dedicated call to act NOW to determine the destiny of this so special literary, architectural, and historical ‘Keswick treasure’ – Greta Hall (where my wife once lived as Senior Mistress of Keswick School).
Every point he made was presented with relevant conviction and clarity, and with coverage of all important issues involved.
It would be preposterous for this well-sited, beautiful, Georgian building, given as a gift to Keswick’s children (and therefore its future citizens) by the illustrious one-time vicar of Crosthwaite, Canon Rawnsley, to be lost to Keswick, its visiting admirers, and literary devotees world-wide.
The National Trust, Keswick School Governors, the Town and County Councils should long ago have combined for a crusade on behalf of so topical, timely and mandatory a cause, to preserve this unique inheritance for Keswick and posterity, a most apt commemoration of the Rawnsley centenary, currently being celebrated.
A. Gordon Barnes
Cockermouth
40 years ago
Slap in the eye accusation against Keswick Council
An Allerdale Councillor has said that he wishes Keswick would get out of Allerdale and go somewhere else, “I would be a lot happier if they did,” said Mr. Arthur Robinson, Labour Councillor for Ewanrigg, Maryport.
He was speaking at Friday’s meeting of the Allerdale Policy and Finance Committee when it was stated that Keswick Town Council wished to hold a meeting with the Allerdale joint management team. This would be in the nature of further talks with regard to Keswick’s investigations, which have been going on for nearly a year now, about a possible boundary change.
Keswick Town Council held a number of meetings earlier this year to consider the possibility of an application to join Eden Council and switch from Allerdale. One of these was with the Allerdale management team.
On Friday Mr. Jack Fryer, Labour Councillor for Northside, said: “Perhaps Keswick does not have confidence in their representatives on Allerdale. I would take it as a slap in the eye to the Keswick representatives that the Town Council wishes to meet the Joint Management Team on different subjects.”
Village supper dance revived
Last Wednesday evening the Portinscale Village Hall Supper Dance was revived after a lapse of many years. It was very well supported by the villagers, who enjoyed a splendid supper prepared by the Committee and helpers, followed by dancing to the Country Rovers.
The Hall was beautifully decorated with greenery, dried flower arrangements and Christmas garlands, and the tables laid in red and white, to add to the festive atmosphere.
There were seven raffle prizes including a hunting stick donated by Mrs. Jackson, and won by Mrs. Ruth Wilson. Other prizes were won by Mrs. Margaret Oates, Mrs. Kay Bennett, Mrs.Ann Grave, Mrs. Marjorie Youdale and Mrs. Joan Grisdale.
The evening was socially so successful that plans are already afoot to make this an annual event.
Keswick Town Council Meeting – Knocking the knockers
Town Councillor George Hodgson on Thursday rounded on locals who “moan and groan” when someone tries to do something for the benefit of the town.
Mr. Hodgson’s comments came after members had been told there was some concern about when the Chamber of Trade would complete their illumination scheme in the town centre. He said: “When someone has a go at getting something off the ground there are certain elements in the town who never get off their backsides but are always there to moan and groan.”
Mr. Hodgson complimented the Chamber on their illuminations and said he knew how much work had gone into the project.
Mr. Chris Burns said: “I think we have seen Keswick at its best,” and thought the Council should write to the Chamber of Trade and Allerdale Council thanking them for their efforts in putting up the lights.
The Mayor Mr. Eric Impey described it as a “marvellous effort” by the traders’ organisation who worked on a voluntary basis.
50 years ago
New Transport?
A revolutionary idea for the solution of the Lake District’s traffic problems has been proposed in the December issue of “Town and Country Planning” by Mr. K. R. Johnson, a postgraduate student of transport engineering at Newcastle upon Tyne University.
In this month’s issue of the journal of the Town and Country Planning Association, Mr. Johnson proposes a system of tramways, built mainly on existing disused railway routes, at a capital cost of about £31 million for equipment and one hundred miles of track. This figure, he considers, compares favourably with today’s high road building costs.
Mr. Johnson envisages two types of tramway for the Lake District – the first would be a high speed railway from Crooklands (Kendal) to Workington – via Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere, Keswick and Cockermouth, and a link from Penrith to Keswick, and the second was a system of high-acceleration mountain tramcars specially designed to blend with the scenery. Stations for both types would be ‘six-inch high platforms with shelters of local stone.
For a total operation cost of £2½ million a year, estimates Mr. Johnson, the tramways could be run by a staff of seventy-five, with trams running every ten minutes on the main routes and every twenty minutes on the mountain routes.
This scheme would be less destructive to scenic beauty than road building, says Mr. Johnson, and would save fuel and mean less smoke pollution and noise. But he agrees that the annual operation cost would have to be subsidised.
