25 years ago — 1995
Patterdale
A former Patterdale man is moving to the forefront of the fight against crime in the county.
Detective Superintendent David Dawes takes over as head of Cumbria CID next month, replacing Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Reed, who is retiring after five years in the job.
Mr Reed, who lives in Penrith, joined Nottinghamshire Constabulary as a cadet thirty years ago and is retiring after a long and varied career.
Ullswater
Forty years on from one of her father’s greatest moments, Gina Campbell on Saturday paid her first visit to the scene of his triumph.
It was on Ullswater in 1955 that Donald Campbell broke his first water speed record, his 202.32mph run in Bluebird making him the first man over 200mph.
To commemorate this success, daughter Gina paid her first visit to Ullswater to make a journey of her own, at a more sedate 55mph in her father’s support motorboat, now owned by probation officer Alan Fawcus, of Penrith.
Kirkby Stephen
In the week in which news of a compulsory purchase order was published over land for the new Kirkby Stephen bypass, a national pressure group called for the road scheme to be scrapped.
Local authorities and highways bodies have been criticised by the Council for the Protection of Rural England for their outdated approach to road building and for having little regard for damage caused to the countryside.
The proposed 3.7km long Kirkby Stephen bypass, costing £6.69 million, is quoted as one of nine schemes throughout England which are “environmentally damaging and expensive”.
Penrith
The last link with one of Penrith’s old grocery businesses was severed by the death last week, at the age of 92, of Miss Margaret Gardiner.
She was the last survivor of the six children of the late Robert Gardiner, the principal of R. Gardiner and Son, who at one time had two grocery shops in Brunswick Road, one near the top where there is now a bathroom equipment stockist and the second near the bottom, now an antiques shop.
Keswick
Veteran Keswick fell runner Dave Spedding has shown a clean pair of heels to his competitors, despite a hold-up at the start of the season.
Dave had to delay his entry into the over-50 veteran class this summer until after his birthday.
However, once he had got started he more than made up for the one lost event by racing to victory in the British and English championships.
Kings Meaburn
An Eden man’s expertise in the construction industry has been honoured not once but twice in the last few weeks.
Gideon Booth, of Kings Meaburn, has won a commendation from a national organisation for his work on a fire service therapy centre at Eamont Bridge, near Penrith.
It followed on from from the honour of having the road leading to the centre named Gideon’s Way in recognition of his role as clerk of works in the centre’s construction.
50 years ago — 1970
Penrith
The Old Clinic in Southend Road, Penrith — a building associated with visits to the school dentist by older generations of Penrithians — is to become a coffee bar, with facilities for dancing for the town’s young folk.
Penrith magistrates were told of the plan on Tuesday by 29-year-old Mr. Nigel Morley, Middlegate, Penrith, when he applied for a music, singing and dancing licence in respect of the premises.
Mr. Morley said he wished to provide entertainment for young Penrith people, who wanted somewhere to go in the evenings but were not old enough to visit licensed premises.
Local speculation as to the future of an imposing block of property in the centre of Penrith — the former Barclays Bank in Market Square — ended on Tuesday with its sale by auction in London for £24,000.
The new owners of the premises — on the Market Square-Corn Market corner — are the Universal Building Society, who will probably be moving there early in the New Year from their current office in King Street.
Appleby
Appleby is to lose its sub-office of the Department of Employment and Productivity — the Labour Exchange — on Friday, 11th December, and after that all the business will be dealt with from Penrith.
The small Appleby office in High Wiend has been run on a full-time basis since 1950 by one woman officer who is being re-employed in Kendal.
Kirkoswald
Mr. J. W. Raine, Old Parks, Kirkoswald, received the M.B.E. from the Queen at an investiture at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
Mr. Raine, who is vice-chairman of the National Farmers’ Union Livestock and Wool Committee, has given long service to the N.F.U. and other agricultural organisations.
He is a noted breeder and judge of sheep.
Alston
Alston’s newest factory — that built for William Ball (Castings) Ltd., near Potter’s Lonning — is truly a home-grown one.
The design of the modern new building, which has an area of around 12,500 square feet, was done by a metallurgist, Mr. David Pattinson, and Mr. Hugh MacMillan, works manager at the Precision Products factory in The Butts, Alston.
Messrs Kearton, Alston, have built the factory, which is producing golf club heads using the company’s sophisticated technique for casting in stainless steel, many of which are ultimately exported.
100 years ago — 1920
Mardale
The attendance at the shepherds’ meeting at the Dun Bull, Mardale Green, was a record one, with several hundreds coming for the hunting, hound trailing, sheep dog trials, pigeon shooting and sheep meeting.
The were 92 “waifs” under the charge of the district’s senior flockmasters, Tommy Edmondson, Flake Howe, and Tom Greenhow, Naddle Forest, and before noon all the stray sheep had been claimed.
The Ullswater Foxhounds were in the charge of Joe Bowman, with Mr. W. H. Marshall, Master.
Dalemain
Major and Mrs. E. W. Hasell have been presented with a handsome brass lamp as a wedding gift by the tenants of their Dalemain estate.
The arrangements were carried out by Messrs. W. Dawson, P. Lancaster, D. Nicholson, J. Howe, T. Griffiths and J. Gill, and the presentation was made by Mr. Weightman, Moor End, the oldest tenant.
