25 years ago – 1996
Melmerby
After 71 years of tradition, Melmerby May Day will have its first third generation queen next Saturday.
Vicky Mark is following in the footsteps of her mother, formerly Miss Rita Falder, and late grandmother, the then Miss Dorothy Furness, in being crowned village queen.
Uniquely, all three have lived at Pear Tree House, Melmerby, during their coronation year.
Penrith
Cranston’s, the family-run firm of butchers, are moving their centre of operations from Kirkoswald to Penrith.
They have bought the Ullswater Road premises of the former Ullswater Meat Company to provide more scope for production and to accommodate their administration.
The site of just under two acres includes the former abattoir operated by Eden District Council and later by the Jackson family.
Work begins this weekend on a major part of the plans to improve traffic flows through the Penrith town centre.
From Tuesday, Middlegate and Devonshire Street will become one-way southbound and the traffic signals at the Narrows will be turned off and a give way junction created for traffic emerging from Burrowgate.
Preparation work will also begin on Brunswick Road which is to one-way for a trial period from of six months, from 19the May.
Mrs. Joan Robinson is to stand down as leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Cumbria County Council later this month.
Mrs. Robinson, who has represented Penrith North West on the county council since 1985, was elected group leader in 1987.
During this time the group has increased in size from five elected councillors to 14.
Caldbeck
A pensioner has left £300,000 in her will to religious organisations and charities.
Miss Annie Hewetson Younghusband, of Caldbeck, who died in December, left £25,000 to the Friends’ Meeting House at Mosedale and £20,000 each to the Eden Valley Hospice, Caldbeck Surgery Charitable Trust and the Animal Refuge, Wetheral.
Miss Younghusband lived in Caldbeck all her life and attended the Quaker school, Brookfield, in Wigton.
Watermillock
An Eden racehorse owner fulfils one of his lifelong ambitions tomorrow when his horse runs in the Pertems One Thousand Guineas – one of the sport’s blue riband events – at Newmarket.
David Windle, Watermillock, will be rubbing shoulders with some of the sport’s most famous owners, like Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, when his horse, Portugese Lil, enters the parade ground before the race.
However, Mr. Windle is under no illusions about the winning chances of his charge, which earlier this week was being offered at odds of 500-1 for the fillies’ classic.
Appleby
Appleby Grammar School pupil Donna Kendall, of Doomgate, has been named as Miss Appleby.
Donna, who is 18 and currently studying for her A-levels, will officiate at a number of town functions, including the annual carnival.
50 years ago – 1971
Appleby
“I think it is a poor show – we are doing ore for the young people of Appleby than any other organisation,” declared Mr. J. F. Whitehead, veteran chairman of War Memorial Swimming Pool Committee, when the annual meeting in the Crown and Cushion Hotel on Wednesday night was told the Borough Council had decided to withdraw its £100 grant to the pool.
Mr. J. S. Marshall, vice-chairman, agreed, saying: “It is very short sighted of the Council because the pool is the town’s biggest attraction and one of its major assets.”
Keswick
It was three-year-old Laura Burgess’ big day on Wednesday when she was to present a spray of flowers to the opener of the Keswick Congregational Spring Fair.
But it all went wrong, Laura fell as she was waiting for her entrance and it was a tearful little girl with a beautiful black eye who presented the flowers to Mrs. C. G. Darrall, wife of the Vicar of St. John’s-in-the-Vale.
However, the pain and indignity were soon forgotten when Laura joined a friend for a well-filled ice-cream cornet.
Cumberland
Following the publicity given to the sex education film: “Growing Up”, made by an Aston University lecturer, the Director of Education for Cumberland, Mr. Gordon S. Beasley, has written to the heads of all school in the county on the subject.
Mr. Beasley writes: “Obviously I have not seen the film myself, but you would be surprised at the number of people who have seen the chairman and myself at different times, say that it should not be shown in Cumberland schools.
“I have said that I am sure that the good sense of Cumberland teachers would not permit any of them to use a film which has attracted such adverse publicity, whatever the merits of the film itself.”
Penrith
The Vicar of Penrith, Canon H. C. Stewart, conducted an open-air service on Sunday morning then the Caravan Club held a rally at a new site constructed by Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Atkinson in Robinson Street, Penrith.
This is the first site for touring caravans inside the town boundaries.
100 years ago – 1921
Penrith
The shortage of coal at Penrith gas works is so serious that the Urban Council is thinking of augmenting supplies with wood.
The sale of wood to householders has been stopped and supplies for the sick and other cases of very serious necessity” are being dealt with on special application to the Town Hall.
An appeal by the Council for private stocks to be handed over for distribution among necessitous cases resulted in three offers, including from the Wesleyan Church.
Bowscar
The Bowscar Estate has been purchased from the representatives of the late Hon. A. W. Erskine by three tenant farmers, Messrs. Thomas Heskett, Plumpton Hall; Thomas Armstrong, Bowscar; and Joseph Potter, Scale Hill, Lazonby.
The estate comprises 1,715 acres with mansion, garden and grounds and the purchasers intend offering the remaining farm, Halfway Well, to the tenant, Mr. J. Jackson.
Appleby
Appleby have won the championship of the Penrith and District Football League, with Castletown as runners-up. Penrith have won the Carlisle and District League on goal difference from Carlisle United.
