25 years ago – 1997
Appleby
There is to be a major shake-up of teaching staff at Appleby Grammar School following the decision of headmaster Ian Holloway to retire.
Mr. Holloway, who has been head for 16 years, is retiring at Easter for personal reasons.
The deputy head, Terry Hobson, will become acting head until a new appointment is made in September.
The governors have also agreed to the retirement requests of three other senior members of staff — Dave Padgett, Chris Read and Judith St. Ruth — who are also to leave at Easter.
The flag on the historic Moot Hall in the centre of Appleby is flaying at half mast to inform residents of the death at the age of 91 of Martin Holmes, a man, known as “Mr. Appleby”, who was considered to be one of the town’s leading citizens.
The life of Martin Rivington Holmes was an incredible mixture of great achievements as an author, historian, town councillor, three times town mayor and an expert on Shakespeare, arms and armoury.
His family have been associated with Appleby for hundreds of years, having lived at Castle Bank, a beautiful house on the banks of the River Eden, since 1724.
Penrith
Penrith’s largest nightclub is to undergo a £250,000 refurbishment aimed at taking it into the 21st Century.
Toppers nightspot in Southend Road, owned by businessman and entrepreneur Norman Higgins, is to be updated and refurbished over a three-year period.
It became a nightclub 15 years ago and now caters for up to 1,300 people on Saturday nights.
Forty staff are employed there.
The company operating the first private rail franchise through Carlisle, Penrith and the North West are hoping to breathe new life into the railways.
The first train run by Virgin CrossCountry — part of Richard Branson’s business empire — pulled into Penrith station on time on Monday during a journey from Edinburgh to Penzance.
Its passengers included company chairman Stephen Murphy and Penrith and the Border MP David Maclean.
Mr. Murphy spoke of the possible regeneration of rural stations such as Shap in connection with Virgin’s bid for the west coast main line franchise.
Nenthead
A popular and active member of the Nenthead community, Mrs. Margaret Peart, has died suddenly at the age of 61.
She was cook at Nenthead Primary School for almost 40 years, a post she held until the time of her death.
Over the years Mrs. Peart was involved in many clubs and activities, among them brownies, guides, Nenthead village hall committee, the village youth club, Methodist chapel, Women’s Institute, Women’s Fellowship and the welfare committee for the over-60s.
She was also involved with the bowls club and played darts for the WI.
Hilton
Eden bowler Richard Sampson has been selected for the England team for the home international indoor bowls series in County Antrim.
The 23-year-old, from Hilton, near Appleby, will be making his England senior team debut, having already played at under-23 level.
50 years ago — 1972
Penrith
Monday saw another development of the rapidly changing educational “face” of Penrith, with the opening of the £81,429 Wetheriggs Junior School, built over the past fifteen months in the most modern style so far developed in Cumberland for “open-plan” teaching.
The first pupils are the 250 girls who formerly attended the County Girls’ School in Brunswick Road, although it will later become co-educational with 320 pupils.
The new school has a present complement of nine teachers under the Headship of Mrs. Edna Sharp, but there will probably be a dozen teachers with the advent of co-education.
Although there are adequate stocks at the moment, people are “panicking” for extra coal supplies, reported coal merchants supplying the Penrith, Keswick and surrounding rural districts yesterday, as the national miners’ strike continued.
In case the situation worsens and supplies are severely restricted or dry up completely, the Cumberland Old People’s Welfare Committee has announced a major scheme to keep the old folk’s fires burning.
Keswick
Keswick and Cockermouth teachers are pressing the Cumberland Education Authority to make comprehensive education universal in the county by wiping out the eleven-plus examination in the only place where it persists — at Keswick.
At a special meeting of the Keswick and Cockermouth Association of the National Union of Teachers, teachers were unanimous in their demand for “the relief of Keswick primary schools from a burden which imposes a strain on children, parents and teachers alike.”
Hesket-New-Market
A Member of one of one of Caldbeck’s oldest farming families, Mrs. Grace Brownrigg, died suddenly at her home at Street Head Farm, Hesket-new-Market, on Tuesday.
A stalwart supporter of many local organisations, Mrs. Brownrigg was a valued member of the W.I., Agricultural Show Society and the Young Farmers’ Club.
Askham
A country craftsman and member of one of Askham’s oldest families, Mr. Harry Bateman, who had carried on a century-old joinery business in the village, died in the Penrith New Hospital on Monday at the age of 86 years.
Although he officially retired at the age of about 72, since when the business — a joiner’s and undertaker’s with a small farm attached — has been carried on by his nephew Mr. John W. Harrison, Harry Bateman had continued to potter happily about the joiner’s shop until well into his eighties.
100 years ago — 1922
Penrith
Much business was done at the Police Court in Penrith recently but there were no magistrates present or persons in the dock.
A number of children stood, not trembling in fear at some castigation, but with expressions of hope and joy for it was the distribution of clothing and boots by the police, sent by charitably-disposed people in response to a clothing appeal for the town’s needy children.
The group of Penrith ladies who under the inspiration of Miss C. Monnington, Newton Reigny, are achieving quite a reputation for Shakespearean presentations, have had a successful tour of four towns recently — Penrith, Carlisle, Appleby and Windermere.
