25 years ago – 1996
Upper Eden
Members of the Upper Eden sporting community were this week celebrating news of a £250,000 grant from the National Lottery sports fund towards an all-weather pitch in Kirkby Stephen and a £53,800 award for new changing rooms at Brough.
A full-size artificial turf pitch will be situated at Kirkby Stephen Grammar School to be used by the town’s hockey and soccer teams, as well as other groups in the community. The total cost of the project is £354,484, which has now been met.
Further sightings of a “big cat”, believed to be a black panther, have been reported by two Winton residents in the past two weeks.
The latest reports follow a number of sightings in the Upper Eden area.
Mrs. Jane Rainy-Brown, Winton, said she spotted a “large black animal with a very distinctive long tail and a loping gait” as it prowled on land close to her home.
There have been numerous sightings of the creature on Brough Sowerby Common in past years.
Penrith
A mother has raised more than £1,000 for the blood transfusion service as a thanks for her daughter’s life.
Mrs. Josephine Mattinson, Fallowfield Court, Penrith, decided to use the extra time provided by retirement to raise money for a good cause and chose the blood transfusion service because her daughter, Mrs. Barbara Lee, had needed a full blood change at birth.
Mardale
The last landlady of Mardale’s Dun Bull Hotel, Mrs. Clare Edmonds, has died in Morecambe.
She was born in 1910 at Stainton, where her father and mother, John and Emma Bellas, farmed.
She was landlady at the Dun Bull from 1935 until Mardale was flooded to form the Haweswater reservoir.
She was asked by Manchester Corporation to take over the new Haweswater Hotel, which soon earned a reputation for excellent cuisine and comfort even during the war years.
Keswick
What a coup it was for the cricketers of Keswick, led by first teamer Keith Richardson, to bring to the town the star quality of Darren Gough, the Yorkshire and England all-rounder, seen by many as an inspirational figure of the future.
On Tuesday afternoon he was the principal celebrity in the glorious setting of Keswick’s Fitz Park, opening his shoulders to score a spectacular century, the highlight of the match in which top players of the Cumbria League challenged the might of Yorkshire.
Mallerstang
The trustees of the Mallerstang Consolidated charities have decided to discontinue payments made for a number of years to pensioners in the parish under the title of the “Bread Fund” and, instead, seek new ways of using the limited funds available to benefit a wider section of the Mallerstang community.
The “Bread Fund” is being discontinued because of the increasing number of people taking advantage of it during the last six months, which has led to a rise in the amount and cost of bread being provided.
50 years ago – 1971
Flusco
About 25 workers are expected to become redundant following the decision of Harrison Limeworks Ltd. to close down the Flusco quarry, near Stainton, Penrith, which the firm has operated since 1902, it was disclosed yesterday.
A representative of the firm explained that the closure would take effect towards the end of the month but that certain plant would be retained and the firm’s undertaking, the limeworks on the A.6 just north of Shap, would continue to operate as normal.
Appleby
An eye-catching feature on the main roads at the boundaries of Appleby, on the Penrith-Scotch Corner (A.66) and Appleby-Kendal road (B.6260), are three newly-erected cairn signs.
Built recently by the local firm of F. Potts and Son, Bongate, and designed by the Borough Architect and Surveyor, Mr. William Binney, they are of Lazonby stone and in the shape of cairns, which is appropriate in a rural setting such as North Westmorland.
Each bears the coat of arms and the words, “Appleby, County Town of Westmorland,” on a white background.
Cumbria
When Cumberland, Westmorland and the Furness area of Lancashire become a super-county under the proposals of re-organisation of local government, the probable choice of name will be Cumbria. It is understood that there is general agreement on this among the constituent authorities.
A public inquiry is to be held into proposals to improve sections of the A.66 road between Penrith and Workington which were announced recently and which are opposed by the Lake District Planning Board as well as by amenity societies.
Announcing the inquiry, the Minister of the Environment, Mr. Peter Walker, said it would be conducted by an independent inspector, Sir Robert Scott.
100 years ago – 1921
Alston
It was pleasing to note that the motor cyclist who was apparently attempting a speed test up an Alston street at the rate of 30 m.p.h. did not escape the vigilance of the police and the magistrates deemed it wise to inflict a heavy fine as a warning to future offenders.
Hutton Roof
Penrith Fire Brigade spent 17 hours dealing with a hay fire at Scales Farm, tenanted by Mr. George Head.
The fire broke out while everyone was in the harvestfield and a neighbour, Mr. J. Dryden, drove Mr. Head to Penrith to raise the Brigade.
The firemen were unable to save any of the ninety loads of hay, as the roof had fallen in prior to their arrival, and Captain Thompson directed his attention to preventing the fire from spreading.
