• Contact us
  • About us
  • Digital edition
  • Online archive
Friday, July 11, 2025
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
  • News
    Councils ask for planned mayoral election to be postponed

    Councils ask for planned mayoral election to be postponed

    Leo Group owner completes epic cycling challenge for MND research

    Leo Group owner completes epic cycling challenge for MND research

    Support for Penrith Mountain Rescue Team after charity box stolen

    Support for Penrith Mountain Rescue Team after charity box stolen

    Inspiring Penrith teacher Dawn Coates retires after 26 years

    Inspiring Penrith teacher Dawn Coates retires after 26 years

    Use it or lose it: Urgent appeal for people to get on the bus

    Use it or lose it: Urgent appeal for people to get on the bus

    Penrith’s Enterprise Hub plans start to take shape

    Penrith’s Enterprise Hub plans start to take shape

    Nurturing Eden school praised by Ofsted

    Nurturing Eden school praised by Ofsted

    Inflation and the impact on savings

    Inflation and the impact on savings

    Celebrating Alston’s heritage heroes

    Celebrating Alston’s heritage heroes

  • Sport
    Success for fighting squad

    Success for fighting squad

    Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

    Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

    £100,000 target for new changing rooms extension

    £100,000 target for new changing rooms extension

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • Buy Photos
  • Buy your paper
  • North Lakes Living
No Result
View All Result
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
  • News
    Councils ask for planned mayoral election to be postponed

    Councils ask for planned mayoral election to be postponed

    Leo Group owner completes epic cycling challenge for MND research

    Leo Group owner completes epic cycling challenge for MND research

    Support for Penrith Mountain Rescue Team after charity box stolen

    Support for Penrith Mountain Rescue Team after charity box stolen

    Inspiring Penrith teacher Dawn Coates retires after 26 years

    Inspiring Penrith teacher Dawn Coates retires after 26 years

    Use it or lose it: Urgent appeal for people to get on the bus

    Use it or lose it: Urgent appeal for people to get on the bus

    Penrith’s Enterprise Hub plans start to take shape

    Penrith’s Enterprise Hub plans start to take shape

    Nurturing Eden school praised by Ofsted

    Nurturing Eden school praised by Ofsted

    Inflation and the impact on savings

    Inflation and the impact on savings

    Celebrating Alston’s heritage heroes

    Celebrating Alston’s heritage heroes

  • Sport
    Success for fighting squad

    Success for fighting squad

    Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

    Penrith skipper Nicky Burns calls on team to keep winning

    £100,000 target for new changing rooms extension

    £100,000 target for new changing rooms extension

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • Buy Photos
  • Buy your paper
  • North Lakes Living
No Result
View All Result
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
No Result
View All Result
Home Obituaries

Death of man behind Eden’s underground eco-house

by CWH
12 November 2020
in Obituaries
A A
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The Eden Valley lost a man known for his love of the area, and the environment in general, with the death at the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, of Phil Reddy, of the Underground House, Heights, Appleby, aged 55.

He was perhaps most widely known because of his home, which is one of very few underground eco-houses in the country and remains one of the best remembered projects from the Channel 4 TV series Grand Designs.

Born and raised in Birmingham, he moved to the Eden area in the early 1990s, at first living at Mallerstang.

At that time he worked as a software developer for a CCTV company.

It was in 1998 that he met his future wife, Helen Gould, who had just started working as a vet at the Old Hall Veterinary Centre, Appleby, and they soon moved to live at Ormside.

They went on to have two children, Tom and Jake.

The couple were both keen to have an environmentally friendly home, but it was Phil who came up the idea of building it underground and, following a lengthy planning process, its construction started at Heights in 2002 and took just six months to complete.

By that time Phil was working for Cumbria Tourist Board and went on to become a strategic tourism manager for the Northwest Regional Development Agency a job he greatly enjoyed and one which gave him ample scope to exercise his considerable intellect.

He worked on many important projects in the region and also acted as an adviser to government on tourism matters.

He was a very keen cyclist who liked to push the limits of his endurance when out on his bike, and also enjoyed running, competing in a number of fell races in the Eden area. He loved good food and was a keen cook.

His other interests included DIY projects in the garden around the Underground House, his sports car, playing with his sons he especially enjoyed taking them to sites of historical interest reading and completing puzzles which exercised his mind.

He was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in 2009, but, following treatment, recovered enough to complete a 100-mile cycle ride from the NWDA offices in Penrith to those in Warrington with a group of colleagues and friends in September, raising more than £9,000 for cancer charities in the process.

Towards the end of his life he initiated the formation of a body called the Mobile Giving Trust, the aim of which is to encourage people using public footpaths to donate money for their repair and upkeep using their mobile phones. Trials of this scheme are set to go ahead later this year.

He is survived by his wife Helen and sons Tom and Jake, plus three sisters and a brother.

A celebration of Phil’s life is to be held at Carlisle crematorium on Monday at 11-40am.

Those planning to attend should not feel they have to wear sombre clothing, since Phil loved colour and individuality. Glyn Jones, funeral directors, Appleby, are in charge of arrangements.

Related Posts

Former Appleby mayor Frank Harland
Obituaries

Former Appleby mayor Frank Harland

6 June 2025
Honorary assistant bishop Geoffrey Hewlett Thompson
Obituaries

Honorary assistant bishop Geoffrey Hewlett Thompson

6 June 2025
Jenny Wilson – teacher and stalwart of Penrith Players
Obituaries

Jenny Wilson – teacher and stalwart of Penrith Players

23 May 2025
Prominent Penrith businessman Gordon Rigg
Obituaries

Prominent Penrith businessman Gordon Rigg

16 May 2025
Annie Kindleysides – a woman with boundless energy
Obituaries

Annie Kindleysides – a woman with boundless energy

16 May 2025
Cheery character Derick Wilson was not afraid of hard work on the farm
Obituaries

Cheery character Derick Wilson was not afraid of hard work on the farm

9 May 2025
No Result
View All Result

Stay connected

Facebook Twitter Instagram

Most popular

Master cross-border business: Smart strategies for UK-Ireland business success

Master cross-border business: Smart strategies for UK-Ireland business success

11 July 2025
Inflation and the impact on savings

Inflation and the impact on savings

11 July 2025
Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

Changes to lease accounting – how will this impact your financial statements?

6 July 2025
Use it or lose it: Urgent appeal for people to get on the bus

Use it or lose it: Urgent appeal for people to get on the bus

11 July 2025
Councils ask for planned mayoral election to be postponed

Councils ask for planned mayoral election to be postponed

11 July 2025
Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers

Extinction Rebellion protest outside insurance brokers

7 July 2025
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald Logo

33 Middlegate
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 7SY

Phone: 01768 862313
Email: news@cwherald.com

Registered in England as Barrnon Media Limited. No: 12475190
VAT registration number: 343486488

Explore

  • News
  • Sport
  • Farming
  • Property
  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Your view

Useful links

  • Contact us
  • Photosales
  • Online archive
  • Buy your paper
  • Digital edition
  • North Lakes Living
  • Advertise
  • About us

Follow us on

© Barrnon Media Limited 2025

Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy

This website and its associated newspaper are members of the Independent Press Standards Organisation
Review Your Cart
0
Discount
Add Coupon Code
Subtotal
Total Installment Payments
Bundle Discount
Checkout

 
0
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • more
    • North Lakes Living
    • Buy Photos
    • Buy your paper
    • About us
    • Contact us

© 2020 Cumberland & Westmorland Herald