Dales Volunteers bridge that gap

Dales Volunteers have been doing their bit to preserve an historic footbridge in Swaledale.

A group of five volunteers and some Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority rangers stripped down the damaged arch on Usha Gap Bridge near Thwaite and rebuilt it.

Ian Broadwith, the Authority’s Access Ranger for Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, said: “The bridge is more than 100 years old and the centre had sunk and was in danger of collapse.

The Dales Volunteers identified the need to repair it in a survey of the rights of way that they carry out every year.

A very popular footpath crosses the little tributary of the River Swale so a temporary timber bridge was installed in September, 2007, to keep the path open.

The stones have been bedded in with traditional lime and mortar so that it is in keeping with the age of the bridge.

Work on the bridge was scheduled for last year but was delayed as a result of the bad weather

The team had to build a wooden support – a former – that fitted underneath the bridge to help them dismantle and then rebuild the arch.

The timber bridge was then taken down and will be reused.

The National Park Authority is responsible for the maintenance of more than 2,000kms of rights of way, including more than 800 bridges crossing streams, becks and rivers, and its Dales Volunteers gave more than 6,000 days of work last year.

Generally, there are very few Volunteer vacancies but, in the Northern Dales, there may be opportunities for one or two new people with practical skills.

For further information, please contact Rae  Lonsdale on (01756) 751630 or e-mail volunteers@yorkshiredales.org.uk.

Armies march out of history onto the streets of Carlisle

An army of soldiers from different periods in the history of Carlisle will march through the city once again on Thursday 28th May.

Re-enactors representing Romans, Vikings and English Civil War soldiers will march from different parts of the city towards The Guildhall where they will be addressed by Emperor Hadrian, as time converges in the centre of Carlisle.

The event is part of The Living Frontier which will bring 2,000 years of history to life in vivid and spectacular detail during the spring half term from the 24th to the 31st of May at the historic sites along Hadrians Wall

Linda Tuttiett, the Chief Executive of Hadrian’s Wall Heritage Ltd, says: “The Living Frontier will be a series of colourful and action packed events right across Hadrian’s Wall Country from the mouth of the Tyne to the west coast of Cumbria. The march in Carlisle will undoubtedly be one of the highlights and will provide a great spectacle both for local people and visitors to the city and help bring its Historic Quarter to life.”

The day’s events will also see more historical, as well as hysterical, performances.

Roman centurion Pompous Maximus and his devious slave Servillius Wretch will be turning up after years in the wilderness to check on how the Roman Empire is doing.

Queen Elizabeth the First will also be entertaining her subjects while Francis Drake tries on a regular basis to conquer Spain, if he could just work out where it was. One of the best re-enactment groups in the country, their performance is described as ‘more Blackadder than Glenda Jackson’.

Hadrian’s Wall Heritage Ltd is managing The Living Frontier as part of culture10’s programme of world class events for North East England and has been able to extend the programme westwards into Cumbria through the support of Carlisle Renaissance.

Bryan Gray, Chair of Carlisle Renaissance, said: “Carlisle Renaissance is delighted to support the Living Frontier events, as part of our push to raise the profile of Carlisle’s Historic Quarter and bring more visitors to Carlisle to experience its rich heritage. I’d urge anyone with an interest in heritage or culture to come along and explore the Living Frontier events and the city, and see for themselves what Carlisle has to offer.”

Pompous Maximus and Queen Elizabeth will be back performing in the centre of Carlisle between 10.30am and 4.30pm on the Friday and Saturday.

Meanwhile the Sealed Knot will be taking people back to the English Civil War at Carlisle Castle on the 29th and 30th. The Castle was a stronghold of the Royalists during the Civil War but was under siege by Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads. How long could they hold out?

Visitors will be invited inside the castle walls to see and hear life in the castle during these tumultuous times. Soldiers drill, man the gatehouse and the wall walks. The city’s craftspeople keep the army going; you’ll be able too see the blacksmith, the barber surgeon, the cloth workers, cooks and the carpenters all at work. All of them waiting for an attack on the castle.

The Living Frontier events will be taking place all along Hadrian’s Wall during the half term holidays. They are being led by Hadrian’s Wall Heritage Ltd. As well as being supported by Carlisle Renaissance The Living Frontier forms part of North East England’s word-class programme of festivals and events developed by culture10.

The highlight of The Living Frontier events will be a ninety minute pageant at Tynedale Rugby Ground in Corbridge on Saturday 30th May at 8.00pm. The event will bring together all the re-enactors and their frontier stories in a spectacular show of music, drama, and technical wizardry that creates a journey through the mists of time to witness two battles, a wedding and a funeral.

Tickets for the pageant will cost £10 for adults and £5 for children. Anyone who buys a ticket for the event will save 50% on admission charges over the weekend at all the other venues where the Living Frontier events are taking place.

At Birdoswald on 24th and 25th May you can come face to face with Roman soldiers from the time of the invasion of Britain to the end of Roman rule and the time of the legendary King Arthur. Visitors will witness the drill and tactics of these soldiers and see the skill and horsemanship of a fast paced duo of cavalry soldiers from both epic periods in history.

From the 29th to the 31st of May there will be a living history camp involving Border Reivers at Birdoswald. The event will include weapon and show drills with muskets and other period equipment and an interactive ‘court martial’.

Senhouse Alive! at Maryport at the western end of the World Heritage Site on 26th May will include historical tours, Roman food and a chance to make your very own Roman goddess.

Further along the Wall, a full Roman Century (80 soldiers) will make visits to a number of sites in Hadrian’s Wall Country from their encampment at Corbridge Roman Site, as well as presenting full drill exhibitions and living history displays at Corbridge. It will be the first time this will have been seen on Hadrian’s Wall for over 1600 years.

Vindolanda will be the site of an encampment that not only recreates Roman military life but shows how the civilians and families lived almost 2000 years ago. The Roman Army Museum will provide a taste of history with cookery demonstrations from key periods in the history of Hadrian’s Wall.
Once a Roman Cavalry fort, Chesters will provide displays of equestrian and falconry skills and there will also be events at Housesteads.

At the eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall Country, Segedunum and Arbeia will celebrate the Living Frontier with displays from the Viking era.

For further information, times and tickets to the pageant visit www.livingfrontier.com or telephone 01434-322002.

To find out more about Hadrian’s Wall Country go to www.hadrians-wall.org.

Hethersgill Vintage Club Rally – 2009

A fine but very blustery day saw Carlisle Airport filled with machines and items of a byegone era.

The 26th Annual Hethersgill Vintage Rally seemed as popular as ever, with over 1000 exhibitors displaying steam powered traction engines to collections of match boxes and lawn mowers.

Cumbria being an agricultural area, it seemed only natural that the vintage tractors would dominate the scene.

The famous battleship grey, ferguson tractors revolutionised farming in the 1930’s with the use of hydraulics and are still useful workhorses to this day.

These were closely followed by other vehicles, both domestic and commercial.

A luxuriant Model T Ford would have been the talk of the town in 1912 and a local logging truck has led a double life, being built on a WWII Artillery Tractor Chasis,

A section for motorcycles was dominated by BSA with the 1925 Rover WG and 1931 Honda Benly being the two oldest bikes on display.

Of course the darlings of the show had to be the six steam traction engines. Marshall 1 is a local 99 year old beauty, lovingly restored by father and son team Gerald and Mike Burns, with a little help from their friends.

Ten Miniature, scale steam engines chugged around the site and were equally as resplendent as their full size counterparts, bearing the names of famous manufacturers such as Burrell, Marshall, Foden and Scammell.

An eclectic range of memorabilia filled the large marquee, numbering among them an extensive matchbox collection, started by a single box on a flight to Canada many years ago.

A collection of cameras and photographs showed how we have rapidly evolved from the Plate cameras to the film versions that we are more familiar with, but of course all redundant in this day of digital technology and storage.

Alan Head from Penrith, brought along many household and agricultural items and amused onlookers with his witty stories about gadgets to train bull horns, a six hole mouse trap and even a mechanical shaver which you stopped operating at your peril!

The on site auction sale, proved ever popular for the engine restoration enthusiast, memoribilia collector or even a budding Lewis Hamilton.  In fact everything right down to the kitchen sink.

Contact
Hethersgill Vintage Rally, Carlisle Airport. Norman Elliott, tel: 01228 675336 or 07831 127138.

Charter Stone – Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria

Kirkby Stephen, situated a few miles off the main A66 in the Upper Eden Valley has a long heritage and a number of things to look out for if you visit.

Towards the southern end of Market Street is the Charter Stone.

Situated outside a food store, to the left as you travel south, is a circular stone embedded into the pavement edge from where the start of Luke fair was proclaimed.

A plaque, possibly made from brass, stands alongside and reads.

CHARTER STONE
Luke Fair ( Oct 27) established 1350
Proclaimed from here.

The Kirkby Stephen Town Luke Fair Charter, reaffirmed in 1605 by James l, granted the right to hold a fair on 27 October, ‘the eve and the morrow’ each year and a market each week.

The fair is so named because of it being held  St. Luke’s day.

St Luke’s day is celebrated on the 18th October. It is traditionally a day when girls could have some insight into their future marriage prospects. 

He was one of the four Gospel writer’s and is the patron saint of doctors.

Eden Bridge Gardens, Carlisle

Walked and driven past thousands of times a day, the significance of these municipal gardens is largely unknown to the City’s inhabitants.

Situated on the north bank of the River Eden just off Eden Bridge is Eden Bridge Gardens, designed by the internationally renowned landscape architects Thomas H Mawson & Sons.

 

For some peculiar reason, these gardens have been known locally for many years as the “Chinese Gardens”. However, there is nothing Chinese in the design and anybody knowledgeable in the works of Thomas Mawson, knows that he was famed for his grand Italianate designs, still existing at many stately homes including Rydal Hall in Cumbria.

 

Built using unemployed labour in the depression of the 1930’s, under the supervision of the City Engineer, Percy Dalton, these gardens costs just over £3,000, the cost being kept down by the use of reclaimed materials. The white cove stone used to make the rest houses was taken from the old Eden Bridge parapets that were demolished during the bridge widening operations of 1930 to 1932. The sandstone used to build the retaining walls was taken from the old gaol in English Street and the crazy paving paths that run throughout the garden was taken from the old road, which used to pass over Eden Bridge.  All of this, long before the word “recycling” was even heard of.

Opened in 1933 by City Mayor, Councillor E.B Gray, the design featured the classic Mawson pergolas

and raised terraces overlooking lily ponds. Crazy paving and a simple rock garden completes the setting.  Most of the design work is likely to be attributed to Thomas Mawsons’ son Edward as Thomas was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and indeed died in November 1933.  This was possibly one of the last designs that Thomas Mawson may have contributed to.

 

Sadly these gardens are in disrepair, but a grant of £50,000 has recently been awarded by The Heritage Lottery Fund to help the City Council with restoration. Work will start in October 2008 by Carlisle City Council employees.

The scheme will see vital repairs, made to the rose pergolas and Lily ponds. The rock garden will be cut back and invasive species and weeds removed and the surrounding trees cut back to allow more light into the garden and create site lines through to the main Rose pergola. The steps, which connect the two raised terraces, are to be relaid and the crazy paving paths repointed. The work is expected to take six months to complete.

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