by Beneta Livesey

Last updated at 11:20, Thursday, 02 August 2012

DID you know that in 1814 a wealthy farmer ploughed land on the top of Latrigg and tried to grow oats up there? Or that the garden of a local stately home was used as a landing and hiding place for planes during the war?

history: Levens Hall topiary

We have had a number of speakers over the past few weeks who have a wide knowledge of local history.

In May, Roy Ellis talked about William Calvert, who was born in the same year as William Wordsworth and attended the same school at Hawkshead where a lifelong friendship developed.

When he inherited money and a farmhouse from his father he kindly treated Wordsworth to a holiday in the Isle of Wight and Salisbury Plain where, unfortunately, the carriage got stuck (a wet summer?) and Wordsworth had to walk home while Calvert rode the horse.

They remained friends, however. He later built Greta Bank, near to his farm, and invited Wordsworth to live there. Coleridge, Southey and Shelley were frequent visitors, all walking and holidaying together. It would be interesting to know what they thought of his entrepreneurial project on Latrigg which involved building a road up to the top and ploughing the 60 acres of land in the hope that he could grow oat crops.

Fortunately, he was more successful with his prize-winning Herdwick sheep.

Walter Johnston was another speaker who told us many interesting stories about stately homes. We heard about priest holes, accessed through the back of the chimney, at Dalemain; we heard that Muncaster Castle is reputed to have the finest collection of family portraits in Britain.

A little story about Levens Hall: in 1668 the owner, a gambler, became bankrupt and had to sell to a Colonel Graham, who didn’t want to pay extra for the trees. It was agreed that a game of dice would solve the problem. Fortunately, the gambler’s luck was out, the Colonel won and we now have at Levens some of the finest topiary in the world.

More recently, an expert on the history of Carlisle Cathedral, Thirlie Grundy, spoke about the Norman Master builders who came over from France with their apprentice sons.

She said that it has long been thought that the carved faces on the pillars are of a low standard of workmanship and that they had, perhaps, been done by these apprentices. But she thought the real reason was that even a master builder, in his seven years’ training, would have had no time given to teaching in carving.

There was more of great interest. She has written a pamphlet, Carlisle’s Cathedral Builders,( printed by Thumbprint), so if you wish to know more this pamphlet is well worth reading.

For me, the highlight of the summer’s activities so far has been the art group’s two-day visit to Leeds and surrounding areas. We managed to fit in a visit to Saltaire, where David Hockney’s newest paintings were exhibited, a quick look in at Leeds Art Gallery, a visit to the Barbara Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and, on the way back, Harewood House.

All this was arranged admirably, as usual, by Jean and George Taylor.

If you want to know more about our activities: http://u3asites.org.uk/west-lakes

First published at 11:04, Thursday, 02 August 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk