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HISTORY & HERITAGE
Yard honours famous son
Building a new development in the heart of Kendal has provided an opportunity for the town’s most famous adopted son to be honoured.
Staff and prizewinners gather at the Gazette’s new offices to celebrate the opening and the naming of Wainwright’s Yard.
The walkway which ran alongside the old Westmorland Gazette offices is to be re-named Wainwright’s Yard,in memory of the former Kendal borough treasurer who achieved worldwide fame for his walking books. The new name not only marks the affection with which Alfred Wainwright is held but also reflects the author’s association with the Gazette,which was the original publisher of his pictorial guides.
Wainwright would have used the walkway,formerly known as Yard 28, when he visited the Gazette’s offices to discuss the publication of his beautifully illustrated books. South Lakeland District Council’s building control manager John Sykes, who took the final decision over the name after consulting with Kendal Town Council,Royal Mail and others,said at the time that the Wainwright name was a good choice. “Certainly (Wainwright’s name) is one which I would consider is recognised by a lot of the tourists that visit the town and it’s a feather in Kendal’s cap to be able to take the opportunity to grab hold of that name.” The move was also welcomed by Wainwright’s family when it was first proposed. His stepdaughter,Jane King, said her mother, Betty, were very pleased with the suggestion.
The new name for Yard 28 also reflects the views of Westmorland Gazette readers who were asked to make their own suggestions as part of a competition earlier this year organised by the newspaper and Maple Grove Developments. There were dozens of entries and around 30 per cent backed the name Wainwright.
The winners of the competition,who receive a case of champagne and VIP tickets to the opening of the development,are Mike and Sue Ashton, of Casterton. Mr and Mrs Ashton were selected from among those who suggested Wainwright Walk,which was Maple Grove’s original choice. A runners-up prize of a set of the reprinted collection of Wainwright’s books, kindly supplied by Titus Wilson printers, goes to Eileen Halstead.
There are also other new names for parts of the development:the apartments next to Low Fellside will be known as King’s Arms Croft after the inn that once stood in that area;while apartments in Entry Lane will be called Printers Croft (recognising the long association of the area with the print trade). A walkway running from north to south from Yard 28 to Redmayne’s Yard will also be known as Redmayne’s Yard.
Reproduced courtesy of The Westmorland Gazette
'Changing Face of Kendal', Friday, September 26, 2003 |
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