Kendal during The Great War (forum archive)

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Posted by plbramham » Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:10 am

plbramham General Global moderator Posts: 1369

Hello, Replying to Chris (Kerchi) in Eastbourne today, I realised that a lot of people viewing this site will not be familiar with the places mentioned in the postings, and may live too far away to visit the locations. Here are some old postcards of Kendal dating from just before or just after The First World War. I have also provided many modern day photographs of the homes of men of the 8th Btn (Kendal Pals) for Spike’s website http://freewebs.com/kendalpals/index.htm These images can be viewed by clicking the address in red lettering on the wargraves project pages of his site. Here are the Postcard details: Highgate. Picture taken 1905. Showing Town Hall with clock tower. Fellside. Then a rough area of the town. A large number of Border recruits came from this area of town, especially 8th Btn volunteers. Parts of Fellside were named after Crimean War battles when men returned c.1860. Much demolished in 1960s slum clearance (Three storey house on the left was the home of Cpl Stephen Park 14889 8th Btn killed 5/7/16) Branthwaite Brow. Actually little changed today.Tall chimney is the distance is Gilkes engineers, workplace of Sgt Walter Dixon 8th Btn killed 3-5th July 1916. Kings Arms Hotel (demolished in 1930s) on Stricklandgate, the main street through the town. To the right of where the photographer is standing is the Market Place, site of the war memorial Market Place. Views of war memorial unveiled in July 1921. I don’t know if it was intentionally timed for the anniversary of the start of the Somme, but the town suffered especially bad casualties during the first week, especially in the 8th Btn. Stramongate. St Georges Church in the background has a large memorial listing several Border names as many men from the 8th Btn.(again!) lived in the neighbouring Castle Street area – about ten casualties within 200 yards of houses in just one battalion. Building on the left was a tannery, later a warehouse, then converted in the mid 1980s to become ( still is) The Riverside Hotel. Kendal from the castle. Note the old canal basin (lower left of top photo), filled in post WW2, but now plans are underway to reopen it as a marina/docklands type attraction. The canal stretched down to Lancaster mirroring the route of the A6, the West coast main line railway and now the M6. So if you’re visiting the Lakes, don’t just bypass Kendal, call in and visit the “Auld Gray Town”. Regards, Paul. Highgate and Town Hall (with clock tower) 1905 Branthwaite Brow. Tall chimney is the distance is Gilkes engineers, workplace of Sgt Walter Dixon 8th Btn killed 3-5th July 1916 Fellside three storey house on the left was the home of Cpl Stephen Park 14889 8th Btn killed 5/7/16 - still there, survived 1960s slum clearance Kings Arms Hotel demolished 1930s on Stricklandgate, main road through town. Market Place and War Memorial c 1921, except bottom right taken before war memorial built Stramongate Bridge and St. Georges Church Kendal town from Castle Hill

Posted by kerchi » Mon Sep 17, 2012 12:55 pm

Kerchi Field-Marshal Administrator Posts: 2160 In memory of John Bardgett (15309 L/Cpl.) 11th Border Regiment Who died 1st July 1916.

Fantastic postcards Paul. I don't know if you noticed but I like collecting old postcards, although I haven't done so for quite a while now, and have added a few to the galleries on site, mainly of the Lake District and a few of towns in Cumberland and Westmorland. I love the area and have many fond memories of Appleby (where my grandparents lived) from the 70's and 80's. I like the 'Branthwaite Brow' and 'A Bit of Old Fellside' postcards but generally any old postcards I find totally fascinating to look at and see how times have changed. Would you mind adding these to the Towns & Villages gallery? They would make great additions.

Posted by IanT » Mon Sep 17, 2012 5:08 pm	IanT Major Registered user Posts: 252
Steve Bulman has a couple of sites, one of which is specifically Cumbrian and may be of interest: http://www.stevebulman.f9.co.uk/cumbria/frames_home.html Ian

Posted by kerchi » Sun Sep 23, 2012 3:46 pm

Kerchi Field-Marshal Administrator Posts: 2160 In memory of John Bardgett (15309 L/Cpl.) 11th Border Regiment Who died 1st July 1916.

IanT wrote: Steve Bulman has a couple of sites, one of which is specifically Cumbrian and may be of interest: http://www.stevebulman.f9.co.uk/cumbria/frames_home.html I remember reading some articles on here a few years ago (although I might have looked on here maybe at least in the last 18 months) but had mostly forgotten about this site. The information contained in it is remarkably detailed and is literally second to none. I think it is actually unparalleled with anything else of it kind and Steve Bulman definitely knows his stuff with incredibly in-depth articles about so many places.

Posted by plbramham » Sun Sep 23, 2012 5:54 pm	plbramham General Global moderator Posts: 1369
A very good site from the Cumbria County Council archives service is: http://www.cumbriaimagebank.org.uk/terms.php

Posted by kerchi » Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:19 am	Kerchi Field-Marshal Administrator Posts: 2160 In memory of John Bardgett (15309 L/Cpl.) 11th Border Regiment Who died 1st July 1916.
Great website, had a look this morning. With a collection like that I would certainly make the images available for everyone without cost but maybe include include them under the Creative Commons ShareAlike license so anyone can use them providing they carry the same license following the attribution and share alike conditions.