Around 2008 a suggestion was made that the club produce a book of photographs to commemorate its 75 years history. This idea was quickly expanded into a book detailing the history of both the club and its bunkhouse High House. A team of members subsequently set to work on a seemingly endless project, gathering information and sorting through mounds of photographs. Finally, the project was complete, and the book was launched at a special event at Kendal Golf Club on Friday December 10th, 2010.
The book is in full colour throughout and contains 248 pages, printed on 170gsm silk art paper with a laminated soft cover, and is stitched for durability. It includes forewords by Bill Birket and Jonathan Somervell, and a best wishes from Chris Bonnington who was also 75 in 2009!
The book has a limited print run and will not be available in the shops, but only through the club. The cost is £25, plus a further £7.65 P&P if you want the book posting in the UK.
The chapters are -
1. High House c1500 - 1900. A history of the building and its land
2. The Wad Mines. A brief history of the famous mines on the fell side opposite.
3. Before the Fellfarers. A history of the occupants of High House prior to 1934.
4. Two Landlords. The roles played by John Musgrave and Herbert Walker.
5. Somervell Bros. and K Shoes. A brief history of the company who originally formed K Fellfarers.
6. Camping at High House 1913. The connections of High House with Mabel Barker and Millican Dalton..
7. High House Reborn 1930-1934. How K Fellfarers acquired High House.
8. After the Opening 1934-1939. .
9. Sid and Jammy Cross. Two famous club members.
10. War and Peace 1940-1949.
11. Idle Fancies. Some early recollections.
12. Keeping in Touch - The Journal. The first club journal.
13. Never had it so Good 1950-1959
14. Hunt Recalls (reflections by Tony Greenbank, the noted author and journalist)
15. From the Coral Sea (reflections by Dr. Jim Duff)
16. It’s Complicated (K Fellfarers links to Kendal MC, Kendal CC, Kendal MSRT, and K Lads)
17. Baby Boom 1960-1969
18. The Flood. The rains of 1966
19. Survival 1970-1979
20. Come the Young 1980-1989
21. The Runners. A history of fell running in the club.
22. Standing Alone 1990-1999. The severance of links with K Shoes.
23. The Man in the Checked Suit. High House's friendly ghost!
24. Millennium 2000-2009
Afterword
Appendix 1 - Presidents of K Fellfarers 1934-2009
Appendix II - The Changing Use of High House 1934-2009
The book was submitted for the Lakeland Book of the Year 2011 award, and though not short listed was well commended. One of the judges, the Cumbrian author Kathleen Jones, named the book as one that missed being short listed by “a hairsbreadth”. She explained that it contained “a fascinating account of how a group of walkers and climbers restored a derelict building in the Lakes to create what is now a great community resource”, and finished by saying that the book is “absolutely brilliant”.
Feed back from people who have bought the book includes the following -
Duncan Moodie – Sunderland MC. Thank you for sending the 75th anniversary book. I am very impressed about the way you have put it together, and its very interesting content. It must have taken a lot of time.
Peter Burgess - Founder of the Online Fellwalking Club. I have to say that the book is brilliant. Its written in such a readable style and the wide variety of content makes it really interesting, even to someone outside the K Fellfarers. I really hope you can pass on my congratulations to the committee at your next meeting.
Peter Goodwin - ex-Member now living in Canada. Please congratulate all involved for their superb work. I can't begin to imagine the number of hours of research and hard work that went into preparing this very special book.
John & Mary Allcock - Members. Very late, I am afraid, but nevertheless a very big thank you and many congratulations on the wonderful achievement of producing the fascinating, interesting and historic book. What an impressive success and please pass on our thanks and good wishes to all of you who had those fortnightly meetings and managed to track down all the history and information.
Sylvia Forrest - Member. The Fellfarers book is a tour de force, bringing into focus the history and the people concerned... Such a wealth and variety of clear photographs, especially the coloured ones. The climbing photos are awesome.
There is also a small feature on the book on the BMC web site.
For more information, please contact Hugh Taylor. Please note that a hard back version is available, but at extra cost. .
For a taster of the book, you can view the front and back covers below, together with some of the books contents. |
