Commemorating the Latrigg Fell Trespass of 1887
by Sheila Wiggins
It was early morning, I pulled back the curtains. Wonderful, a dry day. My partner Haydn and I had driven to Keswick from Bolton earlier in the week in strong winds and driving rain. The sort of rain that means you have to slow down to forty mph on the motorway. The date was 29th September 2024 and although it was overcast it wasn’t raining and you could see the top of Latrigg Fell, so all was good. Perfect for walking to the summit and celebrating the trespass that had taken place there in 1887.
I had been planning this walk since the beginning of the year and was hopeful that others would want to join me in remembering this important event in Keswick’s history, indeed in Cumbrian history. The Latrigg Fell trespass pre-dates Kinder Scout by forty five years and the Winter Hill trespass, (the largest mass trespass in British history) by nine years and deserves to be equally recognised in the story of the right to roam movement.
The meeting place was a short walk from our apartment which was ideally situated beside the river Greta and overlooking Fitz Park with a view of Latrigg fell beyond. We were heading to the Henry Irwin Jenkinson memorial gates opposite the Keswick Museum on Station road. The gates had been erected in 1893 in recognition of Jenkinson’s role in establishing this beautifully maintained park. We arrived early and so popped into the museum.
We had visited the Keswick Museum the day before and were delighted that they were advertising the walk. We met Sue, a volunteer at the museum who had been researching Henry Irwin Jenkinson and who would be joining us. On a previous visit, there had been a display about the trespasses and the creation of Fitz Park but these have since been removed and the space used for other purposes.
I could see through the window that people were starting to gather and so I nipped over the road to say hello. I was delighted to be greeted by Roy Ellis, a local historian who I had been communicating with over the past few weeks. He had completed a postgraduate degree in Lake District Studies in 2008 and had focused particularly on the Keswick Trespasses of 1887. He lives locally and was invaluable to me in clarifying the route of the trespassers as my home is 350 miles away on the south coast.
By 10.30am quite a crowd had gathered. Introductions were made, a few photos taken and then we headed off through the park to Spooney Green Lane to start the story of the Latrigg Fell Trespass of 1887
It was the committee of the Keswick Footpaths Preservation Society (KFPS) established in 1886 that had organised the trespass. The president was the vicar of Crosthwaite, Hardwicke Rawnsley, with William Routh Fitzpatrick as vice president and Henry Irwin Jenkinson as secretary. Rawnsley was a conservationist and went on to be one of the founders of the National Trust, Jenkinson was a guide book writer and mountaineer and well known in the town. Little is known of Routh-Fitzpatrick.
The KFPS focused on two right of way disputes in particular, the path through Fawe Park and public access to the summit of Latrigg Fell. The Fawe Park dispute was seen as a local issue whereas losing access to the top of Latrigg Fell was considered a national issue because of its far reaching implications and so attracted interest from across the country.
In the 1880’s there were two routes to the summit of Latrigg, one being the Terrace Road which passed by Greta Bank, home of the landowner, and the other along Spooney Green Lane. The Terrace Road meets Spooney Green Lane half way up the fell and then you proceed along this track before turning onto the zigzag path that leads you to the summit where you have uninterrupted views across the town, Derwentwater and beyond. It was public access to the Terrace Road and the zigzag path that was being denied, and at times during the dispute Spooney Green Lane also.
We stopped along Spooney Green Lane at the start of Latrigg wood where there is a clearing, then at the junction with the Terrace road and again at the zigzag path before making our way to the top where we unfurled a flag and gave a big cheer! All was captured on camera by my partner Haydn.
The junction of the Terrace Road and Spooney Green Lane.
Veering off Spooney Green Lane onto the zig-zag path to the summit.
The flag has the words “Latrigg Fell Trespass 1887 'The question of access to our mountain tops having been disputed, we must not rest satisfied until the ancient rights have been conceded' H I Jenkinson 1st Oct 1887”.
We retraced our steps until turning off to descend along the Terrace Path so as to pass by the site of the gates to Greta Bank which are opposite what is now the Calvert Trust. This is the spot where, on the 1st October 1887, 2500 people gathered led by Jenkinson and Routh Fitzpatrick of the KFPS and where the speeches were made before breaking through the gates to reclaim access to the summit.
Site of the gates to the Terrace road
As expected, the committee members of the KFPS were charged by the landowner for trespassing. The court case was heard the following July in Carlisle where a compromise was reached. Spooney Green Lane, the zigzag path and the right to wander across the fell top were designated as a public right of way. A victory to celebrate! The Terrace Road became private land.
Over time the Terrace Road, now cut through by the A66, was designated as a permissive path by a subsequent landowner. So it is now possible to walk in the footsteps of those Victorian trespassers, led by Jenkinson and Routh Fitzpatrick, who fought and won the right to roam this fell.
It was just a short walk back to the gates to Fitz Park, where we said our goodbyes. Whilst chatting with my fellow walkers a common theme emerged of how little is known of this trespass, and what a shame it is that there is no reference to this event anywhere on the route or indeed in public view in the town. So a commitment was made to push to have a stone marker erected, possibly at the junction of the Terrace Road and Spooney Green Lane, to inform fellow hiking enthusiasts of this important piece of Cumbrian history. That’s my next job! With a lot of support hopefully I can make it happen.
Thank you established and new friends who joined me; Liz Woodham who made the initial connection with me two years ago to write two articles for Footsteps, the Wainwright Society magazine. Nick Burton from the Wainwright Society and All Routes North who does his own radical walks in Lancashire, worth checking out. Roy Ellis who helped guide us along the route. David from Friends of the Lake District who also produces the Countrystride podcast. Jack Cornish, Head of Paths for the Ramblers Association and author of the recently published book The Lost Paths. My friends Perry, Jacky and Ann who travelled all the way from Bournemouth. All the other smashing people who came along and/or have helped get the story of this trespass more widely known including John Bainbridge author of The Compleat Trespasser and many other works, the Keswick Museum & the Keswick Tourist Information Centre.
Finally, many thanks to Haydn Wheeler for the photos and film of the day.
For more information about the Latrigg Fell Trespass and my ancestor Henry Irwin Jenkinson please refer to my blogs on the website retroitaint.com
By Sheila Wiggins October 2024
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