Castlerigg Manor Website

The morning after the flood brought us the news that Cockermouth was far harder hit than Keswick had been - However numbers do not matter as individuals had their own stories - and many were experiencing this for the second time in a few years.  In what you read please, also, take into account the experiences of recent floods where there is need for immediate practical help, then personal orientation needs followed by the issues involved in moving back (from affording contents to simply help in choosing new furnishings).                           Fr Peter

Community Spirit

In the first few days after the flood neighbours helped each other clear their homes and name those who were likely to need more serious help.  Important goods were rescued, carpets dragged out, relatives contacted etc. Each day brought its own flavour: Electrical issues first, contacting insurance, meeting loss adjusters, filling skips... and all the time trying to keep an eye on where people where now living. Most flooded people had no facilities or power but needed to stay near their house when the agency representative or engineer arrived.  People who had only nodded before now became able to ask for help and offer it. At this stage the bridge to town was closed which made access to shops difficult and, as most people were evacuated to town, travelling to their flooded houses hard without a car. Help was offered.

The “St Herbert Flood Centre”

2009 - St Herbert's Flood Support Centre

The vicar’s wife rang the Catholic priest..... now there’s an introduction to keep you reading!  Well she did - on Saturday after the flood.  She wanted to know if the parish centre was flood free and whether we could provide a hot meal on Sunday for people in the area. In truth we were miraculously free of water considering the centre was trapped between three rivers on Thursday (You can see it in front of the church tower on the opening page) but had no power and an electric oven. Despite this the parishioners of the “landlocked” parishes of Our Ladys and Crosthwaite provided good soup and stew for many local people on the Sunday plus the opportunity to share experiences, where neighbours were living and updates from “those who know”.

2009 Bishop Campbell's Flood Visitation - 30th November

The “soup kitchen” (Or “Community Cohesion Centre” as the trendies would have preferred it called)was such a useful gathering place for people, workmen and agency members that it remained open every day for nearly three weeks - until the Greta Bridge was open and freed us to walk to the “mainland” again.  The official “Flood Support Centre was the Library - off little help to us who were cut off from town - and so our parish centre was officially designated the “St Herbert’s Flood Support Centre”. It remains thus known on the sign attached, in the Keswick. Soups were home made from vegetables donated by local shops and are of excellent quality (do ask Bishop Campbell and his secretary who visited especially to test it!)

After the bridge was declared safe the centre, with the support of parishioners from both churches, continued to open for soup on Thursday lunch times. It was also staffed for tea and coffee for open “themed” gatherings on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons until Christmas. (themed meetings involved invited people to advise on insurance, flood resilience, applying for grants, where to ask for help etc. We even had a visit from TV Wainwright enthusiast Julia Bradbury bef

2009 St Herbert's Flood Centre Christmas Eve "do"

ore she was usurped by Prince Charles in opening the Keswick Christmas lights (He didn’t visit for tea, by the way)

2009 ended with a well attended gathering of local people on Christmas Eve who enjoyed more soup, mince pies, Christmas cake, a glass of sherry and carols.  Some people missed this event as they were taken away to other festivities by their families who were dry.

Since the New Year the centre has reopened, much to the thanks of the customers, for lunch on Thursdays and is available to respond to other needs which are appearing slowly.  Continued thanks to the parish volunteers, soup makers, veg providers and especially to Monica Penny for her organisation and far-sightedness. (If you want to help please contact us or Crosthwaite Church)

The Wider and Long-term Issues

2009 Floods - The Archbishop of York's Visit

 Because of the floods of 2005 Keswick has two bodies which have proved vital in helping us respond quickly to this flood: the Keswick Flood Action Group and the Keswick Emergency Planning Group attached to the Town Council. As a result of the flood members of both these groups were gathered, together with representatives of other useful agencies, as an emergency and longer term “Flood Recovery Group”. To begin with the group met daily and then less often - presently it meets each fortnight. The Churches Together in Keswick (CTiK) has a representative on the planning group and Fr Peter was invited on both as Chair of CTiK and because of involvement in “St Herbert’s Flood Support Centre” work.

Most of the work of the group has been involved in clarifying communications between agencies and as an overall view (Where is everyone living now? Is everyone accounted for? How do we prevent burglaries and rogue builders?  Why are families being asked to move out of accommodation to make way for Christmas holiday lets at high prices and where will they go? How do we communicate with the furniture store in Workington? How are we dealing with evacuees from Cockermouth with different needs? What are people really asking for at any particular stage? Where does our situation leave the existing flood barrier plans? etc.)

2009 Julia Bradbury's Flood Visit - St Herbert's Centre, Keswick

A number of high profile visits, designed to remind the world that the floods were not only in Cockermouth and Workington were an interesting interlude:  The Archbishop of York, Julia Bradbury and, a bit of a coup, Prince Charles who switched on the town Christmas lights!  (There was an interesting, but serious collision between those who wanted to tell the world that “Keswick is open for business” and those who were aware there were people suffering and political messages needed to be given to Central and local Government, the Environment Agency and United Utilities amongst others.  (A discussion continues about the amount of water United Utilities feels it needs to keep in Thirlmere to feed Manchester in wet times whilst endangering the Valley and, ultimately, Keswick. Thanks to Lord Campell-Savours for his concerned and vigourous messages to the Lords and UU)

Presently Churches Together are working particularly with the agencies which are looking to the immediate needs of those flooded as these change.  We are working closely with Keswick Lions and the Cumbria CC Community Worker who has been given to the town full time and for who’s work and overall vision we value highly. From the need of a cooker or clothes immediately after the flood we have gone through a stage of providing food parcels and vouchers (with help from supermarkets and other agencies), to looking to longer term mental and physical needs of those flooded.  We are finding ways of bringing groups of people together socially so that we listen to their real needs.  A recent danger is the threatened permanent closure of the council home for senior citizens which was flooded - Ravensfield.

2010 Final Flood Lunch Party - 11th February 2010

We are told to await a sudden financial and worrying need in people as they return to their refurbished houses either without furniture (due to inability to gain contents insurance in the flood plane) or simply in needing someone to help them choose decoration etc.  An even more difficult area of concern will be when house owners receive their new insurance premiums - some who have already seem these have been promised no raise in premium but a £20,000 excess! New insights into the effects of the floods continue to appear.