Keld Well-being Garden

Created from a piece of waste ground near the Chapel and with help from the BIG Lottery Fund, the well-being garden is now entering its third growing season.  The garden is very natural and not a formal garden in the sense of herbaceous borders, trellises and baskets.  The garden celebrates the wild flowers of Keld and is at its best in June and July when the Ox-Eye Daisies are in flower.

The theme of the garden as the name suggests is 'well being'.  It is a place to sit and contemplate and enjoy the splendid views towards Kisdon Hill.  Entry to the garden is via  the Chapel Yard.  Look closely at the mosses and lichens that cover the dry stone walls, these are often overlooked as we search for more showy flowers but have their own beauty and interest.  Throughout spring and summer the garden is also a great place to watch the House Martins as they swoop and dive in search of insects.

Snowbound

 There is a big drift in The Manse garden.  Impossible to get into the churchyard through the little gate as it is covered in snow and a branch from the tree has come down in the wind.

I will have to persuade the oil delivery man to climb over the wall!!

Looking back up the village. 
This is the only route in and out at the moment and that is thanks to the local farmer who clears the road with his tractor bucket.

Snowbound

The snow in front of the Countryside & Heritage Centre is deeper than it looks.  Visitors beware; bring your wellies!  

A bleak, colourless day for March (this is not a black & white photograph)

Events Programme for 2013

 

Despite Swaledale thinking it is in Siberia we must be optimistic and believe that summer will one day come.  Followers of the Keld Resource Centre Blog might like to know what is happening at The Keld Countryside and Heritage Centre this year.

 

Full details of all events can be found at the website.  Please visit www.tkrc.org.uk

 

For all events please meet at the centre 10 minutes before your activity is due to start.

 

Friday 29th March:  Good Friday Walk   09.00 - 16.00

 

Saturday 11th May:  Birds of Upper Swaledale Guided Walk  10.00 - 12.00 and 13.30 - 16.00

 

Sunday 9th June:  Meadows & Moorland Guided Farm Walk  11.00 - 13.00

 

Saturday 6th July:  Wildflower Walk (in association with YNHS) Start time 10.00 a.m.

 

Sunday 7th July:  Kisdon Classic Circular Guided Walk (National Parks event) 11.00 - 16.00

 

Saturday 27th July: Storytelling Walk 11.00 - 12.00

 

Sunday 4th August:  Meet A Mystery Writer 11.00 - 16.00

 

Saturday 14th September:  'Dancing with the Devil' A Centenary Celebration 14.00 - 15.30

 

 

KELD FESTIVAL WEEKEND

 

To Celebrate two remarkable Keld village anniversaries

Friday 8th and Saturday 9th November

 

 

In celebration of the arrival of mains electricity to the village in 1953

Friday 8th November:  Lantern Parade 16.00

 

To mark the 1913 dispute brought about by dancing in The Literary Institute!

Saturday 9th November:  Ceilidh 17.30 onwards

 

All the above events and activities are detailed on the Keld Resource Centre website www.tkrc.org.uk Leaflet available from the Countryside & Heritage Centre, Hudson House in Reeth, The Dales Museum in Hawes and most pubs, cafes and shops in the dale.

 

All welcome, please join us we would love to see you. 

 

 

 

 



Keld School

Keld School

Phase 3a of The Keld Resource Centre Restoration Project
Awaiting Planning Consent

 

The Bell Cote inscribed W Metcalfe AD 1817

Keld School closed as educational establishment in 1973; the tiny two room school building being witness to hundreds of children passing through its doors in its 121 year history as a place of education.  It is hard to imagine all the changes in educational practise, social behaviour and expectations that would have taken place during this time.

The porch with the small window in the gable end was a later edition to the original building and was added to provide a cloakroom with washbasin so that the children could wash their hands after using the toilet.  The toilets, just visible on the left, were accessed from outside.

The inconspicuous, little window in the porch my appear unimportant to many but when Chris Calvert of Hoggarths Farm attended school there between 1963 - 1969 it was anything but.  Boys challenged each other to scramble up the cloakroom wall and sit on the windowsill.  To a small child this must have been like climbing a mountain.  Chris says, 'The day you got your backside on that window ledge was a massive achievement and you were top dog!'

 Joan Moody (nee Mee) recalls another story.  One wintery day in around 1940, with snow on the ground, the children were sent out to play on the small square in front of the school.  Straight away the boys began to make snowballs.  One of them was a very good shot and their snowball hit the school bell.  Quite an achievement, you may think?  Not in the eyes of strict Miss Marshall who immediately appeared and declared, 'The school bell has been rung so playtime is finished,  back to class.' Playtime came to an abrupt end!  Joan's father, Reverend Mee was minister at the time and living in The Manse, witnessed this from his desk in his study at the front of the house.

Watch this space for more Keld School memories. 

In 1976 when the school became part of The Keld Centre the classrooms where converted into a kitchen and a dining room providing visiting groups with cooking facilities and an eating area.

When planning consent is successful the school will have a new role for the 21st century. The building will be converted into two or three ensuite bedrooms, one with disabled access.  The present dilapidated toilets will be removed and a small single dwelling built to accommodate a worker for the new centre.



 



The Literary Institute

The Literary Institute
Phase 3 of The Keld Resource Centre Restoration Project
Awaiting Planning Consent

The Literary Institute was built in 1861 with funds raised by Reverend James Wilkinson who was minister at Keld from 1838 - 1866.  The primary purpose of The Literary Institute was to  provide a reading room and literature for local members of The Mutual Intellectual Improvement Society. The aim of providing such a facility was to encourage self education and discourage anti-social behaviour and drunkenness! It has to be remembered that the population of Keld at this time was far greater than it is now.  Families were much larger, farms much smaller and many worked in the lead mining industry and its associated trades.

In 1867 the building was extended to provide a large upstairs meeting room above what is now The Countryside & Heritage Centre.  Meetings, social gatherings and events were held here but in 1913 a huge row broke out when it was discovered that dances were being held in the building.  This caused a split in the community and finally led to the building of the Public Hall which incorporated its own reading room! The Literary Institute Reading Room's library of books was never increased or updated but by 1920 a billiard table was installed and men still met socially to play snooker, dominoes, darts and bagatelle as well as read the daily newspapers supplied.  After the war Barclays Bank hired a room once a week to provide a banking service and the Post Office had an arrangement where their van driver could use the room whilst he waited for the local postman to return with collected mail to go back on the van to Richmond. Finally in 1970, through lack of subscriptions and use the Literary Institute closed.

During the 1970s the Literary Institute, the School building and The Manse became known as The Keld Centre and was used as a residential centre for groups visiting the dale. The meeting room became the gathering place for visiting groups to interact, play games and relax together.  Holidays for children from towns and cities were arranged.  For some children this visit to Keld was their first experience of the countryside and all it entails; meadow fields, cows, sheep and lots & lots of fresh air.

By the new millennium The Keld Centre buildings were becoming run down and tired and in need of updating and refurbishment.  In 2001 Foot and Mouth disease broke out and out of consideration to the farming community in Swaledale, the Keld Centre committee cancelled the few bookings it had and closed its doors.  Once closed it never regained popularity and a new purpose for the buildings had to be found.  After much consideration a new initiative was launched called The Keld Resource Centre.  It is this forward thinking charity that is driving forward the restoration project. Phase One, the refurbishment of The Manse into a holiday cottage and Phase Two, the creation of The Countryside & Heritage Centre have been completed (see older posts).

   The plans for the restoration of The Literary Institute and School Buildings are with the National Parks Authority and we wait, in anticipation, for approval.  When completed the Literary Institute will once again be a place for groups and individuals to come together to enjoy all that Keld in Upper Swaledale has to offer and will be marketed as Group@Keld.

 

Keld Countryside & Heritage Centre

Keld Countryside & Heritage Centre
Phase 2 of The Keld Resource Centre Restoration Project
Completed May 2011

The Keld Countryside & Heritage Centre can be found in on the ground floor of the Literary Institute Building.  The centre was once the stables where the minister, occupying The Manse, would have kept his horse and trap for travelling around his parish.  Later when transport by pony and trap gave way to 'horsepower' it was used as a garage.  The centre has been sensitively restored and retains the flagged and cobbled floor and the original stone stalls, feedtrough and hayracks.  Each stall division is  constructed of a single slab of sandstone measuring approximately 6 ft x 4 ft and would have been moved and manoevered by manpower alone. 

The Countryside & Heritage Centre tells the story of Keld village including hill farming, local people, the landscape and the history of the chapel buildings. Wall mounted displays, artefacts and audio recordings provide visitors will an insight into Keld's past and present.  This small centre is unmanned but open all year round for all to browse and enjoy. 

The centre is also the base for our programme of activities and events which include guided walks and craft demonstrations.  Please visit www.tkrc.org.uk for full details of all events for 2013 or watch this space for previews of events to come.