| In
1911 a Coronation Committee was formed to organise the
village celebration of the coronation of King George
V. The committee organised parties and other activities
and gave seven pounds to the village Lighting Committee
to erect a memorial street lamp. The parish council
agreed to help and voted to contribute a maximum of
eight pounds to the project. The council minutes for
the meeting in October 1911 read-
- presented a drawing by Mr Benwell, architect of Carlisle,
showing a stone octagonal base, with an oak pillar erected
therefrom, from which a lamp was suspended on a bracket,
surmounted by a crown and weather vane. It was proposed
to erect this structure on the Post Office Hill - the
stone forming the base to be inscribed with crown and
cypher in commemoration of the coronation of the present
king and queen.
The contract for the construction was awarded to local
builder Walter Wilson. The total cost of the project
was £14-16s-4d.
Workmen arrived and dug a large hole 'about two feet
deep '. Two carts arrived with gravel, cement and mixing
boards and a large crowd of onlookers gathered to watch.
The boards were laid and the workmen began hand mixing
of the concrete for the foundation. Young Bill (Bet
th'a pint) Walton on his first job for Walter Wilson
after leaving school ran to and from the pump in Low
Fauld yard carrying water in two large galvanised buckets.
Many spectators threw coins into the mix saying 'God
save the King' as they did so even though most of them
doubted the wisdom of using concrete for a foundation.
It was the first time concrete had been used in the
village and few believed that the grey slurry they saw
before them would harden and set. But young Bill Walton
knew better. Still blowing hard from his enthusiastic
water carrying he addressed the crowd and assured everyone
that it would set 'as hard as Caulda cobbles', 'last
for ever' and it was 'bomb-proof'. He then explained
how it had been used in the Boer War to build block
houses. How the crowd cheered and clapped when he finished.
The lad was on his first job but he was the village
expert on concrete!
The concrete did set ,the stone work was built and the
wooden lamp-post erected on top. Fitting the paraffin
lamp with the village emblem and motto painted on the
glass completed the job. Dalston had its first street
lamp!
The regulars were sitting around the fire in the Swan
Inn. A Mr Murray who lived on The Green, a good and
regular customer, rose uncertainly to his feet and left
closing the door behind him. A few seconds later he
burst back in and bolted the door. He was very sober,
shaking and so frightened he couldn't tell anyone what
was the matter. When he was able to speak he said no-one
should open the door as the devil was on the green and
the devil had chased him. Someone had lit the lamp!
Many villagers were delighted with the lamp but others
were furious. Was it not an insult to place the name
and emblem of the village above that of the king on
a monument built to honour the king? Surely the king's
name should be at the top. Families were split on the
issue, there were arguments in the pubs and fights on
the Co-op end. Feelings were so intense that in a short
time the lamp was not lit and eventually the lamp and
the lamp-post were removed. The stone base remained
and was popular as a seat until the parish council erected
more comfortable seats nearby and on Glave Hill. Villagers
continued to call it 'The Lamp' and it became the gathering
point for children and the base for games of Jack shine
the light, king of the castle, monty-kitty and many
others. A large octagonal slab which topped the centre
of the base was broken and not replaced. Wooden slats
were fastened to the seat a few years ago to make it
more comfortable to sit on.
The new lamp and sculpture was designed and built by
John Parkinson of Up Front Gallery and paid for with
grants and donations from local sponsors. |
