The Lake District is eerily quiet now. In normal times – they seem so long ago – we like to escape to the quiet of the Newlands valley and watch the many visitors to the area toiling up the busy route up Cat Bells.
The hamlet of Little Town has been made famous as the setting by Beatrix Potter for the story of Mrs Tiggy Winkle. In the summer of 1901, Beatrix Potter was staying at nearby Lingholme on the shores of Derwentwater and often invited the Vicar of Newlands Church and his family to tea. On these occasions Lucie Carr – the vicar’s young daughter used to play with Beatrix Potter’s pet hedgehog. Thus the idea for the character of Lucie in “The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle” was born. The story was dedicated to Lucie Carr by Beatrix Potter “For the real little lucie of Newlands” and includes several illustrations that clearly depict the area around Little Town.
The churchyard of tiny Newlands Church is a sea of snowdrops in late January followed by swathes of daffodils. The Church was rebuilt in 1843 on the site of an earlier church – it is thought to date from the mid 16th century. In 1885 the church was refurbished but some of the 17th century items were retained – the oak pulpit, the reading desk and communion table.
Wordsworth visited the church in May 1826 with his daughter. The poet was so taken with the setting of the church which is indeed very special that he wrote a poem “To May”. You can go inside the church and see a reference to this. You can also look into the school room which adjoins the church – this was built by the members of the parish in 1887. It closed in 1967. The school room fell into disrepair after closure, but was refurbished in the late 1990’s and reopened on 9 April 2000 by the Bishop of Carlisle as a place for quiet reflection. It is also used occasionally for afternoon teas and small gatherings. The Church has Sunday services twice a month. The setting of the church is indeed magnificent.
