AN ARTIST has been commissioned to engrave William Wordsworth’s ‘The Prelude’ on four big slate boulders.
Pip Hall, a local carver, is hard at work in all weathers down by the boathouses at Fell Foot.
Pip also created the World Heritage Site monument calligraphy that King Charles unveiled at Crow Park, Keswick.
Pip has been working carving a section from Wordsworth’s ‘The Prelude’ across the stones, which will ultimately be spread out for people to admire along the northern stretch of lakeshore beyond the boatyard.
Pip’s workshop is located in the Yorkshire Dales. She accepts requests to carve inscriptions for monuments, garden elements, and home signs. She also does on-site public art initiatives.
“My main interest is in exploring the illustrative and decorative aspects of lettering,” she says on her website, “and this has been the chief activity in my workshop for the past thirty years.”
“Pip Hall has been commissioned to do the work as part of a Heritage Lottery Funded project happening in the park,” said Lucy Tickle of the National Trust.
“Once completed, the stones will be on temporary display until they are relocated to their permanent location on the shingle beach at the north end of Fell Foot beside a ruined stone jetty – the oldest at Fell Foot.”
Both Wordsworth and slate are associated with the Lake District. Wordsworth spent the most of his life in the region, and slate is the native stone.
“The stones are at the quieter end of the park where swimmers get in, so we’ve chosen some poetry that suits that,” said Harvey Wilkinson, curator of Fell Foot.
“The Prelude passage is really beautiful and is from Wordsworth’s schooldays at Hawkshead – when he spent a lot of time on Windermere, an important period in his youth.”
“In this case, he went to an inn with his friends to play bowls before sailing back across the lake, leaving a friend on an island playing the flute, the sound of which spread across the lake.”
“So the passage covers both the historic party atmosphere of Windermere and the more solitary atmosphere of the lake in the evening.”
“One more fell from a great mood…” Chris writes for numerous online publications, having studied at The University College of North Wales, Bangor. He is regularly in The Lake District and enjoys wild camping, hiking and watersports. His favourite location? Muncaster Castle…
