Welcome, Craig.

St. Mark's Church has a brand new curate, freshly ordained as a deacon. He's called Craig Bentley, or rather the Reverend Craig Bentley now, and he will be trained into the ins and outs of parish work by Angela, the vicar, over the next three years. There's more about him and his family on page 12 of the June Parish News. 

Captain Ross and Clinker

Clinker, with Captain Horatio Ross up. By John Ferneley 1782-1860

Captain Ross and Clinker was the name of the Inn which was on the site of Ross Lodge on Burton Road. Notes written by Miss Anne M.E.Schofield in 2003 and who lived at the house now called Ross Lodge were passed to me by Barry Charnley. 

Horatio Ross was born in 1801 and lived in Scotland and doesn't appear to have links with this area. However he and his horse must have had a popular following for when the name of the Inn was changed from the Grey Horse to the Captain Ross and Clinker, local farmers' lads around Barrows Green held steeplechases from the newly named Inn across to the Beehive Inn (no longer an inn) on the Old Hutton road. The Captain Ross and Clinker was pulled down in 1860.

Recollections of Natland past, by Beryl Caton

Freda Smaje, Beryl Caton and Elspeth Jayne

As editor of the Natland News I was invited by Freda Smaje to meet Beryl Caton, nee Fothergill, and spent an engrossing afternoon as she recalled her early childhood in Natland. Click here to read her memories of a time when there were so few houses in Natland that she seems to be able to remember the inhabitants of nearly every one.       Elspeth Jayne.

Comments on Beryl's recollections:

Stan O'Connor also remembers that Shanny Lane was named after Shanny Wilkinson who lived next to the church. Sid Clark, from the council, named it after him, so he wouldn't be forgotten. Stan also remembers that at the top of Hawes Lane there was a field that had an interesting circle in it. It was investigated for Roman remains. But then someone remembered Shanny Wilkinson used to exercise his horses in a circle on that field....
However, Barry Charnley states that Margaret and Pearson Charnley, his parents, had strong family links in Natland. His grandparents and parents were married here, and his paternal grandmother was born here. Shanny Lane was named after his uncle, Shanny Hutchinson, who was Churchwarden at St. Mark’s for 25 years. Barry also recalls that the name of the people who lived at Cracalt was Howson. They were involved in timber, as Beryl remembered.   It was the Moorhouses who built the stone house, Sundown, next to the school field. Barry also said that the doctor can't have lived at Ross Lodge, it must have been somewhere else on Burton Road, and he gave me a copy of research from when Ross Lodge was a pub, The Captain Ross and Clinker.

Beware Fraudulent Phishing Calls.

A Natland News Reader writes: Yesterday I had two missed calls from  0800 085 7609 and this morning a call from the same number which left a Voicemail purporting to be from PayPal and asking me to call back on 0800 085 7595. The person I then spoke to (male, Irish accent) said these were both genuine PayPal numbers and wanted to check the bank details which my PayPal account is linked to. He advised me to answer any future calls from the same number. 
The PayPal website gives a contact number starting with 0203 and a OneTimePasscode, without which you can't get through to them. They stated that the 0800 numbers were not PayPal ones. 

Minutes of the last Parish Council Meeting.

The canal bridge at Hawes Lane. The new Towpath Trail would run under here.

Proposals for a Towpath Trail for Natland along the route of the old canal were outlined at the meeting on the 24th June.  Click here for more details.

The Weather in June

June	2019	June average
Temperature at 8 a.m.	13.3° C	13.58° C
Minimum Temperature (Ave)	11.5° C	11.23° C
Maximum Temperature (Ave)	18.3° C	18.79° C
Rainfall	111.5 mm 4.5"	82.63 mm 3.31"

We had two hot days at the end of the month but June was average for temperatures and cooler than last year. Although rainfall was above average we had a lot of dry days with a few very wet ones. John Dobson.