Local Organisations

• Village Halls
• Churches
• Women's Institutes

Other Local Organisations:

t Bouth Village Green Committee

t The Grizedale Project

t Oxen Park Cinema Club

t   Rusland Valley Community Trust

t Rusland Valley Horticultural Society & RUSLAND SHOW 2008

t South Cumbria Rivers Trust

Village Halls in Colton Parish
 

Finsthwaite Village Hall	Rusland Reading Room	Bouth Village Hall	Colton Church Hall
...see Village Halls page for location and contact details plus more neighbouring village halls

Churches

Holy Trinity Parish Church Colton.  Benefice of  Egton cum Newland, Lowick and Colton.

     Vicar:  The Revd Gary Wemyss   Telephone:01229 861285

Email: gwemyss@clara.co.uk

www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Colton

St Peter's Church Finsthwaite  Benefice of Leven Valley

Vicar:The Revd Derek Goddard   Telephone:015395 31476

Email: d.d.goddard@talk21.com

 www.haverthwaite-backbarrow.co.uk/72.html

St Paul's Parish Church Rusland  Benefice of Hawkshead with Low Wray and Sawrey and Rusland

Vicar:The Revd Canon Stephen Pye   Telephone: 15394 36301

Email: stephen.pye@virgin.net

 www.visitcumbria.com/sl/chf8.htm

Tottlebank Baptist Church

Tottlebank Church enjoys the distinction of being the oldest Baptist Church in the historic county of Lancashire.  The church is open every Sunday morning at 10.30 for worship.

Link:  Tottlebank Baptist Church

Rookhow

Rookhow is a fine old Quaker Meeting house, a listed building of Architectural and Historic Interest, of the Religious Society of Friends known as Quakers. Rookhow is still the Monthly Meeting House of Swarthmoor Quaker Meeting. A public meeting for worship open to all is held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7.30pm.The Meeting House is frequently used by other denominations for study days and retreats.  people of all denominations and of none. It is used by inner city groups, the scout and guide movement, religious groups on retreat, special needs schools and hospitals, schools and colleges generally, conservation and humanitarian groups, orienteers, climbers and artists. Recovering after Foot and Mouth Disease, Quakers are now raising funds in order to make the Centre, the woods and the Meeting House, accessible to people with disabilities.

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Women's Institutes

Rusland and Satterthwaite WI

Meetings are held once a month and alternate between Satterthwaite and Rusland. There is a mixture of speakers, demonstrations and slide shows on a wide variety of topics. Several members have passed on their expertise or recounted their stories and these meetings are especially popular.  It is a strong group who prepare entries for shows and W.I. competitions, and have been very successful over the years.  The W.I. Choir was formed in 1979, when the first Carol Evening was held.  This is now an annual event and part of the pre-Christmas celebrations.  The choir have entered competitions and sung at weddings. The formation of the choir helped to increase membership. The WI attend many county functions and enter competitions. Several members are involved with the W.I. Market at Ulverston.     Locally, most social activities seem to involve food, including an annual Safari Supper as well as the Carol Evening, and a Pudding Evening.  One of the main benefits of W.I. membership is the fun, friendship and teamwork, which comes from meeting people regularly and working together in the community.     

  Bouth WI

  Spark Bridge and Colton WI 
(awaiting information)

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 The Rusland Valley Horticultural Society RVHS and the Rusland Show 

The History of the RVHS

In 1871, a group of no more than 6 farmers and gardeners came up with the idea of holding a small flower show and plant sale. This was to be the beginnings of The Rusland Valley Horticultural Society. However, those founding chaps could not have predicted what would grow from the seeds they planted at their first ever show.  The event, held in the Old School at Rusland, was an immediate success and soon attracted the whole community by introducing childrens' competitions and races.

As with most plants, the show needed to be moved outdoors and was situated in a field near to Rusland Vicarage until it found its final flowering position in the meadow at Whitestock where, it has matured and flourished. Good gardeners know that any prize-winning plants need nurturing, nourishment and attention to detail which is how the Rusland Show became a winner.

Each year on the 3rd Saturday in August you will see the familiar sight of marquees in the meadow. These are the result of the entrepreneurial nature of the original tent committee who bought tents with their own money and sub-let them to the society until it could afford to buy-out the tent committee. The tents were much smaller in those days and were followed by Bell Tents until now when there are no fewer than 8 marquees lining the show field like giant cloches protecting the delicate exhibits below. As the shift was made from small to large tents, gaps would appear and so the gardener from Rusland Hall would bring large displays of flowers and plants to create a more abundant atmosphere. As the show grew and trends changed, the number of classes increased. These days there are sections for the children's competitions, crafts, home-produce, handicrafts and of course horticulture. We must not forget the beer tent where there is always a good crack and the catering tent which in the early days was run by the local ladies.

At the opposite end of the show field are the hound trails. These began after the first world war and have remained popular. It is one of those events where work behind the scenes will never be seen. Few people have laid these trails with the rags covered in aniseed. Very often the same person has made the 10 mile walk around the valley on show day for at least 10 consecutive years until eventually the job would be passed on to someone else. In one case one of these chaps would lay the trail, come back to the show and run the fell race!  The real delight of the show is the taking part and although a cliché it is true. There is, of course, the possibility that you could win one of the 30 trophies that are presented each year and there is a certain amount of kudos attached to this, particularly if there has been a high standard in the tents or out on the field.

The fell-running events have always been popular and in the 1950s and 60s competitors would arrive by the bus load from far and wide. Ask any of those who do compete and they will tell you that Rusland Show is a very special event on the running calendar. Fifty years before the London Marathon was even thought of there was a legendry character who would run 22 miles on show day just for the spectacle and sheer joy of it. There also used to be a special bus service from Ulverston for the general public to come to the show as it was considered one of the "must do" things each year. Compare that now to, instead of buses, at least 500 cars visiting and we can see an obvious change in lifestyles.  This can create a slight logistical problem if the show has been blessed with rain but even pushing cars out of the mud and back on to the road has always been carried out in a jovial manner.  
 

There is in fact a great deal of work that goes on behind the scenes from arranging the judges to handing out the prize money; sorting out the chaos of the pet show to marking out the marquees for the exhibits; erecting marquees and organising the craft demonstrators, stewards, publishing and the list goes on.
Some things change (there is no longer a laundry class), but others stand the test of time, like the 70 year old square posts that mark out the ringside. There is no longer a long jump, pillow fight or tug of war but there is a full programme of races on the track, five fell races, 5 hound trails and displays in the show ring ranging from falconry to clog dancing. In total there are 170 classes providing an opportunity for anyone with a competitive streak or just a keen interest. The original dance floor was only replaced because a bigger one was required and the fiddle player made way for a piano followed some years later by an electric powered band.
The committee meets several times a year to review what has gone before and what can be done to improve and enhance what already exists. It is quite a task for those farmers and gardeners who, for five generations have tended to this event. They have planted, re-potted, fed, pruned and reaped what they have cultivated - a magnificent Lakeland specimen of a show that blossoms faithfully every year.
 

The Rusland Valley Horticultural Society always offers a warm welcome with a good-hearted crowd; a fine display of talent; plenty of entertainment and competitions galore but the show is much, much bigger than that. In this ever-changing world, the RVHS has kept a foot in tradition while adapting with the times and more importantly held on to the true essence of the show. It is immeasurable. Through dedication and passion, friendship and hard work, the continuity of skills and experience has kept on flowing from generation to generation for over 130 years and all from a few flower seeds.
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The Oxen Park Cinema Club

www.oxenparkcinemaclub.org.uk

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Bouth Village Green & Playground Committee

Mr Roderick Smith (Chair)
Mrs Penny Lovegrove (Secretary)
Mrs Susan Dean (Book-keeper)

+ others (to be completed)

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