Another small fragment of Kendal's past is presently being eliminated from the urban scene and it would be a disservice to posterity were this sad development to go unrecorded.

All southbound pedestrian frequenters of the Castle Mills side of Aynam Road, having passed the phalanx of traffic-begrimed buildings lining the route from the corner of Bridge Street, abruptlyfind themselves beside the high wire fence that once formed part of the perimeter defences of Goodacres Carpets.

The grassy space beyond the fence is home to a few bushes and a small thicket of modern signage, all of which obscure the view. But continue the short distance to what looks like a stout wall, half grown over with ivy.

Looking over this wall until recently, you would have seen a rectangular pond covered by a green net. This has lately been drained and is currently being used as a dump for the ongoing site developments at Goodacres' former factory.

The significance of this former pond is that it was the last surviving fragment of the tail race that carried away the water from the waterwheels that once powered the Castle Mills.

The wall over which you peer is really the north parapet of the bridge that carried Aynam Road over the tail race.

Why, though, did this small section of tail race survive? I believe it was kept, suitably underlain by a waterproof lining, as an emergency water supply for the factory sprinklers, in case of fire.

Whatever its purpose during the Goodacres' era, its original purpose lay at the heart of industrial enterprise in old Kendal and its passing should be marked and mourned.

Geoff Brambles

Kendal