FIFTY-five years after Ullswater was saved from becoming a reservoir, a memorial is to be unveiled.

In the early 1960s Manchester Corporation Waterworks proposed the building of a weir on the River Eamont at Pooley Bridge, effectively creating a reservoir and increasing the level of the lake by three feet.

There was an immediate and vociferous public outcry, with locals forming the Ullswater Preservation Society and quickly organising a petition of more than 500,000 signatures.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Following a petition to the House of Lords, the proposal was debated on February 8, 1962 with passionate speeches from all sides of the House, and most notably by Ulverston-born Lord Birkett QC, which resulted in the proposals being thrown out.

A local slate memorial to celebrate the saving of the lake is to be unveiled on Tuesday (August 29) at a popular viewpoint near the Ullswater Steamers pier at Pooley Bridge. It has been carved by Pip Hall, of Cowgill.

The memorial is the seventh addition to the Ullswater Heritage Trail, a project by the Friends of the Ullswater Way.

Richard Inglewood whose father, William Vane MP, the first Lord Inglewood, played a leading role in the campaign to save the lake, said: "Lord Birkett’s powerful speech, “deeply felt and eloquent”, is rightly considered one of the finest in modern Parliamentary history and undoubtedly saved the lake “for all people for all time”. He died of a heart attack a few days later."

Miles MacInnes, whose late father Gurney was treasurer of the Ullswater Preservation Society, added: "This is a great David and Goliath story and one which should not be forgotten. We are very grateful to United Utilities who have generously sponsored this impressive memorial. We are delighted that Lord Birkett’s grandson, Thomas Birkett, is joining us in this celebration."

In his famous speech, Norman Birkett said: "Thus far and no farther. Go away. Come again another day, if you will. But in the meantime, do that which ought to have been done before. Produce the hydrological data on which the House can come to a proper decision. Until that is done, you have no right whatever to invade the sanctity of a national park."

In 1965 a revised and much-reduced scheme was approved following a public inquiry. Water is now taken from Ullswater by tunnel to Haweswater under strictly controlled conditions which prevent abstraction when water levels fall. A huge underground pumping station at Parkfoot Holiday Park is largely unnoticed.

The new memorial is inscribed with the Latin words "Si Monumentum Requiris Circumspice" taken from Christopher Wren’s monument in St Paul’s Cathedral and translates as "If you seek his monument, look around".