shap wells
Shap wells is situated at lodge how on the birbeck fells.
Shap wells was once noted for its spa and medicinal waters. people travelled from all over the country to the spa ,but conditions in the early days were primitive, by 1820 the cold bath was supplemented by a rusty iron pot boiler heated with turf ,gorse and heather,and a bath tank formed out of an old hogshead.
In 1828 ralph alderson of dent wrote a glowing tribute to shap spa and its properties following a chemical analysis of the water, in his guide to shap and haweswater (which he dedicated to the earl of lonsdale)he wrote:- It now rests with your lordship to determine whether a spring so valuable and important shall longer remain comparitively inaccessible and useless ,or by the erection of requisite and appropriate conveniences,it shall be made a great public blessing . Should the noble earl resolve to make the place every way suitable for the accomodation of visitors,and render it a fit resort for persons of all ranks and classes,that at no distant period we shall see the shap spaw enjoying a degree of public interest and patronage not second to any mineral spring in the north of england . Following this, the earl of lonsdale (who had inherited the lowther estates in 1807) vowed to change these primitive conditions and resolved to replace the small house near the well with a suitable hotel. 5-6 years later the new hotel opened.
In a guide to shap spa in 1844 it was said that every delicacy of the season is supplied to tempt the weak sickly stomach of the invalid or gratify the more capricious one of the epicrian tourist or traveller, with clean rooms ,good beds,superior furniture and every requisite attention paid
The spa was stated to be a most genial and sanative spring,milder than the harrogate purgative spa,more active than gilsland water ,and is in its properties nearly allied to that of leamington. ralph alderson of yorkshire published an analysis on shap wells assisted by a Dr fyfe (lecturer of chemistry at edinburgh)the following was their conclusion-"it is said that there is not a medicated spring in the kingdom more generally effacious than the shap spa,in rousing the energies of the debitated stomach and inspiring the whole frame with a new animation ,giving to the blanched and cadaverous cheek the glow of health, and to the turgid and spiritless eye the sparkle of life and energy,the water is remarkable for the great quantity of saline matter in it. Results of a later (1881 )analysis- chloride of calcium -- 27.22 grains . ,chloride of magnesium -- 36 grains ,chloride of sodium -- 24.23 grains ,sulphate of lime --0.48 grains ,sulphate of soda -- 1.72 grains , oxide of iron and alumina -- 0.08 grains,silica --0.12 grains .
The pump house at shap wells in victorian times
In his book of 1836 sir george head gives an account of a stay at shap wells in 1835 ,he describes it as a comfortable well built house,the apartments exceedingly good,and the terms so unreasonably moderate,that one would imagine the landlord had been screwed down at least one peg below the point of possibility.
He also goes on to say that it would seem that the spare time of visitors is entirely taken up, either in drinking the waters,or in attending to their effects;for,as to the resources of dissipation or amusement at the hotel,all may be comprised in a jingling pianoforte and a bagatelle board in the drawing room ,as well as implements for the game of "les graces"* on the lawn-considerable energies are,however,imparted by the medicinal properties of the spring,which besides being highly sulphuretted,contains saline particles in abundance.
(*les graces was a game which originated in france and consisted of two sticks and a ring which was tossed back and forth )
George head also describes how,if travelling by public conveyances (stagecoaches),passengers would descend from their vehicle and deposit their luggage under a bush of heather before proceeding on foot to the hotel and then dispatching a porter for thir luggage.
The pictures above and below show the victoria monument. The victoria monument was erected in 1842 to commemorate the accession to the throne of queen victoria on june 20th 1937. the monument is 23 feet 6 inches high and the statue on top is a further 6 feet 2 inches high. On the north panel is a wreath of palm and olive and the lowther coat of arms,on the west panel is a british lion with its paw resting on a globe,on the east panel the goddess hygeia pouring medicinal waters from a goblet into a shell held by an aged invalid.
The statue of britannia was the work of thomas bland of reagill,the octagonal pillar was designed by architect mr mawson of lowther.
Shap wells served as a prisoner of war camp during world war two,known as camp 13 or 15 (camps had the same numbers as others and some had more than one number!) ,the hotel housed up to 260 ,mainly senior naval and luftwaffe officers who lived on the top 2 floors of the hotel. The sketch on the left by german prisoner heinz -georg moellenbrock shows shap wells as it was during the war. It is recorded that hotel linen and crockery were used for the prisoners!.
The camp was protected by 2 rings of barbed wire and searchlights,guards lived in nissan huts in the gardens( i don't know who sounds better off, the prisoners or the guards !!) the prison camp was closed in 1947.
In 1941 it saw a daring escape by two luftwaffe officers, on the 24th of november ,fighter pilot heinz schnabel and heinkel pilot oberleutnant harry wappler*, armed with forged identification papers which had them down as dutch airmen ,escaped by either hiding in a laundry basket or simply giving their word to return before walking out(accounts vary) and then stowing away on a train to carlisle,upon reaching carlisle wearing flying jackets over their german uniforms, they made their way to RAF Kingstown and bluffed their way into the camp where they persuaded a mechanic to assist them in starting up and taking a miles magister aircraft used for traing purposes.
They took off and headed south but running out of fuel they were forced to land at another airstrip where they continued their bluff and fuelled up and took to the air again, this time they headed out across the north sea towards holland but because the magister had a limited range they realised that they were not going to reach their goal and they were forced to return to england where they landed near great yarmouth, they were then taken to the RAF bomber airfield at horsham st frith in east anglia still pretending to be dutch airmen,
Their luck though, had now run out because the theft of the magister had been reported and they were detained and sentenced to 28 days in solitary confinement for their escape attempt and they were later shipped to canada to serve out the rest of thier internment there. so ended one of the,if not the most audacious escapes in german prisoner of war history( i couldn't find out what happened to the mechanic!!).
*
Henry wappler german prisoner of war who almost escaped,wappler was the first recorded loss to a barrage balloon in the 2nd world war. At 3.15 am on sep 13th 1940 his heinkel IIIp-2 bomber ,on returning towards paris after bombing ellsmere port ,hit a barrage balloon cable in newport,south wales,he baled out suffering a broken arm but his 3 crewmates were all killed and tragically the plane continued and then crashed on to a house killing 17 year old malcom phillips and his 14 year old sister myrtle.
A miles magister aircraft ,which the escaping german prisoners stole from raf kingstown and eventually flew as far as norfolk before being captured.
An international red cross report from 18th march 1942 details conditions in camp no 15,(i presume this to be shap wells as it mentions a hotel and the other camp 15 (in scotland )was at an old school).
The commander was a major upton , the camp leader a capt w .lott,* the camp capacity was 211 officers and 50 batmen but the present strength was 73 officers and 24 batmen.at the time of the red cross delegates visit a party of officers was busy levelling and raising a section of adjacent land which was to be used as a sports ground.The british officers and camp personnel were to leave the west wing of the hotel and take up quarters in barracks outside the camp.
Capt lott had 7 requests of the delegate ,among them were,1-,the suppression of the causes of delay in transmission of mail addressed to german pows.2-an enquiry into the non-delivery by the british postal authorities of about half the parcels sent by the families,3-the communication to camp leaders of new regulations from dpw affecting them and in particular a list of prohibited books and articles,4-officers arriving at the camp short of uniforms ask to be able to benefit ,in return for payment, from the facilities of the wermacht high command.5-standard parcel especially for sick,invalids and convalescents,6-speeding up the forwarding of official"capture cards"to families(it took about 2 months,at that time),
It is reported that new regulations over rations in the camp represented a decrease of 60% of the ham ration,50% of the meat,margarine and cheese ration,45% of sugar and 40% of jam but an increase of 150% potatoes and 50% oatmeal,captain lott judged that that would still be sufficient for those not occupied with physical work and with produce from the kitchen garden the level of food standard would be kept up. The prisoners were given the sum of 2 1/4d per officer per day to be spent in the naafi to help the daily ration. The canteen supplied on average 18 gallons of beer a week (i guess thats where the money went!)
R.a haccius the red cross delegate concludes that camp no 15 maintains its excellent moral and physical standard which has made its reputation.
*Capt w. lott (pow number 37421) was korvettenkapitan werner lott ,a u boat commander who's submarine U35 was sank in the north sea on 29th nov 1939 by hms icarus, hms kashmir and hms kingston .After capture he was taken to the tower of london where he was briefly imprisoned before his transfer north,he was awarded the iron cross 2nd class.
