BB2216: Resurgam

I thought it a funny thing to ask but there again, Stan had just taken us up the hill behind his house to the underground chamber, believed to be a bunker for the dignitaries of Kendal to dive into in the case of nuclear war- assuming they could reach it inside four minutes, which seems a little doubtful.  The entrance has been sealed off.  Anyone inside would find it somewhat like being trapped in a submarine.  Fortunately the crew of the Resurgam were able to escape before it sank in 1880.

It provides a good view point from which to look over Kendal.....

..... and the hills beyond the castle.

Our route took us east from Kendal, passing on the way  the former Holme Park School - site of many happy hours for our children and the introduction to many hours of skiing for happy parents.

Stan, who worked in Scotland for several years, suddenly remembered that the motto of Whithorn, the cathedral town of the old diocese of Galloway (now part of  Dumfries), was Resurgam.  Was this just a coincidence?

We continued eastwards over fields and tracks until we reached New Hutton. 

I have written before about the significance of the greyhounds on the church gateposts (see BB1301 The Greyhound Track). 

I was puzzled but could find no clues in the Church.

We continued on our way, passing the old school house where one post is now denuded of its greyhound, the other survives but is denuded of part of its leg.

Ancient lanes and more modern roads led us to Old Hutton where a magnificent new play area had just been finished for the children to enjoy when they return to school. 

We had intended to head for the church, testing my theory that there is always a south facing seat in the churchyard on which to eat your sandwiches.  We didn’t get that far.  Outside the village hall was a bench and a man transferring the contents of the boot of his car into the hall.  He explained to us that the hall now served as the village pub on a Friday night and he was stocking up in anticipation of what was going to be a bumper Jubilee evening.  We gave him a helping hand.

Across the road, the Westmorland flag was flying.  How appropriate, in a year or so Westmorland will rise again.

After a few fields.....

.... and the woods beyond the pipeline building.....

..... we arrived at the Punch Bowl at Barrows Green.  We thought we had earned a pint and it would be the opportunity to consult Uncle Google about Resurgam.

What a discovery!

It is a piece of music composed by Anne Dudley for the Poldark TV serious- the modern one who has difficulty keeping his shirt on.

It is a song by Fink (a songwriter from Cornwall based in Berlin and London) from his 2017 album named after the song.

It is piece of music for brass bands composed by Eric Ball in 1950- Its opening sounds to me a bit like a fusion of Elgar’s Nimrod and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem with a bit of Hey Jude thrown in for good measure.  Ironically, Nimrod was also an anti-submarine aircraft though long after the days of Resurgam.

Alternatively, Resurgam is the Latin for “I shall rise again”.  Most appropriate for a submarine and even more so for a plaque inside a church.

The first part of the mystery had been solved.  The next part is to discover to which family the Coat of Arms belongs.  However, that will have to wait for another day. It was now time for us to rise again and make our various ways home.

Don, Wednesday 1^st June 2022

PS Click on the pictures above to hear the musical Resurgams.  Click on The Resurgam Submarine to discover Peter Holt's account of "A Project for Annoying the Enemy".

Comitibus:  Mike, Stan (+Pedro), Don

Comments:

Stan: I should have paid more attention in the church: Honi Soit Que Mal Y Pense is the regimental motto of the Grenadier Guards - my father's old regiment. I still have his old colours. They are the only British regiment who can't take orders from anyone other than a Grenadier Guards officer!

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STATISTICS

BB2216 : Resurgam

Date:

Wednesday 1st June 2022

Features:

New Hutton, Old Hutton

Distance in miles (SatMap):

10.5

Height climbed in feet (MM):

1,285

Comitibus:

Don, Mike B, Stan

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