The Lowstern Hut
by E. C. Downham
The idea of a second Y.R.C. Hut developed out of discussions amongst members generally about the establishment of a suitable memorial to Crosby Fox, the Leader of the Y.R.C. 1957 Himalayan Expedition so tragically killed in an avalanche. However it was later felt that, as Fox was an accomplished mountaineer rather than a pot-holer, some other form of memorial to him was preferable, but nevertheless the idea of a hut in the limestone area of Craven persisted and received the approval of the Committee. It is surely fitting that the Club which pioneered pot-holing and caving in this part of the country should have a permanent base in Craven. A sub-committee was formed and it was on a bitterly cold Sunday in February, 1958 that possible and impossible buildings were inspected. Not until after a fortifying lunch did our Clapham member John Lovett recall that the old and derelict hut known as ” The Golf House ” at Clapham might be worthy of consideration, so it was to this edifice that the sub-committee ventured forth.
The situation was superb; approached by its own drive from the Bentham road, a quarter of a mile out of Clapham village, standing secluded in a small plantation, entirely private and with a glorious uninterrupted view south over the rolling hills of Bowland, it was an ideal spot. The Lowstern Plantation is marked on the One Inch Ordnance Map, Grid Reference 732691. On the hut itself opinion was sharply divided. The Architects and Surveyors in the Club viewed the rusty and dilapidated structure with a critical eye, with mutterings of rot, both wet and dry, and other technicalities of which lesser mortals were blissfully ignorant, but all agreed that the site was perfect. That a terrific amount of work was necessary to make the place habitable and worthy of the Y.R.C. was tactfully not mentioned! The hut and its grounds comprised part of the Ingleborough Estate, thus the possibility of buying or renting was somewhat doubtful, but a hopeful approach was made to the Lord of the Manor, Dr. J. A. Farrer.
At this point one realised the high regard in which our predecessors of the Y.R.C. are held and on what secure foundations the Club was built. Dr. Farrer immediately gave the project his blessing and was kind enough to say that as the Yorkshire Ramblers had for so long been closely connected with the Farrer family we could go ahead immediately. Unfortunately, owing to the ramifications of the Estate, outright purchase was not possible but Dr. Farrer agreed to a long lease at a purely nominal rent.
The Legal Department of the Club then swung into action as did also the general body of members; finally even the Treasurer was noticeably enthusiastic but perhaps this was due to the influence of the President—what a good thing it was that in the year 1958 the President, Stanley Marsden, was one and the same person as the Treasurer! An appeal for donations to the hut fund was opened and, as always, the response was most gratifying; the Club will be eternally grateful to those many members who helped to provide much-needed and costly equipment.
The Hut is a bungalow containing five rooms; these immediately suggested a layout of two dormitories (containing eventually twelve bunks), a common room, kitchen, bathroom and an annexe for clothes. Plans included showers with hot and cold water and full cooking facilities; all these things have now come to pass. Adaptations and extensive repairs started after Whitsuntide 1958 and up to the end of the summer of 1959 scarcely a week-end passed without members working on the Hut. Just how the ambitious construction of a septic tank for flush lavatories came into being remains a mystery, but one recalls a young member of the Club, known affectionately by the name less polite than that of Sewage Engineer, wandering about with rolls of plans under his arm, and finally the inhuman glee with which he watched slave labour digging a monstrous hole some eight feet in diameter and nine feet deep to house a prefabricated concrete tank.
All this work went with a tremendous swing and great enthusiasm; superhuman efforts succeeded in making the Hut presentable for an official opening at the After-Dinner Meet in November, 1958, and it was surely fitting that the Club’s Oldest Member and doyen of pot-holers, no less a person than Ernest E. Roberts, should perform the opening ceremony.
A crowd of about eighty members and friends had assembled in the Hut grounds when the newly elected President, John Godley, mounted the steps leading to the Front Door of the Hut.
In a brief speech he outlined the efforts which had led up to the acquisition of the Hut, he went on to make a strong plea for care in pot-holing. There was no virtue, he said, in getting into difficulties underground, the Club possessed both the tackle and the experience to make trouble unnecessary. He urged younger Members to take the greatest possible care and not to be afraid to ask for advice. He then introduced our Landlord, Dr. J. A. Farrer of Ingleborough who, in a few happy words of welcome, made it clear that both Landlord and Tenants were more pleased with each other than is normally the case!
Roberts then took his stand on the steps, it was obviously a proud moment for him and everybody listened with delight to his characteristic speech, packed with humour, anecdote and sound common sense. True to his pet hobby of exploding fallacies he insisted that he was not a founder member of the Club but belonged to what he called the ” second wave.” He paid handsome tribute to the early stalwarts, Fred and Matt Botterill, Tom Booth, Parsons, Gray and Green and others who made the foundations of the Y.R.C. and laid down the principles of pot-holing technique. He hoped that the Y.R.C. would never slavishly follow fashions, and he could not resist a passing swipe at rock-climbers who encumber themselves with ironmongery— ” it must be a great impediment.”
He then declared the Hut open, unlocked the door with an enormous ” eighteen carrot ” gold key, flung it wide and invited members to come in after the President had smashed a bottle of champagne on the steps.
There is no doubt that the Hut, ” this building of character,” now thoroughly equipped and luxuriously comfortable, will prove a great acquisition for the Club.