bugman
30-07-2002, 11:49 AM
Guys,
A yarn that came across my desk from the Reuters wire today. Thought you might be interested.
I've been there in England - it's nothing special I guess as sacred sites go but when you sit back and contemplate what it would have been like to live and fish in that area at the time he wrote the book - WE WOULD HAVE ALL KILLED FOR IT.
SHALLOWFORD, England, July 29 (Reuters) - A contemporary of Shakespeare, a lifelong friend of poet and divine John Donne, he made himself immortal with a treatise on fishing that has never been surpassed.
Isaak Walton, the 17th century author of "The Compleat Angler", continues to inspire a loyal following at home and abroad and his former house, tucked away in the village of Shallowford in central England, has become an unassuming Mecca.
But, along with other places of interest in Britain, it is under threat, as local governments are obliged to carry out hard-headed economic assessments of the heritage under their control.
The royalist, traditionalist Walton, who left the cottage to the nearby city of Stafford for the benefit of the poor, might well have been appalled. The British and U.S. societies set up in his name certainly are.
Terry Davis, honorary secretary of the British Society of Friends of the Isaak Walton Cottage, believes the fishing museum which the cottage houses is the only one in the country.
He says that if a decision were taken to close it the society would "orchestrate as much noise as we can".
Tony Bridgett, vice president of the Friends, said he had had offers of financial support from the Isaak Walton League of America, a conservation society.
"We informed Stafford Borough Council that the Isaak Walton League of America was prepared to raise funds, but so far it has not given us any response."
LITERARY APPEAL
Beyond the fishing fraternity, the house excites loyalty in literary circles. The Bible and the Book of Common Prayer are the only English language tomes to have been reprinted more often than "The Compleat Angler", Walton's supporters say.
They argue that much of its appeal resides in the fact it captures a way of life far removed from our own hectic times.
Twentieth-century writer John Buchan said the real value of the Angler was: "It is a transcript of old English country life, a study of the folk heart."
For the devotees, the setting of Isaak Walton's thatched, timber-framed cottage, hidden away in deep countryside, is part of its very English charm, but it is also a drawback for visitors in that it is not accessible by public transport.
During the 2000 to 2001 visitor season, the cottage received only around 2,000 visitors, although numbers were affected by the nationwide outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease which led to large parts of the countryside being closed off.
So far this year, the cottage has received more than 1,200 visitors.
A spokesman for Stafford Borough Council said no decision on the future of the Isaak Walton cottage has been taken, but that shutting it to the public was "one of the options being considered".
The only guarantee is that the cottage will not be closed this year.
The need to rationalise follows legislation, passed in 1999, which places an obligation of "best value" on local governments, demanding that services are assessed periodically for efficiency and quality.
Critics have lamented the extra bureaucracy, although others acknowledge that the "best value" scheme has in some cases led to improvements in public services.
A spokesman for the Culture Ministry said he was not aware that local authorities other than Stafford were considering closing places of interest as a result of "best value", but added that he could not rule it out.
A yarn that came across my desk from the Reuters wire today. Thought you might be interested.
I've been there in England - it's nothing special I guess as sacred sites go but when you sit back and contemplate what it would have been like to live and fish in that area at the time he wrote the book - WE WOULD HAVE ALL KILLED FOR IT.
SHALLOWFORD, England, July 29 (Reuters) - A contemporary of Shakespeare, a lifelong friend of poet and divine John Donne, he made himself immortal with a treatise on fishing that has never been surpassed.
Isaak Walton, the 17th century author of "The Compleat Angler", continues to inspire a loyal following at home and abroad and his former house, tucked away in the village of Shallowford in central England, has become an unassuming Mecca.
But, along with other places of interest in Britain, it is under threat, as local governments are obliged to carry out hard-headed economic assessments of the heritage under their control.
The royalist, traditionalist Walton, who left the cottage to the nearby city of Stafford for the benefit of the poor, might well have been appalled. The British and U.S. societies set up in his name certainly are.
Terry Davis, honorary secretary of the British Society of Friends of the Isaak Walton Cottage, believes the fishing museum which the cottage houses is the only one in the country.
He says that if a decision were taken to close it the society would "orchestrate as much noise as we can".
Tony Bridgett, vice president of the Friends, said he had had offers of financial support from the Isaak Walton League of America, a conservation society.
"We informed Stafford Borough Council that the Isaak Walton League of America was prepared to raise funds, but so far it has not given us any response."
LITERARY APPEAL
Beyond the fishing fraternity, the house excites loyalty in literary circles. The Bible and the Book of Common Prayer are the only English language tomes to have been reprinted more often than "The Compleat Angler", Walton's supporters say.
They argue that much of its appeal resides in the fact it captures a way of life far removed from our own hectic times.
Twentieth-century writer John Buchan said the real value of the Angler was: "It is a transcript of old English country life, a study of the folk heart."
For the devotees, the setting of Isaak Walton's thatched, timber-framed cottage, hidden away in deep countryside, is part of its very English charm, but it is also a drawback for visitors in that it is not accessible by public transport.
During the 2000 to 2001 visitor season, the cottage received only around 2,000 visitors, although numbers were affected by the nationwide outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease which led to large parts of the countryside being closed off.
So far this year, the cottage has received more than 1,200 visitors.
A spokesman for Stafford Borough Council said no decision on the future of the Isaak Walton cottage has been taken, but that shutting it to the public was "one of the options being considered".
The only guarantee is that the cottage will not be closed this year.
The need to rationalise follows legislation, passed in 1999, which places an obligation of "best value" on local governments, demanding that services are assessed periodically for efficiency and quality.
Critics have lamented the extra bureaucracy, although others acknowledge that the "best value" scheme has in some cases led to improvements in public services.
A spokesman for the Culture Ministry said he was not aware that local authorities other than Stafford were considering closing places of interest as a result of "best value", but added that he could not rule it out.