guarding Lakeland &apos;s life and beauty . in 1937 , when the idea of Lakeland becoming a national park was an idea only , as was the town and country planning act , there were increasing dangers in the lake district , both to the beauty of its landscape and to its traditional agriculture and local life . some of those dangers were ugly or badly sited buildings , commercial afforestation and injurious road schemes . the national trust was , of course , a landowner in Lakeland , but the trust had to make public appeals for subscriptions , a slow method and one which could be repeated only at infrequent intervals . sometimes private persons intervened by buying up at the last moment farm lands which were threatened by possible building or by other so called development , but the number of such public benefactors was necessarily limited . in these circumstances , in 1937 , a company named the lake district farm estates limited was formed and registered under the industrial provident societies acts , to organise the great amount of good will towards the lake district . this it did by making it possible for lovers of the lake district , who were not in a position to purchase or to manage farms or to make gifts to the national trust , to lend money to the company , at a low rate of interest , or even interest free . the company &apos;s powers covered the purchase , ownership and management of land and buildings in Lakeland , with the aim of maintaining them in their present agricultural character and safeguarding both the beauty of the landscape and the traditional livelihood of the dalesman . Lakeland was defined as lying inside a circle having a radius of 20 miles from the Langdale Pikes . in carrying out its objects one of the rules of the company imposes an obligation on the company to give covenants to the national trust over any land purchased by the company . the first stipulation and restriction imposed on land covenanted is as follows : no act or thing shall be done or placed or permitted to remain upon the restricted land which , in the opinion of the national trust , shall injure , prejudice , affect or destroy the natural aspect or condition thereof or the adjoining parts of the dale . the other stipulations refer to the prohibition of new buildings , mining or quarrying , felling of trees and the planting of conifers , without the permission of the trust . another rule provides that if the company decides to sell any of its properties , it must first offer to sell the property to the national trust . the farm which was the company &apos;s first purchase , High Wallabarrow , lies on the Cumberland bank of the Duddon , opposite to the hamlet of Seathwaite in Dunnerdale , and adjoins the national trust property at Wallabarrow Crag . the farm and its fell land are within the area which the forestry commission had declined to preserve from commercial afforestation and it was to anticipate a purchase by the forestry commission that this farm was acquired by the company . the landscape is a fine example of the beauty characteristic of the Duddon Valley , and the farm house , though in itself a small one , is delightfully situated . in 1940 , in order to safeguard further this very vital part of the Duddon Valley , the purchase was made of 230 acres of intakes , the small house at Low Wallabarrow and of certain inside land . a considerable gift towards the purchase was received from the friends of the lake district . the next purchase by the company was Skelwith Farm , which lies to the south of Skelwith Bridge and on the right bank of the River Brathay . this farm included an important part of the landscape seen by those going up Langdale from Clappersgate and Ambleside . the fell land was immediately threatened by the forestry commission , which had refused to exclude the Coniston - Hawkshead Brathay district from the area in which they desired to carry out commercial afforestation , and a good deal of the lower land offered opportunity for speculative building . the purchase of this farm therefore had a high protective value . soon afterwards the company purchased , in the north of Lakeland , Rannerdale Farm on Crummock Water . this farm which lies on the shores of the Lake was one of the few areas on these shores which were not already protected by restrictive covenants . in 1941 , the company extended its interest into a new dale , Ennerdale . here the sheep farm known as Mireside gave a fine opportunity of protecting the landscape . the farm had a frontage to Ennerdale Lake . a few years later its ownership entitled the company to be heard when the question of raising Ennerdale Lake was considered at a public enquiry . certain fields adjoining Mireside were purchased at a later date , and the farm now has quite an important share in controlling the entrance to Ennerdale and in maintaining its seclusion against exploitation by motor traffic , by reason of the fact that the road up the dale is a private road . no further purchase was made until 1944 , when two farms - Ghyll and Buckbarrow - were purchased at the approach to Wastwater . with this purchase the company now had interests in Duddon , Buttermere , Ennerdale and Wasdale . a further farm in Wasdale , Harrowhead Farm , which adjoins Ghyll and Buckbarrow , was purchased in 1949 . Longhouse Farm , Duddon , which has a commanding position in Seathwaite in Dunnerdale , by controlling the land at the foot of Walna Scar was purchased in 1948 , and is a typical fell farm . now was the time when the prices of farms rose prodigiously and with its limited means the company was unable to make new purchases for the next few years . with the death of a tenant in 1954 , however , the company decided that it must take the opportunity of acquiring cash to be available for other purchases , and Rannerdale which , as previously mentioned , had been placed upon protective covenants to the national trust , was sold . the next year Skelwith Fold was also sold to the tenant , subject to protective covenants . when land has been placed under these covenants by the company , they continue in force and are not weakened by any change of ownership . with the proceeds from the sale of these two farms , the company again had funds available to make new purchases . when , in 1955 a small farm , Ghyll Bank , at Boot in Eskdale , came on to the market the company decided to purchase . this farm lies half a mile north of Boot on the Burnmoor Track with fell rights on the northern portion of Burnmoor and the west face of Scafell , extending to the peak of Scafell . there was a great danger that it would cease to be a farming unit and that the land would be taken over by adjoining farms and the buildings become ruins , so the farm with its Herdwick sheep flock was bought . a farm in Patterdale and one in Borrowdale were acquired by the company in 1957 , and , taking the Langdale Pikes as a central point , the company now owned farms to the north , south , east and west . the farm in Patterdale is Howe Green Farm , Hartsop , at the foot of the north side of the Kirkstone Pass , and is as characteristic a fell farm as any which the company own . an interesting feature of this place is an old corn drying kiln , which seems to be of a unique type . a generous gift by the late Rev H H Symonds made it possible to repair this kiln . the farm purchased in Borrowdale is yew tree Farm , at Rosthwaite . this farm has wide and important fell rights on the Langstrath side of Borrowdale and is of great importance for the company &apos;s objects . since the company was formed , Lakeland has become a national park , and the town and country planning act can prevent the happening of some of the dangers that were envisaged when the company was formed . but by its selective purchases the company continues to fulfil its general objects by such management of the properties as will safeguard not only the beauty of the landscape but also , and no less important , the traditional livelihood of the dalesmen . to people concerned about the furtherance of these objects the company continues to provide a means where money may be used , and where the donor asks only a low rate of interest , or none at all . the first chairman of the company , which has its offices at Exchange Chambers , Kendal , was Mr Francis C Scott , and the members of the original committee of management were Lord Howard of Penrith , Lord Birkett , Lord Chorley , Mr A M Carrs-Saunders , Mr W Farrar , Col J F Hopkinson , Mr C S Orwin , Col A T Porritt , and the Rev H H Symonds . the present Chairman is Lord Chorley , and the Vice-Chairman , Col J F Hopkinson . life in Lakeland . peace and friendship at Stone Bower . to everyone here it is really home . they have no-where else to go , says warden Fred Hellowell . when the German blitzes began in 1940 , the government had many schemes for mothers and children . elderly folk who were bombed out of their homes had no such schemes to help them except in the institutions of those days . so a group of conscientious objectors set about to provide private accommodation for the old folk of the big cities whose homes had been wrecked by German bombs . an old derelict house in Burton-in-Lonsdale named Stone Bower was taken over . an appeal was made for help . someone offered 40 old iron bedsteads and furniture . two of the members of the organising group promised the first year &apos;s rent . blankets were forthcoming from the Canadian red cross . starting with nothing , the group founded the Stone Bower fellowship which survives to this day in the village of Silverdale , where 30 men and women live in peaceful security at an 18-bedroom house standing in eight and a half acres of ground . warden of the fellowship from its inception , and a tireless worker for the home to-day , is Mr Fred Hellowell , and he told me of the history and impact of the enterprise . to-day Mr and Mrs Hellowell are joint wardens . the pacifist group which founded it were mainly from the Morecambe and Lancashire area . the members felt that it provided them with an opportunity for worth-while Christian activity . Stone Bower served the elderly folk until 1945 , when many of the conscientious objectors began to return to their own jobs . yet 15 old people remained at the home , and they had no homes to which they could go . in those days the national assistance act had not come into force , and there were no homes for old people such as there are to-day . the committee of Stone Bower disbanded , but three members felt they ought to carry the fellowship on as a permanent scheme . they were Mr Charles Wade , a quaker who lived at Bentham ; Mr Fred Hellowell and his brother John Hellowell . even though the position looked so difficult they felt that they should continue for the sake of the old people . in 1951 the house at Silverdale became available . the fellowship had no funds , but the national corporation for the care of old people , part of the Nuffield foundation gave &amp;pound;4,000 . another &amp;pound;1,000 was forthcoming from the Lancashire county council . there was an appeal broadcast by the B.B.C . altogether &amp;pound;8,500 was raised , and the house was purchased . I toured the fine house at Silverdale , and in a sense I envied the old folk their peace of mind and their security , two essentials to a happy life for those who are old , without homes of their own and with few relatives . the scheme has been run on a pocket money basis . for the last six or seven years , the staff have received 30 s a week pocket money and their keep . they were happy to do the job voluntarily . we felt , and still feel , that our little piece of practical Christian service is to give our services in this way for people in need , said Mr Hellowell . yet in recent weeks there has been such a difficult time that it is being realised that more staff is needed . 