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Egremont's Jewel |
"Our shimmering jewel of the town," is the way Copeland
Leader and Chair of Egremont Regeneration Partnership,
 Elaine
Woodburn, described Egremont Castle, and it shimmered indeed as Copeland MP,
Jamie Reed, turned the lights on in heavy rain on Friday 5th September.
Despite the rain he declared that it was great to be back in Egremont at an
ancient monument which in the last few years has become recognised as one of
the country's finest heritage sites. The transformation is due to the
inspired work of Copeland Parks Department supported by the dedication of
Friends of the Castle, who patrol the park and raise money for major
improvements. He praised the leadership of Egremont's Regeneration Officer,
Simon Walker, who had
 successfully
pursued funding for the illumination, for the pavilion which will next year
give all-weather cover for perfomances, and for many other projects which
have benefited the town. Egremont has a £30 million academy at one end, a
magnificent castle at the other, and superb Georgian architecture in
between. The castle now looks stunning from a distance and, in the words of local historian, John Todd, gives face to Egremont. The illumination was designed by London based lighting engineer, Mark Sutton-Vane, whose work, including the illumination of Southwark Cathedral, and nearer to home, Muncaster Castle, is world famous. Very conscious of the need to avoid light pollution, Mark has achieved these effects with lamps of 45 watts or less, far too weak for the normal lighting of a living room. In the dusk you can just see our Green Flag and the Egremont coat of Arms flying proudly.
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