GENERATIONS of Kendal Green dwellers will be reminded of the planting of an oak tree to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth thanks to a special plaque mounted by residents, writes Rachel Kitchen.

Back in April 1864 the six-year-old John Wakefield planted the tree on Lower Tenter Fell where, for centuries, locally made cloth had been dried on tenter frames. The young boy was watched by 5,000 people as he planted the tree to mark the Bard's birth, and a placard was then held up bearing the words Kendal Green, a reference to the cloth immortalised in Shakespeare's Henry lV Part 1. Mayor John Whitwell said the area would be known by that name from that day on.

The ceremony was described by historian Curwen in his book Kirkbie Kendall, of 1900, and he suggested there was "the need of some tablet to record its history". Some 103 years later a plaque has been unveiled, on the gatepost between numbers 23 and 24 Kendal Green.

At the unveiling ceremony, resident John Coopey took the opportunity to thank everyone who had helped him and his wife Jean with their recent book, Kendal Green: A Georgian Wasteland Transformed.

Mr Coopey said Kendal schools had been granted a half-day holiday so pupils could attend the oak-tree planting in 1864. The Kendal Mercury and Times recorded that 5,000 people gathered to watch, and the children were marched through a tent to be given a medal and ribbon, and a bun. Good-natured grocer Mr Greenwood presented each child with a packet of lozenges, and Mr W.H. Wakefield gave out a scramble of nuts.

Katharine Pottinger, great-niece of the young boy who originally planted the oak, unveiled the plaque along with the Mayor of Kendal, Avril Dobson, who was appropriately dressed in Kendal green.

Mrs Pottinger said the Kendal Mercury and Times had reported how her great-uncle "went to work vigorously to dig the hole and plant the tree", and she hoped someone had prepared the ground beforehand to avoid rocks being struck.

Coun Dobson said she was always pleasantly reminded how beautiful Kendal Green was, and she congratulated the residents on their efforts with the plaque.

Around 60 people attended the unveiling, and they were treated to sparkling wine and slices of Shakespeare birthday cake afterwards.

The cake was baked by Mrs Coopey, and iced and adorned with three-dimensional oak leaves, thanks to Beryl and Philip Blasdale.

May 8, 2003 16:00