Lake District historical timeline

Last Glacial Period

115,000–11,700 years ago	Britain enters the Last Glacial Period, which is part of a much larger sequence of (colder) glacial and (warmer) interglacial periods. The Last Glacial Period is known to British geologists as the Devensian glaciation.
22,000 years ago	Britain is at Glacial Maximum, a period of time where the ice sheets are at their greatest extent. These ice sheets cover the majority of Britain and Ireland. Lakeland is covered in its entirety under one huge ice dome. This core is so thick that maybe only the tips of the highest peaks of Scafell, Bowfell, and Great Gable are visible. All the big lakes are excavated by the ice during this Glacial Maximum.
13,500–10,000 years ago	▶The ice sheets in lakeland have retreated revealing barren glacial valleys with ice-scoured fells and lakes left impounded in the valley floors.	▶ A catastrophic rock failure causes 1000's of andesite boulders of varying sizes to cascade down from Bowder Crag in the Borrowdale Valley. The largest of these boulders is the famous Bowder Stone, which lands on the lower plateau above the River Derwent in a blance-defying position on its narrowest point.
11,700 years ago	The Pleistocene geological epoch comes to an end. This marks the beginning of the Holocene (the current geological epoch) and the period of warming known to British geologists as the Flandrian interglacial, which continues to present day.

1901–1950

1935	▶ 18 August – The last service at Holy Trinity Church in Mardale Green, Westmorland, is given by the Rev. W.H. Cormack. The congregation exceeds the church's capacity of 75, and overflows to several thousand outside. Those on church grounds listen via loud speakers, attached to the church tower. The following year the church is demolished, and ancient yew trees are cut down prior to flooding the Mardale Valley for the Manchester Corporation's newly constructed Haweswater dam and reservoir.
1936	Holy Trinity Church is demolished and the bodies of those interred in the churchyard at Holy Trinity are exhumed, most of which are reburied in separate cemetery to the east of St. Michael's Church in Shap.
1945	▶ 4 May – The Dower Report. John Gordon Dower (1900 – 1947), secretary of the Standing Committee on National Parks, produces the first post-war official report with proposals for the creation of National Parks of England and Wales.	▶ 21 July – The National Parks Committee is set up by the Minister of Town and Country Planning, under the chairmanship of Arthur Hobhouse (1886 – 1965). Under advisement from the Dower Report, further preliminary work is deemed necessary on the subject of National Parks.
1947	The Hobhouse Report is published. This landmark report sets out the legislation for the creation of 12 national parks in England and Wales.
1949	16 December – National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 gains Royal Assent. This Act of Parliament establishes the foundation of today's National Parks, with a focus on preserving and enhancing their natural beauty, along with providing access to recreational opportunities for the public.

1951–1974

(Lake District Planning Board)

1951	▶ 9 May – The Lake District is designated with National Park status. It is the second national park to be designated this status after the Peak District. The Lake District is the largest national park in England, and remains so to this day, at 2,362 km2 (912 mi2).	▶ 13 August – The Lake District Planning Board is founded.
1954	Board member, Leslie Hewkin, proposes the recruitment of voluntary wardens to help deal with an ongoing issue of litter, which had been problematic for some time. The Board agrees the proposal and the first litter pick takes place on the August Bank Holiday at White Moss Common, Grasmere.
1955	Number of volunteer wardens reaches 32. This volunteer service continues with the "litter" problem, promotes the Country Code, tackles illegal camping, and provides advice on a wide range of topics to visitors.
1956	A Wardens Committee is set up due to increasing numbers of volunteer wardens.
1960	▶ Huge illegal camping takes place on Elterwater Common. A total of 250 abandoned vehicles are removed by the volunteer wardens.	▶ The position of Warden is advertised in the spring. Upwards of 400 applications are received by the Lake District Planning Board.	▶ John Wyatt is the first full-time warden of Lakeland. He starts in September.
1961	31 March – John Wyatt's first end of year report as fulltime warden. It covers management of the Board's landholdings and properties, promotion of mountain safety, organisation and assistance of exhibitions, advising visitors and continued litter clearances.
1969	▶ June – The first National Park Centre in Britain opens to the general public. The Hobhouse Committee had recommended a centre in their report as providing: "books, maps, models and museum exhibits for inquiry by visiting public into the topography, history, natural history, rural economy and general culture of the Park and its neighbourhood, together with facilities for reading, field study and similar pursuits, for periodical talks and exhibitions and cinema films and for the sale or distribution of National Park literature and maps." Over 60,000 people visit the centre between June and the end of November.
1972	▶ The Lake District Planning Board celebrates its 21st birthday. There is an evening reception at the National Park Centre at Brockhole. The Chairman of the Board and Director of the Countryside Commission attend with representatives of local councils, local societies, Board members and staff. The Board is congratulated by the Chairman of the Commission on its achievements over the previous 21 years.	▶ The Penrith to Keswick section of the Penrith to Cockermouth railway line is closed after previously successful objections by the Board in 1963.
1974	▶ Lakeland now employs nine full-time wardens.	▶ The Board has six manned information centres operating at Windermere, Keswick, Ambleside, and mobile units at Bowness, Hawkshead, and Waterhead.

1974–1997

(Lake District Special Planning Board)

1984

▶ A litter pick produces 1,000 sacks of rubbish from the valleys and fells.

▶ 23 July – The water level of Haweswater is over 37 feet below normal, and falling at a consistent rate of around three feet per week. Water is flowing in at less than one million gallons per day, as opposed to 80 million gallons going out. This leaves the distinctive white band of rock and shingle on the shoreline. The remains of the flooded and once picturesque hamlet of Mardale Green are visible.

1997–to date

(Lake District National Park Authority)

2021

9 May – The Lake District National Park celebrates its 70th anniversary since its original designation. The open spaces and natural beauty of Lakeland are appreciated with increasing enthusiasm due to the restrictions of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Celebrations continue through to August, which marks the National Park Authority's 70 years since it was founded (13 August, 1951). People are invited to mark the anniversary by sharing their favourite Lake District memories on various social media, using #LakeDistrict70 and tagging Lake District National Park. Chief Executive, Richard Leafe says: "This last year has shown us how much people value this protected, national landscape and how important it has been for everyone’s wellbeing," and that this "anniversary is a chance to reflect on highlights from the last seven decades, and to look ahead too."

Sources

• Berry, Geoffrey (1984). Mardale Revisited: The Story of Haweswater. Kendal: Westmorland Gazette.
• Robinson, Jeremy Rowan. Managing the Lake District National Park: The first 60 years. Kendal: Lake District National Park.
• Smith, Alan (2003). The Story of the Bowder Stone. The Landscapes of Cumbria. Keswick: Rigg Side Publications.
• Smith, Alan (2012). The Big Lakes of Lakeland. The Landscapes of Cumbria No.5. Keswick: Rigg Side Publications
• Smith, Alan (2014). The Smaller Lakes and Tarns of Lakeland. The Landscapes of Cumbria No.6. Keswick: Rigg Side Publications