History of Cumbria Like Wordsworth, he took a paternalistic view of the "lower-classes" saying that "I don't want to let them see Helvellyn while they are drunk." However, the project that really made the Lake District into national news was Manchester Corporation Water Works's scheme to dam Thirlmere to provide water to the city, first proposed in 1876 and finally "on tap" in 1894. Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, the future co-founder of the National Trust was undecided : he was a strong advocate of the Lake District's ability to provide recreation, rest and fresh-air, as well as aesthetic pleasure, but also knew just how
Octavia Hill Belt" for the protected rural areas surrounding London. Three hills in Kent (Mariners Hill, Toys Hill and Ide Hill) which she helped to protect from development form part of the belt. In 1876 Hill became the treasurer of the Kyrle Society, founded in that year by her eldest sister, Miranda, as a "Society for the Diffusion of Beauty". Under the slogan "Bring Beauty Home to the Poor" it aimed to bring art, books, music and open spaces into the lives of the urban poor. For a short period it flourished and expanded, and although it declined after a few years,