The Fell & Rock Climbing Club of the English Lake District (in everyday usage the Fell and Rock Club or FRCC) is the senior

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done ...

club covering the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Lake District. It was founded in 1906–1907 and, amongst its other activities, publishes the rock climbing guides to the area. It owns many of the early climbing photographs (e.g. Hankinson, 1975) taken by George & Ashley Abraham, who were founding members. Photograph from Owen Glynne Jones's book, ''Rock-climbing in the English Lake District''

Early history

The club had been originally proposed by John Wilson Robinson about 1887, approximately when rock climbing began as a sport in England. Robinson, owner of a farm and, later, an estate agent's business in Keswick, climbed with

Walter Parry Haskett Smith Walter Parry Haskett Smith (28 August 1859 – 11 March 1946) was an English barrister-at-law, athlete, traveller and pioneer rock climber. Background Born in Bognor Regis, England, he was the second son of the landowner Haskett Smith (1813–18 ...

, generally acknowledged as the father of rock climbing in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, and it was Robinson – in 1885 - who introduced the use of the alpine rope in the Lake District. Ashley Abraham was elected the first president of the FRCC, with Robinson one of its two vice-presidents. The chief objective of the club was: ::"To encourage and foster under the safest and most helpful of conditions the exhilarating exercise and sport of Fell Rambling and Rock Climbing in the Lake District." Safety was an issue at the time, since several fatal accidents had occurred recently. Alluding to these, Abraham commented at the first annual dinner: ::"Lack of discretion is a great evil in rock climbing, but there is another evil equally as great, and that is competitive climbing. This has been the fundamental cause of most of our home accidents . . ."

Memorial

A plaque commemorating members of the Fell & Rock Climbing Club who died in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

is set on the summit rock of

Great Gable Great Gable is a mountain in the Lake District, United Kingdom. It is named after its appearance as a pyramid from Wasdale, though it is dome-shaped from most other directions. It is one of the most popular of the Lakeland fells, and there are ...

; an annual memorial service is held there on

Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...

Alfred Wainwright Alfred Wainwright MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume '' Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'', publis ...

: ''A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Volume 7 The Western Fells'': Westmorland Gazette (1966): The club bought 3,000 acres of land including Great Gable and donated it to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

in memory of these members, and the plaque was dedicated on

Whit Sunday Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Ho ...

1924 by

Geoffrey Winthrop Young Geoffrey Winthrop Young (25 October 1876 – 8 September 1958) was a British climber, poet and educator, and author of several notable books on mountaineering. Young was born in Kensington, the middle son of Sir George Young, 3rd Baronet (see ...

in front of 500 people. The bronze memorial, weighing 70 kg, was removed in July 2013 and a replacement, with spelling errors corrected, was installed by Royal Engineers in October 2013.Tribute to fallen of First World War gets new lease of life"
Yorkshire Post 25 October 2013

Publications

The FRCC produce a selection of rock climbing guides to the Lake District which are periodically updated. Below is a list of their current publications: * A Lakeland Climbing Pioneer: John Wilson Robinson of Whinfell Hall by Michael Waller (Carlisle, Bookcase, 2008) *Lake District Rock (Joint publication with Wired Guides - 2015) *Buttermere & St Bees (2008) *Gable & Pillar (2007) *Langdale (2013) *Borrowdale (2016) *Scafell & Wasdale - CB Centenary Edition (2014) *Dow, Duddon & Slate (1994) (Out of print) *Lake District Winter Climbs (Cicerone Press - 2012) *The Lakeland Fells (1996) (Out of Print) *Eden Valley & South Lakes Limestone (2012) *Eastern Crags (2011) *Lake District New Climbs & Notes (2018)

Notes

References

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External links