Thousands of people return to Victorian lake which Rudyard Kipling's parents named him after

This article originally appeared on Culture24.

Fish jugglers, mermaids and a tightrope walker inspired by a post-slavery hero - there's a renaissance at Rudyard Kipling's lake. Here are some vintage photos

Thirty years after the abolition of slavery in the UK, huge crowds gathered to watch Carlos Trower – nicknamed The African Blondin – walk a tightrope in 1864 and 1878. Trower, whose amazing life story has been the subject of documentation by his great-grandson on a dedicated website, was balancing 100 feet above Rudyard Lake, a two-and-a-half-mile beauty spot designed by John Rennie on the Staffordshire-Cheshire border.

Rudyard Kipling’s parents, John Lockwood Kipling and Alice Macdonald, met there and named their son after the stretch, and Captain Webb, the first person to swim the channel, hosted a Grand Aquatic Fete there to demonstrate his prowess in 1877. And over the Bank Holiday weekend, the first large-scale event at the lake for more than 100 years was held to mark the first Staffordshire Day, celebrating 1,000 years since the county was first mentioned in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle.

A Day At The Lake kept an eye on the past, inviting marching bands, a Victorian juggling show, synchronised swimmers, mermaids emerging from the lake and performances by high-wire walker Chris Bullzini and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Ensemble. The idea was to recreate the mid-19th century heyday of the idyll, when as many as 20,000 people would visit on some days following the establishment of the North Staffordshire Railway in 1849.

"Carlos was an extremely talented ropewalker," Bullzini says of Trower. "It’s poignant that over 20,000 people would come to cheer, clap and celebrate his technical prowess and be blown away by his performance with slavery in living memory.

"This walk was a tribute to the African Blondin and all the Blondins who came before and after. It is a tribute to and celebration of funambulism in general."

Families are also being invited to share their memories with the Rudyard Lake Archive, which contains an extract from George Orwell’s diary revealing his trip to the lake as part of research for The Road To Wigan Pier.

• Visit the Rudyard Lake Archive, Wild Rumpus and Chris Bullzini's website. Email hello@wildrumpus.org.uk to share your memories.

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Three lakes to see

Otterhead Estate and Lakes, Taunton
The nature reserve is situated in the valley of the River Otter and is the heart of the Victorian Otterhead Estate with the site of Otterhead House (demolished in 1952) and its landscaped grounds, untended since the late 1930s. The river was impounded to form a chain of at least seven lakes, the Otterhead Lakes, of which two survive.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield
Join the Heritage team for a special exclusive summer heritage walk exploring the beautiful viewpoints around the lakes and discover the stories that surround them. June 11, 3pm.

Snowdonia National Park
Situated on the west coast of Britain covering 823 square miles of diverse landscapes, Snowdonia National Park is a living working area, home to over 26,000 people. As well as being the largest National Park in Wales, Snowdonia boasts the highest mountain in England and Wales, and the largest natural lake in Wales, as well as a wealth of picturesque villages like Betws y Coed and Beddgelert.

Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/art553353-rudyard-kipling-lake-tightrope-staffordshire-trower