This is a Newspaper cutting from "The Manchester Evening Chronicle" showing a cartoon featuring Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley protesting against Manchester Corporation cutting down the oak woods on the shores of Thirlmere, dated 26 January 1911. This relates to a period well after the Reservoir had been opened when Manchester Corporation decided to clear the water catchment area of native trees and replace them with thick stands of conifers. They apparently did this to deter public access on their land and improve the water quality. Canon Rawnsley (a co-founder of The National Trust) and many other Friends of the Lake District vehemently objected to this desecration of the natural beauty of the Thirlmere valley, something that Manchester Corporation were obliged to protect under the terms of the 1879 Act of Parliament which allowed them to construct the reservoir. It appears that Manchester Corporation ran rough shod over the interests of the local people, restricted public access and ignored their legal obligations in 1911. The conifers that were planted to replace the native woodland are the same trees that now regularly blow over during each storm, blocking the road. “Plus ca change”.