A Carlisle man has been praised for his detective work in uncovering an error in established local history.

Derick Quinn, 64, has been commended for his historical sleuthing after determining that a well designed by renowned Victorian architect Sara Losh was built three decades earlier than previously thought.

The 19th century Carlisle architect is best known for designing St Mary's church in the village of Wreay, just south of the city.

The former jockey turned railway worker explained that his interest in the church was first sparked by a chance passing some months ago.

“I was just having a drive out that way, and I happened to pass by Wreay church,” said Derick, who worked most recently as a delivery driver before his retirement.

“When I saw it, I thought I'd pop in and have a look, because I'd never been in before.

“I was brought up a Catholic, so I've seen many churches in my time.

“But Wreay church is unusual because of the prominence of animals and images of nature inside.

“I thought it was a fascinating church - one of the most fascinating I've ever seen.”

This interest deepened when a cursory reading about the church and its architect revealed that Sarah had died in 1853.

Having noticed a well built a mile from the church dedicated to Sara’s sister Katherine dated 1866, Derick thought this to be curious.

“When you look at Katherine's well”, Derick said, “it was done by an expert - by someone who wanted it to last.”

“I read that the family didn't have much money by the time of Sara's death.

“The fact it was so well-built made me think it had to have cost a lot to build that well.

“So I couldn't see why the family would build the well 13 years after Sara died, and more than 30 years after her sister Katherine had died.”

Heading to the local historical records housed at the city’s library, as well as the archive centre in Harraby, Derick unearthed a map of Wreay village dating to 1834.

“There's a survey map of the area from 1834, which shows no record of the well being there,” he said.

“But there is another survey map from 1861 - and that shows the well being there.

“So I thought - if it's there in 1861 how could it have been built in 1866?

“That's how I came to the conclusion that the date was wrong.”

Derick added that the 1866 date has clearly been inscribed recently, and he believes it was done in error when the well underwent restoration in the 1970s.

“Katherine, Sara’s sister, died in 1835. I would have presumed that 1836 makes sense as a date for the well to be built, to commemorate her,” he said.

“There are references in a couple of books - including one by Henry Lonsdale - to the well being built by Sara.

“The arches in the well are identical to the ones in the mausoleum for Katherine - which was definitely designed by Sara, and the arches in the church, which was also designed by her.

“It's a Grade II listed site, so it's extra important that we get this history right.”

Hesket parish councillor for the Southwaite ward, John Rimmington agreed.

“In the parish, we do need to ensure that structures such as Lady Katherine’s well are held for future generations,” he said.

“We don't have many monuments within Southwaite ward.

“The parish council are committed to maintaining the well structure.

“It is a listed structure, but I'm not clear at this moment in time whether we would have the funds to physically change the date on it.

“It has had a few refurbishments on it in the last 30 or 40 years, and the parish council have been very active in that.”

John was tasked by the parish council in collaborating with Derick on this historical detective work.

“I was asked by the chairman of the parish council to contact Mr Quinn, I started looking into it more with him,” he said.

“I've lived here nearly 20 years in Southwaite, but I didn't know the history or the detail behind it before now.

“There's a lot of evidence to suggest that the date on the well is wrong, insofar as it doesn't reflect the date that Katherine Losh passed away.

“I've put a report into the parish council, and I made sure to highlight what we found after spending a couple of months looking into it.

“If there was a refurbishment done on the well at a later date, then there's every chance we'd try and endeavour to have the right date added.”

John added that as small body, Hesket parish council are unlikely to be able to source the necessary funds themselves to amend the date.

“However, we are happy to work with other organisations,” he said.

“If the funds were to be available, then it's something we ought to consider.

“There's a chance that another organisation could step forward and finance an amendment.

“The plaque on the front of the well dates back to a 1970 refurbishment when the community got together.

“I'm sure the parish council would be behind any efforts from the community to come together and fund a change to the date on the well.”

John stressed that it was Derick’s tenacity and passion for uncovering the truth that had resulted in the discovery being made.

“The reality is if Derick hadn't approached the parish council, we wouldn't have been aware,” he said.

“It's only when somebody with an inquisitive mind comes to you and asks the questions that you start looking into it further.”