Rheged (1983: Doomsday)

The Rheged Co-operative (known locally as Rheged, pronounced Regg-Ed) is based in the northern and central parts of the former English County of Cumbria.

Pre-Doomsday
The English County of Cumbria was formed in 1974 with the unification of the historic counties of Cumberland (in the north) and Westmorland (in the south) and also the inclusion of the Furness pennisular (North Lonsdale), an area formally part of Lancashire and the Rural District of Sedbergh, an area formally part of the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Doomsday
On doomsday in the south of the county the port of Barrow in Furness is hit by a 10 kilotonne tactical nuclear device and the Sellafield Nuclear Facility was either hit by a bomb of an undetermined size or more likely the reactor went critical and suffered a major meltdown. Apart from those two irradiated areas the majority of the county survived practically unscathed.

In the days and weeks after DD Chaos reigned in Cumbria as law and order collapsed. Police officers abandonded their posts to protect their families from roving bands of bandits and former military units, which became known as reavers.

In order to protect themselves from these reavers many people retreat to the main towns of the area and erect makeshift walls around the towns to protect themselves. Bands of survivors made runs out into the wilds to gather food and other supplies. Protected farms were set up by survivors by the late 1980's in order to make the food supplies more reliable.

By the mid 1990's many of the attacks from reavers had diminished and the walled towns began to open up to the surrounding land, suprisingly even after over 10 years many of the herds of sheep that had been on the fells were still there, a little wilder but they had actually increased in numbers since the abandonment of the upland farms.

In the late 1990's the walled townships began trading with each other and in 1998 the Cumbria Co-operative was set up from the townships of Workington, Keswick, Maryport and Cockermouth so that trading would be far easier. In 2000 the townships of Carlisle, Windermere Town, Kendal and Whitehaven join the Co-operative and in 2001 the name was changed to the Rheged Co-Operative (Rheged being the old name for Cumbria) in order to distance themselves from the old United Kingdom. In 2002 a new flag was introduced using the old Westmorland coat of arms, it can be flown over trading stations to show they are offical Rheged Co-Operative buisnesses.

In 2003 contact is made with the Kingdom of Cleveland from the east side of the Pennine hills, the Cleveland soldiers chased off reavers that had been harrassing the township of Carlisle. In 2008 the Kingdom of Cleveland provided Keswick, Workington, Maryport and Kendal with electric wind generators.

In early 2011 Representatives of the southern Townships and Parishes meet with Mary Johnstone, the Procurator of Rheged at her new offices in Carlisle. They ask to cede from the Co-Operative, she agrees and the Townships of Kendal, Windermere, Coniston, Ambleside, Appleby, Kirby Stephen and Egremont and their surrounding Parishes become the Southern Rheged Co-Operative, the rest of the Co-Operative continue the name of Rheged.

Trade
Trade routes were set up within two years and in 2007 a rail link was established with the Kingdom of Cleveland.

The main exports of Rheged are roofing slate and wool.

main towns are:


 * Kendal
 * Workington
 * Keswick
 * Cockermouth
 * Whitehaven
 * Maryport
 * Windermere Town
 * Carlile

In 2008 the Rheged Co-operative began using the Cleveland pound as a new form of currency for trade.

In 2009 Rheged begins trading with the Duchy of Lancster.

As of 2010 The Rheged Co-operative does not have any centralised goverenment, the townships that exist within Rheged each manage themselves seperately as well as an area of land surrounding the towns. Townships will work with each other to increase trade and for major works such as road systems, irrigation, water supplies and mining.

Many people in the area covered by the Rheged Co-operative do not consider themselves part of a country, many do not wish to become part of the Kingdom of Cleveland or the Celtic Alliance as they see large countries as the major cause of wars.

Governmental organisation
Rheged does not have a conventional govenmental layout, mainly due it being a co-operative of many small parishes and townships. As of 2010 Rheged comprises of 17 parishes and 8 townships.

In order to run Rheged as a trade co-operative and also to run basic utilities such as water, electricity, police force, fire brigade, hospital and doctor service, road repair and judicial service there are monthly meetings (or more regularly if needed) of representatives in Keswick town hall. Each parish sends one representative elected by his or her parish council. Each townships sends one representative elected by the citizens of the township. Once every two years a head representive is elected by his or her fellow representatives, he or she is known as the procurator.

In September 2010 the Procurator Mary Johnstone and leading representives from the Rheged Co-Operative approched the Organisation of British Nations with hope of increasing trade links with the members of the OBN with a possible membership application in the future.

In early 2011 the Office of the Procurator and the representatives meeting hall will move from Keswick to purpose built structure in Carlisle.

Many people in the south of Rheged are unhappy at the move as they see it as the seat of power moving away from the south where the majority of the population centres are. Also there are rumours of the Kingdoms of Cleveland and Northumbria having too much influence in the area, this is mainly due to the fact that the new Representatives meeting hall is being built by a Cleveish building firm and being heavily sponsered by the Northumbrian Witain. Many Rheged citzens in the south are beginning to make links with the Duchy of Lancaster to the south, mainly as the south of Cumbria (The Furness pennisular) was orginaly part of the historic county of Lancashire.

Scottish offensive
In late August 2010 reports reach the Procurators office via the Celtic Alliance of a massive military build up in the New Scottish State, in response the representatives of Rheged approch both the Celtic Alliance and the Kingdom of Cleveland for assistance if the Scots try to invade Rheged.

The Celtic Alliance responds that their land around Stranraer is also under threat and as such they are unable to help with any possible invasion. Cleveland responds that they will send 500 Territorial Army personnel as well as 40 heavy horse cavelry, in addition Northumbria will send a further 100 militia personnel and 50 archers.

By later September the Scottish Army had invaded the unclaimed land to the west stopping short of the border with the Celtic Alliance, it had however shown no intrest in northern Rheged. By early October the Scottish Army had not moved in over a month, Northumbria begins withdrawing it's troups from Rheged. Cleveland also withdraws it's cavelry and 200 TA personnel leaving 300 TA to set up a borderline with communications back to Cleveland and also to train up several hundred north Rheged volunteers as the newly formed Rheged militia.

News
18th November 2010

Several Scots representatives appear on the border of Rheged with the New Scottish State, they ask to speak to the Procurators office. In a surprise development they ask for formal discussions for the development of an offical border between the New Scottish State and Rheged, they also ask for a development of trade routes between the two nations. The Procurators office welcomes the peaceful developments between the two nations however relations will be taken slowly and carefully.

Initial reports from the Procurators office are that the New Scottish State would like a de-militarised zone running along the old Scotland/England border with 5 miles either side of the border evacuated of civilians into their respective countries and a offical border crossing set up on the old M6 at the town of Gretna (all other crossing points will be closed).

7th December 2010

In early 2011 the office of the Procurator will move from Keswick to a purpose built structure in Carlisle, the building has been part-funded by the Kingdoms of Cleveland and Northumbria, many people in Rheged (particularly the south) are beginning to talk about the Procurator being unduelly influenced by the larger countries to the east of the Pennines.

Many people in the south of Rheged are grately in favour of closer links with the Duchy of Lancaster to the south rather than the counties across the Pennines, members of the OBN and the Celtic Alliance.

19th December 2010

After public uproar in the south of Rheged, the Procurators office has announced that from 7th Feburary as partually devolved representative meeting will continue to meet in Keswicks old town hall, the meeting will take place one week before the main meeting in Carlisle and be headed by the Deputy Procurator John Morrison. Representatives of Parishes and townships in the old historic counties of Furness and Westmorland will be present at the meeting in Keswick. The Deputy Procurator will bring the results of the meeting to the Carlisle meeting.

2011
8th January 2011

The procurators office has begun to transfer its offices between Keswick and Carlisle. The office will reopen in Carlisle on the 10th January. Protests have been held in Keswick apposing the move to the north asking why the procurator is leaving the more populated south for an empty north. They are also protesting that the Procurator is becoming too friendly with the countries on the east coast and putting their interests before that of Rheged population.

10th January 2011

On the opening day of the new Procurators office in Carlisle was greated with large demonstrations in Keswick and smaller ones in Carlisle. A large stone was thrown through the main entrance door of the new Procurators office building causing the main entrance to be close before the Procurator opened the building (she had to use a side entrance to ger ot her office).

14th January 2011

News has reached the Procurators new office in Carlisle that the Deputy Procurator, John Morrison, has begun to hold representatives meetings at old Keswick Town Hall. As the Procurator had decreed that the meetings should start not earlier than the 7th of February, the Deputy Procurator has been ordered to report to the new office in Carlisle to give a reason for these meetings. He is expect to arrive at the Procurators office on Monday 17th of January.

17th January 2011 - the end of the unified Rheged Co-Opertive
Deputy Procurator John Morrison arrives at the Procurators office building in central Carlisle, however he refuses to go inside, insisting that he meets with the Procurator Mary Johnstone in the open at Carlisle Castle so that the Representatives that have come with him from the south of Rheged can put their point across. But also so that members of the general public can hear what she has to say about the claims that Rheged is effectivly becoming a puppet state to the Kingdoms of Cleveland and Northumbria.

At Carlisle Castle the Representatives of Kendal, Ulverston, Windermere, Coniston, Ambleside, Appleby, Kirby Stephen and Egremont as well as the Deputy Procurator meet with the Procurator Mary Johnstone.

The meeting at the Castle starts good natured however is quickly deteriorates, this is mainly due to the fact that the Procurator had brought the Ambassadors of both Cleveland and Northumbria. At one point the Representative of Kendal has to be restratined from attacking the Cleveland ambassardor by his fellow representatives.

The meeting lasts over five hours and at the end of it the Procurator is asked to devolve powers to for southern Rheged to the Representatives of Southern Rheged. This she agrees to (mainly as Rheged is not a country per se, but a collection of independant townships) as such the Townships of Kendal, Ulverston, Windermere, Coniston, Ambleside, Appleby, Kirby Stphen and Egremont and their surrounding Parishes cede from the Rheged Co-Opertive as South Rheged with the Deputy Procurator John Morrison becoming the new Procurator of South Rheged.

It is planned for the first meeting of the South Rheged Co-Operative will take place on the 24th January 2011 at Keswick Old Town Hall.