Thursday 5th August 1819
Thursday August 5th This morning not promising very propitious for ascending Skiddaw our Guide Mr Hatton (a very experienced clever man) advised us to row down the Derwent Water to Lowdore Cataract accordingly we set sail or rather set to coming at 10 o’clock on the left rises the majestic Wallow Crag beautifully wooded to within a small distance of the summit on the right is the vale of Nuwland & Stable Hills outdone only by Skiddaw this lake is famed for the clearness of its water which reflected the beautiful scenery; the situation of Lowdore is finer than any waterfall I have seen between immense rude rocks & partly wooded which hang
over a narrow chasm covered with a bed of rock which in wet weather is entirely hid by the water which falls 150 feet the echo of a cannon. view through the different mountains is very grand; returning to the boat we had a magnificent view of Borrowdale Fells the outline of these mountains is inexpressibly rugged & fine; after dinner we landed at the Vicars Isle in the centre of the water belonging to General Peachy the grounds are beautifully laid out and he has a comfortable house. Derwent Water is the finest lake I have seen the situation & boundaries of it are so excessively fine we returned to the Inn highly delighted with the Day’s excursion
OBSERVATIONS & COMMENTS:
The Cataract of Lodore" is a poem written in 1820 by the English poet Robert Southey. Appearing in Joanna Baillie's 1823 anthology, Poems, Chiefly Manuscript, and from Living Authors, she wrote to Southey, "Your Cataract of Lodore has pleased & amused me exceedingly ... We shall have the younger part of my readers running about with portions of it in their mouths and shaking their heads to the measure, for these six months to come."
2015: Lodore Falls, Borrowdale, Cumbria, photographed from behind the Lodore Falls Hotel by Antiquary, the copyright holder of this work, who published it under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lodore_Falls_1.JPG
Circa 1880: Lodore. An antique chromolithograph. https://antique-prints-maps.com/acatalog/ref1.php?imagefile=../largeimages/SELodore.jpg
Lucy’s drawing below, though somewhat crude, expresses her feelings for the environment when she records in her diary…. the situation of Lowdore is finer than any waterfall I have seen between immense rude rocks & partly wooded which hang over a narrow chasm covered with a bed of rock …
The falls are formed by the beck from Watendlath Tarn cascading over huge boulders for a distance of some 100 feet. The main drop of the falls is about 90 feet. Although the falls are spectacular after periods of heavy rain, they dry to a trickle in periods of prolonged dry weather. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract_of_Lodore Now the cataract is referred to as Lodore Falls https://www.visitcumbria.com/kes/lodore-falls/
Walla Crag is a popular short walk from Keswick and gives superb views over Derwentwater. The western face is prominent in views across the lake and fine views over Keswick are available from the summit, as in he photograph below taken 3/4 of the way to the summit.
2009: The town of Keswick, nestled between the fells of Skiddaw and Derwent Water in the Lake District, Cumbria, England. Bassenthwaite Lake in the background. A 2 × 3 segment panorama taken from about 3/4 of the way to the summit of Walla Crag. Photograph by DAVID ILIFF. under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Fell walkers of an older generation found the height of Walla Crag an easily memorable 1,234 ft, much as Scafell Pike was once a simple 3,210 ft. More recent work by the Ordnance Survey has now elevated Walla Crag to 1,243 ft. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walla_Crag
2006: Walla Crag from Hause Gate on the opposite side of Derwent Water by Mick Knapton at English Wikipedia. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walla_Crag_from_Hause_Gate_(2).JPG
Lucy’s spelling of Wallow Crag was common in her day.
Newlands Valley is in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It is regarded as one of the most picturesque and quiet valleys in the national park.
2008: View from the cairn on Dale Head down the Newlands valley by Mick Knapton at English Wikipedia, the copyright holder, who publishes it under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Newlands_valley_from_Dale_Head.jpg
1796: View of Newlands Vale and part of the Lake of Keswick. Engraved by S Alken after B Rogers, artist. http://www.rareoldprints.com/z/67
It was extensively mined and quarried for many centuries; lead, copper, silver and even gold have been extracted over the years. The most famous mine in the Lake District is situated in Newlands. This is the Goldscope mine, on the lower slopes of Hindscarth near Low Snab farm, which has operated since the 16th century. It yielded such large amounts of lead and copper that it was called “Gottesgab” (God's Gift) by the German miners brought over to develop the mine in its early days. The mine closed at the end of the 19th century because the mine's main shaft had gone so deep it had become uneconomic to pump the water from it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newlands_Valley SEE ALSO: – Sylvan's Pictorial handbook to the English lakes (1847) “Buttermere may be reached from Keswick ……. through the beautiful vale of Newlands” . https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zvYGAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA190&dq=vale++newlands+borrowdale&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi1vMb5-O_eAhVv_SoKHQdvBqgQ6AEISDAG#v=onepage&q=vale%20%20newlands%20borrowdale&f=false
Stable Hills is referred to in William Green’s 1819 book, published in the year of Lucy’s visit: The Tourist's New Guide: Containing a Description of the Lakes, Mountains, and Scenery, in Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire, with Some Account of Their Bordering Towns and Villages. Being the Result of Observations Made During a Residence of Eighteen Years in Ambleside and Keswick, Volume 2 Friar Crag Bay, a place furnishing several superior compositions. One of these is Stable Hills and another is Wallow Crag . Modern reference: https://www.walklakes.co.uk/walk_243.html with a copyright picture of of Lady's Rake, Walla Crag and Stable Hills by Elizabeth Oldham.
Vicars Isle, known now as Derwent Island, was owned by Fountains Abbey and used by monks, but with the dissolution of the monasteries, it became property of the Crown in 1539. In 1569 it was sold to the Company of Mines Royal who built a camp on the island. The island lies in the centre of the photograph below.
2009: A wide 12 segment panoramic view of Derwent Water as viewed from the northern shore of Keswick by David Iliff, the copyright holder. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Derwent_Water,_Keswick_-_June_2009.jpg
In 1778 Joseph Pocklington bought the island (then known as Vicar's Island) and built a house, boathouse, fort and battery, and Druid circle folly on the land. William Wordsworth was upset by the building, feeling it spoiled the view, and described Pocklington as "a native of Nottinghamshire, who played strange pranks by his buildings and plantations upon Vicar's Island, in Derwentwater, which his admiration, such as it was, of the country, and probably a wish to be a leader in a new fashion, had tempted him to purchase. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derwent_Island_House
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2009: Derwent Island House by ThereWereNoWMDs, who published it under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derwent_Island_House
SEE ALSO: Guide book, A Survey of the Lakes of Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire, by James Clarke (1787 and 1789; and Plans of the Lakes ... 1793) Page 84:- “... Vicar's Island, now called, (from its proprietor) Pocklington's Island. This is one of the largest, and is beautifully ornamented by its spirited owner. On the western side he has built a fort, on which he has a battery, as before mentioned: on the South side of the fort is a druidical temple, exactly facing Keswick; and close to the shore is the appearance of a chapel, which consists of only one wall and a steeple: the steeple contains a room, not furnished with bells, but good roast-beef and claret; where the worthy Proprietor very facetiously said he might, he thought, always find more priests ready to attend, than at their own churches by the tinkling of bells. ...” AND ALSO VERY TONGUE IN CHEEK: With local museum owner Peter Crosthwaite, he organised the Keswick regattas, the first of which was held in 1781. Pocklington’s island buildings played a central part in the regatta’s main event, the mock battle. Crosthwaite would lead a fleet of boats in an attack against Fort Joseph, the fort repelling its attackers with mock cannon fire. Peter and Joseph enlisted many people in the make-believe battles, dressing them in costume to crew the decorated boats. Peter’s experience of being an Admiral at sea was useful for keeping a fleet of ships in order. Coloured flags transmitted orders from his flagship as he orchestrated complicated naval manoeuvres as if fighting a real battle. Year after year Joseph and Peter's ambition grew and the spectacle expanded accordingly. Earls and Dukes, Lords and Ladies from all over the country attended. The cannon and musket fire on the Lake was matched by fireworks in the evening when Joseph wined and dined the visiting dignitaries in Keswick at a fancy ball.See this delightful article, Joseph Pocklington's wealth matched his vanity but overshadowed his sense of taste at https://www.beneaththebeaconinterpretation.com/joseph-pocklington-read-more/
Look at the National Trust’s YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=SNnT6rhgMTw and their website at https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/borrowdale-and-derwent-water/features/derwent-island-and-house
General Peachy: Some 18 years after buying his island Joseph sold it on for more than six times the price he had paid. General William Peachy of Shoddesdon and South Park, Hampshire became the new owner and before too long it had been renamed again, this time with its current title Derwent Isle. On certain days of the year you can visit the island and Pocky's house which are now the property of the National Trust. https://www.beneaththebeaconinterpretation.com/joseph-pocklington-read-more/
Can you help us?
Old Regency Prints, Pictures an Coaching maps: Do you have access to any prints or pictures showing what town and country would have looked like when Lucy travelled through? Any illustrations of what she would have seen in 1819 will enliven our research.
New Pictures: Do you have any modern pictures of the streets, buildings, gardens and views that would enable us to see the changes that two centuries have wrought?