Saturday 7th August 1819
Saturday August 7th We started at 11 o’clock for Scale Hill stupendous barren mountains in both sides are the only objects on the road 12 miles till within one mile of Scale Hill we caught a fine view of the ?***? & the Cheviot Hills when we arrived the gentlemen
met us & after some refreshment proceeded to Crommick Water three miles in extent encompassed by rugged pyramidal craggy mountains all defined by different names which our intelligent guide did not fail of telling us & we landed across the lake and surveyed the waterfall of Scale Force situated in a narrow chasm of rocks it falls 180 feet perpendicular with trees interspersed & is very fine; we then walked across some fields to the house where the celebrated Mary of Buttermere formerly lived we then mounted a hill to obtain a fine view of Buttermere a small lake
encompassed with mountains we then took to our horses & proceeded on a very bad road to the vale of Newlands the entrance is excessively fine we were surrounded by immense mountains & larger cliffs till by a turn of the road we had a fine view of the vale nine miles passed most delightfully in surveying this fine scenery when we arrived at Keswick to a late dinner
OBSERVATIONS & COMMENTS:
Scale Hill: Nestling in the Buttermere, Loweswater, Crummock Water and Lorton Valley in the English Lake District, Scale Hill has provided accommodation for over two centuries. A famous coaching Inn at the time it is likely that this is where “the gentlemen” met Lucy and her party for “some refreshment”. http://www.scalehillloweswater.co.uk/
Cheviot Hills are a range of rolling hills straddling the Anglo-Scottish border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders including The Cheviot (the highest hill), Hedgehope Hill to the east, Windy Gyle to the west, and Cushat Law and Bloodybush Edge to the south.
According to the photographer, Stuart Meek, within 20 minutes of taking this picture below the cloud seen above Cheviot would engulf everything above 1000 foot.
2006: The Cheviot. Looking south over Coldburn Hill to The Cheviot, by Stuart Meek. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by Stuart Meek and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Cheviot_-_geograph.org.uk_-_246415.jpg
To the south of the Cheviot hills was the site of the Battle of Otterburn in 1388, and possibly to a separate bloody battle between English and Scottish forces, after which only 110 people survived, which is described in "The Ballad of Chevy Chase". Two other related battles were the Battle of Homildon Hill, fought within the Cheviots near Wooler in 1402, and the Battle of Hedgeley Moor, fought north of Powburn in 1464. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheviot_Hills
Crummock Water is owned by the National Trust. Scale Force, the highest waterfall in the Lake District, feeds the lake and has a drop of 170 feet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crummock_Water
2007: Crummock Water from Red Pike by Mick Knapton at English Wikipedia, the copyright holder of this work, published it under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crummock_Water_from_Red_Pike.jpg
Crummock & Buttermere Lakes drawn by W Banks and engraved by W Banks. http://www.rareoldprints.com/p/4144
Circa 1850 : Crummock Water & Buttermere. Engraving by J. Harwood, 26, Fenchurch Street, London https://antique-prints-maps.com/acatalog/ref1.php?imagefile=../largeimages/SECrummockWater18.jpg
1833: Crummock Water, Cumberland. Engraving by W. Le Petit after T. Allom. https://antique-prints-maps.com/acatalog/ref1.php?imagefile=../largeimages/SECrummockWater12.jpg
Scale Force, the highest waterfall, William Wordsworth described it as "a fine chasm, with a lofty, though but slender, fall of water", while Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote, "Scale Force, the white downfall of which glimmered through the trees, that hang before it like the bushy hair over a madman's eyes." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_Force
1833: Scale Force, Cumberland. Engraved by J C Bentley after Thomas Allom, published Fisher, Son & Co London http://www.rareoldprints.com/p/19729
Thomas Allom (above) would have shared the same vantage point as Lucy (below)
2005: Scale Force (waterfall) by Michael Graham from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by Michael Graham and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waterfall_Scale_Force.jpg
Mary of Buttermere (Mary Robinson,1778 – 1837) was known as "The Maid of Buttermere" and is mentioned in William Wordsworth's "The Prelude". She is the subject of Melvyn Bragg's 1987 novel The Maid of Buttermere, which was adapted into a play by Lisa Evans and premiered at Keswick's Theatre by the Lake in 2009.
Circa 1850: Inn at Buttermere. The Birth Place of Mary Robinson. Engraving by J. Harwood, 26, Fenchurch Street, London. https://antique-prints-maps.com/acatalog/ref1.php?imagefile=../largeimages/SEInnAtButtermere18.jpg
Lucy has entitled her sketch Mary of Buttermere’s house with a view of the lake Cumberland Augt 7th 1819
Mary was a shepherdess and the daughter of the landlord of the Fish Inn in the village of Buttermere in England's Lake District.
She was married bigamously in 1802 to John Hatfield (c.1758–1803), who presented himself as "Colonel Hope". The marriage of the celebrated local beauty to the brother of an earl (as he claimed) was widely reported, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote in the London Morning Post of "The romantic marriage". Hatfield was exposed as an impostor, bigamist and forger, was arrested, escaped, was captured in South Wales, and was tried at Carlisle for forgery and hanged in 1803. Mary's story captured the public imagination, and subscriptions were raised on her behalf. She married a local farmer Richard Harrison in 1807 and had four children. She is buried in the churchyard at St Kentigern's Church at Caldbeck (also known as St. Mungo’s). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Robinson_(Maid_of_Buttermere)
Buttermere is a lake in the English Lake District in North West England. The adjacent village of Buttermere takes its name from the lake. It is owned by the National Trust, forming part of its Buttermere and Ennerdale property. The village of Buttermere stands at the north-western end of the lake, and beyond this is Crummock Water.
2001:Buttermere with Fleetwith Pike in the background. Photograph taken by Mick Knapton. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buttermere_and_Fleetwith_Pike.jpg
Buttermere, Cumberland. Engraved by R Sands after Thomas Allom http://www.rareoldprints.com/z/2424
From his hidden stronghold at Buttermere, it is said that Jarl Buthar conducted a campaign of running resistance against the Norman invaders, from the time of William the Conqueror's Harrying of the North in 1069 right up until the early 12th century. In 1072 King William set up a garrison at Carlisle, but the isolated garrison needed constant reinforcement and supplies. It is claimed that the Cumbrians fought a guerrilla war against the Normans for almost half a century, attacking supply wagons, ambushing patrols and inflicting great losses upon them in terms of money, material and men. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buttermere
Can you help us?
Transcription problems: As untrained transcribers we sometimes experience problems interpreting some of Lucy’s writing. We have a problem deciphering one section today:
view of the ?***? & the Cheviot Hills The word between the …and .. & the is unclear. Help please!
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?