Sunday 8th August 1819
Sunday August 8th After going to Church we prepared ourselves for ascending Skiddaw the road is very good & we were able to ride our ponies to the summit the rains however did not suffer us to enjoy the fine views of Derwent Water before the clouds descended into the
valleys & a violent shower came on we waited for a considerable time on a flat eminence undecided whether to proceed when we thought contrary to Mr Hatton’s opinion that it was clearing up & we proceeded enveloped in clouds which however occasionally passed away & presented a vast extent of country Derwent & Bassenthwaite lay extended before us encompassed by a fine ridge of mountains jumbled together which appeared as if anxious to surpass Skiddaw in loftiness we reached the summit with very little difficulty but the animated description of our guide gave us a better idea of the view than what we really saw it being so ?***?
the wind was exceptionally high & the atmosphere very cold we did not remain long but caught some very fine views as we descended in some parts the road is very steep but far preferable to Snowden or Cader Idris the whole excursion from Keswick is 12 miles
OBSERVATIONS & COMMENTS:
Keswick St John Church is distinctive with its atypical pink sandstone and spire. However it was not consecrated until St John’s Day, December 27th 1838, so was there a previous church on the site or did the Coplands attend church somewhere else?
http://keswickstjohn.org.uk/
Derwent River rises at Sprinkling Tarn underneath Scafell Pike and flows in a northerly direction through the valley of Borrowdale, before entering Derwentwater, which it exits to the north just outside Keswick and is joined by the waters of the River Greta. The photograph below shows the lovely old bridge that spans the River Derwent at Grange, near Keswick.
2004: Grange Bridge. Photograph by Cameraman, taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by Cameraman and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grange_Bridge._-_geograph.org.uk_-_1514352.jpg
The Derwent then enters Bassenthwaite Lake at its southern end; it exits it at its northern end, thereafter flowing generally westward to Cockermouth, where the River Cocker joins it from the south. William Wordsworth's childhood home in Cockermouth backed onto the Derwent, and he briefly mentions it in The Prelude: ... the bright blue river passed along the terrace of our childhood walk; A tempting playmate whom we dearly loved (see https://www.bartleby.com/145/ww287.html ) From Cockermouth, the river continues westward past Papcastle, site of the Roman fort of Derventio and onwards to Workington, where it flows into the Irish Sea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Derwent,_Cumbria
Bassenthwaite Lake is one of the largest water bodies in the English Lake District. It is long and narrow, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 3⁄4-mile (1.2 km) wide, but is also extremely shallow, with a maximum depth of about 70 ft (21 m). It is the only body of water in the Lake District to use the word "lake" in its name, all the others being "waters" (for example, Derwentwater), "meres" (for example, Windermere) or "tarns" (for example, Dock Tarn).
2005: The south end of Lake Bassenthwaite by Norma Foggo. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by Norma Foggo and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bassenthwaite_Lake_south_end.jpg
It is fed by, and drains into, the River Derwent. The lake lies at the foot of Skiddaw, near the town of Keswick. Some maps dating from the 18th century do in fact mark this lake with the name Bassenwater, and the use of the name Broadwater for this lake is also attested. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassenthwaite_Lake
Derwent & Bassenthwaite Lake, Keswick & Skiddaw in the Distance, Cumberland. http://www.rareoldprints.com/p/2418
1815: Bassenthwaite Lake, from the hill above Armathwaite. Engraving by F.R. Hay after J. Farington. https://antique-prints-maps.com/acatalog/ref1.php?imagefile=../largeimages/SEBassenthwaite.jpg
Can you help us?
Keswick St John Church was not consecrated until St John’s Day, December 27th 1838. Was there a previous church on the site in 1819, or did the Coplands attend church somewhere else in Keswick?
Transcription problems: As untrained transcribers we sometimes experience problems interpreting some of Lucy’s writing. We have a problem deciphering one section today:
really saw it being so ?***? Lucy last word on the page eludes us. 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?