The Patterdale Murder

Having read a number of Lakeland mining books recently, I was reading about the Greenside mine in Glenridding. This book is  written by Ian Tyler (the authority on mining history in lakeland) and is well worth a read to understand the history of the village and the mines around the area. In this book you will read of lead and silver, hard won in the hills of Greenside and the rest of the valley. One part the author drew my attention to was an incident that occurred on 8th March 1835 in Patterdale that I knew nothing about. This was the murder that occurred as a result of a brawl following a long waited for pay day. Pay was handed out at The Angel Pub in Penrith and was handed out every six months. One can imagine the bonanza that would have been to men used to tearing out a living from the hard underground rock that is Greenside, Glenridding. One part of the authors account I was troubled with was that the two miners, Joseph Bainbridge and John Greenwell, were brawling with locals and were ejected from The White Lion Inn, Patterdale, were later in Chitty Puss Lane (directly opposite the public house) and in order to protect themselves, they cut and whittled sticks to use to defend themselves, if set upon. Below is a photo of Chitty Puss Lane which is directly opposite the pub. My trouble was

 'Why would you remain in the area of the assault, hunting out a stick and whittling away when all you need to do is put distance between yourself and the scene of the trouble'. 

When one young man, a Thomas Grisdale of Hartsop Hall, came out of the pub the account reads that John Greenwell, using Joseph Bainbridge's knife, 'defended' himself and stabbed Thomas Grisdale, who incidentally had nothing to do with the original disturbance in the pub.

Chitty Puss Lane

It was my intention to research this for a fuller and more believable account. My wife began checking the internet for me before I engaged on any visit to Carlisle Archives and she did a sterling job, finding a whole history of the Grisdale Family and this account was covered in great detail. Not wishing to plagiarise another's work I will simply provide you with a link to that page of this detailed family history:

https://grisdalefamily.wordpress.com/2014/08/03/murder-at-the-white-lion-inn-in-patterdale/

This goes into great detail on the actual events of the day, the eventual trial of both men with Bainbridge receiving a 'Not Guilty' verdict and Greenwell a 'Guilty', sentenced to death yet later commuted to transportation for life. This has close similarities to the 'Banished' series that was aired on BBC2. On that commuted sentence the Grisdale Family website notes he was given a conditional pardon, this was in January 1849. This differs from a Full Pardon in that if he ever returned to his homeland tehn the original sentence was implemented; that was not transportation, but the hangman's noose. I have researche a number who returned and that terrible sentence was carried out. John had been released in March 1844, having obtained a 'ticket of leave, basically parole.

I will leave that article to fully explain but in the interests of enlightenment I draw the incident to your attention and the next time you have a pint in The White Lion you may choose to reflect on those events to add the your days experience.

One final addition is I visited Glenridding churchyard and found the grave of Thomas Grisdale, the pain of the family bites into your soul through the inscription carved into the hard green slate. I include a photograph of the stone and the inscription it holds.

Thomas Grisdales Gravestone.

The inscription reads:

IN MEMORY OF

THOMAS, eldest son of

ROBERT and ELISABETH GRISDALE

of Hartsop Hall in this Township

who was barbarously murdered by an unprovoked Assassin

on the evening of  SUNDAY March 8 1835

Aged 27 years.

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By mans worst Crime he fell and not his own.

Beloved he lived and dying left a Name

With which his Parents mark this votive Stone'

The Grief is Theirs th'Assassin bears the Shame.

Better to sleep tho' in an early grave

Than like the murderer Cain exist a banished Slave.

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**I have previously published this account, and other new material, for public knowledge. I did so in the expectation that anyone wishing to further expand that public knowledge would do so by highlighting this original account, and then adding new information they discover themselves, as I have above. Sadly I am aware of one site that has repeated a large section of an account of another all but forgotten lakeland memorial to two boys that drowned and making out it was new, despite his following my many new lakes history accounts. I was asked by a person writing a book for Wasdale MRT for the generation of funds to assist that worthy cause. I gladly agreed to its use and he stated he would reference my original account. Such a stance by the latter is an honourable one; I hope the former person reflects on his conduct and no longer copies my work and then makes out he has found a new lakes history; that is dishonourable and diminishes him.**

Copyright.