Glencoyne Bay, looking to Pooley Bridge direction.
Wilkinson Holmes was born at Penny Bridge, Ulverston, in the first quarter of 1850, the son of John a master mariner. His eldest brother was Joseph, who was 7 years old when Wilkinson was born, then Robert Henry who was 3yrs old in 1850; these two older brothers were born at Millom.
On 18th October 1880, Wilkinson married Elizabeth Holmes at Ulverston Baptist Chapel, the eldest daughter of Captain Henry Holmes. Little is known of their lives, although in 1881 they were living at 33 Mount Pleasant, Barrow-in-Furness, with Wilkinson recorded as a Shipwright. They were to have no children.
In the late 1880's, Wilkinson is known to have obtained a position as the captain of Raven, a new steamer of the Ullswater Steam Navigation Company. The Raven itself was launched on 11th July 1889, by Miss Winifred Parkin of Charing Heath, Kent, a relative of Mr. Parkin, of Raven Crag (Ravencragg), near Hallin Fell, who was a director of the company. It was a vessel of 120 feet in length, 15 feet broad, and 8 feet deep. It was built on the shore of Eusemere, Pooley Bridge, by Messrs. T. B. Seath and Co., of Glasgow, with two non-condensing engines (by J. Goldie, also of Glasgow) capable of between 150 and 200 horsepower. It may have been that Wilkinson's employment began at or near this date of launch.
In 1891 the Holmes's lived at Elm House, Barton, North Westmorland, which is just under a mile from Pooley Bridge, and along the road towards the main route south to Shap (now referred to as the A6).
There is not much detail recorded of Wilkinson's employment, but he continued as captain of The Raven.
From Monday 11th February, 1895, a great frost occurred over the north of England; Ullswater was just one of the lakes which was frozen, allowing for skating to take place as a recreational pastime, with a great number of people travelling to the lake from the surrounding area for this purpose.
On Tuesday 12th Wilkinson skated down the lake to Glenridding to see Mr. Bowness on steamer business at The Ullswater Hotel, Patterdale, but Bowness was away at Penrith on hotel matters. Wilkinson waited until 3pm before he decided to skate back to Howtown to see a Mr. Winn. His intention was to then skate back to Pooley Bridge; he never arrived at either location.
Another view of Glencoyne Bay, in the afternoon, paddle boarders taking pleasure on the lake, as skaters would have once done.
The view to Howtown, from between Glencoyne and Aira Beck.
The view of Place Fell, from Aira Beck area
Following concern for his safety, the next day searches were made of the frozen lake to discover if there were any clues to his likely fate. Edward Bargett, a stonemason of Pooley, went by skate with Thomas Horn as far as Sandwick. They linked up with two Patterdale men who were also searching for Wilkinson, and as a group they went to the Lyulph's Tower area where it was known that the ice was treacherously thin. Having walked the shore at Lyulph's Point for 200 yards due to the dangerous ice, they resumed skating and saw a place where the ice had recently broken. On closer inspection skate marks could be viewed going to the break and a blue cap with a yellow band was seen in the ice itself; they knew this to belong to Wilkinson. On getting a branch from a tree to assist with weight dispersal, they peered below the ice and saw the body of Wilkinson. They obtained a ladder and an axe, breaking the ice and were then able to recover the body of their friend. The water at that point was only 8 feet deep and 15 yards from the shoreline, although it was clear to the men that Wilkinson had struggled to make it through the ice, to try and reach the shore before he was overcome and drowned.
The inquest was commenced at The Sun Inn, Pooley Bridge, on Friday 15th where the body was identified by his brother Joseph, a master mariner, now living at Millom. Anne Rose was the barmaid at the Ullswater Hotel and said Wilkinson was sober when he set off on return down the lake. Thomas Grisdale was a postboy and his evidence was that he had seen Wilkinson at 1pm when he entered the yard of the hotel. Wilkinson had said he had walked the shore from Stybarrow Crag and Thomas informed Wilkinson of the dangers of thin ice in the area of Glencoyne Park, saying it had not been covered with ice when he passed it on the Monday.
Constable Gilbert of Patterdale was informed after the discovery of the body, and on his arrival this had already been recovered from the ice. He had concluded that Wilkinson had held close to the shoreline as he journeyed back along the lake, just in case he saw Mr. Bowness returning. The only mark on the body was a cut across the bridge of his nose. At the conclusion of the inquest the jury had no difficulty in reaching a verdict of, 'Accidental Death by Drowning, caused by falling through the ice'.
It was commented on within the local papers that Wilkinson had been a man with the foresight to understand the dangers the lakes presented for those who may have wished to skate or swim on, or in, the lake. It had been he who had instigated a safety programme by placing ladders and life buoys at strategic positions on the lake shore only the Saturday before his death; now, tragically, he was the first to drown after these safety features were put in place. Sadly, there had been no one present to witness his demise and use these strategically placed safety aides to save his life.
Wilkinson was buried at Barton Church on Saturday 16th, a great number of dignitaries and friends were present for the service, including the directors and crews of the Steam Navigation Company. Present also were members of the wider Holmes family, distributed around the county of Cumberland, and wider area. The Oak coffin contained a number of wreaths, one being an anchor of lilies, white camellias, lily of the valley, with an anchor chain of sweet violets. It was inscribed: 'In memory of a true and faithful servant. From the Directors of Ullswater Steam Navigation Company.' A check of the churchyard reveals no headstone marking the grave. One would have expected that, being on company business, and having put some expense into the funeral itself, that the Steamer company would have marked the grave with such a headstone. It may be that it was, and has been destroyed. There are a number of apparent vacant areas in the older sections, yet the graveyard has been expanded for areas of predominantly more recent burials.
Barton Church.
Elizabeth Holmes had been distraught to learn of her husband's death and she went to live near her sister Kate, who had the Burlington Cafe at Keighley. Elizabeth had decided to live at Keighley and had obtained a house on Devonshire Street. Following the death of Wilkinson she had, on occasion, lived with her parents at Ulverston and had gone from there to Keighley on Tuesday 14th May. Kate saw her last at 8.45am on Wednesday 15th. Elizabeth had suffered periods of depression following her husband's untimely death and had commented that at times she wished she was dead. Later that day her body was found in the river Aire, near Stockbridge. A later inquest ruled that she had, 'Drowned, without marks of violence.' The incident was reported in detail in the Penrith Observer. Although the Holmes's had not been born within that Westmorland community they had made their home there, had become integrated in it, and renowned for their kindness to others. The loss of both affected the locals of Pooley Bridge and Glenridding greatly.
Although the death of Wilkinson was a tragedy, the navigation of the Raven along the lake had to continue and the boat needed a new Captain. That man was Robert Law, of Skinburness, Silloth, on the higher shores of the Solway Firth, and he had captained a pleasure boat there, owned by The Marine Hotel, for the enjoyment of tourists to the Cumbrian Seaside resort. He was to hold the Ullswater position for 35 years, retiring in May 1930, and replaced by a captain Band, from the Newcastle area; he had already worked for the company for two years, being captain of the older 'Lady of the Lake'.
Wilkinson's death in that great freeze of February 1895 was not the only one that occurred. Such an unusual occurrence had caused others to override their safety on the lakes with the thrill of skating on these bodies of water. On Sunday 17th February a great many residents of Penrith made their way to Ullswater to be thrilled by skating on the lake. Three men had skated down the length of that body of water, ignoring the warnings about the dangers associated with going beyond the Howtown area. One of the three was a Jonathan Bowes, and all of them ignored the warning of local skaters. It was known that a huge crack had appeared in the ice, from Blowick Bay to Stybarrow Crag. Jonathan skated in front of his colleagues and went through the crack. Although he initially surfaced his friends could not reach him and despite one going to the shore for aides to assist in his rescue he slipped under the ice, his body being finally recovered at a depth of 260 feet. Fatalities had also occurred on the ice on Windermere.
Ray Greenhow
(Copyright)