The Tragic Death of Edward George Hobley 1866 - 1916, at Swarthbeck Gill (Ghyll)

The view of Howtown Bay, Ullswater. Visited by the artist Edward George Hobley, to paint the scene on 11th May 1916.

Portrait of James Scott 1836 - 1926 Penrith Urban Council's First Chairman
Artist - Edward George Hobley ARCA 1866 - 1916.

 Edward George Hobley was born at Wallingford, Berkshire, in the final quarter of 1866. He was the son of Frederick and Mary (nee Parker) and was the eldest of three sons. Edward would progress to be an accomplished artist and finally settled in the town of Penrith, through marriage and employment.

Edward went on to study art at the Leeds Academy under Mr. John Snowdon, and in October 1891 he had a small display in an exhibition of other works, at that Academy. He was by this time a former pupil and was furthering his skills and studies in Paris. On 26th September 1893, he gained some recognition as a 'rising young artist of promise' in the Bradford Daily Telegraph, having exhibited a home portrait of a Bradford man, Joseph White, painted in his home. This was at the autumn exhibition of the Art Museum in that city. Clearly he was displaying his skills as both a painter of not only landscapes and nature, but of portraits as well, likely a good way of earning a comfortable living for an up and coming artist. He would go on to paint works of Morecambe Bay, exhibited in 1895, 

His most celebrated work was a picture exhibited in 1898 at The Royal Academy Burlington House, called, 'A Shaft of Light', which depicts calves in a barn with a beam of light entering the scene. The positive comment in 'The Tablet' newspaper read, 

'In " A Shaft of Light" MR. EDWARD G. HOBLEY shows himself the disciple of MR. CLAUSEN and of MR. STANHOPE FORBES, masters whom any painter, not endowed with originality, may be proud to follow. Mr. HOBLEY paints a stable interior, containing two calves, on whom a shaft of sunshine is shot through an aperture in the wall. It touches one calf on the side, and the ear of the other is lighted up by it to a high blood-red, " re-pured vermilion," as a poet has called the effect.'

 That picture today is in the collection of the Walker Art Gallery at Liverpool, purchased by the Liverpool Corporation in 1899.

'A Shaft of Light'

Edward's move to Penrith had already occured at this point as the painting's submission was also commented on in the local papers and he was described as 'a local artist'. 

'A LOCAL ARTIST.—We notice that Mr. Edward G. Hobley, who has taken up the position of Art Master at the Penrith Technical School under the recognition of the Local Technical Education Committee, has this year two pictures hung "on the line" at the Royal Academy. " One of them," the "Times " critic says, " is a very effective study of light and shade—A Shaft of Light (149) by an artist whose name is new to us, Mr. Edward G. Hobley." The other is a watercolour landscape. Many able critics, such as the" World," "Truth," etc., speak favourably of his work. We understand that Mr. Hobley intends working in the district permanently, and we have no doubt that the Penrith Art Classes, and the general public interested in art, will be better for his presence.' 

The above proved to be the case and he opened art classes at the college: 

Penrith Observer 20th September 1898

On 22nd April 1899 he married 24 year old Annie Vipond, the daughter of the late Mr. William Vipond of Penrith, at Christ Church, Carlisle. This would be a happy event for the Vipond family, for they, and Penrith, had suffered a great sadness following the unexpected and unexplained death of 27 year old Frances (Fanny), Annie's elder sister, in 1892. She had gone missing from her uncles' home during a storm and a search eventually discovered her body in Beacon Woods, Penrith. The inquest revealed that she had died of self administered poisoning, but could not explain whether the drinking of the bottle's content was deliberate or a mistake, believing it to have been mixed up as a bottle of medicine. The marriage of Edward and Annie would bring happiness through the birth of five children, Freda Vipond Hobley (born 1900); Olga Mary (born 1903); Edward Kent (born 1907); George Frederick (born 1911); and Dorothy Eva (born 1913).

Family Portrait of Annie Hobley and the first four children, painted by Edward.

On the skill of portraiture, Edward was commissioned to paint the late James Scott, a former Chairman of Penrith Urban District Council, which then hung in the Town Hall. He was also commissioned to paint lake images of Ullswater and the surrounding scenery for the Ullswater Navigation Company and at least twenty were done by him which were reproduced and sold in their thousands. Postcards were produced of these, for the furtherance of the burgeoning tourism trade.

Edward had become a celebrity in the area through his skills, and a successful business was the fruits of his labours. However, in the course of his endeavours, around 1910 - 1911, he became lost on the High Street Fells range and when he finally reached safety it caused a chill in him from which he never fully recovered. He later began to suffer strange fancies of religion and of the war in Europe, twice suffering from ill-health.

On the morning of Thursday 11th May 1916, Edward left his home with his painting equipment, stating that he was going onto the fells to paint cloud effects. He did this many times, so no concern was expressed when he did not come home that night. He did not return by the next morning though, and the matter was reported by his worried family to the police. Their enquires revealed that he had been seen about noon in the High Winder area of Ullswater. A search was conducted that Friday but no sign of him was found. On the Saturday search parties was organised which included local scouts, two of whom were Rowland Slack and Norman Jones, and they were detailed to search the steep Swarthbeck Gill area of Swarth Fell (part of which is Bonscale Pike). This is steep and the famous Westmorland climbing brothers had made some new ascents of the cliffs in that area. As they climbed either side of the Gill they noticed a depression and on checking it they saw an entrance in the rockface. They had discovered an old lead mine and on entering, within a few feet they discovered Mr. Hobley's camp stool and kit bag. They then saw Mr. Hobley's feet. His legs were pinioned and his throat was cut, with a razor lying close by his hand; his collar and tie had been removed. His easel bag was also close by. The alarm was raised and PC Downing of Pooley Bridge was informed then the body brought down to the laundry at Ravencrag. Supt. Barron was informed about the initial finding and he informed the Hobley family, though it was some hours before they were made aware of the distressing circumstances. Another sad circumstance was that his 83 year old mother had arrived only that week and was at the family home at Brunswick Square when the sad news arrived.

Just inside Swarthbeck Gill mine.

(Above mine image by permission of Mark Hatton.)

An inquest was held at Ravencrag on Monday 15th May where his brother, Robert Arthur, (an assistant master at Radcliffe Gardens Secondary School, Pudsey, near Leeds), stated that all the family had been concerned over the last few years, with Edward's apparent derangement of mind, which seemed to worsen.

Constable Downing also gave evidence and stated that in Edward's bag was found a sketch of an Ullswater scene that seemed to by drawn from higher up Swarthbeck Gill. The coroner summed up the evidence and reminded the jury that they all knew the deceased and had witnessed his deteriorating ill health. He stated that the should have no difficulty in drawing a conclusion that Edward had met his death while his mind was unbalanced. Unsurprisingly, suicide, was the verdict the jury returned and they expressed their deepest sympathies for his widow and family.

The funeral took place on Tuesday 16th at 2pm and he was laid to rest at Barton Church. On Wednesday 6th February 1935, Annie passed away of heart failure and was known in the Penrith area as a kindly woman; all five of the Hobley children survived her. She was cremated at Edinburgh and her ashes were similarly laid to rest at Barton church.