The Elterwater Gunpowder Explosion of 1840

Gunpowder is an explosive material that is manufactured from three main products, sulphur, carbon (in the form of charcoal), and potassium nitrate (in the form of saltpetre). One such place of manufacture was at Elterwater, in the Langdale valley of Westmorland (now South Cumbria). I have copied in another account of gunpowder manufacture for a more detailed explanation of the process: https://www.cumbria-industries.org.uk/a-z-of-industries/gunpowder/

 In July 1836 the Elterwater Gunpowder Company had applied to the Lancaster Midsummer County Sessions Magistrates for authority to alter their sites at Elterwater and Nibthwaite in order to increase their production ability. The directors were then listed as Messrs. John Huddleston, John Gaskaith, Isaac Wilson, John Green, John Robinson, Thomas Benson, James Bousfield, John Braithwaite, and John Robinson jnr.; the motion had been granted. Gunpowder was initially produced for use in the local quarries and mines that were producing slate and ore extraction.
In 1840 the company was part owned by John Robinson the younger, who also managed the day to day production process of the premises, and he was also a farmer. At around 2.30pm on the afternoon of Friday 24th January 1840, he was in the counting house of the works on the banks of the River Brathay when he heard a terrible explosion which was to eventually claim five lives. He rushed to the Corning and Glazing House, and the Press House, and found that all three had been destroyed with only 6 yards in length of the outside walls standing. There had been around 3 to 4cwt (1cwt = 50kgs) of gunpowder in the corning house, 25cwt in the glazing house, (both these were under the same roof), and 7 to 8 cwt in the press house, which was around 50 yards from the former process buildings. Around 4 yards outside the corning house he found 40 year old Robert Barker who appeared to be dead, having been blown out by the explosion. Although Robert rallied for a short time despite his head injuries and the loss of his right leg, he died one hour later after being taken to his own house. He had visited Robert in the corning house only 15 minutes before the explosion had occurred and all appeared normal. At the inquest held at Mr. Tyson's Board Inn, at Langdale on the Saturday into the death of four workers (which adjourned and resumed on Tuesday due to a fifth death), before the coroner Mr. Richard Wilson Esq., he had described him as a cautious man who rarely touched liquor. The only other man working in the corning house was 28 year old John Bell, who was also killed in the explosion that eventually claimed a total of 5 lives, with two others seriously injured. The principle moving power in the corning house had operated for 14 years without any incident, and only the frame had been enlarged about 3 years ago. (the only other incident at the works had been the death of John Sandford, on Tuesday 12th January 1836, when he was driving a horse and cart out of the gates and on getting down from the cart and on seizing the horse's bridle his head was crushed between the cart and the gate, and died instantly.)

The saltpetre refiner John Ritson told the inquest that he had worked there for 12 years and was working refining sulphur when he heard and felt the force of the explosion. Such was its nature that he could not initially leave the building due to the debris of stone and wood raining down after the explosion. When it cleared he ran to the source of the explosion and found 45 year old William Rigg much injured, though he initially survived. 

John Wilson was working in the cooperage at the works and ran to the source of the explosion there finding 28 year old John Bell  nearly dead, again a few yards outside the corning house. He was very badly burned and was taken to the watch house, where he died a short time later. He knew that John had worked there for around two years and was a very prudent individual. 

Another John Wilson ran from the packing room to the pressing house where he found 50 year old Joseph Holme lying quite dead having been in the hottest part of the explosion, and was very badly burned. Joseph had only worked at the premises for 12 weeks.

The mill keeper John Richardson ran to the explosion source and found 26 year old Thomas Walker lying outside the press house, badly burned but still living. He was taken to Mr. Richardson's house and his burns were treated but he died the next day at 8am. Mr. Richardson confirmed to the inquest that all the men who died were very careful of their duties and he regarded his employers to have no want of care towards the safety of all the employed men.

All the above deaths were heard on Saturday 25th, and the inquest was resumed on Tuesday 28th due to the death of William Rigg. Then it was stated that another mill keeper by the name of David Huddleston ran to the scene and there found William Rigg standing about 7 yards from the west side of the press house. He was greatly burned and also cut and injured by the flying debris, though he was sensible. he assisted William to remove his burning clothing and after extinguishing the flames he then assisted him to the watch house where he laid until the Sunday and eventually died. He had been unable to comment on how the accident had happened. All the witnesses were of the opinion that the explosion had originated in the corning house, where only Robert Barker and John Bell had been working. All workers present were required to, and were wearing, slippers and leather clothing as part of the works safety measures to prevent just such an occurrence as the explosion. 

William Pearce told the inquest that he had worked at the complex for 14 to 15 years and had been there when the corning, glazing, and press houses were constructed; there had never previously been any accident. He himself had escaped the tragedy only by good luck as he should have been in the buildings but for him being needed to repair a mill which had been damaged a few days before. He had actually been in the press house just ten minutes before the accident and had walked to his house 300 yards away. He had been employed in the making of gunpowder for 28 years with no previous experience of an explosion.

Two other men had worked in the glazing house and were seriously injured though eventually recovered; they were, John Bowness and John Walker.

Robert Barker left a widow but no children, John Bell a widow with two children, Joseph Holme left a widow and six children, Thomas Walker left a widow and four children, and William Rigg a widow and four children. Of the two survivors, Stephen Walker had a wife and five children, and John Bowness had a wife and one child.

A subscription fund was commenced to assist the distressed families and injured workers. At the similar Low Wood gunpowder works the workers there collected monies and Mr. Robinson junior published his gratitude in the local papers. By Saturday 8th February those papers were able to report the news that the two injured men, Bowness and Walker, were making a positive recovery and hopes of their restoration to full health were entertained. Donations increased, with £10 being received from Mr. John Wakefield Esq., of Sedgewick. Messrs. Jackson & Hamilton of Liverpool also donated £10 and John Crossfield Esq., and Robert Heywood Esq., both of Liverpool, each donated £5. Smaller donations of £2, £1, and shillings were also received to add to the fund. Later, other larger donations continued to be received. 

The funerals of the first four the men were conducted on Monday 27th, at Langdale and 50 members of the Independent Order of Oddfellows of Ambleside being present, the deceased Robert Barker being a member of the Order. They carried the coffin to the church wearing black rosettes and white gloves. (The current church was built in 1858.) They donated £6 to the widow Mrs. Barker, and a further £2 at a later date. The Oddfellows N.G. (Noble Grande, or Presiding Officer), spoke a eulogy over  the grave.   Each Oddfellows member dropped a sprig of Thyme into the grave, a ceremonial rite of the Odd Fellows. There was a great concourse of people present for all the four deceased men. 

It was not the only tragedy at the complex, but it was the biggest, and the first. When you drive down the valley to be recharged by the tranquillity of the Langdales, with its stunning mountain views, just turn your head as you pass Elterwater and contemplate that it was not always so. 

Ray Greenhow.

The Scafell Pike and Great Gable Great War Memorials

 SCAFELL PIKE

The Scafell Pike Memorial Plaque (photograph care of Ian Murphy)

The summit cairn of Scafell Pike

Approaching the summit of Scafell Pike, from the Lingmell Col path.

On 28th June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria) was assassinated in Sarajevo. This led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia, which began a chain of events through nation's alliances, that inevitably led to upheaval of the European continent, and eventually involving the developed nations of the world.  Britain entered the conflict after Germany attacked France through neutral Belgium. Men from all sections of British Society (and the Empire) heard the call and volunteered for the army and navy to defend freedom. The horror of that conflict led to the names of battles to become ingrained in the British consciousness; Marne, Gallipoli, Jutland (naval), Verdun (French), The Somme, Ypres (Passchendaele), Amiens; to name but the main ones. It was a war that would eventually cost an estimated 17 million people their lives.

Within the English Lake District there had been a group of men who had coalesced under a shared desire to invigorate their lives through a passion of climbing inaccessible crag faces, pitting their skill and courage against a seemingly impossible task. When the rallying call was sounded, each, as much as any man, if not moreso, saw their duty as putting aside their passion, along with their climbing equipment, and morally accept the King's shilling and enter the armed services. 

When that conflict ended at 11am, on 11th day of 11th Month,1918, the huge human carnage ended, and those that lived to bear witness to the terrible cost, returned as best they were able, to their former lives. Many did not return and of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club 20 lives were lost. Men of the valleys had also volunteered, tough men who hard earned a living from the tough landscape of lakeland.

The nation mourned at the loss and methods of honouring the sacrifice of the youth of the nation were considered by all; how could that loss of life be honoured within the counties of the country? How could lakeland honour the fallen? 

Lord Leconfield had himself decided on a fitting tribute to the men of the surrounding valleys who worked the landscape, and had given the ultimate sacrifice, never again to return to their homes in the valleys of the Cumbrian high mountains. He had been approached by Mr. Gordon Wordsworth of Ambleside, the grandson of the poet William, and Mr. Arthur Christopher Benson, the well known author (who, among other works, wrote the lyrics of, 'Land of Hope and Glory') and Master at Magdalene College, Cambridge. Both men were representing The National Trust. This was confirmed by Canon Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley (one of three founding members of the Trust), in a letter he wrote to The Carlisle Journal, published on Tuesday 30th September 1919. 

'Sir, Scafell Pike is the highest mountain summit in England. This, henceforth, by the goodwill of Lord Leconfield, The Lord of the Manor, is to be placed, subject to any common rights that exist, under the custody of the National Trust. He makes this gift in honour of the men of the Lake District who fought, and in thankful memory of the men who gave their lives in the Great War 1914 - 1918.

 It is not intended that any monument shall be placed upon the summit, but it is probable that in the existing cairn that a rough stone may be inserted recording the gift and its purpose'.

On 24th August 1921, a party of climbers, including American tourists, attended the summit of the pike and witnessed the unveiling of a tablet which had been set in the summit Ordnance Survey cairn of that highest of English fells. The ceremony was overseen by Mr. Hamer, the then Secretary of the National Trust. To this day the plaque proudly sits inset for all to witness and thus recall, then honour, the men who fell in that horrendous war 'to (supposedly) end all wars'. The plaque states a quotation from Lord Leconfield: 

“in perpetual memory of the men of the Lake District who fell for God and King, for freedom peace and right in the Great War 1914 – 1918.”

Lord Leconfield did not end his contribution at this one summit and following a further approach by Mr. Wordsworth and Mr. Benson, he agreed to also pass to the Trust the summit (all above 2,000ft) of Scafell, which is adjacent to its namesake Pike. 

***************************

GREAT GABLE

The members of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club had themselves considered a permanent tribute to their unfortunate fellow climbers who never returned alive to their homeland, to enjoy all the English Lakes had to offer them in their thrilling sport of rock climbing. The club had been formed in the Coniston area on 11th November 1906, and by 1921 had developed into a membership of nearly 400. On the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, 15th and 16th November 1921, nearly 200 of those members met at Coniston for the first meeting of the club since the end of the Great War. On the Friday there had been a covering of snow laid down making conditions on Doe (Dow) Crag difficult, thus adding to the pleasures of the climbers. At 11am on the Sunday they held the 'King's stand-by', as a special memorial for those of them who never returned from the conflict in 'foreign fields'. The annual dinner was held at The Sun Inn.

On 13th October 1923, the Fell and Rock Climbing club once again held its annual dinner at Coniston. The Right Honorary F. D. Acland, received on behalf of the National Trust, the deeds of property, purchased by members of the club, purchased by them as a memorial to their fallen colleagues. It had originally been intended to try and raise a fitting memorial near Pillar Rock but when the Musgrave estate came on the market, with the farm at Row Head in Wasdale having the rights over Kirk Fell and Great Gable, mention was made of this. The estate then fell as a whole, into the hands of Mr. Herbert Walker, of Seascale. A committee was formed and approached Mr. Walker, stating their fine intentions to him. He approved the idea and placed a reasonable price on the rights to be conceded to the club. Nearly all the members of the club subscribed to the purchase price and this and more was raised, without any need for an approach to public subscription. 

Great Gable, looking majestic from Sprinkling Tarn area.

On Sunday 8th June 1924, the club and others, amounting to 500 - 600, gathered on the wet and mist shrouded summit of Great Gable for the unveiling ceremony of a specially designed bronze plaque which contained a relief map of the area purchased, and the names of 20 members who fell in that war of 1914 - 1918. Every climbing organisation in Britain was represented in the crowd who gathered on the mountain top. Mr. Godfrey A. Smalley, past president of the Alpine Club; Mr. Harry A. Scott, and Mr. Philip S. Minor, of the Rucksack Club; Mr. W. A. Brigg, of the Yorkshire Ramblers; Mr. J. J. Brigg. Mr. Eustace Thomas, and Mr. Herbert P. Cain, were among those present. The plaque was cast by Mr. B. S. Harlow, who was principal of the firm, Robert Harlow and Son, brass founders etc., Heaton Norris; he was also a prominent member of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club. The lettering was by Messrs. G. P. Kershaw and Co., successors to Messrs., Thomas Webb and Co., Stockport. A tribute was paid by Mr. Geoffrey Winthrop Young, a poet, essayist, and mountaineer, who had himself lost a leg on 17th August 1917 whilst serving on the Izonso Front, Italy. After amputation he had walked 16 miles to avoid capture.

The original plaque (with the later corrected name Whitley, bottom right).

His tribute was: 

'Upon this mountain summit, we are met today, to dedicate this space of hills to freedom. Upon this rock are set the names of men, our brothers and our comrades, upon these cliffs, who held with us that there is no freedom of the soil where the spirit of man is in bondage, and who surrendered their part in the fellowship of hill and wind and sunshine, that the freedom of this land, the freedom of our spirit, should endure. This bronze stands high upon the crowning glory of our free land as a sign between us and them - our covenant to them that we still hold their freedom of this splendour of height, still breathe its fearless health, the inspiration of its faultless pleasure. By this ceremony we consecrate a twofold remembrance. In token that these men gave their mortality of manhood for a redemption of earthly freedom this rock stands a witness, perishable also in the onset of time, that this realm of mountain earth is in their honour free. In token that their sacrifice bears witness still beyond death to the imperishable ideal of spiritual liberty we commit to-day, not in bronze, but in unalterable faith, our thought of their triumph in the spirit to these spaces of power and light. By this symbol we affirm a twofold trust. That which hills only can give the children - the discipline of strength, freedom, the freeing of the spirit through generous service - these free hills shall give again, and for all time. The memory of all that these children of the hills have given, service and inspiration fulfilled and perpetual, this free heart of our hills shall guard.'

The bronze was initially covered with the Union Jack, flown by HMS Barham, the Queen Elizabeth class battleship, and flagship of the 5th Battle Squadron at the naval 'Battle of Jutland'. It was unveiled by Dr. A. W. Wakefield, of Keswick, the secretary of the club, who himself had been part of the Mallory expedition to Everest. (Barham was to later be sunk when struck by three of four torpedoes fired at her by U331 on 25th November 1941, while hunting for Italian convoys in the Mediterranean. It sank so quickly there was a total loss of 862 lives, with 487 being saved by rescue).

H.M.S. Barham

The plaque unfortunately was cast with a spelling mistake of, 'B. H. Whitty', when the correct spelling was B. H. Whitley. A 'correction' was attached but detracted from the appearance and seemed not to correctly honour the name of that fallen soldier, and climber. In July 2013 the plaque was taken down by the Royal Engineers, and a new plaque recast, the name now corrected; this was replaced by the Engineers in the September of that year. This would rightly honour the deceased, and be in preparation for the coming of the centenary in 2018 on what is now no longer called The King's Stand-by', but now Remembrance Sunday, and seems to have been settled, or referred to, as early as 1920.

(I am a foundryman by trade, specifically trained as a patternmaker, and it was that interest in the casting origins that caused me to commence my research. The original 'pattern' would be constructed and carved, to be packed around in moulding sand in a metal box in the foundry, then stripped, the moulding box closed, creating the shaped cavity. This would then be cast with molten bronze - an alloy of copper and tin, the latter making the soft copper much harder, yet still have qualities of toughness. I would expect the original pattern to have at some time been destroyed. If that were the case, the original casting could be cleaned to create a die moulded from it, and a new pattern then cast in resin, with the old Whitty name removed and a correction placed in the void, ready for remoulding in the foundry and a fresh casting made.)

The re-cast plaque. Frost somehow adding to the reality of felltop conditions.

Another image:

Another image showing the rock capping Great Gable which the memorial plaque is attached to.

The 2013 memorial service on Great Gable to unveil the new plaque, which I attended. A fog bow appeared, giving a spiritual sense to the event.

The Remembrance Day service on Great Gable takes place irrespective of weather; it honours men of the mountains who knew the hell of the Western Front and battlefields of Europe. It would seem dishonourable to their memory to fail to attend, purely on grounds of weather alone, as long as an individual's capabilities and experience can cope with what the elemental weather throws at the mountain. 

All who took part in The Great War (not called The First World War, as there was never supposed to be a second, but sadly there was just that), are now dead, yet still we line our streets and parks, or visit Great Gable, to honour them on Remembrance Sunday and quote the fourth verse of Lawrence Binyon's seven verse poem, 'For The Fallen':

'They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: 

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.'

It is such a fitting tribute as we remember those who did not return from the Great War; and in equal measure, Britain's finest men and women killed in more recent conflicts, such as, WWII, Korea, Suez, Northern Ireland, The Falklands, Afghanistan; indeed any field of war where soldiers have died in service of defending freedom for their country, and their Monarch.

We say, 'Lest we forget'; when we attend Great Gable we show that we don't, and never will, so long as the mountain stands, with the plaque bearing witness to 'The Fallen's', ultimate sacrifice.

I have below attached a link to an Imperial War Museum website on the specifics of the memorial and the men who are listed.

https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/community/7113

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. 

The tragic skating death of Wilkinson Holmes, captain of The Raven steamer on Ullswater

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)