button to main menu  Clarke's Survey of the Lakes, 1787

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Page 30:-
To the taker, or killer of a Fox,10 groatsTo the killer of a Marten,3 groats
Of a Fox's Cub,3Of a Wild Cat,2
Of an Eagle,5Of a Raven,1
They likewise procured the swiftest fox-hounds * from the mountainous environs of Keswick, &c.; skilful sportsmen were also hired to attend with guns, and every other engine, for the destruction of these annoyers. Witsun-week, A.D. 1759, was fixed upon for the attack, when I myself was an eye-witness to the death of twelve foxes within the week. The sum-total of vermin destroyed, were fifteen foxes, seven badgers, twelve wild-cats, and nine martens, (called here, by way of distinction, Clean Marts;) besides a prodigious number of foul-marts, eagles, ravens, gleads, &c. The wiles and policy of the foxes were truly astonishing; such as jumping from the rocks upon trees covered with ivy, where they would sometimes conceal themselves, and defeat their pursuers; at other times they run just within the edge of Ullswater, so that no scent remained; and many other instances of sagacity, which, were I disposed to trespass upon the patience of the reader, I could relate. Gowbarrow Park contains about 2000 acres of ground, and is admirably well adapted for the preservation of deer, of which there are six or seven hundred; they divide themselves into herds, and never intermix unless when alarmed. As to the names by which they are at different ages distinguished, I must refer my reader to that part of the appendix wherein I propose to treat of the natural history of this country.
  House Holm
From Gowbarrow, next proceed to the pleasant little island called Householm, though there is no vestige of an house there. On the higher side is a good landing, and from the island are some truly beautiful and picturesque views.
The rock affords an easy seat, and which ever way you turn your eyes a varied and beautiful landscape meets them. Mountain rises beyond mountain, rocks † are seen piled upon rocks; their sides covered in some places with trees which overhang the Lake; in others, rude, naked, bare prominences seem to menace the peaceful scenes beneath. Here, an herd of deer bound nimbly across an open glade; there, a flock of mountain sheep, (little less active than the former,) climb almost inaccessible precipices in search of food: below, the peaceful cows move slowly down the verdant bank to quench their thirst in the smooth limpid lake, which reflects every object with softened beauties: meantime, the solemn murmurs of distant cataracts lull every ruder sensation asleep, and fit the mind for enjoying these rural scenes in the manner they deserve. Notwithstanding the inconceivable beauty of these prospects, they are by no means well suited for the painter; every object is distinct, it is true, but their too great number, and too great distance, are insuperable obstacles to their appearance in a picture.
  Glencoyne
At the high end of Gowbarrow is Glencoyn, or Glencune, a beautiful retreat for the Summer, but a most dismal one during the Winter. The same rocky mountains covered with wood, which, when decked with the gay foliage of Summer, form a romantic picturesque hermitage, in the Winter exclude the direct rays of the sun during the whole months of November, December, and January.
Glencoyn consists of five customary tenements, held under the Earl of Surrey's manor of Deep-Dale, and pays about 3l. 4s. per annum fineable rent, a twenty-penny fine at the death of lord or tenant, and a thirty-penny fine upon an alienation. The wood is free, and so likewise is a fishery, which extends from Stibrah to Hell-Beck in the lower end of Gowbarrow, for which they pay to the Earl of Surrey an annual quit-rent of two merks.
Glencoyn
* These hounds are so swift, that if they once view a fox on tolerable ground, they are sure to kill him.
† Some of these are not less than 840 yards perpendicular, their sides overhanging, and the water 35 fathoms deep close to their bottoms.
gazetteer links
button -- "Glencoyn" -- Glencoyne
button -- "Gowbarrow Park" -- (Gowbarrow Park, Matterdale (CL13inc)2)
button -- "Householm" -- Norfolk Island
button -- (station, Norfolk Island)
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