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Page 92:-
their affluence did not forget their distressed neighbours,
who were so frequently plundered of everything they had.
One Peter Uldale, born at this place, left 4l. 11s. 4d. to
be distributed as follows; 3s. and 8d. each, to twelve poor
people of Great Brathwaite, five of Little Brathwaite,
Portingsgill, and Ullock, and three of Thornthwaite; to be
distributed every year on Candlemas day, and to paid out of
certain of his lands in Essex. This was not very well paid
by Mr Uldale's representatives; whereupon Mr Lowry, Vicar of
Crossthwaite, in 1681 brought an action against them, and
recovered about thirty pounds Sterling; the interest of
which is distributed by the Vicar and Trustees on the same
day. Such charities as these now-a-days only relieve the
parish at large. Pity such should be enjoyed by the rich!
they were meant for the poor. Charities are not now so
valuable as they were formerly, since the Legislature has
made such excellent laws for their maintenance.
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Braithwaite Brow
Skiddaw, height
Helvellyn, height
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I could now wish the traveller to ascend Brathwaite Brow, to
a little above the house on the road-side, (see plate VII.);
here is a bird's-eye view of the vale of Keswick, which
exceeds, in my opinion, all others; here you have
Thornthwaite just at your feet, yet near 300 yards
perpendicular below you; you see the full bulk of every
field, (divided as in the plan,) as if hovering over it in a
balloon; you likewise see the town and the whole vale of
Keswick, (as it is called) with part of the lake; the
serpentine roads ascending the hills of Castrigg, towards
Ambleside and Penrith; all the houses and inclosures under
Skiddow; all the vale of Bassenthwaite, with its lake; the
whole of plate VII. as if close to your eye. From here you
see at once perhaps the two highest mountains in England,
viz. Skiddow and Helveylin. I took the perpendicular height
of Skiddow from Bassenthwaite Lake and made it 1156 yards. A
Mr Drape of Whitehaven and I happening another time to meet
at Ouzebridge, at the foot of Bassenthwaite, took it again,
and made it 1160 yards; I suppose we were pretty near right.
Helveylin I took from Ulswater, and made it 1245; so that I
think, if I had ever taken their height from the same place,
Helveylin would be the highest. I once had a telescope and
spirit-level upon Helveylin, and then thought it the
highest.
If any of the curious should go to see Buttermere, and
return by way of Lorton, this noble amphitheattre (and the
most noble it is of any I ever saw,) may be seen without
going out of the way; as this is the road between Lorton and
Keswick: otherwise I would advise the tourist to go back to
Brathwaite, and take the road to Thornthwaite; for though
there is a road from this station to Thornthwaite in at
Lonin-Foot, yet it is so steep you cannot ride down
it.
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Thornthwaite
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Thornthwaite is a long rambling village, as may be seen in
the plan; the soil near the houses is very rich, but towards
Derwent the ground is wet and boggy. All along Thornthwaite
there are very good orchards, in which fruit-trees thrive
exceeding well, and bear plentifully. Here is a small chapel
under Crossthwaite, and the lands are mostly customary under
the Earl of Egremont, as part of his honour of Cockermouth
Castle.
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lead mines
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There are at present a few men employed in the lead mines
close to the road. These mines have no particular names that
I know of, but are near places called Jenkin Hill and
Walker Yates; they have been only lately discovered,
and are not valuable. We now, at Beck Sands, see a
very rugged barren mountain on the left, for which the
ignorant rustics have no name; it is covered with large
loose stones, which seem as if they were ready to fall from
its sides. on the right is Powter-How, a pretty
building, situated under a hill covered with oaks; these
shelter it entirely from the northern blasts, and the front
commands an elegant south view of the impending mountains; a
view to which the low situation of the house gives
additional grandeur, by increasing the apparent height of
the surrounding hills.
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Next
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gazetteer links
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-- Barf
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-- "Beck Sands" -- Beckstones
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-- "Great Braithwaite" -- Braithwaite
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-- (lead mine, Thornthwaite)
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-- "Powter How" -- Powter How
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-- "Thornthwaite" -- Thornthwaite
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