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Page 62:-
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Castlerigg Stone Circle
Druids
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About a quarter of a mile farther on the left is
Castrigg, or Castle-Rigg: here is a druidical
monument, consisting of a circle of fifty-two large stones.
This temple (as they all commonly get that name) differs
from all I have seen, in having on the Eastern side an
inclosure formed within the circle; this inclosure is on the
form of an oblong-square, one of the shorter sides of which
is formed by part of the circle, and its dimensions are
nearly four yards by two.
It is amazing how our rude forefathers could remove such
large stones, and place them in regular order! The stones of
which this is composed are of a kind not to be found within
many miles of this place; it is situated upon a steep hill,
and we know they were unacquainted with, not only the use of
every mechanic power, but even of carriages: had they even
known these, we know of no carriage capable of transporting,
or even bearing the weight of these enormous masses.
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Greta, River
Vale of Keswick
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Descending Fieldside-brow, view the noble
amphitheatre of KESWICK, which from this place affords an
excellent bird's-eye view, but not so good as from Castrigg,
as the town does not appear to advantage from hence; the
reflection of the sun from the water about one o'clock adds
much to the beauty of this view. Now descend the hill; the
road winds along the banks of the river Greeta, which
contains the waters of Trout-Beck, Glendower-Meckine,
Wanthwaite-Beck, Glendoweratera and Naddle-Beck.
This river (which is here a very considerable stream) has
its bottom covered with very large stones, under which fish
of various kinds take shelter; here they are secure from
nets, and afford excellent diversion to the angler. Salmon
follow the course of this river as far as Flaskeu, so
that it is well stocked with smelts, brandlings, and
salmon-trouts. There are also taken in this river large
quantities of what they call here Bass-bruid, from
their resemblance to the perch, or bass; this fish is seldom
more than three inches in length, and sometimes caught in
the quantity of two or three pecks by one single person.
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smelting house, copper
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On the banks of this river, about half a mile from Keswick,
have been several buildings, but hardly any tradition
concerning their history. It is evident, however, that here
has been a smelting mill for copper. A few years ago the
surveyors of the high roads having set some men to repair
this road, they found some pieces of copper ore, which was
extremely rich; upon this men were employed to dig out and
dress the slag which they found here, and which paid very
well for their work. The walls of the old houses are now
standing, and are four or five feet high. As it was commonly
believed that the copper was brought from Newlands,
some persons undertook a work there with very sanguine
expectations: they made their trials on a hill called
Goldscalp; but after a considerable waste of time and
money, met with nothing. The only tradition I ever met with
concerning these was from Benjamin Grisdale, a man near an
hundred years old; he told me that he had heard his father
say, that a company of Dutchmen wrought Newland Fells for
copper; that they built a mill and some houses here, which
went by the name of the Dutch Huts, and where they extracted
gold from the copper: that they kept their works very
secret; and, as they always spoke their own language, no one
understood them. They staid till the place was not worth the
working. This place shared the fate of most parts of this
country, A.D. 1641, being burnt and destroyed. Inquire at
Keswick for the Dutch Huts, and scarce any one can give you
any intelligence concerning them. - A few minutes ow (sic)
will convey us to Keswick, as the distance is very short,
and nothing worth seeing by the way.
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KESWICK
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gazetteer links
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-- Castlerigg Stone Circle
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-- "Glendower Meckine" -- Glenderamackin, River
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-- "Glendoweratera" -- Glenderaterra Beck
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-- "Greeta, River" -- Greta, River
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-- (Keswick Smelting House, Keswick)
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-- "Naddle Beck" -- Naddle Beck
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-- "Wanthwaite Beck" -- St John's Beck
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-- "Trout Beck" -- Trout Beck
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