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start of Westmorland |
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Page 154:-
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char
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depth, and of a good clear pebbly bottom; breeding good
store of fish, as eels, trouts (both common and grey),
pikes, bass or perch, skellies, and particularly
char, which is a fish generally about nine inches
long, the rareness of which fish occasions many pots of it
to be sent to London and other places yearly as presents.
There are three sorts of chars; first, the male, being
large, with a red belly, but the fish thereof somewhat white
within, having a soft roe, these are called milting
chars; secondly, the female, being also large, with not so
red a belly, but the fish thereof very red within, having
its belly full of hard roes or spawn, called roneing
chars; thirdly, the female being not so large nor so red on
the outside, but the reddest within, having no roes within
its belly, and these are called gelt chars.
Sir Daniel Fleming says, there are no chars to be found save
only in this lake and Coningston Water. Some other waters
(he says) pretend to have chars in them, as Buttermere in
Cumberland, and Ulleswater, which is between Westmorland and
Cumberland; but these are generally esteemed by knowing
persons to be only case, a kind of fish somewhat like
unto char, but not near so valuable; but the owners of the
fishery in Ulleswater do not assent to this position.
The fishery in the lake is farmed by several persons, who
all together pay to the king's receiver for fishing
6l. a year, or for the fishing and ferry together
£.6. 13s. 8d. and so it descends to
their executors or administrators.
The fishing is divided into three Cables as they call
them: 1. The high cable, from the water head to the
char bed, half a mile above Culgarth. 2. The middle
cable, from thence to below the ferry. The low
cable, from thence to Newby. And in each cable there are
four fisheries.
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Rothay, River
Brathay, River
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Out of this lake there yearly passes up the river Routhey
many very large trouts, and up the river Brathey great store
of case, which are like char, but spawn at another season of
the year. And although these two rivers do run a good way
together in one channel before they disembogue into
Windermere water, they are both very clear and bottomed
alike, yet scarce ever any trouts are found in Brathey, or
case in Rowthey. Some few salmon also, at the spawning
season, come from the sea through the lake and up the river
Rowthey, but none ever up the Brathey.
Water fowl in great plenty resort to this lake, especially
in winter; such as wild swans, wild geese, ducks, mallard,
teal, widgeons, didappers, gravyes (which are larger
than ducks, and build in hollow trees), and many others.
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Belle Isle
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In this lake are several islands; the largest of which is
now called Long-holme, but antiently it was called
Wynandermere island.
Among the escheats in 21 Edward III. there is an order, that
the wood in the island of Wynandermere called
Brendwood (that is fire-wood, from the Saxon brennan,
to burn), shall not be several but common to all the free
tenants of Kirkby in Kendale, and of Strikland, Crosthwaite,
Croke, and others, as well to depasture with all their
cattle, as to take house-bote and key-bote at their will
without the view of the foresters.
Unto whom this island was first granted in fee by the crown
we have not found. It belonged in after-times to the
Philipsons of Crooke; and was sold by Frances daughter and
sole heir of sir Christopher Philipson, son of Huddleston
Philipson, to Mr. Thomas Brathwaite of Crooke, who sold the
same to one Mr. Floyer, who sold to Mr. Thomas Barlow, whose
brother and heir Mr. Robert Barlow sold the same to Thomas
English, esq.
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Civil War
Robin the Devil
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This island contains about 30 acres of ground, most of it
arable; and had an handsome neat house in the middle of it
called the Holme-house; which in the civil wars was
besieged by colonel Briggs for eight or ten days, until, the
seige of Carlisle being raised, Mr. Huddleston Philipson of
Crooke, to whom it belonged, hastened from Carlisle, and
relieved his brother Robert in Holme-house. The next day
being Sunday Mr. Robert Philipson, with three or four more,
rode to Kendal to take revenge of some of the adverse party
there, passed the watch, and rode into the church up one
aile and down another, in expectation to find one particular
person there whom they were very desirous to have met with.
Our author, Mr. Machel, who was a royalist, out of delicacy,
did not chuse to name him as he was then living, but
probably it was colonel Briggs. But, not finding him, Robert
was unhorsed by the guards in his return, and his girths
broken; but his companions relieved him by a desperate
charge; and, clapping his saddle on without any girth, he
vaulted into the saddle, killed a centinel, and galloped
away, and returned to the island by two of the clock. Upon
the occasion of this and other like adventures he obtained
the appellation of Robin the devil. He was killed at
last in the Irish wars at the battle of Washford.
Upon this island there is a remarkable echo; and, for
hearing the same in perfection, Mr. Barlow provided two
small cannon; on the explosion whereof towards the rock on
the west side of the water, there is first a burst of the
sound upon the rock, exactly similar to the first explosion
by lightning, then, after an intermission of about three
seconds, a sudden rattling of thunder to the left. And after
another intermission, when one imagines all to be over, a
sudden rumbling to the right, which passes along the rock,
and dies away not distinguishable from distant thunder.
St. Mary Holme, otherwise called Lady Holme,
is another island in this lake, so denominated from a chapel
built antiently therein, and dedicated to the Blessed
Virgin.
By an inquisition after the death of Joan de Coupland the
jurors found, that she died seised of the advowson of the
chapel of St. Mary Holme within Wynandermere, which was
valued at nothing, because the land that had belonged to the
same had in old time been seized into the lord's hand, and
laid within the park of Calvgarth.
Amongst the returns made by the commissioners to inquire of
colleges, chapels, free chantries, and the like, in the
reigns of Henry VIII. and Edward VI. there is the "free
chapel of Holme and Winandermere."
This island belonged to the Philipsons of Calgarth, and
still goes along with the Calgarth estate. There are no
ruins of the chapel remaining. It is a very small island.
The chapel would cover near half of it. It is a rock with
some few shrubs growing upon it in the middle of the lake,
wonderfully adapted to contemplation and retirement.
There is another island antiently called Roger
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Holme,
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gazetteer links
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-- "Long Holme" -- Belle Isle
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-- "Brathey, River" -- Brathay, River
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-- "St Mary Holme" -- Lady Holme
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-- "Routhey, River" -- Rawthey, River
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-- "Windermere Water" -- Windermere lake
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