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

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Page 58:-
this was only the secondary use, and that the original was what I have hinted above. I am farther confirmed in this opinion, from the circumstance of this once rich and flourishing family never having had any castle or strong-hold at Threlkeld-Hall, at least that I can hear of; and of course there was a necessity for there being in this place one of those guard or watch-houses, of which we find such numbers throughout this and the adjacent counties. I can trace no remains of the Threlkeld family at present, except one who lives at Wolverhampton: the last that resided on their paternal estate was John Threlkeld, who sold Patterdale-Hall to the Mounseys, and Threlkeld to the Irtons. This estate is now the property of John Spedding, Esquire.
  Saddleback
Passing along this road to Threlkeld, take a view of that rugged and stupendous mountain SADDLEBACK, a mountain which is itself a fund of curiosities: how Mr Grey passed it without notice I cannot say; but, if I may be allowed to conjecture, it was in the same manner as he actually visited several other scenes of awful grandeur, blind-folded! Let us however consider, that Mr Grey was not a mountaineer:- His tender, melancholy, and delicate muse, delighted to sport in sunny vales; or to recline under the shade of the spreading oak, listening to the warbling of the feathered choir over his head, or the tinkling of the stream that run purling at his feet.
As the mountain we have just named exhibits so very conspicuous and awful a view, I hope that a particular description of it will not be thought tedious, more particularly as it seems to throw light upon some of our other natural curiosities; I shall therefore copy, verbatim, the account given me by Mr Crosfeild (sic), who very diligently searched into the nature of this and other of our Cumbrian mountains.
  Saddleback, ascent
"Having been often struck with the singular situation and appearance of that piece of water which is commonly known by the name of Threlkeld Tarn, I formed many conjectures respecting its formation. I was for some time of opinion that it had been formed by water spouts frequently breaking on top of the mountain; but when I reflected that water could hardly be powerful enough to excavate solid rocks in so wonderful a manner, I was obliged to give up this opinion, and began to imagine that no agent of nature, except fire, could produce such an astonishing effect. In order to satisfy myself on that head, I determined to inspect narrowly into the minerals of the adjacent country. My first researches were naturally directed to the brooks in the neighbourhood: there I was pleasingly astonished to find vitrified lumps, resembling glass-house slags, in some places lying loose, in others evidently fitted by fusion to the crevices and irregularities of the stones among which they lay. I likewise found many large blocks of stone intermixed with marcasite in such plenty as to be inflammable; in other places there was a stratum of matter, a foot or more in thickness, which lay upon the rocks, and which seemed to have undergone a great degree of heat; above this was a stratum of sand intermixed with clay, pebbles, &c.; above that another stratum like the first; and, finally, a stratum of the common compost of the country soil, covered with peat earth. These appearances induced me to undertake a journey to the mountain; and accordingly taking the advantage of a fine day, I set off about eight in the morning, without any companion but my dog and my fowling-piece.
"Nothing material appeared till I reached the foot of the mountain, except a ridge about twenty yards broad and fifteen feet high, which extended from the basis of the mountain to the distance of about half a mile, and seemed to consist of some very hard materials; I followed this, and about nine o'clock I began to ascend the mountain. The road leads obliquely along the side of Souther-Fell, which is remarkable for nothing, except there is scarcely any trace of stratum to be seen, the whole resembling a mass of rubbish, and is evidently as steep as the nature of the soil will allow. After an ascent of a mile and upwards, I arrived at the top of Souther-Fell, which may be reckoned the first landing-place: here the ground is composed of loose fragments of stone intermixed with detached lumps of quartz and killas. I then pro-
"ceeded
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button -- "Guardhouse" -- Guardhouse
button -- "Saddleback" -- Saddleback
button -- "Threlkeld Tarn" -- Scales Tarn
button -- "Threlkeld Hall" -- Threlkeld Hall
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