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Eagle Crag, Borrowdale
Eagle Crag
civil parish:-   Borrowdale (formerly Cumberland)
county:-   Cumbria
locality type:-   rocks
coordinates:-   NY27581216 (etc) 
1Km square:-   NY2712
10Km square:-   NY21

photograph
BLT92.jpg (taken 3.4.2006)  
evidence:-   old map:- OS County Series (Cmd 75 3) 
placename:-  Eagle Crag
source data:-   Maps, County Series maps of Great Britain, scales 6 and 25 inches to 1 mile, published by the Ordnance Survey, Southampton, Hampshire, from about 1863 to 1948.
evidence:-   old map:- Donald 1774 (Cmd) 
placename:-  Eagle Cragg
source data:-   Map, hand coloured engraving, 3x2 sheets, The County of Cumberland, scale about 1 inch to 1 mile, by Thomas Donald, engraved and published by Joseph Hodskinson, 29 Arundel Street, Strand, London, 1774.
image
D4NY21SE.jpg
"Eagle Cragg"
hill hachuring; a hill or mountain 
item:-  Carlisle Library : Map 2
Image © Carlisle Library
evidence:-   descriptive text:- West 1778 (11th edn 1821) 
placename:-  Eagle's Cliff
item:-  bird; eagle
source data:-   Guide book, A Guide to the Lakes, by Thomas West, published by William Pennington, Kendal, Cumbria once Westmorland, and in London, 1778 to 1821.
image WS21P097, button  goto source
Page 97:- On the front of the first [Eagle Crag], the bird of Jove has his annual nest [2], which the dalesmen are careful to rob,  "[2] Or in more poetical terms,"
"Here his dread seat the royal bird hath made, / To awe th'inferior subjects of the shade, / Secure he built it for a length of days / Imprevious, but to Phoebus' piercing rays; / His young he trains to eye the solar light, / And soar beyond the fam'd Icarian flight.- Killarney."
image WS21P098, button  goto source
Page 98:-  "but not without hazard to the assailant, who is let down from the summit of this dreadful rock, by a rope of twenty fathoms, or more, and who is obliged to defend himself from the attacks of the parent bird during his descent. The devastation made on the fold in the breeding season, by one eyrie, is computed at a lamb a day, besides the carnage made on the ferae natura. ..."
image WS21P205, button  goto source
Addendum; Mr Gray's Journal, 1769 
Page 205:-  "... The wood of the mountains increases [south of Grange], and their summits grow loftier to the eye, and of more fantastic forms; among them appear Eagle's-cliff, Dove's-nest, Whitedale pike, &c. celebrated in the annals of Keswick. ..."
evidence:-   old map:- West 1784 map
placename:-  Eagle Crag
source data:-   Map, hand coloured engraving, A Map of the Lakes in Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire, scale about 3.5 miles to 1 inch, engraved by Paas, 53 Holborn, London, about 1784.
image
Ws02NY21.jpg
item:-  Armitt Library : A1221.1
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   probably old map:- Cooke 1802
placename:-  Eagle Crags
source data:-   Map, The Lakes, Westmorland and Cumberland, scale about 8.5 miles to 1 inch, engravedby Neele and Son, published by Sherwood, Jones and Co, Paternoster Road, London, 1824.
image  click to enlarge
GRA1Lk.jpg
"Eagle Crags"
hill hachuring 
item:-  Hampshire Museums : FA2000.62.5
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   old print:- Green 1814 (plate 35) 
placename:-  Eagle Crag
source data:-   Print, uncoloured soft ground etching, Eagle Crag near Stonethwaite, Borrowdale, Cumberland, by William Green, Ambleside, Westmorland, 1814.
image  click to enlarge
GN0935.jpg
Plate 35 in Sixty Small Prints. 
printed at top right:-  "35"
printed at bottom:-  "EAGLE CRAG NEAR STONETHWAITE. / Published at Ambleside Augst. 1, 1814, by Wm. Green."
item:-  Armitt Library : A6656.35
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   old print:- Green 1814 (plate 35) 
placename:-  Eagle Crag
source data:-   Print, tinted soft ground etching, Eagle Crag near Stonethwaite, Borrowdale, Cumberland, by William Green, Ambleside, Westmorland, 1814.
image  click to enlarge
GN1035.jpg
Plate 35 in Sixty Small Prints. 
printed at top right:-  "35"
printed at bottom:-  "EAGLE CRAG NEAR STONETHWAITE. / Published at Ambleside Augst. 1, 1814, by Wm. Green."
item:-  Armitt Library : A6653.35
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   old map:- Ford 1839 map
placename:-  Eagle Crag
source data:-   Map, uncoloured engraving, Map of the Lake District of Cumberland, Westmoreland and Lancashire, scale about 3.5 miles to 1 inch, published by Charles Thurnam, Carlisle, and by R Groombridge, 5 Paternoster Row, London, 3rd edn 1843.
image
FD02NY21.jpg
"Eagle Crag"
Hill hachuring. 
item:-  JandMN : 100.1
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   old text:- Martineau 1855
item:-  eagle; sheep
source data:-   Guide book, A Complete Guide to the English Lakes, by Harriet Martineau, published by John Garnett, Windermere, Westmorland, and by Whittaker and Co, London, 1855; published 1855-76.
image MNU1P152, button  goto source
Page 152:-  "... Here also, in a very high and perpendicular rock called Eagle Crag, is every year an eyrie or nest of eagles." ..."
image MNU1P153, button  goto source
Page 153:-  "... this was one of their last haunts. The eagles which gave their name to the crag in Borrowdale, being disturbed, settled themselves on a rock at Seathwaite, and at length crossed the ridge into Eskdale. The disturbance was of course from the shepherds, who lost so many lambs as to be driven desperate against the birds. There was no footing on the crag by which the nest could be reached; so a man was lowered by a rope sixty yards"
image MNU1P154, button  goto source
Page 154:-  "down the precipice. He carried his mountain staff with him; its spiked end being the best weapon against the birds. He did not expect to kill the old ones; but year after year the eggs or the young were taken. If he brought the young away alive he had the birds for his pains: if the eggs, every shepherd gave five shillings for every egg. It is said that no more than two eggs were ever found at one time. The nest was made of twigs, and lined with a sort of grass from the clefts of the rock. When the fowler failed, and the eaglets were reared, they were led away, as soon as strong enough, by the parent birds,- no doubt to settle in some other spot; and the parents returned without them. One of this pair was shot at by the master of a sheep dog which had been actually carried some distance into the air by it, escaping only by its flesh giving way. The shot took effect, but the eagle vanished. About a week after, it was found lying on the grass on the uplands at Seatoller, nearly starved. Its bill had been split by the shot, and. the tongue was set fast in the cleft: it could not make much resistance, and was carried home captive. But, when relieved and restored, it became so violent that it was necessarily killed. Its mate brought a successor from a distance, a much smaller bird, and of a different species. They built, however, for fourteen more years in Borrowdale, before they flew over to Eskdale. They were not long left in peace there; and, when the larger bird was at length shot, his mate disappeared entirely. Such devastation as was caused by these birds is not heard of now; but while there are"
image MNU1P155, button  goto source
Page 155:-  "crags aloft and lambs in the vales, there will be more or fewer, nobler or meaner, birds of prey. We are unable to ascertain positively, amidst conflicting testimony, whether any eagles at all remain in the region. It appears that one has certainly been seen within ten years; and three gentlemen, two of whom are travelled men, and not likely to be mistaken in such a matter, declare that, four years ago, they saw one sweep down from Scandale Fell into Kirkstone Pass, and rest on a crag in the vale, some way above Brothers' Water. There is, however, a preponderance of disbelief of there being now any nest and settlement of eagles among the mountains of Westmorland and Cumberland."
evidence:-   old print:- Rowbotham 1875
source data:-   Print, chromograph, Eagle Crag, Borrowdale, Cumberland, by T L Rowbotham, published by Marcus Ward and Co, 67-68 Chandos Street, Covent Garden, London, and Belfast, 1875.
image  click to enlarge
LF1E07.jpg
Tipped in opposite p.66 of English Lake Scenery, by W J Loftie. 
printed at lower right:-  "T L Rowbotham"
printed at lower left:-  "MARCUS WARD &CO. CHROMO"
item:-  Armitt Library : A963.7
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   outline view:- Jenkinson 1875
placename:-  Eagle Crag
source data:-   Print, lithograph, outline view, Panoramic Sketches from Skiddaw, Cumberland, by Edwin A Pettitt, London, published by Edward Stanford, 55 Charing Cross, London, 1875.
image  click to enlarge
Jk01E2.jpg
"... Eagle Crag ..."
item:-  JandMN : 28.8
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   outline view:- Jenkinson 1875
placename:-  Eagle Crag
source data:-   Print, lithograph, outline view, Panoramic Sketches from Scawfell Pike, Cumberland, by Edwin A Pettitt, London, published by Edward Stanford, 55 Charing Cross, London, 1875.
image  click to enlarge
Jk01E3.jpg
"... Eagle Crag ..."
item:-  JandMN : 28.9
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   old print:- 
placename:-  Eagle Crag
item:-  fishing
source data:-   Print, hand coloured engraving, Eagle Crag at the Head of Borrowdale, Westmoreland, should be Cumberland, drawn by Ramsay Richard Reinagle, engraved by John Pye, published 1850s?
image  click to enlarge
PR0578.jpg
A fisherman in the foreground. 
printed at bottom left, right, centre:-  "Drawn by R. R. Reinagle A.R.A. / Engraved by John Pye / EAGLE CRAG at the head of BORROWDALE, WESTMORELAND."
item:-  Dove Cottage : 2008.107.526
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   outline view:- Tattersall 1836 (version 1869) 
placename:-  Eagle Crag
source data:-   Print, hand coloured, Borrowdale, from near Rosthwaite, Cumberland, drawn by George Tattersall, 1836, engraved by W F Topham, published by T J Allman, 463 Oxford Street, London, 1869.
image  click to enlarge
TAT209.jpg
Included in The Lakes of England, by W F Topham. 
printed at bottom:-  "BORROWDALE, / from near Rosthwaite"
printed at bottom:-  "Borrowdale Fells. / Helvellyn. / Eagle Crag. / Stonethwaite. / Stonethwaite Fells. / Glaramara."
item:-  Armitt Library : A1067.9
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   old print:- Rose 1832-35 (vol.3 no.32) 
placename:-  Eagle Crag
source data:-   Print, uncoloured engraving, Eagle Crag from Rosthwaite, Borrowdale, Cumberland, drawn by Thomas Allom, engraved by J Sands, published by Fisher, Son and Co, London, 1832-35.
image  click to enlarge
PR0043.jpg
vol.3 pl.32 in the set of prints, Westmorland, Cumberland, Durham and Northumberland Illustrated. 
printed at bottom left, right, centre:-  "T. Allom. / J. Sands. / EAGLE CRAG FROM ROSTHWAITE, BORROWDALE."
item:-  Dove Cottage : 2008.107.43
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   old print:- Green 1809
item:-  eagle
source data:-   Print, soft ground etching, Stonethwaite Bridge, Borrowdale, Cumberland, by William Green, published by William Green, Ambleside, Westmorland, and Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme, Paternoster Row, London, 1809.
image  click to enlarge
GN0343.jpg
Plate 43 in Seventy Eight Studies from Nature. 
printed in introductory pages to set of prints:-  "Number 43. The remote mountain in this view is Eagle Crag, where that voracious bird, the eagle, formerly built its nest. There are now none in the north of England. The last inhabited these rocks, and were destroyed about twenty years ago. ..."
printed at bottom:-  "STONETHWAITE BRIDGE. / Published Ambleside, Augst. 1st. 1809, by W. Green."
item:-  Armitt Library : A6637.43
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   old print:- Housman 1800
placename:-  Eagle Crag
source data:-   Print, uncoloured engraving, Stonethwaite, and Eagle Crag, Borrowdale, drawn by IW, engraved by R Scott, published by F Jollie, Carlisle, Cumberland, 1800.
image  click to enlarge
PR0477.jpg
Taken from a guide book, A Descriptive Tour, and Guide to the Lakes, Caves and Mountains, by John Housman, 1800, 5th edn 1812. 
printed at bottom left, right, centre:-  "I.W. delint. / R. Scott sculpt. / Stonethwaite, and Eagle Crag, Borrowdale"
item:-  JandMN : 233.5
Image © see bottom of page
hearsay:-  
 The famous Borrowdale Rope was kept handy in the valley, ready to lower a young man down the crag to steal eggs and fledgling eagles to sell to collectors. Perhaps the high prices had as much to with motivating the theft as fear of eagles taking lambs.
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