button to main menu  Old Cumbria Gazetteer
Bowness Bay, Windermere lake
Bowness Bay
site name:-   Windermere lake
locality:-   Bowness-on-Windermere
civil parish:-   Windermere (formerly Westmorland)
county:-   Cumbria
locality type:-   bay
coordinates:-   SD40069685 (etc) 
1Km square:-   SD4096
10Km square:-   SD49


photograph
BPD46.jpg  Rowing boats for hire.
(taken 12.5.2008)  
photograph
BWE50.jpg (taken 4.4.2012)  

evidence:-   old map:- OS County Series (Wmd 32 11) 
placename:-  Bowness Bay
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 print:- Westall 1830s
placename:-  Bowness Bay
source data:-   Print, aquatint panorama, Bowness Bay, Lake Windermere, Westmorland, drawn and engraved by William Westall, published by Ackermann and Co, 96 Strand, London, 1830s.
image  click to enlarge
WTL304.jpg
"Drawn & Engraved by W. Westall A.R.A. / Curwen's Island, Furness fells. Gilbertscar. Hen Holme. Clappersgate. Nabscar. Rydal Hall. Lady Holme. Fairfield. Kirkstone. Wansfell. Red screes. Trout beck. Hill bell. Road to the Vicarage. / Bowness Bay, Lake Windermere, / from above the Vicarage Road. / Published by Ackermann & Co, 96 Strand."
item:-  Armitt Library : A6658.4
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-   old text:- Martineau 1855
item:-  boatboat housegarden
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 MNU1P011, button  goto source
Page 11:-  "..."
"The visitor will first repair to the strand, to salute the waters. He will find a good quay, with boats in abundance, and several boat-houses within view. ... To the right, gardens"
image MNU1P012, button  goto source
Page 12:-  "slope down to this little bay; and they look gay even in winter from their profusion of evergreens, and from the ivy which clothes their walls. The church just peeps out behind the houses above. Looking over the lake, Curwen's Island is just opposite. In May and early June, the woods of that island, and of all the promontories round, present a most diversified foliage,- from the golden tufts of the oak to the sombre hue of the pines with every gradation of green between. In July and August, the woods are what some call too green,- massy and impenetrable,- casting deep shadows on the sward and the waters. Within the shadow on the shore stands the angler, watching the dimpling of the surface, as the fly touches it, or the fish leaps from it: and within the shadow on the water, the boat swings idly with the current; and the student, come hither for recreation, reads or sleeps as he reclines, waiting for the cool of the afternoon. Turning to the north, the highest peaks are not seen from this strand; but Fairfield and Loughrigg close in the head of the lake."

evidence:-   old print:- Payn 1867
placename:-  Bowness Bay
item:-  boatsteamer
source data:-   Print, uncoloured engraving, Bowness Bay, with steamers, Windermere, Westmorland, by T L Aspland, published by J Garnett, Windermere, Westmorland, 1867.
image  click to enlarge
PN0309.jpg
On p.16 of The Lakes in Sunshine, text by James Payn. 
item:-  Fell and Rock Climbing Club : 184.9
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-   old photograph:- Bell 1880s-1940s
source data:-   Photograph, black and white, Bowness Bay, Bowness-on-Windermere, Windermere, Westmorland, by Herbert Bell, photographer, Ambleside, Westmorland, 1890s.
image  click to enlarge
HB0855.jpg
item:-  Armitt Library : ALPS526
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-   old photograph:- Bell 1880s-1940s
item:-  boatrowing boat
source data:-   Photograph, black and white, Bowness Bay, Bowness-on-Windermere, Windermere, Westmorland, by Herbert Bell, photographer, Ambleside, Westmorland, 1890s.
image  click to enlarge
HB0854.jpg
item:-  Armitt Library : ALPS525
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-   old photograph:- Bell 1880s-1940s
item:-  boatrowing boatlanding stage
source data:-   Photograph, black and white, Bowness Bay, Bowness-on-Windermere, Windermere, Westmorland, by Herbert Bell, photographer, Ambleside, Westmorland, 1890s.
image  click to enlarge
HB0833.jpg
item:-  Armitt Library : ALPS497
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-   old photograph:- Bell 1880s-1940s
item:-  rowing baotboat
source data:-   Photograph, black and white, the Old England Hotel, Bowness-on-Windermere, Windermere, Westmorland, by Herbert Bell, photographer, Ambleside, Westmorland, 1890s.
image  click to enlarge
HB0808.jpg
internegative at lower left:-  "H. Bell"
item:-  Armitt Library : ALPS471
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-   old photograph:- Bell 1880s-1940s
item:-  rowing boatboatlanding stage
source data:-   Photograph, black and white, boat landing, Bowness Bay, Bowness-on-Windermere, Windermere, Westmorland, by Herbert Bell, photographer, Ambleside, Westmorland, 1890s.
image  click to enlarge
HB0807.jpg
internegative at lower right:-  "H. Bell"
item:-  Armitt Library : ALPS470
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-   old photograph:- Bell 1880s-1940s
source data:-   Photograph, black and white, Bowness Bay, Bowness-n-Windermere, Windermere, Westmorland, by Herbert Bell, photographer, Ambleside, Westmorland, 1890s.
image  click to enlarge
HB0806.jpg
stamped at reverse:-  "HERBERT BELL / Photographer / AMBLESIDE"
item:-  Armitt Library : ALPS469
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-   old photograph:- Bell 1880s-1940s
item:-  yacht
source data:-   Photograph, b/w, Bowness Bay, Windermere, Westmorland, by Herbert Bell, Ambleside, Westmorland, 1890s?
image  click to enlarge
HB0270.jpg
stamped at reverse:-  "HERBERT BELL / Photographer / AMBLESIDE"
item:-  Armitt Library : ALPS626
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-   old text:- Gents Mag
item:-  skatingice yacht
source data:-   Magazine, The Gentleman's Magazine or Monthly Intelligencer or Historical Chronicle, published by Edward Cave under the pseudonym Sylvanus Urban, and by other publishers, London, monthly from 1731 to 1922.
image G900B363, button  goto source
Gentleman's Magazine 1900 part 2 p.363  "..."
"Another night's frolic was a skate on Windermere in 1895, the last time the whole length and breadth of it was bearable. ..."

evidence:-   old text:- Gents Mag 1900
item:-  skatingice yachtechoes
source data:-   image G900B364, button  goto source
Gentleman's Magazine 1900 part 2 p.364  "... Then we spread out again - the gang was now eight in number - and made for the row of lights at Bowness. It became a mad race in, for we were sure of the surface. In Bowness Bay we found about a hundred persons skating about in the light of a tall electric standard in front of the Old English Hotel. It was grand travelling round Belle Isle where only a few were plying the steel: a concertina squeaked as one party swept by; an ice-yacht whizzed along, its sole occupant clinging precariously to the frail structure; a distant hum of voices crept across the island from the bay we had just left. A few minutes more of easy skating, and, as we landed at the Ferry Hotel, the kennelled hounds gave out a merry chorus, which echoes along the fir-covered bluffs, in happy augury of hunting days yet to come."

evidence:-   old postcard:- 
placename:-  Bowness Bay
source data:-   Postcard, black and white photograph, Bowness Bay, Windermere, Westmorland, published by G P Abraham, Keswick, Cumberland, about 1956.
image  click to enlarge
PH0090.jpg
printed at bottom:-  "153. BOWNESS BAY."
printed at rev:-  "Actual Photograph by G. P. ABRAHAM Ltd. Keswick (Copyright)"
postmark:-  "BARROW / 6 30 PM / 8 AUG / 1956 / LANCS."
item:-  JandMN : 958
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-   old print:- Pearson 1900s
placename:-  Bowness
item:-  rowing boatboat
source data:-   Print, halftone photograph, Bowness from the Landing Stage, Bowness-on-Windermere, Westmorland, published by C Arthur Pearson, Henrietta Street, London, 1900s.
image  click to enlarge
PS1E27.jpg
On p.67 of Pearson's Gossipy Guide to the English Lakes and Neighbouring Districts. 
printed at bottom:-  "BOWNESS FROM THE LANDING STAGE. (p.80)."
item:-  Armitt Library : A1188.34
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-   old advertisement:- Jenkinson 1875 B
placename:-  Bowness Bay
source data:-   Advertisement for Mrs Scott, The Old England Hotel, Bowness-on-Windermere, Westmorland, published by Edward Stanford, 55 Charing Cross, London, 1875 edn 1884?
image  click to enlarge
JK1201.jpg
Adverts p.5 at the back of Jenkinson's Smaller Practical Guide to Carlisle, Gilsland, Roman Wall and Neighbourhood. 
item:-  Armitt Library : A1717.2
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-   old print:- Payn 1860s-70s
placename:-  Bowness Bay
source data:-   Print, colour printed, Bowness Bay, Winander Mere, Westmorland, published by John Garnett, Windermere, Westmorland, and by Simpkin, Marshall and Co, London, 1860s-70s?
image  click to enlarge
PN0104.jpg
Tipped in opposite p.10 of England's Lakeland, a Tour Therein, by James Payn. 
printed at bottom:-  "BOWNESS BAY, WINANDER MERE."
item:-  Armitt Library : A1183.4
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-   old print:- Payn 1860s-70s
item:-  steamerboat
source data:-   Print, uncoloured woodcut, Bowness-on-Windermere, Westmorland, published by John Garnett, Windermere, Westmorland, and by Simpkin, Marshall and Co, London, 1860s-70s?
image  click to enlarge
PN0103.jpg
On page 9 of England's Lakeland, a Tour Therein, by James Payn. 
item:-  Armitt Library : A1183.3
Image © see bottom of page


photograph
BPD44.jpg  One of the boat yards.
(taken 12.5.2008)  

story:-  
In this bay the local boatmen go out hunting for the Twizzie Whizie, found around dusk near the pier. This promotes boat hire. The creature is a cross between a hedgehog and a bird with a squirrel's tail. It is rarely caught, though sighted more often.

button to lakes menu  Lakes Guides menu.