Old Cumbria Gazetteer - Flusco Pike, Dacre


	Flusco Pike, Dacre
	Flusco Pike
locality:-	Flusco
civil parish:-	Dacre (formerly Cumberland)
county:-	Cumbria
locality type:-	hill
coordinates:-	NY46422857 (etc)
1Km square:-	NY4628
10Km square:-	NY42
altitude:-	920 feet
altitude:-	280m

evidence:-	old map:- OS County Series (Cmd 58 6) placename:- Fluskew Pike
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 text:- Gents Mag placename:- Huskew Pike item:- fibula; ring pin
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. goto source Gentleman's Magazine 1785 opp p.332 click to enlarge G785E01.jpg

evidence:-	old text:- Gents Mag 1785 placename:- Huskeew Pike
source data:-	goto source Gentleman's Magazine 1785 p.347 "B. C. Durham." "Mr. URBAN," "I SEND you the drawing of a fibula of uncommon magnitude and weight, found in April last, at Huskew Pike, an eminence distant from Penrith in Cumberland about three miles, on the Keswick road, (See the plate, fig. 8.) In searching for stones, several urns, and other remains of human sepulture, have been found at this place; but history is silent touching the people here interred, or whether the occasion was public: the adjacent country was the scene of many deadly conflicts in early ages. The fibula is of silver, and coarse workmanship; the diameter of the circle is seven inches and a half; the studs or buttons are hollow, and fitted on without solder; it has never been burnished, as appears by the hammer marks remaining: the length of the tongue, or spear, is twenty inches and three quarters; and the whole weight is twenty-five ounces. I hope some of your correspondents will discover its proper use, as it seems to be too heavy an ornament for a man's apparel." "Yours," "W.H."

evidence:-	old text:- Clarke 1787 placename:- Fluskew Pike item:- human bones; stone coffin; urn; ring pin; Crusades
source data:-	Guide book, A Survey of the Lakes of Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire, written and published by James Clarke, Penrith, Cumberland, and in London etc, 1787; published 1787-93. goto source Page 46:- "... an hill called Fluskew-Pike, on the top of which is a small square building called Thompson's Folly, whence is a very extensive and beautiful prospect. ..." "Not far from this place, upon ploughing one of the new inclosures, they found several human bones, stone coffins, urns, and other funeral remains, but there was no inscription upon any of them. In the year 1785 they found a curious instrument of silver, to which no one has yet been able to assign either the name or use: as, therefore, many ingenious Antiquarians will never have an opportunity of seeing it, I have got it engraven with all possible accuracy, in order to assist their enquiries as far as lyes in my power." "This singular antique consists of an oval ring or frame of silver, which measures (vide plate V.) from A to B 7 5/8 inches, and from C to D 6 7/8 inches, and the length of the spear or tongue is 22 inches. Three large balls are frized on the top, and have mullets on their under side; the rim is cut through so as to permit the spear to fall through it, and the ball near the top of the spear will slide along the rim to either of the other balls G and H by means of the socket which forms the joint. The balls are hollow and jointed on, nor is there the least appearance of solder in any part of it; the whole of it seems to be hammered, and the workmanship is very plain and coarse, except the frizing upon the balls, which is very neatly executed. The weight is 25 oz. and the whole is made of silver, without any iron or other metal work about it. It is now in the possession of Mr Joseph Clarke, who purchased it as soon as it was found: he shewed it to most of the Antiquarians at London, York, Cambridge, and many places, but without gaining any satisfactory account of its name or intention: some of these Gentlemen called it a Fibula, but its enormous magnitude will not permit me to join in such an opinion; on the contrary, I rather incline to believe it be one of the insignia of some ancient order of Knights, and that for reasons founded on the following piece of history." "Richard Earl of Cornwall went A.D. 1240 to the Holy Land, and on his arrival at Ptolomais found the Christians in great distress, their only support having been the Knights Hospitalers, and Templars: the Duke was so pleased with their gallant behaviour, that he joined them, and entered into the order of the Hospitalers, giving them the preference on account of their antiquity: this choice, however, displeased the Templars very much, as appeared by their murmuring at the peace he made with the Sultan. When Richard left Palestine he brought many of the Hospitalers with him, and gave them lands in different parts of England, particularly in the county of Cornwall." "The reason why he settled so many of them in Cornwall was this: A Cornishman having been banished for some misdemeanours, fled to Bohemia, where he discovered some tin mines; in order to work these he endeavoured to decoy several miners from Cornwall to assist him, threatening thereby considerable damage to the royal and ducal revenue. In order, therefore, to watch the inhabitants, and to prevent such emigrations, the Hospitalers were settled there, and very effectually answered the Duke's"
source data:-	goto source Page 47:- "purpose; for such was their reputation for valour, that they awed the whole county so, that none of the inhabitants dared risk their lives in attempting to leave their home." "Not many years after, Prince Edward went to Palestine, accompanied by his consort Eleonora, during which time he instituted the order of St John of Acre or Acon. This order was founded partly on account of his recovery from a wound made by a poisoned dagger, and partly on account of the birth of his first child, who was thence called Joan of Acre. The news of his father's death having reached him, he immediately set out for England, bringing with him many of his knights : vast numbers of the nobility of England went over to Italy to meet and congratulate him on this occasion, as we learn from the historians of those times. The Knights of St John did not long continue a distinct and independent order; for their numbers being much diminished, they were added to the Hospitalers: to them King Richard the I. added the Knights of St Thomas, whose tutelary saint was Thomas a Becket. The Knights of St Thomas were distinguished from the rest by wearing the ring affixed to the cross: this was given them on account of a ring being the only curiosity that Richard had brought with him from Palestine, and all these different orders of Knights were afterwards united by Edward the I." "In order to apply this to our present purpose, we must recollect that these Knights all wore the White Cross with mullets, the Templars excepted, who wore a Red Cross with mullets; and if we examine this ancient ornament, we shall find the emblems of all the orders united in it. The spear and socket represent the cross; the balls bear the mullets, and represent escallop shells; the ring is here very conspicuous; and the reason why the tongue is sharp pointed, is sufficiently understood by those who know that these Knights were the free masons of that time; and that to this day the order of Knights Templars is retained among that ancient and respectable fraternity." "As it may seem strange that such a valuable ornament should be found in this uncultivated spot, I must inform my readers, that Edward the I. resided much in this county, and that he settled many of his knights here, as appears from tradition, history, and the names and privileges of several adjacent places: his parliament likewise met at Carlisle, and he himself died upon Brough Sands, near that city. After his death his knights continued their residence in the same place, till they were finally abolished by Queen Elizabeth: till that time they were the champions of the country, and extremely active in repelling their turbulent neighbours the Scots. Now it is evident from the spear, that this instrument has belonged to the master of the order: I cannot help therefore concluding, that he has been killed in some skirmish with the Scots, and that his insignia have been buried with him; and this is the more probable, as we have very many instances of the kind. It may be objected to this, that both history and tradition are both totally silent concerning any battle that had been fought in or near this place: I allow the objection has some weight; but when we consider that this whole county, together with adjacent ones, was for many ages one continual scene of devastation, war, rapine, and tumult; it is not so surprising that we should find one battle unnoticed, as that such ordinary occurrences, as battles then were, should have been particularly mentioned at all."

evidence:-	possibly old text:- Camden 1789 (Gough Additions) placename:- Huskew Pike item:- fibula (?); ring pin (?)
source data:-	Book, Britannia, or A Chorographical Description of the Flourishing Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, by William Camden, 1586, translated from the 1607 Latin edition by Richard Gough, published London, 1789. goto source Page 189:- "..." "A silver fibula of coarse workmanship and uncommon magnitude and weight was found April 1784, at Huskew pike, an eminence about three miles from Penrith on the Keswick road. The diameter of the circle is seven inches and an half, the length of the tongue 20 inches and ¾, the weight of the whole 25 ounces: the studs or buttons are hollow, and fitted on without solder. It has never been burnished, as appears by the hammer marks remaining."

:-	The Ring pin found on Flusco Pike is in the British Museum.

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