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Gilsland Spa, Gilsland
Gilsland Spa
locality:-   Gilsland
civil parish:-   Waterhead (formerly Cumberland)
county:-   Cumbria
locality type:-   locality
locality type:-   spa
coordinates:-   NY63686775 (etc) 
1Km square:-   NY6367
10Km square:-   NY66
evidence:-   old map:- OS County Series (Cmd 13 5) 
placename:-  
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.
The area is labelled:-  "Gilsland Spa"
with detail labels - 'Chalybeate Spa' at about NY63306790 roughly corresponding to a spa on the modern map; Sulphurous Spa about NY63556782; Baths about NY63446776; and 'Bookstall' about 63546782. 
evidence:-   old map:- Bowen and Kitchin 1760
placename:-  Gilsland Spaw
source data:-   Map, hand coloured engraving, A New Map of the Counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland Divided into their Respective Wards, scale about 4 miles to 1 inch, by Emanuel Bowen and Thomas Kitchin et al, published by T Bowles, Robert Sayer, and John Bowles, London, 1760.
image
BO18NY76.jpg
"Gilsland Spaw"
circle and line 
item:-  Armitt Library : 2008.14.10
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   old map:- Donald 1774 (Cmd) 
placename:-  Gilsland Spaw
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
D4NY66NW.jpg
"Gilsland Spaw"
a block 
item:-  Carlisle Library : Map 2
Image © Carlisle Library
evidence:-   old print with text:- Farington 1816
placename:-  Gilsland Spa
source data:-   Print, uncoloured engraving and descriptive text, View at Gilsland Spa, Cumberland, drawn by Joseph Farington, engraved by Samuel Middiman, published by T Cadell and W Davies, Strand, London, 1815.
image  click to enlarge
FA0428.jpg
printed, bottom left, right, centre  "Drawn by J. Farington R.A. / Engraved by S. Middiman. / View at Gilsland Spa. / London Published Septr. 15, 1815, by T. Cadell &W. Davies, Strand."
Descriptive text:-  "VIEW AT GILSLAND SPA."
"THE sulphureted Spa at Gilsland, is situated in a romantic woody glen, on the western bank of the river Irthing, and on the confines of Northumberland, about 18 miles from Carlisle. Gilsland Spa has been a place of fashionable resort for upwards of seventy years, its waters having been in much repute, particularly for the cure of cutaneous disorders. There are three hotels here for the accommodation of company; Wardrew-house, on the Northumberland side of the Irthing, and the Shaws and the Orchard-house on the Cumberland side; besides which there are two neat lodging houses. The accommodation is good and reasonable, and the visitor will find amusement in making excursions in the neighbourhood, which affords interesting matter of research to the naturalist and the antiquary. There are some Chalybeate springs near the sulphureted Spa; one of these was discovered in 1811. The scenery of Gilsland forms a strong contrast to that of the wild moors by which it is encircled. "Upon the top of the bank at the Shaws hotel, there is a broad Terrace walk, from which there is a pleasing view towards the opposite bank of the Irthing, including Wardrew house. At the upper end of this walk, immediately above the sulphureted Spa, the whole dell below, opens at once to the view, unfolding grand scenes of picturesque beauty, to which art has judiciously contributed her assistance. Walks on each side the river, are seen at several places through the variegated woods, having benches at proper distances. Upon leaving the Shaws hotel for the sulphureted Spa, we descend by a steep gravel walk to the river, where the eye is charmed by a finely-wooded amphitheatre of stratified rocks, which give an impressive air of grandeur to this favoured spot."[star]"
"[star] Treatise of the Gilsland Waters, by W. R. Clanny, MD.D 1816."
item:-  Armitt Library : A6666.28
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   descriptive text:- Ford 1839 (3rd edn 1843) 
placename:-  Gilsland Spa
placename:-  Holy Well
placename:-  Wardrew Spa
source data:-   Guide book, A Description of Scenery in the Lake District, by Rev William Ford, published by Charles Thurnam, Carlisle, by W Edwards, 12 Ave Maria Lane, Charles Tilt, Fleet Street, William Smith, 113 Fleet Street, London, by Currie and Bowman, Newcastle, by Bancks and Co, Manchester, by Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, and by Sinclair, Dumfries, 1839.
image FD01P115, button  goto source
Page 115:-  "..."
"GILSLAND SPA"
"Is a place of great resort, and in point of salubrity and natural beauty, it is far superior to many spas of modern celebrity in the northern part of the island."
"From the Railway Station at Rose Hill, a good carriage-road leads up in a gradual ascending sweep, passing a beautiful mansion called the Orchard House, until it reaches the Shaws Hotel, which stands upon an eminence skirted with fine wood. This hotel has recently been thoroughly repaired, enlarged, and remodelled, and now presents good accommodation to family parties and visitors, whether for health or pleasure. ..."
"Behind the hotel is a field with walks and seats, exhibiting various windings of the Irthing, in its course from the wild fells in the waste. This field covers the mass of rock strata, at the foot of which,"
image FD01P116, button  goto source
Page 116:-  "and on the margin of the river, the celebrated spa issues into day. The strata below the surface mould are said to be disposed in the following order:- First, a course of stratified sandstone, then bituminous shale, which includes a stratum of aluminous schistus, and next porphyry slate, beneath which the sulphurated water issues through a leaden tube, enclosed in a small stone fountain, at the rate of two gallons and a half per minute. The whole height of the precipice is about 90 feet. The strata are intersected by two veins, one upon each side of the sulphurated water, which commencing at the surface, approximate pretty uniformly until they reach the river, at which place they are about 150 yards distant. These veins are composed of calcareous spar and iron pyrites, and contain the above-mentioned strata between them."
"This water is remarkably transparent; when poured from one tumbler into another, it sparkles very briskly. To most palates the taste is very agreeable, being somewhat accidulous, and it has generally been found to sit lightly on the stomach. The smell is so strongly impregnated with sulphur as to extend to the distance of several yards. It was originally known by the name of the Holy Well, also by that of Wardrew Spa, the latter name being taken from the tenement and farm on the Northumberland side of the water, and which appears to have been, at one time, the only original place of entertainment. The present mansion was erected in 1752, and is a large and elegantly-"
image FD01P117, button  goto source
Page 117:-  "[elegantly-]finished place, though now in a state of great delapidation."
"These waters may be employed either externally or internally in a diversity of diseases, with great success. There are hot and cold baths fitted up in the immediate contiguity of the spring, and also at the hotel. In drinking the water no other precaution or preparation seems necessary than that of commencing with moderation. Time and experience have proved its virtues; and during the last century up to the present time, it has been used both externally and internally with amazing success."
"The walk from the hotel down to the spa is short, dry in all weathers, and rather too steep, and will be found inconveniently so on the return by the invalid, although seats are placed at suitable distances, to render the fatigue as light as possible. At the bottom of the hill the path is continued along the water's brink, on a paved terrace to the spa. On the right, adjoining the river, are some plain buildings for the baths, and immediately across the water, a number of large stepping-stones enable you to visit the opposite banks, which are finely wooded, and offer several interesting views from various open points."
evidence:-   old map:- Ford 1839 map
placename:-  Gilsland Spa
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
FD02NY66.jpg
"Gilsland Spa"
item:-  JandMN : 100.1
Image © see bottom of page
hearsay:-  
 "There are two of these medicinal springs or spas, the one, called the sulphur well, highly impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, and the other the chalybeate well, containing iron in the form of protocarbonate. The curative properties of the former have been known for a century and a half, but the latter was discovered about the year 1812. A section of the rock from which the sulphur spring issues shows the following strata:- Underneath a thin covering of soil lie 33 feet of sandstone of irregular stratification, beneath that are 22 feet 9 inches of bituminous shale, in which is a stratum of aluminous schist 4 feet thick, then come 23 feet or porphyritic slate, in which are embedded crystals of felspar and iron pyrites. From the latter, a combination of iron and sulphur, the water brobably (sic) derives its sulphurous qualities. Below the spa are some thin strata of bituminous shale and clay ironstone. The water issues from the rock through a leaden pipe at the rate of 2½gallons per minute. The medicinal properties of this well were first studied by Dr. Clanny, of Sunderland, who published his account in 1816. "In general," he says, "a half-pint tumbler of this water is a sufficient dose for an adult, but the quantity ought to be augmented as the stomach becomes accustomed to it, and may be increased, if needful, to the extent of two or three quarts in the forenoon. It acts powerfully upon the kidneys, and as a diuretic stands unrivelled (sic) among mineral waters. Its diaphoretic effects are of no ordinary nature in severe and obstiinate diseases of the skin. It has been found very efficacious in the cure of dyspepsia or indigestion. The water has also proved benficial in scrofula and atonic gout, and as an external application in ill-conditioned and irritable ulcers." Dr. Clany submitted the water to analysis and found one gallon to contain -"
quote
Sulphuretted hydrogen gas 17.0 cub. ins.
Carbonic acid gas 6.2
Total gaseous fluid 23.2 cub. ins
Common salt 20.05864 grains
Carbonate of soda 4.50296
Carbonate of lime 1.462
Silica 1.1696
"A more particular analysis was made in 1858 by the late Dr. George Wilson, of Edinburgh, who obtained the following results from one imperial gallon of the water:-"
quote
Proto-carbonate of iron 0.66 grains
Carbonate of lime 2.39
Carbonate of magnesia 0.73
Sulphate of lime 0.41
Sulphate of potash 0.11
Sulphate of soda 2.62
Chloride of sodium 5.07
Carbonate of soda 21.49
Sulphide of sodium 1.78
Organic matter 1.92
Silica 0.81
37.99 grains
"Specific gravity 1.0003"
quote
Combined carbonic acid gas 22.56 cub. ins.
Free carbonic acid 0.44
23.09 cub. ins.
quote
Oxygen gas in one gallon 2.2 cub. ins.
Nitrogen gas 5.8
Dulphuretted hydrogen 21.0
"The Chalybeate or iron well, which lies in a wood some little distance from the sulphur one, is hardly deserving of the name of well, as the flow of water is so small that some minutes are occupied in filling a tumbler. The water has proved very beneficial in aggravated cases of indigestion, and as an external application in foul ulcers. Dr. Wilson submitted the water to careful analysis, and obtained the following resultL-"
quote
COMPOSITION OF ONE GALLON
Proto-carbonate of iron 1.16 grains
Carbonate of lime 5.89
Sulphate of potash 1.41
Carbonate of magnesia L 1.82
Sulphate of soda 0.94
Carbonate of soda 1.24
Chloride of sodiium 0.69
Silica 1.28
Organic matter 2.92
17.35
"Specific gravity, 1.154."
quote
Combined carbonic acid gas 9.57 cub. ins.
Free carbonic acid gas 2.63
Total in one gallon 12.20 cub. ins.
Oxygen gas in one gallon 1.6 cub. ins.
Nitrogen gas 5.7

Bulmer 1880s
evidence:-   old print:- Rose 1832-35
source data:-   Print, engraving, Gilsland Spa, Cumberland, by Thomas Allom, engraved by J Sands, 1833.
image  click to enlarge
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"Gilsland Spa, Cumberland"
item:-  JandMN : 96.16
Image © see bottom of page
evidence:-   old print:- Farington 1816 (plate 41) 
placename:-  Gilsland Spa
source data:-   Print, uncoloured engraving, View at Gilsland Spa, Waterhead, Cumberland, drawn by Joseph Farington, engraved by Samuel Middiman, published by T Cadell and W Davies, Strand, London, 1815.
image  click to enlarge
PR0509.jpg
Plate 27 in The Lakes of Lancashire, Westmorland, and Cumberland. 
printed at bottom, left, right, centre:-  "Drawn by J. Farington R.A. / Engraved by S. Middiman. / View at Gilsland Spa. / London Published Septr. 15, 1815, by T. Cadell &W. Davies, Strand."
item:-  Dove Cottage : 2008.107.458
Image © see bottom of page
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