Old Cumbria Gazetteer - Stockghyll Force, Ambleside

Stockghyll Force, Ambleside

Stockghyll Force

site name:-

Stock Ghyll

locality:-

Ambleside

civil parish:-

Lakes (formerly Westmorland)

county:-

Cumbria

locality type:-

waterfall

coordinates:-

NY38400457 (etc)

1Km square:-

NY3804

10Km square:-

NY30

BPK73.jpg (taken 2.7.2008)
photograph

BPK74.jpg (taken 2.7.2008)

evidence:-

old map:- OS County Series (Wmd 26 6)
placename:- Stockgill Force

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:- Morgan 1759

source data:-

MG02q053.txt
"Ambleside is situated on the swift decline of a hill, over which many high mountains arise towards the north. "About a mile up the woody declivity of the hill (says a learned and ingenious traveller) we saw a most amazing Cascade, totally different from anything of the kind. The rushing of the waters sounded through the wood, and seemed at once as if bursting over our heads, and tumbling beneath our feet. This was soon reconciled; for in a few steps we perceived ourselves to be upon the summit of a cliff, which overhung the channel of the stream, where an old oak suspended his romantic boughs over the precipice. This was the only opening of the wood, or situation, where we could look into this tremendous gulf. The river which falls here, rises on the very height of the mountains, and flows in a very confined channel through an opening of the rocks, the edges of which were grown with stately trees, and thronged with thickets of hazel, birch, and holley. We looked upwards from the place where we stood for about one hundred perpendicular yards, where we saw the river in two streams pouring through the trees; about the mid-way it united, and was again broken by a craggy rock, overgrown with fern and brushwood, which threw it into two branches, foaming and making a horrid noise; but it soon united again, and from thence precipitated into a deep and dreary gulf, about sixty yards below the cliff on which we stood, from whence it tumbled from rock to rock, and dashed through a rough and craggy channel to the town of Ambleside, with a mighty sound, which so shook the air as to give a sensible agitation to the nerves, like the effects of a thunder clap.""

evidence:-

descriptive text:- West 1778 (11th edn 1821)
placename:- Stock Gill Force

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.

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Page 76:- "..."
"In mountainous countries, cascades, water-falls, and cataracts, are frequent, but only to be seen in high perfection when in full torrent, and that is in wet weather, or soon after it. About a mile above Ambleside, there is, in a place called the Groves, a cascade, that, though the season should be dry,"

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Page 77:- "merits a visit, on account of its singular, and distinguished features [1]. It is the most curious you will see in the course of the tour. The stream here, though the water be low, is much divided, and broken by a variety of pointed dark rocks; after this, collecting itself into one torrent, it is precipitated with a horrid rushing noise, into a dark gulph, unfathomable to the eye; and then, after rising in foam, it is once more dashed with a thundering noise headlong down a steep craggy channel till it joins the Rothay, below Ambleside. The parts of this cataract are noble. The deep dark hue of the rocks, in the gloomy bosom of a narrow glen, just visible by day, and the foaming water, tinged with a hue of green caught from the trees and shrubs that wave over the fall, render this scene highly awful and picturesque."
"[1] This cascade is called Stock Gill Force."

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Addendum; Mr Gray's Journal, 1769
Page 212:- "By not staying a little at Ambleside, Mr. Gray lost the sight of two magnificent cascades: the one not half a mile behind the inn, ... [and High Fall, Rydal] These, when I saw them, were in full torrent; whereas Lowdore water-fall, which I visited in the evening of the very same day, was almost without a stream. ..."

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Rev Plumtre's Night Piece on Windermere, 1797
Page 232:- "..."
"... / - Nor be forgot thy force, Stock-gill, / Rushing from the shatter'd hill, / Down in frothy torrents tost, / Till in the dark abysm lost, / And foaming through the woody glen, / Thund'ring from rock to rock amain, / You seek a refuge in the plain."

evidence:-

old map:- West 1784 map

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.

Ws02NY30.jpg
"Water fall"
item:- Armitt Library : A1221.1
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-

old text:- Green 1810
placename:- Stock Gill Force

source data:-

Set of prints, soft ground etchings, Sixty Studies from Nature, by William Green, Ambleside, Westmorland, drawn 1808-10, published 1810.

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page 24:- "..."
"STOCK GILL FORCE."
"The beauties of this admired water-fall are in a great degree lost to the generality of visitors, because they only see it from the foot-path, skirting the top of a bank which rises to a great height, and almost perpendicularly from the bottom of the channel; and the spectator looks down upon the scene, rather than upwards or horizontally; his view of the water is likewise considerably impeded by wood, of which there is a redundancy."
"The finest views are from the bottom, and at some places a little above it;"

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page 26:- "but few dare venture to the bottom, particularly those females whose pedestrian excursions have chiefly been upon the flat; nay, the masculine gender are often appalled with a view of the way, and many a swaggering gentleman of Bond Street, in his stable costume, would rather hazard his neck four-in-hand, than risk it having his arms precariously supported by the twigs and branches he may find in his way to the gulph below."
"Several easy descents might be made at no considerable expense, which if well conducted, and the wood judiciously thinned, would give this water-fall, on a comparison with others, that high character it so justly deserves."
"The master of the Salutation and the writer, have, years ago, decided on the existing necessity for such improvement, and determined, that while one shall find ways the other shall furnish means; but it has thus far unfor-"
page 27:- "[unfor]tunately happened that the means have been so engaged with spades and ploughs, with halters and horse-whips, as to be unprovided with leisure either to amend their old ways, or to make good new ones."
"The falls are four; the stream being divided at the top, produces two upper and two lower ones, and parts of all the four are seen from the foot-path just mentioned; on descending half way, the person arrives at the bottom of the upper, and top of the lower fall nearest the side he stood upon."
"The view before him is a pretty little picture: the water in a volume tumbles into a circular bason, from which it again falls over a shelving rock, giving it somewhat the appearance of an artificial fountain; trees project wildly from the encircling walls, which, additionally decorated with grasses, fern, moss, and other plants, give it, by"

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page 28:- "their contrast in form and colour, a beautiful appearance."

evidence:-

old print:- Green 1810 (plate 15)
placename:- Stock Gill Force

source data:-

Print, soft ground etching, Stock Gill Force, Ambleside, Westmorland, by William Green, Ambleside, Westmorland, 1810.

click to enlarge
GN1215.jpg
Plate 15 in Sixty Studies from Nature, 1810.
printed at top right:- "15"
printed at bottom:- "STOCK GILL FORCE. / Drawn and Engraved by William Green, and Published at Ambleside, June 24, 1810."
watermark:- "J WHATMAN / 1813"
item:- Armitt Library : A6641.15
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-

old map:- Otley 1818

source data:-

Map, uncoloured engraving, The District of the Lakes, Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire, scale about 4 miles to 1 inch, by Jonathan Otley, 1818, engraved by J and G Menzies, Edinburgh, Scotland, published by Jonathan Otley, Keswick, Cumberland, et al, 1833.

OT02NY30.jpg
Marked by three chevrons across the stream.
item:- JandMN : 48.1
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-

old print:- Fielding and Walton 1821 (plate 16)
placename:- Stockgill Force

source data:-

Print, coloured aquatint, Stockgill Force, Ambleside, Westmorland, drawn by John Walton, published by R Ackermann, 101 Strand, London, 1821.

click to enlarge
FW0116.jpg
Tipped in opposite p.86 in A Picturesque Tour of the English Lakes.
item:- Dove Cottage : 1993.R566.16
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-

descriptive text:- Otley 1823 (5th edn 1834)
placename:- Stock Gill Force

source data:-

Guide book, A Concise Description of the English Lakes, the mountains in their vicinity, and the roads by which they may be visited, with remarks on the mineralogy and geology of the district, by Jonathan Otley, published by the author, Keswick, Cumberland now Cumbria, by J Richardson, London, and by Arthur Foster, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, 1823; published 1823-49, latterly as the Descriptive Guide to the English Lakes.

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Page 44:- "STOCK GILL FORCE, at Ambleside, falls from a height of 70 feet, which is in better proportion to its adjacent scenery than if it fell 150 feet, as stated by some authors. It is a combination of four falls in one; the water is divided into two streams, and after a moment's rest in the middle of the rock, is finally precipitated into the deep, shaded channel below."

evidence:-

descriptive text:- Ford 1839 (3rd edn 1843)
placename:- Stockgill Force
item:- height, Stockghyll Force

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.

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Page 33:- "..."
"STOCKGILL FORCE"
"... Proceeding along the edge of a chasm for a short distance, the Fall bursts upon the sight of the visitor, when standing on the brink of the precipice opposite to it, and at a point midway between the top and bottom. Its height is about one hundred and fifty feet, and it is divided at the summit by a huge crag into two streams, which again unite before they are finally precipitated into the basin below; from which the waters rush along a gill, luxuriantly adorned with rock and wood, ..."

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Page 179:- "WATERFALLS."


No.	Name and Situation of Fall.	Height.

3	Stockgill Force, near Ambleside	150 feet

evidence:-

old map:- Ford 1839 map
placename:- Stockgill Force

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.

FD02NY30.jpg
"Stockgill Force"
item:- JandMN : 100.1
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-

old print:- Nelson 1853 (edn 1880s)
placename:- Stock Ghyll Force

source data:-

Print, uncoloured, Stock Ghyll Force, Ambleside, Westmorland, published by Thomas Nelson and Sons, London, 1853 edn 1880s?

click to enlarge
NS0316.jpg
On p.44 of Views of the English Lakes, and Tourists Guide to the English Lakes.
printed at bottom:- "STOCK GHYLL FORCE."
item:- JandMN : 474.17
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-

old print:- Nelson 1853 (edn 1880s)
placename:- Stockgill Force

source data:-

Print, chromolithograph, Stockgill Force, Ambleside, Westmorland, published by Thomas Nelson and Sons, London, 1880s?

click to enlarge
NS0325.jpg
At the end of Views of the English Lakes, and Tourists Guide to the English Lakes.
printed at bottom:- "STOCKGILL FORCE - AMBLESIDE"
item:- JandMN : 474.26
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-

old print:- Pyne 1853
placename:- Stock Gill Force

source data:-

Print, tinted woodcut, The Head of Stock Gill Force, Ambleside, Westmorland, by James Baker Pyne, published by Thomas Agnew and Sons, Manchester, Lancashire, 1853.

click to enlarge
PYN201.jpg
"THE HEAD OF STOCK GILL FORCE."
item:- Armitt Library : A6678.2
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-

old text:- Martineau 1855

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.

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Page 42:- "... If his time in Ambleside is precious, the stranger may use the sunset or twilight hour for seeing Stockghyll Force, while his supper is preparing. He is directed or guided through the stable-yard of the Salutation Inn, when he passes under a tall grove of old trees on the right hand, the stream being on the left. ... Where the path forks towards and away from the stream, the visitor must take the left-hand one. The other is the way up Wansfell. His path leads him under trees, and up and"

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Page 43:- "through a charming wood, with the water dashing and brawling further and further below, till his ear catches the sound of the fall: and presently after, the track turns to the left, and brings him to a rocky station whence he has a full view of the force. It is the fashion to speak lightly of this waterfall,- it being within half-a-mile of the inn, and so easily reached; but it is, in our opinion, a very remarkable fall, (from the symmetry of its parts,) and one of the most graceful that can be seen. Its leap, of about seventy feet, is split by a rocky protrusion, and intercepted by a ledge running across; so that there are four falls, - two smaller ones above, answering precisely to each other, and two larger leaps below, no less exactly resembling. The rock which parts them is feathered with foliage; and so are the sides of the ravine. Below, the waters unite in a rocky basin, whence they flow down ..."

evidence:-

old text:- Martineau 1855

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.

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Page 180:- "WATERFALLS."
"No. : Names and Situations of Falls. : Counties : Feet in Height."
"3 : Stockghyll Force, near Ambleside : Westmorland : 70"

evidence:-

old print:- Nelson 1859

source data:-

Print, Nelson print, Stock Gill, the force, Westmorland, published by T Nelson and Sons, London etc, 1859.

click to enlarge
NS0505.jpg
printed, bottom "STOCK GILL."
item:- Armitt Library : 2003.13.4
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-