Old Cumbria Gazetteer

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	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	other name:-	Bowther Stone
	parish	Borrowdale parish, once in Cumberland
	county:-	Cumbria
		stone
	coordinates:-	NY25391640
	10Km square:-	NY21
	1Km square	NY2516
		Bowder Stone -- Borrowdale -- Cumbria / -- 3.4.2006
		Bowder Stone -- Borrowdale -- Cumbria / -- 3.4.2006
	source:-	Martineau 1855
		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 1855-71.
		Page 80:-
		... the traveller reaches the Bowder Stone at a mile from Rosthwaite,- a fallen rock, standing on its point, and about thirty feet high, and sixty long. There are steps for ascent to the top; but it is as well seen from below, where it cannot but
		Page 81:-
		catch the eye of the passenger. ...
	date:-	1855
	period:-	19th century, late; 1850s
	old map:-	Garnett 1850s-60s H
		Map of the English Lakes, scale about 3.5 miles to 1 inch, published by John Garnett, Windermere, Westmorland, 1850s-60s.
		Bowder Stone
		marked by a block
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	date:-	1850=1869
	period:-	19th century, late; 1850s; 1860s
	old map:-	Ford 1839 map
		Map of the Lake District, published in A Description of Scenery in the Lake District, by William Ford, published by Charles Thurnham, London, 1839.
		Bowderstone
	placename:-	Bowderstone
	county:-	Cumberland
	date:-	1839
	period:-	19th century, early; 1830s
	descriptive text:-	Ford 1839 (3rd edn 1843)
		Description of Scenery in the Lake District, by William Ford, published by Charles Thurnham, London, et al, 1839; published 1839-52.
		Page 67:-
		...
		The Bowder Stone next arrests the attention, standing on a high bank overlooking the river Derwent.
		This is an immense fragment of rock, which may possibly at some very distant period have fallen from the mountains near, and have ever since remained in its present position. Its dimensions are as follows:- length, sixty-two feet; height, thirty-six feet; circumference, eighty-nine feet; mass, twenty-three thousand and ninety cubic feet; and estimated weight, one thousand nine hundred and seventy-one tons. The appearance of it is not improved by the ladder affixed to it to enable people to see from its top, what can be much better viewed from Castle Crag. A slate bench near it, present a pleasing view into Borrowdale.
		Page 167:-
		...
		BOWDER STONE is a rock of great dimensions, which has probably fallen at some far-distant period from the crags above. The stone is 62 feet long, and 36 feet high, its circumference is 89 feet, and it weighs 1971 tons. from this point a fine view of Borrodale is obtained. The village of Rossthwaite lies in front, overhung as it were by Glaramara and Eagle Crag.
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	date:-	1839
	period:-	19th century, early; 1830s
	old print:-	Otley 1823 (8th edn 1849)
		Guidebook, Concise Description of the English Lakes, later A Description of the English Lakes, by Jonathan Otley, published by the author, Keswick, Cumberland, by J Richardson, London, and by Arthur Foster, Kirky Lonsdale, Cumbria, 1823 onwards.
		Engraving, Bowder Stone, Borrowdale, drawn by T Binns, engraved by O Jewitt, on p.116 of A Descriptive Guide of the English Lakes, by Jonathan Otley, 8th edition, 1849.
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	date:-	1849
	period:-	19th century, early; 1840s
	descriptive text:-	Otley 1823 (5th edn 1834)
		Guidebook, Concise Description of the English Lakes, later A Description of the English Lakes, by Jonathan Otley, published by the author, Keswick, Cumberland, by J Richardson, London, and by Arthur Foster, Kirky Lonsdale, Cumbria, 1823 onwards.
		goto source.
		... the Bowder Stone - a fragment of rock above twenty yards in length, and half as much in height,- remarkable for being curiously poised upon one of its angles, with a little more support towards one end. ...
		goto source.
		Page 164:-
		... The famous Bowder Stone of Borrowdale does not come within the present description [of glacial erratics] ...
	date:-	1823
	period:-	19th century, early; 1820s
	source:-	Otley 1818
		New Map of the District of the Lakes, in Westmorland, Cumberland, and Lancashire, scale about 4 miles to 1 inch, by Jonathan Otley, engraved by J and G Menzies, Edinburgh, Lothian, Scotland, published by J Otley, Keswick, Cumberland now Cumbria, 1818; pblished 1818 to 1850s.
		goto source.
		Marked by a block, for the building?
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	old map:-	West 1784 map
		A Map of the Lakes in Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire, now Cumbria, scale about 3.5 miles to 1 inch, engraved by Paas, 53 Holborn, London, included in the Guide to the Lakes by Thomas West, published by William Pennington, Kendal, Westmorland, and in London, from the 3rd edition 1784, to 1821.
		goto source.
	placename:-	Bowther Stone
		stone
	county:-	Cumberland
	old map (vignette):-	Crosthwaite 1783-94 (Der)
		Series of maps, An Accurate Map of the Matchless Lake of Derwent, of the Grand Lake of Windermere, of the Beautiful Lake of Ullswater, of Broadwater or Bassenthwaite Lake, of Coniston Lake, of Buttermere, Crummock and Loweswater Lakes, and Pocklington's Island, by Peter Crosthwaite, Kendal, Cumberland now Cumbria, 1783 to 1794.
	placename:-	Bowdar Stone
	date:-	1783
	period:-	18th century, late; 1780s
	descriptive text:-	West 1778 (11th edn 1821)
		Guide book, A Guide to the Lakes, by Thomas West, published by William Pennington, Kendal, Cumbria once Westmorland, and in London, 1778 to 1821.
		goto source.
		Page 97:-
		... Bowder-stone [1], on the right, in the very pass, is a mountain of itself, and the road winds round its base. ...
		[1] This loose stone is of prodigious bulk. It lies like a ship on its keel.- Its length is 62 feet; its circumference 184. Its solidity is about 23090 feet, and its weight about 1771 tons.
	date:-	1778
	period:-	18th century, late; 1770s
	old print:-	Sylvan 1847
		Print, engraving, The Bowder Stone, Borrowdale, Cumberland, published by John Johnstone, Paternoster Row, London, et al, 1847.
		On p.200 of Sylvan's Pictorial Guide to the English Lakes.
		printed at bottom:-
		THE BOWDER STONE.
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	date:-	1847
	period:-	19th century, early
	descriptive text:-	Gents Mag 1751
		Map of the Black Lead Mines in Cumberland, and area, scale about 2 miles to 1 inch, published in the Gentleman's Magazine, 1751.
		We had now reached the Bowder stone of Barrowdale, which is much the largest stone in England, being at least equal in size to a first rate man of war; it lies close by the road side, on the right hand, and seems to have been a fragment detached from the impending precipice above, by lightening or some other accident. ...
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	date:-	1751
	period:-	18th century, late; 1750s
	old print:-	Martineau 1855
		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 1855-71.
		Print, engraving, Borrowdale near the Bowder Stone, drawn by L Aspland, engraved by W Banks, Edinburgh, published by John Garnett, Windermere, Westmorland, and by Whittaker and Co, London, 1855.
		Tipped in opposite p.152 in A Complete Guide to the English Lakes, by Harriet Martineau.
		printed at bottom left, right, centre:-
		L Aspland Delt. / W Banks Sc Edinr. / BORROWDALE / near the Bowder Stone.
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	date:-	1855
	period:-	19th century, late
	old print:-	Harwood 1842
		Set of prints, uncoloured engravings bound in a booklet, Harwood's Views of the Lakes, drawn by John and Frederick Harwood, 26 Fenchurch Street, London, about 1842.
		Print, uncoloured engraving, Bowder Stone, Borrowdale, Cumberland, engraved and published by John and Frederick Harwood, 26 Fenchurch Street, London, 1842.
		printed at bottom left, right, centre:-
		London, J & F. Harwood, 26, Fenchurch Street. / Septr. 27 1842 / Bowder Stone, Borrowdale.
	date:-	1842
	period:-	19th century, early
	old print:-	Heywood 1906
		Guide to Keswick and its Vicinity, in the Penny Guide Books series, published by Abel Heywood and Son, 56-58 Oldham Street, Manchester, and by Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Co, Ave Maria Lane, Paternoster Row, London, 1906.
		Print, halftone, Bowder Stone, Borrowdale, Cumberland, from a photograph by A Pettitt, Keswick, published by Abel Heywood and Son, 56-58 Oldham Street, Manchester, and by Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Co, Ave Maria Lane, Paternoster Row, London, 1906.
		In a Guide to Keswick and its Vicinity in the Penny Guide Books series.
		printed at bottom:-
		Photo by / BOWDER STONE. / A. Pettitt, Keswick.
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	date:-	1906
	period:-	1900s
	old print:-	Green 1819
		Print, aquatint, Bowder Stone, Borrowdale, Cumberland, by William Green, 1819, published by R Lough and Co, Chronicle Office, Finkle Street, Kendal, and others, 1820.
		Tipped in opposite vol.2 p.132 of The Tourist's New Guide, by William Green.
		printed at bottom right, centre:-
		Vol.2, page 132, line 23. / BOWDER STONE. / Published at Ambleside, Augt. 1. 1819, by Wm. Green.
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	date:-	1819
	period:-	19th century, early
	old print:-	Adams 1852
		Guide book, Adams's Pocket Descriptive Guide to the Lake District, by Sir Edward Litt Laman Blanchard, illustrated by F G Delamotte, published by W J Adams, 59 Fleet Street, London, 1852.
		Print, engraving, The Bowder Stone, Borrowdale, by F G Delamotte, published by W J Adams, 59 Fleet Street, London, 1852.
		Tipped in opp.p.61 in Adams's Pocket Descriptive Guide to the Lake District.
		printed at lower right:-
		F. DelaMotte
		printed at bottom:-
		THE BOWDER STONE, BORROWDALE.
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	date:-	1852
	period:-	19th century, late
	old print:-	Nelson 1859
		Guide book, in the Nelson's Handbooks for Tourists series, The English Lakes, published by T Nelson and Sons, Paternoster Row, London, 1859.
		Print, Bowder Stone, drawn by Keeley Halswelle, Edinburgh, published by T Nelson and Sons, Paternoster Row, London, and Edinburgh and New York, United States, 1859.
		Tipped in oppposite p.264 of a guide book, The English Lakes.
		printed at bottom:-
		BOWDER STONE.
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	date:-	1859
	period:-	19th century, late
	old print:-
		Print, uncoloured engraving, The Bowder Stone, Borrowdale, Cumberland, perhaps late 18th century.
		printed at bottom:-
		The Bowder Stone
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	date:-	1780=1799
	period:-	18th century, late
	old print:-	Britain and Bayley 1802-18
		Print, uncoloured engraving, The Bowder Stone, Cumberland, painted by G Arnald, engraved by J Greig, published by Vernor and Hood, Poultry, London, 1803.
		Included in the Beauties of England and Wales, by John Britton and Edward W Brayley.
		printed at bottom left, right, centre:-
		Engrav'd by J. Greig from a painting by G. Arnald. / for the Beauties of England & Wales. / THE BOWDER STONE, / Cumberland. / London. Publish'd by Vernor & Hood. Poultry, July 1. 1803.
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	date:-	1803
	period:-	19th century, early
	old print:-
		Print, uncoloured aquatint, Bowder Stone, Borrowdale, Cumberland, drawn, engraved and published by William Green, Ambleside, Westmorland, 1804.
		printed at bottom:-
		Bowder Stone. / Drawn and Engraved by Wm. Green, and Published at Ambleside, June 24, 1804.
	placename:-	Bowder Stone
	date:-	1804
	period:-	19th century, early
		photographs
		courtesy of Keswick Museum.
		Bowder Stone -- Borrowdale -- Cumbria /
		photographs
		Bowder Stone -- Borrowdale -- Cumbria / -- 24.8.2008 -- A climber practicing; the white marks are from ?rosin on climbers' finger tips.
		Bowder Stone -- Borrowdale -- Cumbria / -- 24.8.2008 -- A climber practicing; the white marks are from ?rosin on climbers' finger tips.
		Bowder Stone -- Borrowdale -- Cumbria / -- 24.8.2008 -- A climber practicing; the white marks are from ?rosin on climbers' finger tips.
	hearsay	According to Joseph Pocklington:- Measure of Bowtherstone in Borrowdale Cumberland f i / The Length of the Stone is ... 62=6 / Perpendicular Height ... 36=0 / Circumference ... 89=0 / Contents of Solid Feet ... 23,000=0 / Weight of the above 1771 Tons 13 Hun. / Measure May 15th. 1799 by me J.P. New measures by Alan Smith, 2003: the specific gravity of the rock is 2.56 and weight 1253 tons. The Bowder Stone was thought to be one of a scatter of stones here fallen from Bowder Crag. Later thinking is that it is a glacial erratic from Scotland. Joseph Pocklington employed an old woman, who lived in the cottage near by, as a guide. He had a hole cut through the base of the stone so that the visitor could shake hands with the guide through the stone.
	hearsay	An advertising ticket reads:- BOWDER STONE. / MARY THOMPSON, / Begs leave to acquaint the Ladies and Gentlemen visiting the Lakes and Mountains near Keswick, that she / continues at the BOWDER STONE HOUSE, and attends on all parties desirous of seeing and examining that / IMMENSE / FRAGMENT OF ROCK / Supposed to be the largest in the World, and which resembles a Ship / THE DIMENSIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS: / Length, 62 feet; Perpendicular Height, 36 feet; Circumference, 89 feet; contains 23,090 solid feet; / Weighs, 1,971 ton 13 cwt.; and is a Basaltic or Porphyritic Greenstone. / Bowder Stone House, May, 1878. / I. EVENING, PRINTER, STATION STREET, COCKERMOUTH.
	hearsay	There is said to be the face of Balder, son of Odin, on the south corner of the stone. William Gilpin refers to the stone as the Boothar Stone, 'It does not seem to have been the appendage of a mountain, but itself an independent creation. It lies in a sort of of diagonal position; overshadowing a space, sufficient to shelter a troop of horse.'
	references	Smith, Alan: 2003: Story of the Bowder Stone: Rigg Side Publications (Keswick, Cumbria):: ISBN 0 9544679 0 6 Hodgson, Liz: 2007: Bowder Stone, a History: P3 Publications:: ISBN 0 9547739 8 5
	Old Cumbria Gazetteer - JandMN: 2008

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