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Lord's Island, also Lords Island and Island of Derwentwatre is one of the four main islands that populate Derwentwater. The other three are Derwent Island, St Herbert's Island and Rampsholme Island, of which the latter two can be seen in this photo, centre-right and centre respectively. Lord's Island is located in Strandshag Bay with wide open views across the lake towards Cat Bells (451m), Walla Crag (379m) and the Borrowdale Valley. It is owned by the National Trust, acquired on 13 March, 1922.[1][a]
In a bid to ensure the local population of nesting geese is protected, the National Trust does not allow anyone to land here. In addition to this there is a no-paddle zone between the eatern shore of the island and the mainland at Stable Hills.[2]
The island contains foundation ruins from a 15th Century manor house along with various earthworks and other archaeological interests (see National Trust Heritage Records below). The surface area is almost entirely covered with trees. The manor house was built in two stages. The central hub of the original building was built c.1460, most likely by Sir Thomas Radcliffe (1422–1495) and was of simple design; the later additions of the north and south wings were probably added in the early 17th century.[3] Nearby Castlerigg, with views overlooking the lake, was the ancient family seat of the Derwentwater family. According to local traditions their successors, the Radcliffes, used the stones from the ruined Castlerigg to build their new residence on Lord's Island. How the two families are merged and the design of the manor house on Lord's island are briefly covered below.
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Background
The island got its name from the Earls of Derwentwater, who in turn, had taken the name from the lake itself. There is a long and convoluted history centring around the Derwentwaters, an extended family with roots deep in the area holding large estates, with the first being Adam de Derwentwater, c.1210. The family tree winds its way through history until we reach the last John de Derwentwater.[4] Records of 1403 show he was the owner of the manor of Ormesheved (Ormshead). His daughter Elizabeth, the "heiress of the isle", married Sir Nicholas Radcliffe in 1417[4] and suffice to say, the union of the Derwentwaters and Radcliffes[b] would be forever cemented in history. It would be their son, Sir Thomas Radcliffe mentioned above, that would build the manor house on the island. Fast forward two centuries through family troubles, disinheritance, further marriages and family expansion, to arrive at the Catholic recusant, Sir Francis Radcliffe, 1st Baronet (1569–1622), who was arrested on suspicion of collusion in the Gunpowder Plot.[5] His son, Sir Edward Radcliffe, 2nd Baronet (1589–1663) was a royalist. His loyalty to the King during the English Civil Wars, also known as the Great Rebellion, brought about the sequestration of his estates and in 1652 they were forfeited and ordered to be sold.[4]
After the Restoration of 1660 where King Charles II returns from exile, Sir Edward is given back his estates, living only another three years, whereupon he settled his affairs with his family. His only surviving son, Sir Francis Radcliffe, 3rd Baronet (1625-1697), married Catherine Fenwick, daughter of Sir William Fenwick and widow of Henry Lawson of Brough. Through this union Spindleston in Northumberland came to the Radcliffes, and it is here where Francis was living in 1657. He was raised to the peerage by James II as the 1st Earl of Derwentwater in 1688. He died nine years later in 1697, succeeded by his son, Edward, the 2nd Earl of Derwentwater, who married Lady Mary Tudor, daughter of Charles II.[4][5] The Radcliffes were a very wealthy powerhouse of northern England. Yet, Edward and Mary's marriage was to bring about a downturn to this line of the Radcliffe's success.
Their eldest son was James de Derwentwater (24 June, 1689 – 24 February, 1716). The third Earl bearing the name Derwentwater, he was brought up in France at St Germain, as companion to his cousin, Prince James Stuart.[6][c] His involvement in the Jacobite rising of 1715 would be his undoing. His rebellious interests had nothing to do with his Cumberland estates. Government had their suspicions about him, which essentially made him a marked man. A signed warrant for his arrest was sent out by Lord Stanhope, Secretary of State, legitimising their interests in his conspiratorial actions. History would see a repeat to that of his great-grandfather's sequestered estates. James' involvement with the rebellion against King George I ended in capture and ultimate defeat of the Jacobean army in the Battle of Preston. James declared his devotion to the Catholic faith and to his cousin, the Old Pretender. He pleaded guilty, was condemned to death and eventually beheaded on Tower Hill, 24 February, 1716.[7] His estates were forfeited to the Crown and subsequently given to Greenwich Hospital.[4]
The history of the Derwentwaters and Radcliffes is sizeable and could not be included here, however, if you are interested in learning more about these two families and their ancestral seats in Cumberland and Northumberland, head on to the further reading section below.
The manor house
We know there was once a manor-house or some grand dwelling on Lord's Island. Member of the Radcliffe family once lived there when there was believed to be a drawbridge, which was used to access the mainland. Was this a sign of ostentatiousness or was it there for defensive purposes? The island could have once been a peninsula, and that the Radcliffes had cut a fosse (channel or ditch) to separate the two and create the island.[8] How true this is would require some detailed research beyond the scope of this text, but it would make for an interesting history lesson no least. Other historians contest that the manor-house in some form existed from around 1450 from stone of an earlier structure at Castlerigg, and that the Radcliffes kept residence until at least 1623 or later.[9] A deed of sale provides evidence it was sold on 5 August, 1653, by Sir Edward Radcliffe and his son Francis to Thomas Keightley of Hertingfordbury Park, near Hertford.[9]
At some point between 1675 and 1709 the manor-house is abandoned.[10] There is a huge amount of history omitted here.
Like all grand houses through time, abandoned and left to fall victim of the elements, its eventual state of disrepair meant there was stone readily available for use elsewhere. In 1695 these very stones were used to build the Moot Hall in Keswick.[11] Why quarry stone at great expense when already used stone is simply lying around? From the shore of the bay there is no evidence of any building having ever existed there. Only the foundation stones remain.
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External sites
The following links from National Trust Heritage Records Online details the following archaeological interests:
Further reading
- The Last of the Derwentwaters A Paper Read to the Keswick Literary Society. Cockermouth. 1874.
- The Home of the Derwentwater Family Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society. vol.4. 1904.
- The Derwentwaters and Radcliffes Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society. vol.4. 1904.
- James Radcliffe Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
Notes
- ↑ Friar's Crag, Lord's Island, Land at Calfclose Bay & Falcon Crag, Keswick totals 7.73ha (19.10 acres). In 1922, the viewpoint of Friar's Crag and Calfclose Bay were bought by subscription as a memorial to Canon H. D. Rawnsley. Lord's Island was also purchased as part of the Rawnsley Memorial. The Ruskin Memorial on Friar's Crag was given to the Trust in 1900.
- ↑ Depending on source material and from what period they were recorded, Radcliffe appears also as Radclyffe, Radcliff and Ratcliff. The name Radcliffe comes from the Norse Raud-klif, meaning red-cliff.
- ↑ Prince James Stuart, son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, was a Jacobite claimant to the throne on his father's death in 1701. James Stuart, known as the Old Pretender, supported the restoration of exiled Stuarts to the British throne, which spearheaded the Jacobite rising of 1715.
References
- ↑ Friar's Crag National Trust Land Map. Rerieved 1 February, 2023.
- ↑ Activities on Derwentwater National Trust. Retrieved 1 February, 2023.
- ↑ Collingwood, W.G. (Ed.) (1904). Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society. Kendal. vol.4. p.257-287.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Thompson, W.N. (Contributor) (1904). Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society. Kendal. vol.4. p.288-322.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Radcliffes of Dilston Hall The Northumbrian Jacobite Society. Retrieved 27 January, 2023.
- ↑ Radcliffe Surname Meaning, History & Origin The Radcliffes as Earls of Derwentwater (section). Retrieved 31 January, 2023.
- ↑ Samuel Simpson (1746). The Agreeable Historian, Or the Compleat English Traveller. R. Walker. Fleet Lane, London. p.183.
- ↑ Harriet Martineau (1855). A Complete Guide To The English Lakes. John Garnett. Windermere. p.75.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Blake Tyson (1995). Rebuilding the Medieval Court-House at Keswick in 1571 (PDF). Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society. pp.119–136. Retrieved 24 January, 2020.
- ↑ Whaley, Diana (2006). A Dictionary of Lake District Place-Names. English Place-Name Society. School of English Studies, University of Nottingham. p.220.
- ↑ Otley, Jonathan (1819). Account of the Floating Island in Derwent Lake, Keswick. Vol. 3. p.64. Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society.