The following notes are based mostly on the lawyer's brief for the 1794 King's Bench hearing [in Whitehaven Record Office- D/Pen/bundle 74a]

Fishing

Edward Stanley (and apparently his father before him) had employed a fisherman, Henry Matthewman, who lived at Dalegarth (several former Dalegarth servants in 1793 remembered going with him to get fish for the hall). In his day, locals could pay him 2 shillings a year rent for the right to fish in the lake. The Stanleys were so concerned about depletion of the fish stock in the lake that they would have it watched during the spawning season, and about 1750, old Mr Stanley hired Job Stable of Ulpha, for one guinea, to build a wall across the mouth of one of the small streams which flowed into the lake on the south side, so that trout fry could not swim up it and get caught by Ulpha tenants.

A few years after little George inherited the estate (probably about 1755) his trustees, seeking to maximise his income, let out the lake to Mr Sawrey of Broughton in Furness and Mr Lutwidge of Holmrook, at 1 guinea per year. Sawrey would sometimes camp out on his fishing trips, pitching his tent near a sheepfold on the south side of the lake. As well as fishing in the lake (with both line and net) they maintained an eel ark at the outlet, the eels thus caught being taken to Mr Sawrey at Broughton Tower. Lutwidge employed John Bowman as fisherman, and advised him to learn about the lake from old Matthewman- which he did, at a cost of 4 or 5 shillings in money or liquor. They also had John Stable of Woodend keep an eye on the lake during the breeding season. At that time there was no boat on the lake, so one was sent up from Broughton in Furness by John Stanley, Sawrey's steward. It was left there after the lease expired, but eventually sank. When he came of age, George decided not to extend the lease, because he was concerned about depletion of fish stocks.

Fishing was carried on, of course, by the Stanleys and their guests, such as Miles Ponsonby Esq. who first fished the lake in about 1777 with Stanley's agent; after angling for some time they drew a net round the lake. Stanley had retained John Bowman as fisherman, on a daily wage, and when he decided a net would be useful, about a year after taking over the lake, John bought him the old one from Mr Lutwidge, for 2 guineas. The net was kept in the boathouse during the summer season for 3 or 4 years, but it was then removed to Dalegarth, so that guests had to ask for it specially. John worked for Stanley until about 1776, when he was promoted to steward- however, for the 6 years or so that he held that position, he continued to fish in the lake with rod or net. It seems to have been John Bowman who entrusted the boathouse key to Austhwaite farmer John Viccars, who for several years earned about one-and-a-half guineas per year for looking after the lake and watching over the fish in the breeding season. From about 1780, Stanley gamekeeper Joseph Wane would often go fishing at the lake, either on behalf of the Stanleys or to accompany others who had their permission. He observed in 1793 that he had fished, and used nets, on all sides of the lake.

About 1784, George let the lake to a Mr William Beeby for 3 guineas a year, an arrangement which continued for two or three years (during which Beeby charged rent to others who wished to fish there- Miles Ponsonby paid him 7s 6d yearly) after which the lake returned to direct family control. The job of lake-warden (and boathouse key keeper) was then given to Joe Stable of Woodend, and about 1790, Ponsonby and two friends obtained Stanley's permission to have the net kept with the boathouse key. By 1793 the fishing friends had bought their own net, but used it only in the presence of Stanley's gamekeeper.

If the Stanleys' bailiff, Henry Hartley, caught Ulpha tenants fishing there (regardless of the fact that they were on Ulpha land at the south side of the lake) he would break their rods, and at least one of Stanley's tenant farmers, John Jackson, would take it upon himself to chase Ulpha tenants away if he saw them fishing there (and he too broke the rod of one of the Tysons of Woodend, after which the man's wife Rachael came and asked his permission for her husband to fish). It may have been no accident that on one occasion a Drigg man, Jonathan Jackson, was caught fishing in the lake. He claimed to be doing so on behalf of Miss Lutwidge, and to have the permission of Mr Singleton. In view of the previous good relations between the Stanleys and the Lutwidges, he was allowed to continue, but asked to tell Singleton that Stanley would break his rod if he ever caught him fishing there in person. Also lucky to be caught by Mr Stanley in person was an Ulpha tenant, Mr Gaitskell (again claiming to have Mr Singleton's permission). His rod was spared but he was ordered away (though he had also been ordered away more than once by Lutwidge and Sawrey and their representatives when they leased the lake from Stanley).

The boathouses

From time out of mind, the Stanleys had kept a boat in a boathouse on the north shore of Devoke Water, the key of which was kept at Dalegarth Hall. About 1772, however, George Stanley decided to have a new boathouse built at the east end of the lake, using stones gathered on the shore and round about. It was designed to serve the additional purpose of a shelter (perhaps as a result of Mr Sawrey's tent experiences) and was provided with a fireplace. Fuel could be obtained from the little island near the south shore of the lake, which was all-but covered with trees- alternatively, peat could be dug from the moss just yards from the doorstep; heather or ling also contributed to the blaze. The building work was superintended by John Jackson, then farmer of Dalegarth, and fisherman John Bowman acted as carpenter.

In the 1780s the job of looking after the lake, and keeping the key to the new boathouse, had been given to Woodend tenant Joe Stable. From about 1789, Stable was also instructed by Stanley's gamekeeper (at Miles Ponsonby's request) to cut peats from the moor above the boathouse and stack them ready for use; however, not all were used, and some were left to rot.

A NOTE ON WOODEND

One key factor in the boundary dispute was the hamlet of Woodend, isolated among the fells to the south-east of Devoke Water. At this time it was a cluster of about 5 small tenements in an area of enclosures sheltered by high hills. About 3 of these tenements belonged to a Mr Poole. It seems illogical that such a community should develop close to Devoke Water without any right of access to the lake, yet that appears to have been the case: in 1605 a Woodend tenant even had to sign an agreement with the Stanleys prohibiting him from catching fish in the streams running from the fells west of Woodend (i.e. within Ulpha manor) into the lake.

The boundaries

Riding the bounds

Sheepheaves and other uses

Cast of characters