Lancelot Pattinson 'Lanty Patty'

'Lanty Patty', probably well into his 90's when this photograph was taken.

Having chosen the image of 'Lanty Patty' as the icon of our website, we must tell you more about him and the Pattinson family.

Caveman of Patterdale?

There are many historical accounts that describe 'Lanty Patty' has the man who lived, for many years, in a smoke-filled cave close to Goldrill Bridge in Patterdale. Such a person would clearly be a well known character amongst locals and would pique the interest of visitors to the area.

Whilst it is a fact that he spent at least 10 years living in some form of basic shelter, it was not a cave. Despite much searching, no cave, natural or man made, has ever been found close to Goldrill Bridge. However, some of the stories do give us clues to a more likely location. The Rev. Joseph Whiteside, writing in 1900, described it as a one-roomed, dry-walled cabin, which he had built on some waste land. With no definitive name for the dwelling, the enumerator of the 1841 census appears to have scribbled 'Unk' but in 1851 wrote the address Goldrill Hill. In her 'Chronicles of Patterdale', Elizabeth Little says the hill was still known locally in the 1960's as 'Lanty's Hill' but today, sadly, we haven't found anyone who uses the name or even knows where it was.

The stories say that Lancelot Pattinson began living in the shelter after the death of his wife Anne. We can't find any record of Anne's death but it was certainly before the June 1841 census was taken, as Lancelot (72), along with his older brother Joseph (75), is already residing in the shelter. He is still there, at the age of 82, in March 1851. His brother Joseph had died in August 1841 and Lancelot is sharing the shelter with his bachelor son Isaac (43) and grandson John Pattinson (26) who is described as his grandson, born in Ambleside, but who can't be placed on the family tree. Isaac died a couple of years later, in November 1853, so by April 1861, we find Lancelot (92) and this John (37) living as boarders with Lancelot's widowed son John and his family at 2, Township Cottages.

Lancelot, who was born at Swineside in Matterdale in late 1768 or early 1769, died on the 6th of August 1865 at the age of 96 years and still, it was said, in possession of all his faculties. He was buried on the 8th of August in Patterdale Churchyard, the register records his address simply as Hartsop.

Where was his 'Cave'?

As has already been mentioned, there are no natural or man-made caves close to Goldrill Bridge, so perhaps his shelter was cave-like, which would have led to usage of the word cave. It would have been foolish to build a shelter close to the river as the area often floods following heavy rain. The various references to 'hill' and 'Lanty's Castle' point to it being on higher ground and narrows the possibilities to two small hillocks.

The area marked #1 on the modern satellite view is the most likely. This rocky knoll is thought to have been common land at the time and is close to a well, which would have been more convenient than fetching water from the river. There are depressions in the hill which would have made it easier to build a dry-stone walled structure against a steep banking or rock face.

The small hill marked #2 is relatively smoother and would have required four walls to be erected for a shelter. The ownership of that land has not been determined but was probably owned by E.W. Hasell of Dalemain and would have demanded rent.

Pattinson Family

In his book, the Records of Patterdale, Rev. Morris describes the Pattinson's as one of the oldest names in the registers. The earliest record we have found is a baptism of John Pattison in 1683, then no more until the burial of Mary Pattinson (around 25 years old) of Hartsop in December 1783. Mary was one of Lancelot's sisters, so it looks as though it was his parent's, John and Anne, who brought the name to the dale. We have researched the family tree for their descendants, so that the relationship of individuals mentioned above can be seen. Click on the family tree image to view a larger version which shows the descendants of his siblings.

In her 'Chronicles of Patterdale', Elizabeth Little mentions more descendants and talks about two particular branches known locally as the 'Short-legged Patties' and the 'Long-legged Patties'. It seems that the 'short-legged' descended from Lanty and the 'long-legged' from his brother Joseph.

Family Tree - Click on the image below to view and explore a more extensive family tree. Due to the complexity of the chart, it is best viewed on a desktop or tablet screen.

Sources

The Records of Patterdale by Rev. W.P. Morris, 1903 - Page 97
The Chronicles of Patterdale by Elizabeth A Little, 1961 - Page 14
Extract from an article presented to the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society on the 20th June 1900 by the Rev. J Whiteside, M.A., Incumbent of Helsington (View Image)
Patterdale Census and Parish Records - Genealogy Page
This death notice in the Westmorland Gazette gives the false impression that Lanty was still in his basic shelter when he died.

Page Editor: Norman Jackson

Last Reviewed: 16 Sep 2024

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse