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The Fish Inn
© Cumbria County Council, Carlisle Library
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Putting beauty on the map |
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The beautiful girl described by Palmer was Mary Robinson, daughter of the landlord of the Inn at Buttermere. Only 15 when the book was published, Mary Robinson quickly became famous as the ‘Maid of Buttermere’. Soon, calling in upon the Inn to admire her fresh-faced charms became an accepted component of the Lake District tourists’ itinerary, slotted in between viewing-stations and famous picturesque landscapes.
“Without contamination doth she live”
Gilpin sketch, c1802
© Cumbria County Council, Carlisle Library |
The English Romantic poets’ preoccupation with nature was undoubtedly one of the driving forces behind the success of the Lake District tours. Tourists visiting the Lake District would follow the same path as Wordsworth and Coleridge, perhaps even using Wordsworth’s own Guide to the Lakes. Each poet took inspiration from the magnificent landscape and traditional way of life. It seems the charms of Mary Robinson, the Beauty of Buttermere had not escaped their notice.
In Book VII of 'The Prelude', Wordsworth’s description of her reveals why she became so famous among advocates of the Romantic Movement and tourists of the Lake District. The “artless daughter of the hills” represented a woman shaped by nature, living “without contamination” in the “spot where she was born and reared”. She is “unspoiled”, a product of the natural environment, free from artificial influence.
“in cruel mockery/ Of love and marriage bonds”
The village of Buttermere
© Cumbria County Council, Carlisle Library |
Mary Robinson’s legendary status was enhanced by falling victim to the notorious fraudster, John Hatfield. When John Hatfield visited the Lake District, he trussed himself up as the Honourable Alexander Augustus Hope, brother of the Earl of Hopetoun. The genuine Augustus Hope was a respectable member of England’s aristocracy, spending time abroad whereas John Hatfield boasted a colourful history of unpaid debts, fraud and jail sentences. He had a lucrative talent for securing credit in hotels and loans from unsuspecting aristocrats on the strength of whispered insinuations of friends in high places.
Your comments
1 Neil Rowland from Livingston - 16 January 2004
"This story was covered in a book of the same name by Melvyn Bragg in 1991. It is several years since I read it but as I remember it was a good read.
"
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