weighed fully fourteen stones. He was a man well and strongly built from
"top to toe;" slightly round shouldered and round backed; with a fine,
broad, expansive chest; possessing tremendous strength of arm; and had a
"neck like a bull." He lived till February, 1860, having attained his
eightieth year; and it became a common remark that up to nearly the final
shuffling off this mortal coil, he had the lightest foot, and was the
"lishest" walker of any old man in the neighbourhood of Caldbeck. At Faulds
Brow sports, when a hale hearty stager of more than three-score-and-ten
years, he challenged to wrestle any man in England of his own age. We once
witnessed, too, at Newcastle, in 1861, another septuagenarian, named Thomas
Fawcett, from the neighbourhood of Kendal, challenge any man in England or
Scotland of a like age. He stood six feet one inch, appeared uncommonly
active, and straight as a maypole. Real "grit" these, our transatlantic
cousins would say. Yes, it is such men that make Cumberland and
Westmorland athletes superior to all the world.
The hype became Richardson's main chip; and a favourite method of stopping
an opponent--at which he was allowed to be a great adept--was to give him a
sudden click--"kind o' bear him off his feet"--and then lift and hype. If
an opponent should attempt buttocking, his unrivalled strength of arm
enabled him to gather his adversary up with a vice-like grip, anything but
pleasant. Indeed, he never was buttocked but once, in the whole of a long
career, and that once by John Nicholson of Threlkeld, in private practice
one summer night in the neighbourhood of Ouse-bridge.
"Will" scored his first prize when only eighteen years old, at Soukerry, in
his native parish. The sports held there annually ranked amongst the oldest
and best local gatherings in Cumberland, and being in the midst of a good
wrestling country, several noted men attended yearly. From the manner in
which the youngster disposed of all comers, he was pronounced to be a
promising "colt" for future work. After gaining this, his first victorious
effort, in a strong entry, Richardson wrestled with marked success through
many rings--of course, like others, getting a "topple over" now and then.
When about twenty-one years old, he entered into the spirit of the sport
with wonderful enthusiasm, and determination not to be beaten. Two
remarkable circumstances, in a prolonged career, are worth relating. He
was never "felled" a single fall, by any mortal man, between the age of
twenty-one and twenty-eight; that is to say, from 1801 to 1808 or 1809,
during which period he attended almost all the sports held between
Calderbridge on the south-west, Pooley-bridge on the east, and all through
the north to the Scottish borders. And he was never "felled" two falls
together but once in his life, when a mere stripling, at Harrop sports,
between Embleton and Lorton. Job Tinnian of Holme Cultram (one of a
distinguished wrestling and fighting family, a good striker, and proficient
with the buttock), and Richardson, were matched for a guinea, the best of
three falls. Job got the two last, and his opponent the first. Tinnian--who
measured six feet six inches in height--doffed his shirt, and had his back
so thoroughly soaped, there was no holding him. Previous to the match,
Richardson had thrown him for the head prize at the sports, and then again
next day at a "Bridewain" at Southwaite, about two miles from Cockermouth,
on the Lorton road. Job Tinnian had a daughter, who, we believe, grew to be
such a giantess, that she was taken about as a show, and exhibited in the
Blue Bell at Carlisle, and various other places.
During the latter part of the last century, and in the early part of the
present one, the head prizes at the various wrestling meetings were of a
most primitive description, consisting either of a homely leather
"belt"--with an inscription, giving name of place, date, and name of
winner--or a "brutches piece," a suitable length of buckskin or broadcloth,
for making a pair of breeches; and occasionally, but very rarely, a silver
cup. Unlike the present day, liberal money prizes did not tempt competitors
on the village greens.
While the century was still young, some enterprising individual announced
that a "golden guinea"--the first ever given in Cumberland for a like
purpose--would be presented to the winner of the head prize at Highmoor
sports, near Wigton. The offering of such a gilded bait--quite a
novelty--naturally drew together a strong field of active young athletes.
William Richardson of Caldbeck, among the rest, put in an appearance. Much
resolute wrestling occurred, as round after round passed over. When the
ranks became thinner and thinner, the two last standers proved to be one
Todd, a spirit merchant from Wigton, and Richardson. The former was
familiarly spoken of in the neighbourhood as "Brandy Todd." He was a
powerful built man, nearly six feet high, and a great enthusiast in
wrestling, pedestrianism, and dog-trailing. The two men should have been
matched on several previous occasions, and this being the first, indeed,
the only time they ever met in any ring, the excitement became intense. The
Wigtonians being in great numbers, "crowed very crouse." Some of the more
boisterous ones tried to banter and upset the self-possession of
Richardson, by shouting in derision--"Browte up wid poddish an' kurn milk!
what can _thoo_ deu, I wad like to know? Go bon! Brandy 'ill fling thee oot
o' t' ring, like a bag o' caff!" The men stood up ready for action. Holds
were obtained, after some delay in fencing; a brief struggle ensued, and
the huge spirit-merchant measured his full length on the green-sward. His
friends were dumb-foundered at the sudden fall of their hero. The opposite
party, highly elated, cried out, much to the discomfiture of poor
Todd--"Ha! ha! Codbeck kurn't milk's stranger ner Wigton brandy--efter
aw t' rattle!"
When Richardson was in his prime, sports or races were held at the Beehive
Inn, Deanscale, near Lamplugh. One Shepherd Pearson, from about Wythop,
made a curious and, to look at the terms, foolish wager. He bet a ten pound
note that he would find a man to win the wrestling; another to win the
foot-race; and a hound to win the dog-trail, at the Beehive sports. Now, it
is well known how very much odds increase on a double event, but here are
evens to win _three_ events. Exceedingly foolish! but nevertheless the bet
was won. The chosen champion proved to be Richardson for the wrestling;
John Todhunter of Mungrisdale, near Threlkeld, for the foot race; and
"Towler," belonging to John Harrison of Caldbeck, for the dog-trail.
Curiously enough, all three nominations succeeded in winning the head
prize in their respective entries; and Pearson carried off his risky wager
with a triumphant flourish.
A feud of long standing, it appears, had existed between William Litt and
Richardson. This feud no doubt gave a colour to various statements, and
places us on rather delicate ground in endeavouring to do justice to both
parties. Our object, however, is to speak of each man truthfully and
impartially--to let neither colour "the even tenor of our way." The couple
had met at several sports in West Cumberland; and on one occasion, when
drawn together, Richardson had succeeded in disposing of Litt. The latter,
however, was, as he termed it, in his "novitiate." No doubt the fall was
highly unpalatable to the loser, and at length resulted in a challenge
being given and accepted. The meeting ended unsatisfactorily. Both men drew
up to their posts at the appointed time, Litt shewing unmistakeable signs
of being "fresh i' drink." When requested to make ready for the contest, he
gave a point blank refusal, saying he "wad nowder strip nor russell!" Here
was an awkward fix! What was to be done? After a considerable amount of
"higgling" had been gone through, another match was made, for ten pounds a
side, to come off at the Green Dragon, Workington--Litt being backed by his
brother, a medical man of good standing. On the appointed day, Richardson
and his friends were on the ground to the minute. For some reason or
other, Litt did not put in an appearance. His brother--the doctor--went
into the ring, and held his watch till the full time specified in the
agreement had expired, and then very honourably handed the money over to
Richardson, saying: "I can give no reason why my brother has not fulfilled
the conditions of his engagement." In after years, when the bitterness of
old feuds was nearly, if not altogether worn out, Litt expressed regret
that he had treated Richardson's merits as a wrestler somewhat scurvily in
_Wrestliana_.
Rowland Long of Ambleside, an immense big, burly man, the winner, it was
asserted, of nearly one hundred belts, issued a challenge, that he was open
to wrestle any man in England. An enthusiastic Cumbrian, named Thomas Bell,
residing at Goose Well, near Threlkeld, took up the challenge, not for
himself, but with the understanding that he should produce a man at the
appointed time and place. He first tried his neighbour, Tom Nicholson, but
Tom "thowt hissel rayder ower slender" to engage such a giant as Rowland,
and recommended William Richardson of Caldbeck. Bell set off, and after
some trouble and delay, fell in with Richardson at Rosley Hill fair, on
Whit-Monday. Without much ado the two agreed; got a conveyance, and drove
off for Ambleside without further preparation: a long course of training
never being thought of in those good old days. After reaching Ambleside,
they took a boat, and rowed down to Bowness, where sports were held on the
Tuesday. Richardson's name was entered for the wrestling, but being stiff
and tired with the long ride from Rosley, he didn't, according to his own
version of the affair, "git weel away wid his men." He succeeded, however,
in working upwards till the final fall, and then encountered John Long, a
brother of Rowland's. The two had a hard struggle for the prize, but in the
end the Caldbeck hero proved victorious. Whether John Long considered the
fall doubtful or unsatisfactory, cannot now be ascertained; but he said,
tauntingly, to Richardson, after the tussle was over, "If thoo can du nowte
nea better ner that, my man, thoo'll hev d--d lile chance wi' oor
Roan, I can tell thee!"
On Wednesday--the day following--the match with Rowland was appointed to
come off on the bowling green of the Salutation Hotel, Ambleside, for, we
believe, ten guineas a side, the best of three falls. Richardson, looking
from a window of the hotel, got a first sight of his huge opponent, coming
up the street. After an attentive survey, and noticing the awkward, heavy
sort of rolling walk that Long had, a smile stole over the features of the
Caldbeck man, who thought then he could win easily; setting it down in his
own mind, that one so slow and ungainly would not be quick enough in his
movements in the wrestling ring. This mental calculation proved correct;
the two first falls settling the match, and enabling the winner to walk
away with the amount contended for.
The two Cumbrians left Ambleside on Thursday, and drove back to Threlkeld.
Wrestling and other sports were being held there the same day. The victor
in the match of the previous day was greeted with hearty cheers, by a crowd
collected on the village green. A score or more of clamorous voices were
raised in pressing entreaties that he would enter his name for the
wrestling. Tired with the three previous days' exertions, "an' nut
feelin' hofe reet, wi' gittin' sups o' drink of aw maks," he didn't want to
take any part in the proceedings. He was, however, very reluctantly
persuaded to enter the ring, but "niver stripp'd nor doff'd a thing off."
Notwithstanding these drawbacks, he again proved victorious, throwing in
the course of the day, both Tom Nicholson and his brother John. On
Friday--the following day--he won at Soukerry, in Caldbeck parish; and on
Saturday gained the head prize at Hutton Roof, near Penrith; thus finishing
a heavy week's work, by winning at four different places, and gaining an
important match besides.
On Ascension Day, at Kingmoor Races, Carlisle, in 1809, the subscription
belt was won by William Richardson of Caldbeck; and the Mayor's belt by
Joseph Stalker of Welton. At the first annual meeting on the Swifts,
Carlisle, where there was a purse of five guineas to contend for,
Richardson was thrown, in the third round, by John Harrison of New Church,
who wrestled second to Tom Nicholson. In the same year, at Penrith, in
October, the three favourites were Tom Nicholson, William Richardson, and
Harrison of New Church. All three champions went down; Richardson, after
throwing John Oliphant, James Lancaster, and Joseph Brownrigg, was thrown
in the fourth round by John Nicholson of Threlkeld.
At Carlisle in 1810--Tom Nicholson's second year of winning--Richardson got
capsized by a person of no note whatever; but succeeded in winning the
second day's prize, Joseph Slack of Blencow being second. At Carlisle, in
1812, the head prize was won by James Scott, Oarnlee, Canonbie, throwing in
the final fall William Richardson. On the following day, the loser in the
wrestle up proved victorious, throwing finally John Forster of Walton Rigg;
William Mackereth of Cockermouth being third. The winner received four
guineas, and the second two guineas. At Penrith, in October of the same
year, ten guineas--a large sum to wrestle for in those days--was given to
contend for, where Richardson was thrown by John Parker of Sparkgate, the
winner.
At Carlisle, in 1813, for the chief prize, the Caldbeck favourite threw
William Waters, John Cowen, Walter Phillips, and Samuel Jameson of Penrith;
and was thrown in the final fall by Robert Rowantree of Bewcastle, after
one of the severest struggles on record. Richardson's own account of the
fall was this: after having lifted Rowantree to hype him, his foot slipped,
owing to the wetness of the day, and consequent slipperiness of the ground;
losing his balance, he fell clean backwards, thus throwing away the fall.
He had met Rowantree on two or three previous occasions, and always threw
him. At Keswick, in 1820, the Caldbeck champion was thrown by William
Wilson of Ambleside, said by a high authority to be the best man
Westmorland ever produced.
On the revival of the Carlisle wrestling in 1821, after three years'
cessation, Richardson, then forty-one years old, drove to the meeting in a
conveyance with Tom "Dyer" and others. On leaving home he had no thoughts
whatever of wrestling--"ower oald"--and withstood all the persuasions of
his friends, till reaching Durdar village, where he consented once more to
try. He wore at the time, a pair of old-fashioned knee-breeches, which held
him too tight to wrestle in, and had therefore to borrow an easier pair
before entering the ring. The gathering was an immense one. The numbers
assembled on the Swifts were estimated at twenty thousand. A long array of
highly respectable ladies, including the Countess of Lonsdale, were
interested spectators. Sixty-four men entered, and nearly all were
calculated to weigh fourteen stones or upwards. In the morning, when the
Caldbeck party were at Durdar, Tom "Dyer"--one of the very best hypers of
his time, indeed, a first-class man altogether--was very full of winning.
The first man called into the ring, and the first that went down, proved to
be Tom, being thrown by one John Hetherington.
It is very probable there never met on the Swifts as good a field of
wrestlers. Richardson acknowledged afterwards that he stood most in awe of
Joseph Robley of Scarrowmannick, from the exceeding clever manner in which
he swung his opponents. Robley, by the way, has been credited with being
the first introducer of the _swinging hype_. They met in the third round,
and the Caldbeck veteran succeeded in disposing of the one he looked upon
as his greatest bugbear. The third round also proved fatal to several other
good wrestlers--Jonathan Watson, James Graham, and Joseph Abbot going down.
Weightman--then twenty-two years old, all bone and muscle, standing six
feet three inches high, and weighing fifteen-and-a-half stones--fell in the
fourth round. Glendinning, (a rough tearing hand, from the neighbourhood of
Penrith, compared to whom a bull in a china shop was as nothing,) fell in
the fifth round; leaving Ford of Ravenglass--victor over Weightman at
Egremont, weighing over fifteen stones, and measuring six feet two
inches--for the final fall with Richardson. The latter succeeded in
throwing the young, formidable West Cumbrian, and carried off the head
prize amid much shouting and cheering.
Richardson won the chief prize at Faulds Brow, near Caldbeck--where
annually some of the best wrestling in Cumberland could be witnessed--for
_nineteen_ years in succession, a continued series of successes unequalled
in wrestling annals. Flushed with victory crowning victory, he went with
the full determination of carrying off the prize for the twentieth time, if
possible, but the spell was broken: fate had ordained otherwise. A
raw-boned rustic, unknown to fame, named Young, (afterwards a publican at
Dalston,) sealed his fate. The stewards were inclined to bring the fall in
a "snap," but the vanquished man very honourably declared himself to be
fairly thrown. Nevertheless, he was so chagrined at the untoward event, so
grievously disappointed at not having achieved this highly prized
distinction, that it was asserted he fairly cried for vexation over it.
The wrestling at Faulds Brow always--very injudiciously, we think--took
place late in the evening. On the occasion of "Belted Will's" final
discomfiture, it was not concluded till two or three o'clock, in the cold
grey atmosphere of a July morning, many rounds being finished up by the aid
of lighted candles.
The following reply to a novel wrestling challenge, which appeared in the
columns of a Whitehaven newspaper, explains itself without note or comment.
It is dated October 16th, 1843, and, we believe, it proved to be the end of
the matter:--
SIR,--A paragraph lately appeared in the _Whitehaven
Herald_, stating that Charles Lowdon, of wrestling
notoriety, who resides near Keswick, and is sixty years
of age, would wrestle a match with any individual of
the same age. The veteran William Richardson of
Caldbeck, aged sixty-two years, will be happy to accept
the challenge, and wrestle Mr. Lowdon, the best of five
falls, for £5 or £10 a side. The friends of W. R. will
be happy to meet the friends of his rival, at the house
of Joseph Ray, of the Royal Oak inn, Cockermouth, on or
before the 30th instant, to make the match, and to
settle the other preliminaries usual on such
occasions.--I am, Sir, yours, &c.--J. M.
During the last forty years of Richardson's life, he became noted as a good
farmer on the Netherrow estate; and was remarkably successful in the
breeding and rearing of Herdwick sheep, a class of animals peculiarly
adapted to the mountainous districts of Cumberland and Westmorland, which
are likewise held in high repute for the excellence of their mutton. He
obtained many local prizes for different classes of fell sheep; and
attended the tup fair at Keswick regularly; but though enthusiastic about
his Herdwicks, his conversation, it is said, had at all times a tendency to
"bristle o'er" with feats in the wrestling ring. A tale is told of him
which illustrates this tendency. Arriving at Keswick, according to annual
custom, to exhibit and sell tups, he happened to meet an old crony whom he
had not seen for years. The two sat down, "cheek by jowl," and soon became
absorbed in an animated conversation, in which "nowte but russlers an'
russlin' was h'ard, amang aw t' chang; an' t' tips was niver yance thowt
on, till t' fair was varra nar ower, an' theer was hardly sec a thing as a
buyer to be fund."
Richardson could be either a good friend or a good hater, as circumstances
might call forth. One illustration of his kindly feeling and warmth of
heart towards a struggling neighbour, may be mentioned. An industrious man,
named Jeffreys--a blacksmith at the Caldbeck lead-mines--either occupied a
field of lea grass, or had cut a few carts of peats, high up the fell-side.
During a dreary wet season, when everything was spoiling, Richardson
volunteered the use of a horse and cart to assist in clearing the field on
the first fine day. From some unforeseen cause the horse took fright,
galloped down the mountain brow, and either broke its leg by falling, or
else was unfortunately killed. The accident placed the poor blacksmith in
an awkward position, especially as the horse was a valuable one, estimated
at that time to be worth thirty or forty guineas. He offered, however, to
pay what money he had, and clear off the rest by instalments. "Nay, nay,"
said Richardson, "it was as pure an accident as iver yan h'ard tell on, an'
med ha' happen't to anybody. I'll tak nowte frae thee--nut a fardin'!"
A fell-side rhymer, named Richard Nicholson, of Caldbeck, has done his best
to embalm Richardson's memory in verse, something after the following
fashion:--
"When youth bloom't on him, few were as grand;
His fame was spread through aw the land,
Wid active russlin' an' strang reet hand.
At Faulds Brow reaces, 'twas his profession
To run when young withoot intermission,
And prizes nineteen he won in succession!
The shipperds aroond med weel dred his name;
For Herdwick tips oft the prize he'd claim,
Till far an' wide was spread his fame,
As ye may read:
But noo i' the dust lies his noble frame:
Will Ritson's deid!"
WILLIAM LITT
OF BOWTHORN.
The name prefixed to our present biographical notice, is that of a
gentleman who, by his writings and conduct in the ring, has conferred
greater lustre on, and added greater distinction to the "back-hold"
wrestling of Cumberland and Westmorland, than any other individual. His
historical account of ancient and modern wrestling--Litt's
_Wrestliana_--was considered, in 1823, when _Blackwood's Magazine_ was at
the summit of its fame, worthy of a highly eulogistic notice from the pen
of Christopher North. Litt's wrestling notices and anecdotes have reference
to the existence of the noble pastime, and a record of its most famed
heroes and their contests, from 1770, and for the fifty years following.
Before this period, the names and places of abode; the various and
noteworthy achievements; the distinctive excellencies of celebrated
wrestlers; and the places where their triumphant contests occurred, were
little known beyond their immediate locality; and the meagre information to
be gathered--not invariably to be relied on--had been handed down, and
circulated mostly as village gossip, or been derived from the tales of some
one whose knowledge rested on hearsay, and not from actual observation.
This arose in a great measure in consequence of the slight intercourse that
existed, eighty or a hundred years ago, between places only fifty or sixty
miles apart. At present--thanks to William Litt's research and literary
labours--all the great contests from 1780 to 1822, are familiar to us, and
can be resorted to, for furnishing those who take a delight in the manly
pastime of our forefathers, with a perfectly reliable description of its
heroes, and their several peculiar excellencies.