Gibson describes the sturdy figure of the old wrestler as follows, and then
proceeds to make him relate the tale of the "Skulls of Calgarth," in his
native _patois_.
And Benjamin's chief ferryman was stalwart old John Long,
A veteran of the wrestling ring, (its records hold his name,)
Who yet in life's late autumn was a wiry wight and strong,
Though grizzly were his elf-locks wild, and bow'd his giant frame.
Yes; though John Long was worn and wan, he still was stark and strong,
And he plied his bending "rooers" with a boatman's manly pride,
As crashing past the islands, through the reed stalks crisp and long,
He stretch'd away far northward, where the lake spread fair and wide.
"Now rest upon your oars, John Long," one evening still said I,
When shadows deepened o'er the mere from Latterbarrow Fell;
For far beyond broad Weatherlam the sun sank in the sky,
And bright his levell'd radiance lit the heights around Hillbell.
"And tell me an old story," thus I further spoke, "John Long,
Some mournful tale or legend, of the far departed time;
The scene is all too solemn here for lightsome lay or song,
So tell, and, in your plain strong words, I'll weave it into rhyme."
Then old John Long revolved his quid, and gaunt he look'd and grim--
For darker still athwart the lake spread Latterbarrow's shade--
And pointing o'er the waters broad to fields and woodlands dim,
He soberly and slowly spake, and this was what he said, &c.
John Long died at the little hostelry on Kirkstone Pass, the highest
inhabited house in England, about the year 1848.
TOM NICHOLSON
OF THRELKELD.
Among the distinguished athletes of a byegone period, not one in the long
list has conferred a more enduring celebrity on the wrestlings of the
north, than the Threlkeld champion, Tom Nicholson. He owed this high
position not to overpowering strength and weight, but to what lends its
principal charm to back-hold wrestling--science and activity. These, added
to entire confidence and fearlessness, rendered him a match for any of the
big ones of his day.
In youth he was a wild, harum-scarum sort of a fellow, hardly ever out of
one scrape before he was floundering into another. A fight or a fray seemed
always welcome. "He cared for nowte." A Jem Belcher of the wrestling ring
and the pugilistic ring, too, of the north; one who never feared the face
of man, and had so much confidence in his own powers, that whoever he
chanced to meet in the ring, whether as "big as a hoose side," or "strang
as a yak tree," he felt confident he could throw him.
He stood close upon six feet; lean, muscular, with broad and powerful
shoulders; had remarkably long arms, reaching--when at full length, and
standing perfectly upright--down to his knees; his weight never exceeding
thirteen stones; without an ounce of superflous flesh. He generally
commenced the attack by striking the back of his opponent's heel with the
right foot.
Tom was born at Threlkeld, near Keswick, about the year 1785, and died at
Keswick in February, 1851. His father, "oald Ben Nicholson," acted as
parish clerk and sexton at Threlkeld for many years, following, too, the
occupation of a builder. He brought up his two sons, Tom and John, as
builders, or in the vernacular of the district, "wo'ers." Tom was the elder
brother, and a much more powerful man than John. The latter, in the opinion
of many good judges, was superior both in science and quickness. Being a
light weight, his name does not appear with much prominence in the
wrestling records of the time. Special prizes were not then given for light
weights; and in consequence, John did not often become last stander. The
two brothers were, however, sometimes first and second.
It was not alone in wrestling that Tom became a noted character. He could
probably display more feats of activity in his day, than any man in the
north of England. He has been known to "hitch an' kick" ten feet high: that
is to say, if a hat were placed on a pole, or hung on the ceiling of a
house ten feet high, he could leap up, and hit the hat with one foot,
without falling to the ground. Among other places, this was done at the
Red Lion inn, Grasmere, in 1810, where Miles Dixon, Harry Chapman, and
other athletes were onlookers. Another feat of his consisted in covering
twelve yards in three leaps of three rises, measuring from heel to heel.
This he often did, leaping the full distance forwards, and then turning
round and leaping the same distance back again. A frequent saying of his
was, that he could "stand a yard, stride a yard, an' tak' a yard under
ayder arm."
We have no reliable means of recording all the victories Tom achieved; and
we suppose no chronicler is left who can tell where he gained his first
belt. We know he became such an enthusiast as to rise often at three or
four o'clock in a morning, in order to get his day's work finished by noon;
and afterwards has travelled a dozen miles, to wrestle for "a lal bit iv a
ledder strap, nut worth mair ner fifteen-pence." Luckily, there is a
record of the more important prizes gained at Carlisle, in 1809, 1810, and
1811--a succession of unbroken victories seldom accomplished by a
thirteen-stone man.
In the year 1809, Nicholson, then twenty-three or twenty-four years old,
attended some sports or merry-making at Penrith. While there, he chanced to
see an advertisement setting forth the liberal prizes for wrestling,
offered on the following day at the Waterhead, Ambleside. Having some
little acquaintance with the Dixons of Grasmere, through working with them
at the Bridge-end, Legberthwaite, Tom felt a strong desire to attend the
meeting. After dancing all night at Penrith, he left by way of Patterdale
and Kirkstone Pass. Having reached Ambleside, he found the head of the lake
crowded with pleasure boats and yachts; flags flying, drums beating, and an
immense gathering of people assembled in holiday attire, anxiously waiting
to witness the sports.
Being overcome by fatigue and want of rest, he went into one of the tents
for some refreshment, and soon fell fast asleep in a chair. A waller, named
James Benson, who belonged to Ambleside, chanced to hear one of the Dixons
say incidentally to the Longs: "I suppooàs Tom Nicholson's here. If we
don't mind what we're duin', he'll fell us aw!" Seeing a stranger asleep
soon after, Benson went and gave him a tap with his foot, saying: "Do they
co' yee Tom Nicholson?" Being thus aroused, Tom started hastily to his
feet, and replied in the affirmative. "Well, then," said Benson, "if ye've
come to russel, ye'll hev to be stirrin' yersel'! _They're thrawin' t'
belt up for t' last time!_"
Hastening to the scene of action--a small field near the lake--Tom got his
name entered in the list. No doubt, the previous fatigue and consequent
exhaustion would, in some measure, detract from the dash and force of his
wrestling. Notwithstanding this, he managed to pull off the chief prize,
throwing both Rowland and John Long. Two of the Dixons--George and
James--of Grasmere, also contended, and both came against the Threlkeld
man. The former was unmistakeably thrown; but the latter, in the opinion of
a great many spectators round the ring, ought to have had the fall. The
umpires, however, came to the conclusion it was a dog-fall, and Dixon felt
so chagrined at the decision, that he refused to re-enter the ring.
In after life, Nicholson used to "brag" that at this Ambleside gathering,
he threw four of the biggest men he ever grassed in one day in his life,
namely, Roan and John Long, and George and James Dixon. In relating this
exploit, however, the fall with the last mentioned had always to be passed
over as quietly as possible, lest some "unbelieving dog" should think
proper to retort, and mar the harmony of the relator's narrative.
Next year, Tom again attended the Ambleside meeting, accompanied by his
brother John, and Joseph Slack from Blencow. William Litt also figured, as
one of the West Cumberland great guns, but had to succumb to Miles Dixon.
Slack laid down to Tom, who threw Roan Long and his brother John. Coming
against Miles Dixon, for the final fall, he was cleanly lifted from the
ground without any difficulty, and thrown with a twist.
In 1811, we find Tom at the Ambleside meeting for the third and last time.
William Mackereth of Cockermouth accompanied him on this occasion. Tom had
an arduous struggle with John Lowden of Hussecar in Newlands, "a stoot
good russeler," who had then scarcely reached maturity. Lowden always
claimed the first fall, but acknowledged that he lost the third one fair
enough--the second one being a dog-fall. In the third round, Tom again
disposed of Roan Long, but was cleverly thrown by John Long the next time
over. It will thus be seen, the Threlkeld champion succeeded at Ambleside
once only in the three years of his attendance; while at Carlisle, where he
also contended three years, he came off victorious in each entry. This is
strong testimony to the celebrity of the Windermere wrestlings.
For two years previously, John Wilson of Elleray had encouraged the
wrestlings at Ambleside, by subscribing liberally, and taking a personal
interest in so conducting the sports as to render them worthy of the
patronage of the neighbouring gentry. All who have attended wrestling
meetings, cannot but be aware that occasions will often occur, when the
presence of such gentlemen as the squire of Elleray is of great use. There
is ample evidence to show that he was devotedly fond of the sport. When he
left the lakes to make Edinburgh his permanent place of residence, the
wrestlings at Ambleside, which had attained extraordinary celebrity,
declined for a time, but again shone with renewed brilliancy at Low Wood,
Bowness, and the Ferry.
Before taking leave of Nicholson's Windermere exploits, we must record a
_fracas_ he had once with John Wilson, at the "Nag's Head," Wythburn, a
little wayside inn, eight miles from Ambleside, lying immediately under the
shadow of the "mighty Helvellyn," and much frequented up to the present
time by pedestrian tourists. Some sports--wrestling being the principal, of
course--were held at the above out-of-the-way hostelry. At that time,
considerable rivalry existed between the wrestlers of Cumberland and
Westmorland. The Elleray squire freely backed the Westmorland men, and Tom
Nicholson was not a whit behind-hand in as freely backing the Cumbrians.
Now, it so happened, they both got excited over a doubtful fall. The future
literary luminary insisted that his man had got the fall; while Tom
vehemently maintained an opposite opinion, and bandied ugly words very
freely.
In a fit of momentary passion, Wilson struck Tom over the shoulders with
his stick. This bellicose style of argument instantly led to a violent
scene, and there appeared every likelihood of a most determined contest.
Wilson was at that time a match for almost any man in the kingdom. A
professed pugilist, after receiving a sound thrashing from him on the banks
of the Isis, had been heard to say: "This must be either the devil or Jack
Wilson!" And Nicholson had proved the victor in many a hard fought contest.
A battle between the two disputants at the "Nag's Head," would have been a
fearfully punishing affair to both of them. This was happily avoided, in
consequence of their friends stepping in, and putting a stop to any
further infringement of the peace.
The ball thus set rolling at Ambleside for two years--of giving handsome
money prizes--was followed up at the Carlisle Races, where the _first_
annual wrestling on the Swifts took place in the month of September, 1809.
The successful establishment of the great northern wrestling meeting, was
due principally to the endeavours of Mr. Henry Pearson, solicitor,
Carlisle.
The following extract from the _Carlisle Chronicle_, will demonstrate the
gratifying result of what may be called the first _metropolitan_ meeting:--
The athletic sports were superior to anything ever
exhibited in Carlisle. The wrestling commenced on
Wednesday morning, at ten o'clock, in a roped ring,
thirty-five yards in diameter. There were present on
the occasion not less than five thousand spectators,
who came from all parts within a circuit of thirty
miles, to see these gymnastic exercises. This was
probably the best wrestling ever seen in Cumberland, as
each competitor had been the winner of a great number
of belts in the respective parts they came from. Every
round was most severely contested, but the last one was
the finest struggle ever seen: each of the combatants
having given the other the cast three or four times;
and they respectively recovered in a most surprising
manner, to the astonishment and admiration of every one
present. At length Nicholson, who comes from Threlkeld,
gave Harrison the knee, and gained the prize.
* * * * *
The following is a list of those men who wrestled for the Purse of Five
Guineas, on the Swifts, on Wednesday, September 13th:--
FIRST ROUND.
_Stood._ _Fell._
Robert Rowntree. Thomas Allison.
Younghusband. John Rowntree.
Joseph Dixon. John Thompson.
Thomas Nicholson. Daniel Wilson.
Goodfellow. John Waugh.
John Watson. John Jorden.
Matthew Armstrong. Moses Hodgson.
Frank Moor. John Relph.
Thomas Dickinson. Thomas Cowen.
John Nicholson. Joseph Bird.
John Dawson. William Douglas.
Joseph Slack. Thomas Burrow.
William Ritson. Matthew Dickinson.
William Hodgson. James Phillip.
John Harrison. John Hudless.
Michael Hope. Romney.
SECOND ROUND.
Robert Rowntree. Younghusband.
Thomas Nicholson. Joseph Dixon.
John Watson. Goodfellow.
Matthew Armstrong. Frank Moor.
John Nicholson. Thomas Dickinson.
Joseph Slack. John Dawson.
William Ritson. William Hodgson.
John Harrison. Michael Hope.
THIRD ROUND.
Thomas Nicholson. Robert Rowntree.
John Watson. Matthew Armstrong.
John Nicholson. Joseph Slack.
John Harrison. William Ritson.
FOURTH ROUND.
_Stood._ _Fell._
Thomas Nicholson. John Watson.
John Harrison. John Nicholson.
FIFTH ROUND.
Thomas Nicholson. John Harrison.
Mr. HENRY PEARSON, _Head Manager_.
Mr. CHRISTOPHERSON,)
Mr. J. ARMSTRONG, ) _Clerks_.
Mr. TOPPIN, _Umpire_.
At the Penrith Race Meeting, in October, 1809, Tom Nicholson contested in
the wrestling ring, but his career was soon cut short. In the first round,
he threw Thomas Matthews; and in the second round, had to succumb to one
Joseph Dixon, who was disposed of afterwards, in the fourth round, by John
Gowling, the victor on that occasion.
At the Carlisle Wrestling, in October, 1810, there was an immense gathering
of people on the Wednesday morning, to witness the wrestlers compete for
two purses of gold. Sixty-four--almost all picked men--entered the ring,
the head prize awarded being six guineas. This sum--at the time considered
an important prize--fell a second time to Tom Nicholson, who threw again
the formidable Robert Rowantree of Bewcastle, and the no less celebrated
John Earl of Cumwhitton; and, in the final fall, floored Joseph Slack of
Blencow. In connexion with the races, a ball on a grand scale was held
attended by more than three hundred ladies and gentlemen. The amusements of
the week were concluded on Friday, by the Carlisle pack of harriers
throwing off at Whiteclose-gate, when three hares were killed, and some
excellent sport witnessed.
Tom and his brother, John, again figured at Carlisle in 1811, when Tom
succeeded in carrying off the first honours for the third time, in the most
difficult of all rings. The money prizes amounted to twenty pounds in all,
and the sport was enjoyed by a dense mass of nearly twelve thousand people.
The Earl of Lonsdale, the Marquis of Queensberry, Sir James Graham of
Netherby, and various other gentlemen, were spectators. In the first round,
Tom Nicholson threw John Forster easily. In the second, John Watson laid
down. In the third round, he threw John Jordan of Great Salkeld. In the
fourth, William Earl of Cumwhitton. In the fifth, John Douglas of Caldbeck;
and, finally, John Earl of Cumwhitton.
John Nicholson threw John Taylor in the first round; and was thrown in the
second by Joseph Richardson of Staffield Hall, a first-rate wrestler, and
winner of the second day's prize.
Immediately after the general wrestling, Tom Nicholson was defeated in a
match with Harry Graham of Brigham, an event which broke in somewhat
abruptly upon the three consecutive victories gained by him on the Swifts.
A lengthy account of this match will be found in Litt's _Wrestliana_.
The Carlisle ring of 1811 was the last in which Tom Nicholson contended for
a prize. Whether he desired to retire, and rest upon the laurels he had
gained, or not, we cannot say. He was rendered totally incapable of
competing at Carlisle the following year, by having accidentally dislocated
his shoulder at the Duke of Norfolk's jubilee, held at Greystoke Castle, in
the middle of September, 1812. He married in 1815, and went to live at
Keswick, where he settled down as a builder. Some years after he joined the
firm of Gibson and Hodgson, builders, as a partner; and as a tradesman, was
respected by all who knew him.
Tom used to say he could wrestle best at twenty years old. When at this
age, and for some time after, he used to practice with George Stamper of
Under-Skiddaw, an excellent wrestler; but being of a retiring, quiet
disposition, he very seldom entered a ring. "Gwordie" could, however, get
quite as many falls as Tom, out of a dozen bouts.
Some years after Tom had given up contending for prizes, he chanced to be
at Cockermouth, with his friend and former pupil William Mackereth, and the
conversation running a good deal on wrestling topics, they agreed to
adjourn to a field in the vicinity, in order to try a few friendly bouts.
After having had two or three falls, "Clattan"--a gigantic athlete--was
noticed to be leaning listlessly, with both arms over the wall, looking at
them. "Come, Clattan," shouted Mackereth, "an' thee try a fo'. I can mak'
nowte on him!" Thus invited, "Clattan" gathered up his huge carcass--six
feet six inches high, at that time bony and gaunt-looking--and went
stalking into the field, saying: "I's willin' to try him ya fo'; but,
mind's t'e, _nobbut_ yan." In taking hold, the giant tried to snap, but
didn't succeed in bringing Tom down. After this they had two or three
falls, in all of which Clattan was worsted. In referring to this incident,
the victor always said he felt certain it was a made-up thing between
Mackereth and the big one, that the latter should be "leukin' ower t' wo',"
at a given time and place, as if by accident.
There is still another science in which Tom Nicholson excelled, namely, the
art of self-defence; but as we have no sympathy whatever with any form of
pugilistic encounter, except that which resolves itself into the purely
_defensive_ order, we shall only touch lightly on the subject. As a boy,
Tom's undaunted courage, daring spirit, and surpassing activity, made him
dreaded as a combatant; and from the time he thrashed "Keg," (Mc.Kay or
Mc.Kie,) the Keswick bully, when trying to ride rough-shod over the
Threlkeld youths, his fame as a boxer was fully established in his own
neighbourhood.
In the summer of 1812, two Irishmen who were paring turf in Skiddaw forest,
came to Keswick, and asked Joseph Cherry, the landlord of the Shoulder of
Mutton, for Tom Nicholson. Tom being sent for, was soon on the spot; when
one of the Irishmen thus addressed him: "Shure, an' I suppose you're the
champion of Cumberland?" "Well," replied Tom, "I don't know whedder I is or
I issn't." "Faith! but I'm afther telling you, you are," said the Irishman,
very crousely; "and by jabers! me and my mate are ready to fight anny two
men in Cumberland!" "I know nowte aboot neà mates," replied Tom, whose
spirit would never allow him to brook an unprovoked insult--"I know nowte
aboot neà mates; but I's willin' to feight t' better man mysel', if that
'ill satisfy yé!" Accordingly, a wager was made for five pounds, and the
two combatants went into the market-place without further parley--no county
police to interfere at that time--and set to work in good earnest. Pat was
beaten in nine rounds; and Tom, who sustained little injury, finished up
"as fresh as a lark."
In the encounter on the Carlisle race ground, with Ridley, the _glutton_,
in 1814, the issue was of a very different character, although the
Threlkeld man was never in better "fettle" in his life. After
half-an-hour's severe fighting, during which time the waves of victory
flowed sometimes to one side, and sometimes to the other, the constables
interfered, and very properly put a stop to the brutal sport.
As some palliation for the part which our hero took in the combat, Litt
says: "We have the best authority for saying, that when Tom left home for
Carlisle, he knew nothing of the match in question; and that the behaviour
of Ridley, who was on the look-out for him, and the wishes expressed by
some amateurs to witness a trial of skill between them, made Tom
erroneously think that his character was at stake, and that he could not
decline the contest without incurring the charge of having 'a white feather
in him.'"
Tom's love for daring adventure, or sport, seems never to have forsaken
him. Even in middle life, when between forty and fifty years old, this
idiosyncrasy would manifest itself. Among other pursuits, he has been known
to follow salmon poaching in the river Derwent and its tributaries. Once
when working at Mirehouse, for Mr. Spedding, he was joined by Pearson of
Browfoot, John Walker, weaver and boatman, and four or five other men from
Keswick, as lawless as himself, and almost as daring. The meeting had been
previously arranged at the Shoulder of Mutton, then kept by Betty Cherry.
Having chosen Tom as their captain, the gang started for Euse bridge, at
the foot of Bassenthwaite lake, which place they reached a couple of hours
after nightfall. Operations were commenced by placing two sentinels in
commanding positions, one on the bridge, and the other--John Walker--on the
opposite side of the hedge, a little lower down the river.
A "lowe" being "kinnel't," the stream was found to be literally swarming
with fish. Little more than laying out their nets had been done, however,
when Walker shouted out: "Leùk oot, lads! they're comin'!" And just at
that moment, a strong body of river watchers, numbering something like a
dozen--who had evidently been laying in ambush--rushed pell-mell upon them.
Walker being the first within reach, was knocked down and kept down; and
the fight soon swayed fiercely from side to side. Maddened at the treatment
of their mate, the poachers broke through the hedge which intervened, and
fought desperately. Tom Nicholson punished one of the watchers, named
Cragg, so severely, that the man had good reason to remember it for many a
long year after. Walker being rescued, and the keepers chased from the
ground, the poachers again took to the river, and returned home heavily
laden with spoil.
During the latter part of his life, Nicholson officiated frequently as
umpire or referee in the Carlisle and other rings. Having dislocated his
ancle by accidentally falling on the ice, his appearance in the capacity of
umpire, impressed spectators with the idea that they looked on the
shattered and broken-down frame of a muscular built man, supporting himself
while moving about with a stout walking-stick. The last trace we have of
him as umpire, was at the match between Jackson and Longmire, which came
off at Keswick, in 1845.
WILLIAM MACKERETH
OF COCKERMOUTH.
William Mackereth--"built like a castle," being broad and massive from head
to foot--was born and bred at Cockermouth. He was a pupil of Tom
Nicholson's; but Tom could never teach him his own favourite chip of
"clickin' t' back o' t' heel," and used to resort to that move when he
wanted to throw him.