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It was not merely the whim of Colonel Pocklington, the defender 

 of the island, aided by Peter Crosthwaite as admiral of the fleet, 

 but the stewards for the ten years it was continued, were the 

 leading noblemen and gentlemen of the county, as will be seen by 

 the following list : — 



1781 — Joseph Pocklington, Esq. 



1782 — Rowland Stephenson, Esq. 



1783 — Edward Stephenson, Esq. 



1784 — Sir Michael le Fleming, Bart. 



1785 — William Dacre, Esq. 



1786 — The Earl of Surrey. 



1787 — Joseph Pocklington, Esq. 



1788 — Sir Henry Fletcher, Bart. 



1789 — Wilfred Lawson, Esq. 



("Henry Howard, Esq., of Corby ; and 

 <- Thomas Wallace, Esq., of Carlton Hall. 



In 1786 a poem was written on this topic, which is given in 

 Hutchinson's History. 



In 1788 Mr. Crosthwaite commenced his correspondence 

 with Dr. Dalton. In 1793 Dr. Dalton published his first work, 

 " Meteorological Observations," in which the observations made 

 by himself at Kendal, are compared with those made by Mr. 

 Crosthwaite at Keswick, over a period of five years. The 

 Barometer, Thermometer, Rain-gauge, Height of Clouds, Winds, 

 Snow, Aurora Borealis, and a variety of other phenomena were 

 duly registered. Dr. Dalton remarks, that Mr. Crosthwaite's table 

 recording 5,381 observations taken over a period of five years, on 

 the height of clouds, is the only one of the kind extant. 



In 1794, Lord William Gordon was settled in his new house 

 at Water End. He bought up all the land on the western shore 

 of Derwentwater, and planted it with great taste. Before this, 

 there was no wood on that side of the lake, except one large tree. 

 Lord William was very popular with all classes. He invited his 

 neighbours to join him in hunting, and entertained them to dinner 

 afterwards. In his Journal, Mr. Crosthwaite mentions three 



