| Buttermere | |
|---|---|
 View of lake with Fleetwith Pike in the background | |
 Map (1925) | |
| Location | Lake District |
| Coordinates | 54°32′N3°16′W / 54.533°N 3.267°W /54.533; -3.267 |
| Lake type | Ribbon |
| Primary inflows | Gatesgarthdale Beck |
| Primary outflows | Buttermere Dubs |
| Basin countries | United Kingdom |
| Max. length | 2 km (2,200 yd) |
| Max. width | 0.57 km (620 yd) |
| Surface area | 0.93 km2 (0.36 sq mi) |
| Max. depth | 75 ft (23 m; 12.5 fathoms) |
| Shore length1 | 5.35 km (3 mi 571 yd) |
| Surface elevation | 329 ft (100 m) |
| Islands | 0 |
| 1 Shore length isnot a well-defined measure. | |
Buttermere is alake in theLake District inNorth West England. It has a length of approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) and a maximum width of 0.54 kilometres (0.34 mi), an area of 0.9 square kilometres (0.35 sq mi), a maximum depth of 28.6 metres (94 ft), and a surface elevation of 100.3 metres (329 ft) above sea level. Its primary outflow is Buttermere Dubs, a short stream which connects the lake toCrummock Water. From Crummock Water theRiver Cocker flows toCockermouth, where it joins theRiver Derwent and finally enters theIrish Sea atWorkington. The lake is in the unitary authority ofCumberland, and the ceremonial county ofCumbria.
The lake is1+1⁄4 miles (2 km) long by1⁄4 mile (400 m) wide, and is 75 feet (23 m; 12.5 fathoms) deep.[1] It has an elevationabove sea level of 329 feet (100 m). It is situated towards the head of the valley of theRiver Cocker and is surrounded byfells, notably theHigh Stile range to the south west,Robinson to the north-east,Fleetwith Pike andHaystacks to the south-east andGrasmoor to the north-west.
Thevillage of Buttermere stands at the north-western end of the lake, and beyond this isCrummock Water. There is a path around the lake which is about4+1⁄2 miles (7 km) long, and at one point runs through a rock tunnel beneath the locality of Hassness. Access is by road, fromCockermouth in the north-west; fromBorrowdale via theHonister Pass; or fromBraithwaite and theNewlands Valley viaNewlands Hause.
There are two possible origins for the name "Buttermere":
One, that Buttermere means "the lake by the dairy pastures" (from the Old English "butere mere"). Whaley suggests this as the correct interpretation: " 'butter lake, the lake with good pasture-land', from OE 'butere' 'butter', conveying the fertile nature of the flat alluvial land at both ends of the lake, plus 'mere' 'lake',..."[2]
Two, that it is the corrupt form of a personal name. Robert Ferguson asserts in his 1866 work,"The Northmen in Cumberland and Westmoreland" that Buttermere derives from the Old Norse personal name "Buthar", as in "Buthar's mere" (lake). This accords with local tradition, which says that the valley of Buttermere was part of the holdings of an 11th-century Norse chieftain called "Buthar" (sometimes spelt "Boethar"). Large numbers of Vikings settled in the Cumbrian area during the 9th and 10th centuries and many names in the area are of Norse origin: streams are termed 'becks', from the Old Norsebekkr; mountains are 'fells', from the Norsefjall; waterfalls are forces, fromfos; ravines are 'gills'; valleys are 'dales', fromdalr (ON); and small lakes are termed 'tarns', which derives fromtjorn, meaning teardrop. Whaley suggests that the personal name interpretation is incorrect, but notes that theVictoria County History "deemed it 'not disputed that the family of the Scotic ruler, Bueth or Boet, held its own against the Norman intruder', with possession of the barony of Gillesland, for fifty years after the Norman Conquest."[2][3]
See article onButtermere at the English Lakes.com website.
From his hidden stronghold at Buttermere, it is said that Jarl Buthar conducted a campaign of running resistance against the Norman invaders, from the time ofWilliam the Conqueror'sHarrying of the North in 1069 right up until the early 12th century. In 1072 King William set up a garrison atCarlisle, but the isolated garrison needed constant reinforcement and supplies. It is claimed that the Cumbrians fought a guerrilla war against the Normans for almost half a century, attacking supply wagons, ambushing patrols and inflicting great losses upon them in terms of money, material and men.
The extent to which Jarl Buthar is a semi-mythological figure is unclear. He is apparently mentioned in 12th-century Norman documents, but much of his story appears to be based on local legend and archaeology, later enhanced by Nicholas Size's popular dramatised history (see below).
Jarl Boethar's campaign and a final battle atRannerdale (c.f. Ferguson, "Ragnar's dale") between the Normans and the Anglo-Scandinavian Cumbrians led by the Jarl is the subject of a dramatised history byNicholas Size, calledThe Secret Valley: The Real Romance of Unconquered Lakeland, published in 1930.
Rosemary Sutcliff's YA novelShield Ring, published in 1956, imagines the lives of Jarl Buthar and his band of Cumbrian rebels, and their last stand against the forces of a Norman army under the command ofRanulf le Meschin, Lord of Carlisle and later Earl of Chester, nearly 50 years after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It was clearly inspired by Nicholas Size's history, which it closely follows.
Mary Robinson (1778–1837), known as the"Maid of Buttermere" and the subject ofMelvyn Bragg's novel of that name, was the daughter of thelandlord of the Fish Inn inButtermere village.
The lake is owned by theNational Trust, it forms part of itsButtermere and Ennerdale property.
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