GRASMERE

This article appears in Volume V12, Page 367 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: GRA-GUI

GRASMERE , a

village

VILLAGE

and lake of Westmorland, in the heart of the English Lake

District

DISTRICT

. The

village

VILLAGE

(pop. of urban districtin 1901, 781) lies near the head of the lake, on the small river Rothay and the Keswick-

Ambleside

AMBLESIDE

road, 122 M. from Keswick and 4 from

Ambleside

AMBLESIDE

. The scenery is very beautiful; the valley about the lakes of Grasmere and Rydal Water is in great part wooded, while on its eastern flank there rises boldly the range of hills which includes Rydal Fell, Fairfield and Seat

Sandal

SANDAL (from the Latinized form of Gr. vavb4Atov or vav&aAov: this probably represents the Persian sandal, slipper; it is not to be referred to Gr. stasis, board)

, and, farther north, Helvellyn. On the west side are Loughrigg Fell and Silver How. The village has become a favourite centre for tourists, but preserves its picturesque .and sequestered appearance. In a

house

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

still

standing

STANDING

William Wordsworth lived from 1799 to 18o8, and it was subsequently occupied by Thomas de Quincey and by Hartley Coleridge. Wordsworth's tomb, and also that of Coleridge, are in the churchyard of the ancient church of St

Oswald

OSWALD (c. 605—642)
OSWALD (d. 992)

, which contains a memorial to Wordsworth with an inscription by John Keble. A festival called the Rushbearing takes place on the Saturday within the octave of St

Oswald

OSWALD (c. 605—642)
OSWALD (d. 992)

's day (August 5th), when a holiday is observed and the church decorated with rushes, heather and

flowers

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

. The festival is of early origin, and has been derived by some from the Roman Floralia, but appears also to have been made the occasion for carpeting the floors of churches, unpaved in early times, with rushes. Moreover, in a procession which forms part of the festivities at Grasmere, certain Biblical stories are symbolized, and in this a connexion with the ancient miracle plays may be found (see H. D. Rawnsley, A Rambler's Note-Book at the English Lakes, Glasgow, 1902). Grasmere is also noted for an athletic meeting in August.
The lake of Grasmere is just under 1 m. in length, and has an extreme breadth of 766 yds. A

ridge

divides the basin from north to south, and rises so high as to form an island about the middle. The greatest depth of the lake (75 ft.) lies to the east of this

ridge

.

End of Article: GRASMERE

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/GRA_GUI/GRASMERE.html">
GRASMERE
</a>

(Previous)
GRASLITZ (Czech, Kraslice)

(Next)
GRASS AND GRASSLAND

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email