1823. Wrestliana. tested, in the presence of nearly 12,000 people, by some of the most sinewy and active youths, that we ever saw enter a ring. We observed amongst the spectators, the Marquis of Queensberry, the Earl of Lonsdale, Lord Lowther, Sir James Graham, (of Netherby) Sir James Graham, (of Kirkstone) Henry Fawcett, Esq. of Portland Place, together with a great concourse of other gentlemen. We understand the Lord Lieutenant expressed his most unqualified approbation of the diversion; and will annually give it his support, as long as there is not any riot or confusion, which, we may venture to pledge ourselves, will never be the case, as the Wrestlers are in general the sons of respectable yeomen and farmers, in this and the adjoining counties, and not like prize fighters, collected from the dregs of the people. "Want of room prevents us giving the names of the different Wrestlers; but we understand the first prize was won by Thomas Nicholson, of Threlkeld, near Keswick; who is esteemed one of the best thirteen-stone Wrestlers in the kingdom.-John Richardson, of Staffield Hall, near Kirkoswald, gained the second prize, and is allowed by judges to be inferior to no man as a Wrestler, (being the favourite at setting to), but he did not Wrestle with such luck, through the ring, for the first prize, as the Champion. He was thrown by one Robert Rowantree, from Bewcastle, in one of the severest struggles ever witnessed; both being fourteenstone Wrestlers, they shewed uncommon muscle when stripped, and Richardson was thrown by a half jerk of the hip, followed up by a sweeping cross buttock." This was the last year that Tom "In respect to Nicholson's Wrestling his prime, from Caldbeck; and in the This is candid; and we shall let our "The circumstance of Tom carrying will best speak his merits as a Wrestler. away the prize for three successive years, He did not want half an inch of six feet, and generally weighed about twelve stone and eight pounds. Boxiana remarks, 'the great similarity of Jem Belcher's portrait to a most distinguished hero on the Continent (Bonaparte) is truly curious;'the likeness, however, of the former distinguished pugilist to Tom Nicholson, is much more so, as the former likeness must have been confined to the head and through the whole frame, as there was not face, while in the latter it is preserved one quarter of an inch difference between their height, nor, as far as we can judge, a single pound in their weight; both to thirteen stones. Nor was this resemweighing from twelve stone six pounds blance in person, though certainly very remarkable, more so than the similarity visible in the different contests in which they were engaged. We have heard Nicholson assert that he was as good a man before he was twenty years of age, as at any succeeding period;-this was exactsame age open to all England. If an ly the case with Belcher, who was at the amusement like Wrestling can entitle any Champion, the victor at Carlisle for three of its professors to the appellation of successive years had certainly a better and it is well known Belcher was for claim to the title than any other man ; some years considered the Champion of England. In the great essentials necessary for acquiring that enviable distinc The same cool and undaunted courage, tion, the similarity was equally striking. and the same varied and effective action, were conspicuous in both :-and if Jem's propriety when fighting might be deem ed a model for pugilists in general,' it is Wrestler than Tom never entered a ring; but justice to remark, that a fairer -and sorry are we that Jem did not, like Tom, take his leave of the ring when in possession of the great renown he had ac quired." Our account of the heroes of this æra would be imperfect without the character of Richardson, thrown by Rowantree, as above, at the Carlisle meeting of 1811, "The John Richardson alluded to In Wrestliana it is " William," but that is a mistake,-the only one we have noticed,➡so let it be corrected in the next edition. in the above quotation was certainly a very celebrated Wrestler, and, we have heard, had once an intention of advertising himself to Wrestle any man in the kingdom. Wrestling, it is to be observed, is extremely different from boxing in respect to such challenges. A Wrestler stakes a trifling sum of money on the qualifications he naturally possesses, and the science he has acquired, that he cannot be excelled in what he himself has pursued, and what the world in general regards as an amusement; on the other hand, pugilism is a profession, and on the good or bad success of a contest, depends the comfort, and sometimes the subsistence, of the pugilist and his family. Being present, we can vouch for the accuracy of this hero being the favourite for the first prize, and some were even so confident of his capabilities as to take him against the field! this partiality we presume was more owing to his education and connections being superior to those of Wrestlers in general, than to his individual merit as a Wrestler. We admit that his requisites entitled him to stand on equal grounds with any other competitor, but against such a field was indeed an overwhelming preference. With his celebrated namesake from Caldbeck we believe he had never contended, and with Nicholson only once. It is true, on that occasion the fall was given in his favour, but he was not on fair grounds entitled to it ;-it was a complete snap in every sense of the word, but Kirkoswald being the scene of action, his friends were averse to his giving Nicholson another chance, otherwise, we are informed, that he had no objections to Wrestling over, and was very ready to admit that he did snap. He was, in our opinion, as likely a man for Wrestling as we ever saw, being upwards of fourteen stone weight, and six feet three inches high; he generally struck outside with his right foot, and followed it up if occasion required with his left side. He did not at Carlisle, though the winner of the second prize, fall in with any that could be considered an equal opponent, except Rowantree; but he wrestled an extra fall for two guineas with a man of the name of Armstrong, but better known by the appellation of Solid Oak, who was upwards of six feet high, and without appearing particularly fleshy, or corpulent, weighed eighteen stones. In this contest Richardson, on making play, appeared to recoil and go down from, if we may so express it, the solidity of his opponent, who was, without exception, considered the strongest man in the north of England. Richardson probably did not right ly consider this, and so became the vietim of his own temerity, otherwise the result ought to have been different, as Oak had been thrown by Rowantree, and that hero, though the conqueror of Richardson on this occasion, did not rank so high in the estimation of those, who, from an equal knowledge of both the men and the exercise, might be considered competent judges of their comparative merits." In this bright galaxy also shone, besides the two Earls, John and William, of whom the first, although not young, and a benedict, was hardly inferior to Nicholson himself, SCOTT OF CANOBIE, of whom we wish we had heard more, and of whose achievements we hope to pick up a chronicle from our friend Fergy Armstrong, publican at that spot, next spring, when we take our annual sweeping of the Esk. Of Harry Graham of Brigham, the account in Wrestliana is more satisfactory, and is written con amore, Mr Litt having himself vanquished Harry in a sixty-guinea match, (what think you of that, ye gentlemen of England?) the best of eleven throws. "As this was the only time the celebrated Henry Graham, of Brigham, ever entered the Carlisle ring, we cannot notice his exploits in a more proper place, though he continued a most distinguished Wrestler for many years after. Harry has wrestled more matches than any other man in the county, and several of his opponents have always been considered as first-rate Wrestlers as ever peeled in a ring. When we mention the names of Thomas Nicholson, William Richardson, and inform the reader, that to these two he may add our own, the truth of that assertion will not be disputed. Previous to this visit to Carlisle, Harry had won many prizes, and ranked very high as a Wrestler, but being then in his very prime, (we suppose about twenty-two years of age,) it was his own opinion, as well as that of his friends, that he was a competent match for any Wrestler whatever. This opinion was by no means rashly grounded, when it is considered, that though only about about five feet nine inches high, he weighed between thirteen and fourteen stones, possessed unrivalled activity,—had been a Wrestler from a boy,-and was then in full practice. At this meeting, having thrown a Wrestler of some celebrity in the first round, Harry, in the second, came against John Jordan, a noted Wrestler, from the Penrith side. On what account he was obliged to give Jordan a second chance, we cannot possibly deter 1823. Wrestliana. mine, as Harry threw him so fair the first fall, that he himself never went to the ground. We believe the truth is, that sport, more than fair play, was the object of those assistant umpires who were within the ring; and such was the confusion, that J. Boadle, a good Wrestler, who had accompanied Graham, after winning his first fall, was never again called upon. However that may be, Jordan won the second fall, and Harry was crossed out. Feeling dissatisfied at the usage he had experienced, Harry expressed a wish on the following day to try a few falls with any Wrestler then at Carlisle. This being repeated to the Champion, Nicholson, Tom offered to stake three to two on himself, for the best of five falls, which offer was immediately accepted. It was then about eleven o'clock, and a meadow in Caldewgate, at five, was the place and time appointed for determining the wager. Both parties were true to the appointment, and no time was lost in proceeding to action. The first and second falls were similarly contested, and terminated in the same manner. Harry, eager to be at work, instantly made play ;-the superior length of Tom, enabled him to defend himself, by lifting against his opponent, and he lost no time in returning the assault, by hankering his heel. Notwithstanding the activity of Harry, he could not, in either of these instances, resist the consequences resulting from this favourite mode of Tom's, in which he certainly excelled all the Wrestlers we ever knew, and both the falls were immediately conceded to Nicholson. The third fall was contested in nearly a similar manner, but the termination was different. Harry, on finding his heel again hooked, immediately turned his body round with such rapidity as to bring Tom all but underneath Tom insisted it was a him in the fall. dog fall, while Harry claimed it, in which he was supported by his friends, and in which opinion the spectators in general coincided. However, being left to us, we decided it was not fair. In this place we will remark, that it has been maintained by Tom's friends, that it was a drunken business altogether on his part ;-this story is utterly false. Tom was apparent ly as sober when the wager was made, as any man on the Swifts; on meeting in Caldewgate, he remarked to us, that a pint, or glass of ale, then before him, of which he had drunk about one third, was the only one he had tasted since he had made the wager;-and on winning the two first falls he jocularly remarked, that Graham, though a good Wrestler, was far too fond for making play; but that if Harry gave him more time, he himself was no bad one in that respect;' besides, "We will now briefly give the reader "The great fame Harry acquired by this conquest, satisfied his friends that he was a match for any man in the kingdom; and our refusal to acquiesce in that opi nion, occasioned an agreement to wrestle him within one month of his contest with Nicholson, for the greatest sum we ever knew wrestled for, either in Cumberland or Westmoreland. At the time of making this wager, nothing was farther from our intention than wrestling Harry, or any other person, as we had been unwell for some time, though we had been at Carlisle, where we were thrown after a smartish contest by Joseph Bird, of Holme Wrangle, a Wrestler highly noted in that part of the county. The preceding year we had thrown Harry at Arlecdon with such ease, that we believe three or four to one would then have been offered against him for a single fall! and a meeting between us for a number of falls, would have been thought highly ridicu lous. But now the case was totally altered;-through extreme illness we were obliged to solicit at least a respite of our engagement; this was not granted; and, as six guineas were deposited, we chose to appear rather than forfeit. The sum contended for was sixty guineas, and the number of falls wrestled was eleven. No Wrestler ever entered a ring in higher condition, or with greater confidence, than Harry, and his gaining the three first falls could not fail to increase the good opinion of his friends, as nothing but a most decisive victory could then be contemplated. But the loss of three falls, instead of depressing, only roused our energies; the listlessness which pervaded the whole frame at the commencement of the contest, now gave place to that animated feeling arising from exercise, and the situation in which we were then placed; and instead of the expected victory, Harry was somewhat obligated to fortune for one fall out of the other eight! Harry was some pounds the heavier man, but the advantages of length and strength were so much against him, that in the latter part of the contest, it is well known he had not the slightest chance whatever. This contest took place on Arlecdon Moor, on the 26th of October, 1811." In 1812, the first prize at Carlisle was won by James Scott of Canobie, throwing at the last William Richard son of Caldbeck-that is, Belted Will. In 1813, it was won by Robert Rowantree, from Bewcastle, who had often proved himself, there and elsewhere, a most distinguished wrestler. In 1814, it was won by William Dickinson, from Alston Moor, who threw, for his last man, our intelligent and intrepid friend George Dennison, the successor of that highly reputed bone-setter, Benjamin Taylor, and famous for his breed of cocks; which, however, met their match when sent over to Westmoreland. In 1815, it was won by James Robinson, one of the Earl of Lonsdale's gamekeepers, at Lowther Castle, whose last opponent, Will Slee, (who wrestled with alternate success at Ambleside, some years before, with young Green of Grassmere,) lay down on an understanding. In 1816, it was won by Tod; but some collusion being sus pected, or rather proved, between him and Tom Richardson of Hesketh, Mr "The prize that year, (1818,) was won by Thomas Richardson, of Hesket, throwing at the last the celebrated William Williamson, of Ambleside. In 1819 it was won by Andrew Armstrong, of Sowerby Hall. In 1820, it was won by William Wilson, of Ambleside, whose last opponent was William Richardson, of Caldbeck. In 1821, so rapidly had wrestling increased in the estimation of all ranks, that it was found the attendance at the races was in a great measure governed by it; and the subscriptions proportionably increasing, it was extended to three days,-the winner on the first day being debarred on the second. Notwithstanding a very numerous field of Wrestlers, the first prize was won by Richard Abbot, a schoolmaster from Whitehal who weighed very little more than eleven stones. Neither could it be considered that Abbot fell fortunately in when wrestling through the ring, his four last opponents being A. Armstrong, J. Frears, T. Richardson, and T. Lock, all of them good Wrestlers, and averaging two stones above his weight. Two of these four, it will be recollected, had likewise been previously victors at Keswick, and had distinguished themselves at Carlisle. Frears and Lock were from the vicinity of Whitehaven, and both well known as Wrestlers; the latter on this occasion greatly distinguished himself, throwing both Edward Hawel, a very noted Wrestler, and the truly celebrated J. Lowden, who, though married, took a fancy to enter the ring, and was the third stander. The second prize was won by James Graham, then residing in Bassenthwaite, a very likely man for excelfeet, and weighing fourteen stones. We ling as a Wrestler, standing above six are very sorry our limits will not permit a more lengthy detail of this celebrated meeting. "We come now to the Keswick Wrestling in 1822. The first prize was won by John Liddle, of Blind Bothel, throwing at the last William Cass, of Loweswater; and the second by Jona than Watson, of Torpenhow. Weightman, who was the favourite, was thrown by Cass for the first prize, and Watson threw him the last fall for the second, 1823. Wrestliana. Watson likewise threw J. Richardson, T. Lock, J. Graham, and T. Tordiff. Watson had before thrown Weightman in the course of the year, at Micklethwaite, and W. Richardson, at, or near Caldbeck: these conquests we think entitle him to rank very high as a Wrestler. He is about five feet eight inches high, and near thirteen stone weight; is considered an excellent ground Wrestler, and is by trade a shoemaker. Notwithstanding Watson gained the second prize, he was thrown in the first round for the first, by William Wilson, of Ambleside, undoubtedly the best Wrestler Westmoreland ever produced; and it is the confirmed opinion of very many whose judgment is entitled to every consideration, that at the time he won at Keswick, he was the master of any man in the kingdom. It is certain that upon that occasion Richardson had not the shadow of a chance with him, and the preceding year he gave a convincing proof of his powers by striking J. Laughlen down in such a manner as we are convinced no other man in the kingdom could have done. When thrown by Weightman, he was labouring under an asthmatic complaint, otherwise he ought to have been in his very prime. He stands near six feet four inches high, and weighed, when in good health, about fifteen stones." In the year 1821, the Wrestling at "The first prize on this memorable tators for his manly exertions, and the And here we must take leave of "As for the victor, W. Richardson, whom we have so often had occasion to allude to, this might very justly be considered an excellent tie up for him, as he was stated in the newspapers of the day, to be forty-five years of age! and the winner of 240 belts!! We cannot decisively contradict either statement, but, as far as we can judge, they are both rather exaggerated. We never met Richardson in a ring but once, and that was during our noviciate. Richardson was in his prime, and we well remember he then called himself about twenty-three years of age; we were turned of eighteen; therefore, if he spoke correctly, he could not be more than forty-one at the time he won this prize. Richardson might be about five feet nine inches in height, and would weigh from thirteen to fourteen stones. Being a Wrestler of twenty-five years standing, and for a long time open to any man, he has wrestled more, and gained a greater number of prizes, than any otherman ever did. His favourite method was the inside, and he seems to have been It was by catching his heel that (like Achilles) the most vulnerable in the Scott threw him two successive years, heel. and by which J. Nicholson (brother to Tom) threw him at different times; and yet, neither of them, though excellent with him. We are likewise well informWrestlers, ought to have stood any chance ed, that in his casual trials with T. Nicholson, he not unfrequently barred that favourite finish off of that hero's, which was a kind of acknowledgment of his inferiority. We do not credit the assertions of his friends in regard to his being Tom's master, our opinion is, that he was not: and notwithstanding Tom was a stone the lighter man, the fact of his repeatedly throwing the very men who have thrown Richardson, as Rowantree, Harrison, and Lowden, and the great reasons there are to believe, that such men as his brother John, and Scott, could never have thrown him, justify us in asserting Tom was the better Wrestler, and more capable |