- Details
- Transcribed by unknown author unknown author
- Edition: Saturday December 4th 1869 Saturday December 4th 1869
FATAL FALL OVER ETTERBY SCAUR, CARLISLE.
At an early hour on Saturday morning MR. SAMUEL IRVING, of Stanwix, a gentleman about 70 years of age, who formerly held a responsible position in the office of the Town Clerk of Carlisle for many years, accidentally fell over the Etterby Scaur, near Castle View, while returning home from Chapel House, and was drowned in the river Eden.
MR. IRVING, it appears, had on Friday afternoon walked out to Chapel House, accompanied by a little dog which always followed him, and arriving there about three o'clock in the afternoon, called at the Inn at Chapel House, kept by MR. WILLIAM ELLWOOD.
There he remained until half-past nine o'clock, when he left. The night being dark and stormy, the innkeeper escorted him past the railway crossing, and left him about twenty yards on the Stanwix side of it. Shortly afterwards MR. IRVING seems to have lost his hat, which had doubtless been blown off by the wind, and he wandered about in search of it until he lost his way.
At half-past eleven o'clock, he was next seen. At that time he called at the house of the Kingmoor crossing-keeper, which he had passed two hours before, and said he had lost his way and lost his hat. The crossing-keeper lent him a cap, and he set out with his dog once more towards home.
He was never again seen alive. Soon after two o'clock on Saturday morning his dog arrived at his house, and its arrival there without its master attracted attention later in the morning and excited alarm.
A search was instituted, and on Saturday afternoon the body of the unfortunate deceased was found lying in the river Eden, quite dead, below the scaur opposite Castle View. It was covered with water. Marks upon the scaur showed plainly that the deceased had, in the darkness, wandered over the edge of the precipice, falling twenty or thirty yards down the declivity until he reached the side of the river which at that place is about four feet deep, and there his further progress had been impeded by the bushes at the water side.
His watch had stopped at five minutes to two o'clock, thus indicating probably the time at which the accident had happened.
An inquest was held upon view of the body on Monday morning at the Crown Inn, Stanwix, before MR. CARRICK, County Coroner.
Verdict: - "Accidentally drowned."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~