Posted by Adam Quinan on September 14, 2013 at 06:34:59 user Adam.
In Reply to: Belle Grange as Beckfoot - putting the pieces together! posted by Duncan on September 14, 2013 at 02:17:58:
Someone commented recently on the oddity of Fletcher Christian's connection to the Lakes. In fact there is nothing very odd about it.
The Christians were an old Manx family and the Curwens by their name are another such. The Isle of man is about 30 miles across the sea from ports such as Whitehaven and Workington on the Cumberland coast and the manx as inveterate smugglers had numerous connections with Cumberland and its hinterland the Lakes. Many Manx families had branches in the area.
Curiously Captain Bligh although not Manx, was stationed there aboard one of the naval ships sent to control the smuggling and ended up marrying a Manx woman. One of the midshipman aboard the Bounty was also Manx, Peter Heywood, who was sentenced to death for his (rather insignificant) part in the mutiny and then pardoned and later rose to the rank of Royal Navy post captain during the wars against France.