High in the Lake District, Boredale Hause is the grassy mountain pass connecting Patterdale with Boredale, between Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes. Near its crest lie the weathered stone foundations of a structure known as the Chapel in the Hause. Whether it was ever a chapel at all remains an enduring Lakeland mystery.
Local tradition claimed that the building once served as a place of worship, drawing Sunday congregations from Martindale and Patterdale to this lonely spot among the fells. Yet when Dorothy and William Wordsworth visited in 1805, Dorothy was unconvinced. The remains, a modest heap of stones measuring roughly 8ft by 20ft, looked to her more like an ordinary sheepfold than a house of God. Even in the Lake District, not every ruin has a romantic past1Lindop, Grevel. “A Literary Guide to the Lake District”. Chatto & Windus, 1993, pp. 314–15..
The mystery of its original purpose may remain unresolved, but the little ruin found its way into literary history. In The Excursion, William Wordsworth immortalised the site through the tale of a local peat-gatherer caught in a mountain storm who sought refuge within its stone walls.
Today, hill walkers crossing Boredale Hause can still find the faint foundations near the pass’s crest. Their stones offer few answers about the building’s past, but they preserve a curious meeting of Lakeland folklore, historical uncertainty and Romantic literature.
- 1Lindop, Grevel. “A Literary Guide to the Lake District”. Chatto & Windus, 1993, pp. 314–15. ↩︎
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