Captain Cuthbert Clutterbuck

Captain Cuthbert Clutterbuck was the hypothetical editor of some of Sir Walter Scott's novels, such as The Monastery and The Fortunes of Nigel. The Abbot is dedicated by the "author of Waverley" to "captain Clutterbuck," late of his majesty's—infantry regiment.

Captain Clutterbuck, a retired officer, employs himself in antiquarian researches and literary idleness, and is described in this excerpt about his pseudonym from Sir Walter Scott's The Monastery.

While I am on the subject I may add, that Captain Clutterbuck, the imaginary editor of the Monastery, has no real prototype in the village of Melrose or neighbourhood, that ever I saw or heard of. To give some individuality to this personage, he is described as a character which sometimes occurs in actual society--a person who, having spent his life within the necessary duties of a technical profession, from which he has been at length emancipated, finds himself without any occupation whatever, and is apt to become the prey of ennui, until he discerns some petty subject of investigation commensurate to his talents, the study of which gives him employment in solitude; while the conscious possession of information peculiar to himself, adds to his consequence in society. I have often observed, that the lighter and trivial branches of antiquarian study are singularly useful in relieving vacuity of such a kind, and have known them serve many a Captain Clutterbuck to retreat upon; I was therefore a good deal surprised, when I found the antiquarian Captain identified with a neighbour and friend of my own, who could never have been confounded with him by any one who had read the book, and seen the party alluded to.

Editor's Note: emphasis added.

Who the dickens was Lady Maria Clutterbuck?

One blogger's Incessant Ramblings includes this aside:

(On a completely unrelated note, if I ever write a book or screenplay, I will give all of my characters British last names. They are absolutely the best last names to be found anywhere. Don't believe me? Just look at the cast and crew for the latest Harry Potter film: Egerton, Clutterbuck, Broadbent, Northcutt, Twyford, Eggleton, Daubeny, Appleby, Kirkpatrick -- I'm not making this up, people! Ever wonder why Dickens is so popular? Last names! This is pure literary gold. Hello-ooo! Shakespeare? See, I told you.)

Speaking of Dickens, did you know he wrote a cookbook under a pseudonym, according to newly discovered papers?

It is reported that What Shall We Have For Dinner? was written by Dickens under the name Lady Maria Clutterbuck.

For decades academics thought Dickens's wife Catherine wrote the book. But papers found by the great-great grandson of Mark Lemon, a Dickens's family friend, proves different.

The papers, written by Lemon's daughter Betty, describe how Mr and Mrs Dickens would retreat to the study to write down the recipes, reports The Times.

And she describes how: "Various recipes were discussed and eventually a cookery book was compiled. The book created quite a sensation, but how much greater it would have been if had been known that Charles Dickens himself had a finger in the pie. The secret was, however, strictly kept."

Tim Matthews, 73, Lemon's relation told The Times: "I was going through hundreds of pages of family memories during a clear out to make space in the house.

"I've had them since 1976 when my grandmother died but never got round to sorting them out. Some are quite scurrilous. When I read the scraps about Dickens and the cookery book I was very excited."

Peter Ackroyd, a Dickens biographer, said: "This is very exciting. It is quite rare to find a new document about Dickens. It was understood that Catherine Dickens compiled a cookery book so evidence that Dickens had a hand in it is new."

The book was published in October 1851 and caused a sensation with its recipes for giblet soup, lamb's head and cold custard pudding.

Clutterbuck and Lees, men and mountains

Clutterbuck and Lees



"Clutterbuck and Lees stand guard over the head of Granite Creek" is the caption of this wonderful photograph taken by modern adventurers on "a climbing expedition in the old style" in 2004. I wonder if they knew of the men after whom these mountains are named, and their connection to this landscape.

W.J. Clutterbuck and J.A. Lees, two early British "tourists" made their way to western Canada shortly after the CPR railroad was completed. Their book, A Ramble in British Columbia, BC 1887, is revealing both of the geography and inhabitants of the upper Columbia in the year 1887. Lees and Cluterbuck spent August through October exploring the waters of the upper Columbia and Kootenay rivers. Their account of dry fly fishing is the first record of using that fly-fishing method in Canada. The book also records the running of chinooks, now extinct, and the spawning grounds on the Upper Columbia River.

These English gentlemen travelled the world in search of fly-fishing adventures, and also wrote Three In Norway by two of them, a few years earlier than their expedition to the Canadian Rockies, after which two mountains are named for them.

In 2004, a group of Canadian adventurers recorded their own experiences climbing Mount Clutterbuck, and hiking the area that remains a pristine wilderness, much the same as it was when Lees and Clutterbuck were there over a hundred years ago. Here's a photograph of them descending the Clutterbuck Glacier.

This trip was a grand adventure into a remarkable, very seldom visited, wilderness area – easily the largest area in BC I have seen without a clearcut. The climbing was generally excellent on wonderful granite, our weather was spectacular with 9 consecutive sunny days, and new friends made the experience complete.

William Bryan Clutterbuck

This wonderful historic photograph of William Bryan Clutterbuck was submitted by Kirstin Duffield, 3G Granddaugher of this gentleman. The newspaper clipping from the January 12, 1907 edition of the Gloucestershire Graphic was kindly sent to her by David Dedeckere, another 3G Grandson, (through William, Henry and George Clutterbuck; the latter moved to the United States). To view an enlargement of this photograph, just click on the image once, then again for an even larger picture.

Please share your historic Clutterbuck photos.

The Clutterbuck Story

Written by Edna Clutterbuck, nee Sloan

James Clutterbuck was born October 5, 1873 in Grantham Licolnshire, England. As a Barr Colonist he came out from England in April 1903 on the S.S.Manitoba. While on the ship they picked their homesteads. Jim in England was a skilled tradesman in wood and stone carving, a draftsman and a modeller. He was advised by his London doctor to go to a drier climate as he had a cough caused by the stone dust on his lungs from working on old Abbeys in England.

When they picked their homestead, this location later became part of the Durness district. At that time the railroad came as far as Saskatoon and now Clutterbuck joined forces with three other fellows. They bought four oxen, a wagon, ploughs and other supplies before setting out for their homesteads in mid April. The trip over the bald prairie, was really tough going, over sloughs and fording the Battle River. However the four oxen could handle it better than many horse outfits.

They pitched their tents one mile north of the present Lloydminster site. Within a few days their group set out with a guide to find their various homesteads. Clutterbucks’ homestead proved to be nine miles northwest of the meridian. They lived in tents until Jim built a log house with a sod roof. This was to be the shelter for the group for the first winter. In the summer of 1903, Jim and his neighbour Cowell, turned their first furrow.

The winter of 1904, Jim went to Winnipeg where he cut stone in Trindall Quarry for the building of the Union Station. When he returned to his homestead he and the other colonists, together with the early settlers, began to form communities. The Barr Colonists triggered off an influx of settlers in 1905. At this time the railroad arrived in Lloydminster, making it easier for supplies to come in. In 1908, a school was built, calling it Durness under the leadership of John Campbell. The name came from Durness, Scotland, where the Campbells had lived.

In the spring of 1909, Jim Clutterbuck received a message delivered by horseback from the Superintendent of Buildings for the province of Alberta. The Parliament Buildings were being built and they had written to England seeking a carver, a modeller and a draftsman. They were informed that a man by the name of James Clutterbuck was one of their best apprentices with all those qualifications and he had immigrated to Canada. They had traced him through Immigration. James carved the Provincial Coat of Arms over both entrances of the old Court House. In 1910, he started on the Parliament Buildings. He sketched many of the ornamental caps on the pillars and did all the carvings over the doorways.

In 1910 James married Isabel Campbell, a neighbour girl. The winter of that year he cut wreaths out of a sandstone quarry in Calgary. These were fussed on to the outside walls of the Parliament Building. Being of a soft sandstone, they most of them wore away over the years. Just a few remain on the west wall. James leased his homestead to Cowell allowing him to remain in Edmonton to complete the finishing touches to the elaborate building. One of his last jobs there was the British Coat of Arms which still stands over the House Speakers head in the Legislature. Then he returned to his homestead to begin farming. James and Isabell had two children, Mary born on the farm in 1913 and Thomas born in the Lloydminster Hospital in 1914.

Mary married Kenneth Bain of the Golden Valley District in 1936 and they had four children, Isabell, Betty John and Donalda. In 1947 their father, Ken died. Thomas married Edna Sloan in 1938 in Lloydminster. Edna and Tom carried on farming while raising three children. Glen married and is living in Kamloops B. C., Linda is married and living in Penticton, B. C., and Bob is married and living in Calgary. Tom’s father, James, and his neighbour, Stanley Inge, who lived three miles away died on the same day, July 1st, 1954.

Tom served as School Trustee for twelve years and five as Divisional Trustee on the Vermilion School Division. Durness school was closed and Tom and Edna owned and operated the Durness school bus from 1956 to 1972. In 1963, Tom took a job as operator on husky Automation pipeline, still operating the farm and with Edna driving the bus. Tom resigned from the pipeline, sold the farm and moved into Lloydminster. He started a city school bus service while still driving the Durness bus. In 1974, Tom sold the bus service and worked for the Hardware manager in Fisher’s Store. Edna worked at Sandy’s News until they moved to Penticton, B.C. in 1978. Tom’s sister, Mary died in 1979. Tom was seventy eight when he died in 1992.

Tom’s widow, Edna wrote this story in the year 2000. She included two pictures of James Clutterbuck with his team of oxen on the homestead, which can be seen in the story as it was originally published on Lloydminster.Net.

Please share your Clutterbuck stories.