Kelsick Wood was a shipbuilder in the late Georgian era, and his KW & Sons yard in Maryport was well-regarded along the Cumberland coast and beyond. He kept a small notebook with him during the 1820s and 1830s, in which he recorded details of contracts, supplies and the particulars of each vessel. Most shipbuilders and business owners presumably did something similar.
Kelsick also liked to draw and paint. Alongside his shipyard-related pictures, many others are whatever he fancied drawing: family members, animals, birds, even insects, objects on his desk and mythical creatures.
Kelsick’s diary in 1834 only lasted three months. Entries were often brief but the weather and wind direction always get a mention.
Cats and dogs appear quite often in Kelsick’s journals, including within his self-portrait, and this tabby is recognisable from other pictures.
Sometimes a page has had a section removed, like the one above, where the lady in blue is surrounded by the list of shareholders of the Eliza Heywood. Given the troubles which her master and investors faced, the picture below of an angry, tormented man seems distinctly apt.
