The Luck of Cumberland is a silver loving cup presented in 1905 by the county of Cumberland to HMS Cumberland. The work, designed by Herbert Maryon and executed by the Keswick School of Industrial Art, of which he was the director, was presented to the ship shortly after she was commissioned. Newspapers at the time described it as "the most ambitious piece of work yet produced at the school"; a 2001 book on the school described it as a "tour de force" and "a masterpiece". The cup is made from 200 oz (5.7 kg) of silver, has three handles, and rests on a wooden plinth; without handles or plinth, it measures eighteen inches high and twelve inches wide. The base is decorated with a scale pattern to evoke the sea. The cup is largely plain other than the inscription "The Luck of Cumberland" surrounding the rim, above a faintly traced border of rose leaves. The conical lid, raised from a single piece of silver, is surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves in high relief and topped by a winged figure of victory, which itself stands on a globe supported by dolphins. The cup cost £100, raised through a subscription. It was intended to continue a tradition in the county of "lucks" — objects linked to the continued prosperity of a family or community — such as the Luck of Edenhall and the Luck of Muncaster. With leftover donations and a continued drive, the effort was also able to commission a silver bell. The cup was intended for the wardroom mess, and the bell for the men below deck. They were presented while Cumberland was in Quebec, in a ceremony led by Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey, then the Governor General of Canada.
Background
Keswick School of Industrial Art
The Keswick School of Industrial Art was founded in 1884 by Hardwicke Rawnsley and his wife Edith to offer classes in metal repoussé. Formed at the beginning of the Arts and Crafts movement, the school quickly expanded to include classes in drawing, design, woodcarving, and metalwork. The school melded commercial and artistic purposes; it sold items such as trays, frames, tables, and clock-cases, and developed a reputation for quality. In March 1900, Herbert Maryon was hired as the first director of the school. Under Maryon's leadership, the Keswick School expanded the breadth and range of its designs; at the same time, Maryon executed several significant commissions. His best works, wrote the historian of the school Ian Bruce, "drew their inspiration from the nature of the material and his deep understanding of its technical limits", and tended to be in metal. Maryon remained at the school until December 1904. He later taught at the University of Reading and Armstrong College (then part of Durham University), then after the Second World War worked on the restoration of objects from Sutton Hoo for the British Museum.
History By June 1904, residents of the county of Cumberland had proposed that a gift be presented to HMS Cumberland, the ship bearing the name of the county. Ideas included an engraved silver bell for the ship; a piece of plate for the ship's wardroom mess; and a silver shield on which to inscribe notable actions of the ship or her crew. Any further suggestions were to be sent to Josslyn Pennington, 5th Baron Muncaster, the Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland. During a meeting on 3 August 1904, a committee was appointed to recommend the gift — tentatively one of the first two options previously recommended — and report back in October. By that point the cause had raised £103 17s (equivalent to £14,400 in 2024) with nearly half the amount raised from the town of Workington; donations were capped at 10s per person (equivalent to £70 in 2024). That October, the committee recommended a piece of silver for the wardroom mess — specifically, an eighteen-inch-tall silver loving cup designed by Maryon and made by the Keswick School of Industrial Art, and costing 100 guineas (equivalent to £14,600 in 2024). The committee stipulated that the cup should be strong, usable, and steady, befitting its future home at sea. A model was exhibited at a meeting chaired by Pennington, after which the proposal was adopted; Pennington was also chosen as the person who would present the gift. The name of the cup — The Luck of Cumberland — was also decided. The name was intended to carry on a tradition of "lucks" in the county, such as the Luck of Edenhall and the Luck of Muncaster. In early December 1904, newspapers reported that the loving cup was nearly completed. Later that month, C. Courtenay Hodgson wrote to a newspaper to state that the final cost of the cup would be £100 (equivalent to £13,900 in 2024), leaving a small remainder. It was therefore proposed to present the ship with an engraved silver bell, estimated to cost £10 to £15 (equivalent to £1,400 to £2,100 in 2024), alongside the cup. The combined gift, he suggested, would "appeal not only to the wardroom mess but to the men of the lower deck". The subscription was therefore left open for several additional weeks, with donations still capped at 10s per person. The cup was finished by May 1905, when it was placed on display in Whitehaven for public viewing. By August 1905, Cumberland had been ordered from the Mediterranean to Canada. The original plans for Pennington to present the cup and bell were therefore abandoned. The Cumberland anchored in front of a large crowd in Quebec at around 5 p.m. on 19 August. In a ceremony at around 8:30 p.m., Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey, the Governor General of Canada, presented The Luck of Cumberland and the bell in front of a crowd on the quarterdeck. Grey gave a speech in which he expressed Pennington's wish that the cup and bell would be acceptable gifts, for they showed the appreciation of the people of Cumberland for having the ship named after their county. The cup was filled with wine and handed to Grey, who proposed a toast wishing luck to both ship and county.
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