Lt. Col. William Mudge (1762–1820) was among the first great surveyors of the region.
His findings, including his extensive observations from Black Combe, were published
in 1811 in An Account of the Trigonometrical Survey, Carried on by Order of the Master-General
of His Majesty’s Ordnance
. Wordsworth’s fascination with Mudge’s surveys is evident in two sonnets of 1811,
“Written with a Slate Pencil on a Stone, on the Side of the Mountain of Black Comb”
and “View from the Top of Black Comb.”