Newstead Abbey fell out badly. In 1808, Lord Grey left at the end of his lease and Byron returned to live at Newstead and began extensive and expensive renovations. His works were mainly decorative, however, rather than structural, so that rain and damp obscured his changes within just a few years. Byron had a beloved Newfoundland dog named Boatswain, who died of rabies in 1808. Boatswain was buried at Newstead Abbey and has a monument larger than his master's. The inscription, from Byron's poem "Epitaph to a Dog", has become one of his best-known works: Near this Spot Are deposited the Remains
Boatswain Norse "sveinn" ("swain"), meaning a young man, apprentice, a follower, retainer or servant. Directly translated to modern Norwegian it would be "båtsvenn", while the actual crew title in Norwegian is "båtsmann" (""boats-man""). While the phonetic spelling "bosun" is reported as having been observed since 1868, this latter spelling was used in Shakespeare's "The Tempest" written in 1611, and as "Bos'n" in later editions. The rank of boatswain is the oldest rank in the Royal Navy, and its origins can be traced back to the year 1040. In that year, when five English ports began furnishing warships to King Edward the