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 CHESTER
 
 5 
 
 JENKINSON'S 
 
 PRACTICAL GUIDE 
 
 iE, GILSLAND, ROMAN WALL, 
 ND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 
 
 BY 
 
 [ENRY IEWIN JENKINSON, 
 
 I KOTAL GEOGRAPHICAL ASD KOTAL HISTORICAL SOCIETIM, AKD 
 ?'ICAL GUIDE TO THE ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT;' 'PRACTICAL CHIDR 
 ISLE OF MAN;' AND 'EPITOME OF LOCKHART'S LIFR OF 
 SIR WALTER SCOTT.' 
 
 LONDON: 
 TANFORD, 55, CHARING CROSS, S.W. 
 
 1875. 
 
 [All Eights Reserved.}
 
 PEEFACE. 
 
 THE author hopes that this little book, though treating 
 of a district comparatively unknown beyond the border 
 counties, will prove a not unworthy companion of his 
 Guides to the Lake District, and the Isle of Man, 
 which have been so favourably received by the public. 
 He has striven to make it useful, entertaining, and 
 instructive ; and it has been his constant endeavour to 
 be concise and accurate. The historical facts have 
 been gleaned from various sources, and the guiding 
 matter is the result of a personal visit to every place 
 mentioned. 
 
 A chapter describing a walk along the whole length 
 of the Eoman Wall, from the west to the east coast, 
 will, no doubt, be considered a welcome addition ; for 
 it will not only enable the reader to gain a knowledge 
 of the geography of the district, and the situation of 
 the principal places of interest on the route, but it 
 will also give him a tolerably accurate idea of the 
 remains of that great work, which has been denomi- 
 nated " the noblest monument of Eoman power in 
 Europe." 
 
 Many tourists upon visiting a new district miss 
 many of the pleasures that might be derived from a 
 knowledge of ite topography and associations, and 
 
 a 2
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 return to their homes with the uncomfortable feeling 
 that they are almost as ignorant of the neighbourhood 
 as they were before visiting it. With this book in his 
 possession the traveller will, we hope, be enabled to 
 visit the many places of interest around Carlisle and 
 Gilsland without asking a single question, and to feel as 
 though he had obtained the companionship of a friend 
 thoroughly conversant with the neighbourhood. 
 
 The author takes this opportunity of thanking the 
 numerous gentlemen who have rendered him assistance, 
 and especially the Eeverend Adam Wright, Vicar of 
 Gilsland ; Richard S. Ferguson, Esq., M.A., Carlisle ; 
 Charles J. Ferguson, Esq., Carlisle ; and John Clark, 
 Esq., Haltwhistle. 
 
 Being anxious to make the book as nearly perfect as 
 possible, the author desires the co-operation of his 
 readers, and will be glad of any suggestions. All 
 letters to be addressed to Henry Irwin Jenkinson, 
 Keswick, Cumberland.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction .. vii 
 
 CAELISLE SECTION. 
 
 Carlisle 1 
 
 Carlisle Cathedral 20 
 
 Carlisle Castle 25 
 
 Rose Castle, and the See of Carlisle . . 29 
 
 The Abbey of Holme Cultram 33 
 
 Gretna Green 40 
 
 Netherby 43 
 
 Corby Castle, and Wetheral Priory 46 
 
 The Nunnery 51 
 
 Brampton 52 
 
 Talkin Tarn 54 
 
 The River Gelt, and the Written Crag 56 
 
 GILSLAND, SECTION. 
 
 Gilsland 59 
 
 Gilsland Church 63 
 
 The Sulphur Well 65 
 
 The Popping Stone 68 
 
 The Chalybeate Well 70 
 
 The Cramel Linn Waterfall 72 
 
 Temple Heap 74 
 
 Mumps Hall, and Upper Denton Church 75 
 
 The Roman Wall between the Poltross and the Irthing . . 79 
 
 Birdoswald and Coome Crags 80 
 
 Gilsland to Lanercost Priory and Naworth, via Birdoswald 
 
 and Coome Crags ; and back by Upper Denton Church 86 
 Gilsland to Triermain Castle, Askerton Castle, and Bew- 
 
 castle 104 
 
 Ascent of Tindale Fell .. 116
 
 Vi CONTENTS. 
 
 PACK 
 
 A Walk to Thirlwall Castle 117 
 
 Gilsland to Carvoran 118 
 
 Gilsland to Haltwhistle, and thence to Bellister, Feather- 
 
 stone, Blenkinsop, and Thirlwall Castles 119 
 
 GlenDhu 132 
 
 Gilsland to the Northumberland Lakes, and to Housesteads 133 
 A Walk along the Koman Wall, over the Nine Nicks of 
 
 Thirlwall 136 
 
 Gilsland to Bardon Mill, and thence to Chesterholm and 
 
 Housesteads 138 
 
 Willimontswyke Castle, the birthplace of Bishop Ridley, 
 
 the Martyr .. .. 141 
 
 Haydon Bridge, the birthplace of John Martin, the Artist 145 
 
 Langley Castle 151 
 
 Alston, and Allendale Town 152 
 
 Staward-le-Peel, and the River Allen 160 
 
 Hexham 161 
 
 Dilston Castle .. 167 
 
 EOMAN WALL SECTION. 
 A Walk along the Roman Wall, from Coast to Coast . . 172 
 
 Local Names 213 
 
 Geology 225 
 
 Mineralogy 241 
 
 Botany .. , 264 
 
 Wild Flowers 270 
 
 Ferns 281 
 
 Grasses 285 
 
 Mosses 286 
 
 Fungi 295 
 
 Butterflies 297 
 
 Birds 299 
 
 INDEX 301
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE district traversed by the Newcastle and Carlisle 
 section of the North-Eastern Railway is little known, 
 and generally considered bleak and barren border land ; 
 but it contains many places of great historical interest, 
 and many lovely bits of scenery. 
 
 It is full of romantic associations, and was a favourite 
 haunt of Sir Walter Scott in those happy days between 
 youth and manhood, when he was preparing himself, 
 though perhaps unconsciously, for the production of 
 his imperishable works of poetry and romance. Having 
 written ' Waverley,' and there described the scenes of 
 his boyish ramblings in Scotland, and founded the story 
 on tales which had been related to him by old people 
 to please his youthful fancy and love of wonder ; he, 
 in his next work, ' Guy Mannering,' turned to the days 
 of his youth, and to the border country where he had 
 rambled so often, and where, at Gilsland, he at last 
 in one of his excursions met and wooed Miss Car- 
 penter, to whom six months afterwards he was married 
 at Carlisle. 
 
 The ancient Romans, too, have greatly added to the 
 interest of this district, by building across from sea to 
 sea that immense wall, many traces of which are still
 
 Vlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to be met with, and will be examined with wonder and 
 curiosity, not only by the antiquary, but by all who 
 take an interest in Roman and British history. 
 
 Full of interest, too, was this district during the 
 Middle Ages, of which the modern traveller is con- 
 stantly reminded as he comes upon the picturesque 
 ruins of abbeys, castles, and other strongholds reared 
 during those lawless and unsettled times. These 
 ruins present, it is scarcely necessary to say, special 
 objects of attraction for the ordinary tourist, as well as 
 for the artist and the antiquary.
 
 PEACTICAL GUIDE 
 
 TO 
 
 CARLISLE, GILSLAND, ROMAN WALL, 
 AND NEIGHBOURHOOD, 
 
 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 CARLISLE. 
 
 THE traveller will be liable to disappointment who visits 
 Carlisle, expecting to find an antique border city, where, 
 as in some towns, every street and almost every 
 house and stone bespeak a history. Instead of dirty 
 alleys, darkened by picturesque overhanging gables of 
 wood, clay, and laths, there are now clean wide streets, 
 with modern buildings of stone and brick, and hardly the 
 vestige of an edifice interesting to the historian and the 
 antiquary. Of course we except the Castle, which 'still 
 proudly overlooks the city ; and the Cathedral, now but 
 little more than half its original size, and only of the 
 third rank, but well worth a visit for its Gothic and 
 Norman architecture, and containing a window said to 
 be unequalled for elegance by any other in Great Britain. 
 The city walls of which the whole of the west side still 
 remains, though concealed in many places by houses 
 were probably commenced in the reign of William Eufus, 
 about the end of the eleventh century, and were H miles 
 in extent, enclosing a triangular space, and containing 
 three gates, leading respectively to the south, west, and 
 north, and in consequence denominated the English, 
 Irish, and Scotch gates. A sallyport also existed in the 
 west wall; it was closed about fifty years ago, but the 
 arch can be seen from the yard of the city police station. 
 The English gate was also sometimes called Botcher- 
 gate, from one of the first inhabitants, a Fleming, called 
 Bocharda Fleming, who had a grange hard by for pro- 
 is
 
 2 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 visioning his house at Carlisle; and the road or street 
 leading to the grange went by the name of Botchergate. 
 The Flemings afterwards left, and went to Anglesey, 
 but the grange or village was called Bocherby, and the 
 name was given to a family who resided there. In 
 like manner the Scotch gate was called Eichardgate, 
 because it guarded the road so called leading towards 
 the grange or village of Eickerby, originally the property 
 of one Eichard. The Irish gate was likewise known as 
 the Caldewgate, as it led to the river Caldew. The 
 English gate, the main entrance to the city, was con- 
 nected with a fortress called the Citadel, which was 
 protected by a strong tower at each side, with guns 
 mounted in several tiers, placed so as effectually to 
 sweep every approach from the London road, and another 
 battery pointed directly up English Street to overawe 
 the citizens. Henry VIII. is said to have built the 
 Citadel with material taken from the Abbey and Cathedral, 
 after the dissolution of monasteries ; but it would appear 
 to have been erected before his reign, for it was in a 
 dilapidated condition and required repairing in Queen 
 Elizabeth's time, which could hardly have been the case 
 had Henry built it. On the site of the Citadel have been 
 erected the courts of justice for the county; and the 
 English gate, which stood west of the Citadel, is now 
 covered by the gaol ; an Act of Parliament having been 
 obtained in 1807 enabling the king to grant the city 
 walls to the magistrates for that purpose. 
 
 Until the middle of the last century Carlisle had kept 
 up the appearance of a formidable place ; sentries were 
 stationed at each of the gates, at the commanding officer's 
 house, the Castle, &c. ; and the gates were shut and 
 locked every night with much military parade ; morn- 
 ing and evening guns were fired as a signal when to 
 open and shut the garrison gates, and pieces of ordnance 
 were placed upon the turrets situated in different parts 
 of the fortification. Seldom in ancient days were the 
 gates without the adornment of heads of rebels. At 
 one time, we are told, one of the heads was that of a comely 
 youth with yellow hair, to look at which there came 
 every morning at sunrise, and every evening at sunset, 
 a young and beautiful lady. It is said that on a High- 
 land regiment passing southward, after the rebellion of 
 1745, they avoided entering the city by the Scotch gate, 
 on which the grim and ghastly heads were exhibited.
 
 CARLISLE. 3 
 
 The city does not appear to have been large, for in 
 1685 it contained a population of only 2000 ; in 1763, 
 4158; in 1780, 6299; in 1787, 7677; in 1796, 8516; in 
 1801, 10,221 ; and in 1871 these numbers had increased 
 to 33,881. 
 
 Though standing on the south bank of the river Eden, 
 between the two smaller streams, Caldew and Petteril, and 
 only a short distance from where the three united waters 
 enter the Solway Firth, it is yet too far away from the 
 sea, and the estuary is too full of shifting sandbanks to 
 allow of the city being approached by ships of even the 
 smallest burden. In consequence of its having had no 
 shipping and manufactures, and merely deriving its 
 importance from being a fortress on the borders between 
 England and Scotland, and on the highway between the 
 two countries, its rate of progression was extremely 
 slow. In the middle of the last century there were 
 only four private carriages kept in the city, certainly not 
 many for a place that gave the title to an earl, that 
 claimed to be the capital of Cumberland, and the seat 
 of a bishopric. 
 
 The rebellion of 1745 having finally brought to a close 
 centuries of wars and reprisals between the two countries, 
 Carlisle was dismantled and lost its warlike appearance ; 
 but it soon began to enter on a more prosperous future. 
 For the first time in its existence it became possible for 
 wheeled conveyances to travel, by the new military road, 
 to Newcastle, during the whole of the year. Eichard 
 Ferguson availed himself of this to start a business in 
 cotton in the rooms under the Town Hall. Some Ham- 
 burgh merchants arrived, and established a woollen manu- 
 factory, and soon other similar works for linen and 
 cotton, and for calico printing, were in progress ; and the 
 place also became noted for the manufacture of hats, 
 whips, and fish-hooks. At the present time there are six, 
 and there will shortly be seven, lines of railway concen- 
 trating at Carlisle, and with increasing means of com- 
 munication the trade of the city has rapidly increased. 
 Strangers should visit the far-famed biscuit manufactories 
 of Messrs. Carr, in Caldewgate ; an order for admission 
 being obtained at their establishment near the railway 
 station. Carlisle ales are largely exported to Australia by 
 Messrs. Iredale, and by the Old Brewery Company. There 
 are several cotton manufactories, such as those of Messrs. 
 Slater, and Peter Dixon and Son (Limited). At Cummers- 
 
 B 2
 
 4 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 dale, 3 miles from Carlisle, the Daltons have a large cotton 
 mill, and Messrs. Lowthian, Fairlie and Co., large dye 
 works, as well as an establishment at Carlisle. Messrs. 
 MacAlpin have large print works there and nearer the city. 
 At Holm Head, on the Caldew, are the extensive bleaching 
 works of Messrs. Ferguson; the senior partner of the 
 firm represents Carlisle in Parliament. There are several 
 foundries in Carlisle, and its ancient fame for fish-hooks 
 still survives. Messrs. Carrick's manufactory for hats is 
 well worth a visit ; also the extensive nursery grounds of 
 Little and Ballantyne, the Queen's seedsmen, situated at 
 Knowefield, near Stanwix, one mile from Carlisle. These 
 grounds occupy above 100 acres under nursery and seed 
 crops, and are beautifully laid out and kept in first-rate 
 order by the present proprietors, Messrs. Smith and Watt, 
 who purchased the business some years ago, and which 
 they still carry on under the name of the old firm. These 
 nurseries are well known, not only in this country, but on 
 the Continent, and in America and Canada, where they 
 have a business connection for the supply of young forest 
 trees, shrubs, fruit trees, &c., which are grown in large 
 quantities for this, as well as their large home trade. 
 The soil of these nurseries is remarkably well suited for 
 the growth of roses and fruit trees, and during the summer 
 months when there are many thousand roses in bloom, it 
 is difficult to conceive a more beautiful sight. 
 
 Carlisle has received many royal grants, and been 
 invested with great privileges by different monarchs, but 
 nearly all the original charters have been consumed by 
 the fires that have so frequently devastated the city. It 
 is not known when the first incorporation of the burgesses 
 took place, or what was the original constitution ; but it 
 is on record that a charter granted by Henry II. was 
 burnt by the Scots and recited and confirmed by Henry 
 III. Great part of the city having again suffered by an 
 accidental fire, the records were a second time destroyed ; 
 and again copied verbatim from the enrollment in 
 Chancery, and confirmed by Edward I. A grant by 
 Edward III. recites special privileges, owing to the city 
 being on the frontiers of Scotland, well situated for refuge 
 and defence, subject to the incursions of the Scots, and 
 in commiseration of the late plague and devastations of 
 the enemy ; and from it we learn that from time imme- 
 morial the city had been governed by a mayor, bailiffs, 
 and coroners. Charters of confirmation were granted by
 
 CARLISLE. U 
 
 almost every king, until the reign of Charles I., when 
 slight alterations were made as to the manner of electing 
 the different officers; it being decided that the body 
 corporate should consist of a mayor, eleven aldermen, 
 two bailiffs, two coroners, and twenty-four capital citizens 
 or common council. The guilds of Carlisle have played 
 an important part in its municipal history. Those who 
 wish to understand their connection with the corporation 
 must study Luders on Election Cases, and Merewether 
 and Coleridge on Corporations. 
 
 The city sends two members to Parliament, and was 
 first represented in 1295, in the reign of Edward I. At 
 one time the electors were confined to the freemen of the 
 city, and on a dispute in the House of Commons in 1711, 
 it was declared that the sons of burgesses born after 
 their fathers' freedom, and persons serving seven years' 
 apprenticeship within the city, have a right to be made 
 free. The exciting history of the Carlisle elections, and 
 the fights between the " Blues " and the " Yellows," has 
 been told by Mr. E. S. Ferguson, in his book called 
 ' The Cumberland and Westmorland M.P.'s from the 
 Restoration to the Eeform Bill.' 
 
 The assizes for the county are held in the city, in the 
 castellated tower-like buildings situated opposite the rail- 
 way station, and on the site of the ancient Citadel. The 
 eastern tower is the Nisi Prius or Civil Court; and the 
 western, the Crown or Criminal Court. A subterranean 
 passage leads direct from the prisoners' dock to the gaol, 
 which is said to occupy the site of a house of Dominican 
 Friars, and where many Roman remains have been dis- 
 covered. The embattled wall of the prison fronts the 
 street. In 1436, in the reign of Henry VI., an Act of 
 Parliament was passed which enacts as follows : " Whereas 
 by a statute made in the time of King Richard II. 
 it was ordained that the justices assigned or to be 
 assigned to take assizes and deliver gaols shall hold 
 their sessions in the principal and chief town of every 
 county, that is to say, where the shire courts of the ' 
 counties heretofore were and hereafter shall be holden ; 
 our lord the king willing the same statute to be observed 
 and kept in the county of Cumberland, considering that 
 the city of Carlisle is the principal and chief city and 
 town of the said county, and in which the shire court of 
 the same county hath been holden before this time, hath 
 granted and ordained by the authority of the same parlia-
 
 6 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 raent, that the session of the justices to take assizes and 
 to deliver gaols in the county of Cumberland, be hold en 
 in time of peace and truce in the said city of Carlisle, and 
 in none other place within the same county, as it hath 
 been used and accustomed of old time." 
 
 Carlisle formerly consisted of only two parishes, namely, 
 St. Mary's and St. Cuthbert's, each of which extended far 
 without the city walls, and was thus divided into St. Mary 
 Within, St. Mary Without, St. Cuthbert Within, and 
 St. Cuthbert Without. The parish church of St. Mary's 
 was formerly in the nave of the Cathedral, open to the rest 
 of the building, and service was held at 9 A.M. to avoid 
 clashing with the Cathedral service at 11 A.M. About the 
 beginning of the century the nave was walled off from 
 the Cathedral. Eecently the nave has been thrown into 
 the Cathedral, and a new church erected close by for the 
 parish of St. Mary. Many strangers visit the church to 
 see the entry in the register of the marriage of Miss Car- 
 penter and Waltej Scott. St. Cuthbert's Church was 
 built about 100 years ago, and occupies the site of an old 
 church which replaced one still older. It contains a monu- 
 ment (bust) to the Eev. John Fawcett, who was for more 
 than half a century incumbent of the parish, and an 
 eminent Low Church leader ; a fine painted window by 
 Ward and Hughes, presented by Joseph Ferguson, Esq., 
 and representing scenes from the life of St. Paul ; monu- 
 ments to the great Oriental scholar Joseph Dacre Carlyle, 
 to the Admiral Mounsey who captured the ' Bon Accord ' 
 sloop of war, and to many local families. Christ and 
 Trinity churches were erected some forty years ago, and 
 St. James', St. John's, St. Stephen's, and St. Paul's, within 
 the last few years. St. Stephen's was built at the ex- 
 pense of Baroness Burdett-Coutts during the episcopate 
 of Bishop Waldegrave. 
 
 The Society of Friends have always, since the time 
 of George Fox's visit to Carlisle and imprisonment there 
 in 1653, had a meeting-house in Carlisle ; it is in Fisher 
 Street, and at the bottom of that street is their disused 
 burial-ground, a grass plot without any monuments. 
 Here sleeps William Penn's friend Thomas Story, of 
 Justice Town, near Carlisle, Keeper of the Great Seal 
 and Master of the Eolls of Pennsylvania. The history 
 of the Society of Friends in Cumberland is very interest- 
 ing, and will be found in a little book called ' Early Cum- 
 berland and Westmorland Friends,' by E. S. Ferguson, and
 
 CARLISLE. / 
 
 published by Thurnam and Co., of Carlisle. The Catholic 
 Church of SS. Mary and Joseph is in Chapel Street, near 
 Lowther Street. It was opened in 1824 by the exertions 
 of the Eev. Joseph Marshall, who laboured in Carlisle 
 from 1800 to 1850. The Presbyterian Church (Scotch) in 
 connection with the Church of Scotland is also in Chapel 
 Street. The United Presbyterian Church is in Fisher 
 Street ; this congregation has existed since at least 1707. 
 The Wesleyan Chapel is also in Fisher Street, and a 
 Wesleyan congregation has existed in Carlisle since 1767. 
 The Congregational Church, Lowther Street, was built in 
 1843, and the one in Charlotte Street in 1860. The 
 Primitive Methodist and the Evangelical Union chapels 
 are in Cecil Street. 
 
 Carlisle possesses few public buildings, and its Town 
 Hall is poor and uninteresting ; near it, in the Green 
 Market, stands an old timbered overhanging building; 
 this is the Guildhall, known also as Kedness Hall, where 
 on certain days the guilds do meet and hold high fes- 
 tival. In Abbey Street is Tullie House, built by the 
 Tullies circa 1688 ; and in Fisher Street is Stanwix House, 
 more famous in electioneering records as Mushroom Hall, 
 built by the Stanwixes. Both these Carlisle families, the 
 Tullies and the Stanwixes, the first rich in Church digni- 
 taries, the second in famed generals, are now extinct. 
 The house in English Street, partly occupied by the 
 Clydesdale Bank, was the residence of the Earls of Egre- 
 mont, and lodged Prince Charlie in 1745. Cromwell put 
 up at a house in English Street, now destroyed to make 
 way for Todd's drug shop. In the Ring's Arms Lane, 
 between Scotch Street and Lowther Street, is an old 
 Edwardian house, where Judge Jeffries once lodged; it 
 is now a bacon store. The old cockpit still stands up 
 a court in Lowther Street, just north of the end of Bank 
 Street. In 1874, the Victoria Hall was built by a limited 
 liability company. It is a very large handsome room, 
 situated in Lowther Street, and used as a theatre and for 
 lectures and other public meetings. 
 
 The open space, now the Market-place,* was once all 
 
 * The corporation have recently purchased a considerable 
 property in Fisher Street from Lord Lonsdale, with the view 
 of erecting a new Corn Exchange and Market Hall, &c., the 
 want of which has been long felt, and which will do away with 
 the old-fashioned method of having the grain exposed for sale 
 in sample bags ranged along English Street.
 
 8 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 covered with buildings : wooden shambles, a pillory, and 
 the main guard of the city, afterwards made into a fish 
 market, and since demolished. The Convent of the Grey 
 Friars occupied all the space east of English Street, now 
 cut through by Devonshire Street. The Black Friars 
 occupied some of the ground upon which stands the gaol, 
 and the whole or part of their buildings formed the old 
 gaol that made way for the present one. 
 
 On the west walls is the Cathedral or Grammar School, 
 situate in ground given to the Priory of Carlisle by 
 Thomas de Eglesfield, the founder of Queen's College, 
 Oxford. Near the Grammar School is a very curious old 
 building, the Tithe Barn of the Priory of Carlisle, erected 
 by Prior Gondibour some 400 years ago ; his initials are 
 on a shield on its west end. The roof is remarkable for 
 the immense amount of oak timber it contains ; the 
 building is internally and externally disfigured in every 
 way, but its restoration is contemplated. On the north 
 side it was formerly open to the Priory grounds. 
 
 No visitor to Carlisle should omit to walk down Scotch 
 Street and Eickergate, and see " the Bridges," as the noble 
 bridge which crosses the Eden to Stanwix is called, in 
 memory of the day when Eden ran in two channels. A 
 charming variety of country paths here incite to a stroll. 
 The visitor can, on the south side of the river, cross the 
 Weavers' Bank and wend his way under the Castle on a 
 walk called the Castle Banks, both made fifty years ago by 
 the distressed weavers of the city, who were found employ- 
 ment in making walks around Carlisle. The holme through 
 which the Weavers' Bank passes was once the Battail 
 Holme, or fertile holme, and beyond it, bounded by the 
 railway and the river, are the Sauceries (Salieceta, willow 
 beds), where the Carlisle children roll their Easter eggs. 
 Still south of the river, but east of the bridge, a bank 
 conducts the visitor to the Swifts, or Carlisle racecourse. 
 If he care to cross the river to its north bank, he can 
 wander eastward into the Eickerby Holmes and Eickerby 
 Park, the residence of G. H. Head, Esq., which forms a 
 conspicuous object -in the view. If he turn westward 
 through the iron wicket at the end of the bridge, a broad 
 path will conduct him past the cricket field and Hyssop 
 Well, between the path and the river, where the Eoman 
 wall crossed the Eden, to Etterby Scars and the pic- 
 turesque villa of Ann's Hill.
 
 CARLISLE. 
 
 The large building visible on the high ground past the 
 Castle is the Cumberland Infirmary, a magnificent build- 
 ing, making up 100 beds for in-patients, and relieving also 
 annually many hundred out-patients. It has recently 
 been enlarged from the designs of Messrs. Cory and Fer- 
 guson, of Carlisle, and is replete with every contrivance 
 known to modern science. The road to it is by Abbey 
 Street and Caldewgate. 
 
 Harraby Hill, the Gallows Hill so often mentioned in 
 border story, is an eminence just on the south of Carlisle, 
 through which the London road is cut. The gallows 
 stood on its north side; a workhouse now occupies the 
 top. The whole of this vicinity is thought to have been 
 one great Eoman burial-ground, through which the great 
 Eoman road to York ran. Criminals were also hung 
 near the river Eden, and Corporation Eoad runs through 
 the Hangman's Close. When hung they were buried in 
 the north-east corner of the Cathedral burial-ground, a 
 spot noticeable for its lack of tombstones. 
 
 Carlisle is well provided with hotels. The principal 
 are the County, close to the Citadel Station ; the Bush, in 
 English Street ; the Crown and Mitre, near the Market- 
 place. There are also the Eed Lion, Caledonian, City 
 Temperance, and numerous other very good houses. 
 
 The two curious figures of soldiers in the County Hotel 
 represent soldiers of the 2nd or Queen's Foot. They were 
 a Tangiers regiment, famous as " Kirk's lambs." See the 
 lamb on their caps. The figures are relics of 1745. 
 
 Carlisle is generally thought to have been the Eoman 
 station of Luguvallium ; but although it is highly 
 probable that it was the site of a station, we think anti- 
 quaries are wrong in considering it as Luguvallium, for 
 that name is not mentioned in the Notitia as one of the 
 stations on the line of the wall, and any station here 
 would clearly be on the line of the wall, for that barrier 
 crossed the river Eden close to the present castle, but 
 now no portion of it exists in the neighbourhood.* Dr. 
 Todd in his MS. history of Carlisle, written in 1685, 
 says : " Whether in ancient times the city was seated in 
 
 * We are aware that against this opinion we have arrayed 
 many of the learned in antiquarian lore ; but after considering 
 all that they advance, we still believe that there would be a 
 garrisoned station at Carlisle, and that it would be mentioned 
 in the Notitia.
 
 10 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 the same place as it is at this day is a question amongst 
 geographers, some being of opinion that Luguvallium, its 
 old name, was placed about 8 miles westward in the 
 way to Cockermouth, where are now visible the ruins of 
 a large town or city, built of stones, which the country 
 people call ' Old Carlisle ' to this day." When digging 
 amongst the foundations of the city of Carlisle, Eoman 
 remains have at various times been found. Malmesbury, 
 Leland, and others mention a spacious hall with arched 
 stonework, which was in a good state of preservation 
 when discovered in the time of William Eufus, but now 
 not a vestige of the work remains, and even its site is 
 totally forgotten. It is said to have had on its front the 
 words Marii Victoria?, and is thought to have been 
 erected in honour of a Eoman general or British prince 
 of the name of Marius. Others have thought the inscrip- 
 tion must have been Marti Victori, and that the build- 
 ing was dedicated to Mars, the God of War. Camden 
 mentions two Eoman inscribed stones he found in the 
 city. In 1743 a Eoman fibula and a medal of the reign 
 of Trajan, and a few years later two altars, were dis- 
 covered. Stukeley, writing in 1725, says : " Fragments 
 of squared stones appear in every quarter of the city, 
 and several square wells of Eoman workmanship. At 
 the present day, whenever an excavation is made, articles 
 of Eoman make are turned up." Dr. Bruce tells us that 
 in 1854, during the formation of the city sewers, Samian 
 ware, coins, and various bronze articles were found in great 
 quantities. Also, in 1860, a valuable collection of coins 
 and a masonic gold chain, &c., were found by the men 
 making a new railway, near the spot where the Eoman 
 wall rose from the river Eden. 
 
 We have no certain history of Carlisle until the time 
 of the NoMnan Conquest. Bede, however, tells us that in 
 685, Egfrid, King of Northumberland, who then held 
 sway over Cumberland and most of England north of 
 the Humber, granted the city of Carlisle, then called 
 Luol or Caerluel, with land 15 miles about it, to St. 
 Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarn, to be held by him and 
 his successors as part of their Episcopal possessions. 
 St. Cuthbert visited the place, and " was carried by the 
 townspeople to see their walls, and a fountain or well, of 
 admirable workmanship, constructed by the Eomans." 
 Several writers tell us that St. Cuthbert founded here
 
 CARLISLE. 11 
 
 a convent of monks, a school, and an abbey of nuns ; 
 but from Bede's life of that holy man it seems as if the 
 monastery had been in existence before he arrived. 
 Whilst St. Cuthbert was at Carlisle, Egfrid, the King of 
 Northumberland, was defeated and slain in battle by the 
 Picts, and the Saint at the time the battle was fought 
 declared to those about him the unfortunate event. Bede 
 relates that St. Cuthbert foretold the tragical end of 
 Egfrid the year before it happened, to the King's sister, 
 Elfled, who was abbess of the convent at Carlisle, and 
 had come to visit Cuthbert; who, attended by some of 
 the brethren at Lindisfarn, met her in the Isle of Coquet, 
 which was also at that time a residence of monks. It is 
 highly probable that a religious house did in reality exist 
 at Carlisle during the dark unsettled period of the Saxon 
 occupation, and that it would be a prey to the Norsemen 
 and Vikings who infested our coast during the ninth and 
 tenth centuries. Tradition tells us that here was a city 
 in which resided some kings of Cumberland, and that it 
 was burnt by the Danes, and then remained for 200 years 
 utterly overthrown and desolate until King William II., 
 surnamed Kufus, when returning this route from Alriwick 
 in Northumberland, where he had concluded a treaty of 
 peace with the King of Scotland, observed the ruins, and 
 being pleased with the situation, decided to build a castle 
 and city as a barrier against the Scots on the western 
 frontier, in the same manner as he had done at Newcastle 
 on the eastern coast. One Walter, a Norman, had charge 
 of the undertaking, and he was assisted by Flemish 
 artificers, a colony of whom were settled here by Eufus, 
 but were removed soon afterwards to North Wales and 
 the Isle of Anglesey. The place was then colonized by 
 south country people from the New Forest, who were 
 directed to cultivate the neighbouring lands, and to teach 
 the natives the art of rendering the fertility of the soil 
 conducive to their subsistence. 
 
 There has been much dispute amongst the learned as 
 to the original name of the city. Old historians give the 
 spelling in many different ways, such as Carlol, Carliol, 
 Carlovil, Kaarluil, Kaarlion, Kaarluol, Karloil, and 
 Carlisle, which last came to be regularly adopted after 
 it appeared in the patent of the Earl of Carlisle in 1660. 
 It appears to us that the most probable origin of the 
 name is very simple and requires little research. In the
 
 12 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 Cathedral is a stone, bearing the following Eunic in- 
 scription : 
 
 " Tolfinn hraita at Ulfhara this stain " ; 
 i. e. : 
 
 " Tolfin " (or Dolfin) " inscribed this stone in memory of 
 Ulfhar " (or Ulf). 
 
 Now Ulf, or Lyulph, appears to have been the name of 
 more than one person of distinction in these northern 
 parts of England in Saxon times. We find one granting 
 lands to the cathedral at York in token of which he 
 left a drinking horn that is still preserved. Ullswater 
 (Ulfswater), a lake in Cumberland, must have been in 
 possession of one named Ulf. If, as appears from the 
 Eunic stone, a Lyulph lived in Carlisle, it is not at all 
 unlikely that the very individual this commemorated was 
 a person of distinction, and gave his name to the place ; 
 and Caer being the British word for city, we have Caer 
 Lyulph or Lyulph's city, which, by an easy transition, 
 has in modern times been changed into Carlisle. 
 
 After the death of William Eufus, his brother, King 
 Henry I., proceeded with' the building of the city, and 
 when all was completed, including the abbey and 
 cathedral, Walter, who had superintended the work, 
 became the first prior of the monastery, and a bishopric 
 was also established. 
 
 In Stephen's reign, David, King of Scotland, favouring 
 the cause of Matilda and her son Henry, entered England 
 and took possession of Carlisle ; and Stephen then bought 
 him over to his side by the cession of the city and the 
 whole county of Cumberland. In 1138, war being again 
 renewed, the Scotch king made the city his place of 
 retreat after his defeat at the battle of the Standard, and 
 here he received the Pope's legate, by whose influence all 
 the women who had been taken captive were set at 
 liberty. The war just concluded having been conducted 
 with savage barbarity, the legate got the Scotch leaders 
 to give a solemn promise that in future incursions they 
 would spare the churches, and withhold their swords from 
 the aged, from women and infants. David made the city 
 his home for some time, holding great state ; and the 
 English Prince Henry paid him a visit in order to 
 receive from him the honour of knighthood, according to 
 the custom of those times ; and here, in 1153, the Scotch 
 king breathed his last.
 
 CARLISLE. 13 
 
 Soon after the death of Stephen, Henry II. demanded 
 the restitution of Cumberland from David's son Malcolm, 
 and in 1158 he had an interview with the Scotch monarch 
 in this city. The demand was reluctantly acceded to, and 
 Carlisle reverted to the English crown. In the year 
 1173, William, the successor of Malcolm to the throne of 
 Scotland, made a fruitless attack on Carlisle, and in the 
 next year he returned and commenced a regular siege 
 with an army of 80,000 men. The garrison, under the 
 command of Eohert de Vaux, was reduced to great distress, 
 and would probably have surrendered, had the operations 
 continued; but William, having been made prisoner at 
 Alnwick, and the Scots affairs rendered desperate by other 
 disastrous events, the war terminated. 
 
 In the year 1200, William, King of Scotland, demanded 
 of King John of England the county of Cumberland as 
 his hereditary patrimony; and coming with an army, 
 besieged Carlisle and took it, but could not reduce the 
 castle. The city was soon afterwards re-possessed by the 
 English, and underwent another siege with the like success 
 in the year 1216. 
 
 Edward I., in consequence of his Scotch expeditions, 
 resided frequently in Carlisle, and more than once he 
 summoned his parliament to meet him there. In 1296 a 
 Scotch army again burnt the suburbs and attempted to 
 storm the city, but were frustrated in their enterprise by 
 the bravery of the inhabitants. Even the fair sex, on this 
 occasion, exerted an uncommon degree of spirit ; pouring 
 boiling water from the walls on the heads of their 
 assailants, and otherwise distinguishing themselves by 
 fearless and intrepid conduct. Seven years after this 
 event the city was accidentally set on fire, and half of 
 it became a prey to the flames. The year 1307 will 
 be ever memorable in the annals of the city, from the 
 parliament that met here on the 20th of January, and 
 continued sitting till the Palm Sunday following, during 
 which period several important acts were passed and laws 
 made to promote the expedition which the king was 
 meditating against the Scots. Edward remained at 
 Carlisle till the 28th of June, and then proceeded to his 
 army which was encamped a few miles distant, on Burgh 
 Marsh. He there succumbed to a long illness, and died 
 in his camp, July 7th, thus terminating a most active and 
 brilliant reign. 
 
 In 1316, the ninth year of the reign of Edward II., and
 
 14 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 two years after the battle of Bannockbiirn, Carlisle was 
 besieged by Eobert Bruce, King of Scotland, who carried 
 on the assaults for ten days, and erected warlike engines, 
 but found his whole force insufficient to take the city, and 
 was at length obliged to make a precipitate retreat, being 
 hotly pursued by the English, who made some of the 
 Scottish leaders prisoners. 
 
 In the year 13'22, Andrew de Harcla, governor and first 
 Earl of Carlisle, and Lord Warden of the Western Marches, 
 was accused of treason. He was eminently brave, and had 
 rendered great service to his country, but owing to the 
 weakness of the English monarch, or from some other cause, 
 he had become dissatisfied, and entered into a secret truce 
 with Eobert Bruce. Edward at once sent Anthony, Lord 
 Lucy, to arrest him. Having dispersed his party in the 
 city to prevent suspicion, Lord Lucy, with a few at- 
 tendants, entered the castle as if on general business. 
 His principal associates in the enterprise were Sir Hugh 
 de Louther, Sir Eichard de Denton, and Sir Hugh de 
 Moriceby, with four esquires in arms, and a small party of 
 attendants to whom the design had been communicated. 
 A few men having been left, as though carelessly loitering, 
 near each gate, the four chiefs proceeded to the innermost 
 parts of the fortress, and reached the Earl's apartment 
 unmolested. They found the Earl seated, and wholly 
 unsuspicious of attack, till Lord Lucy informed him that 
 he must either surrender or instantly defend himself. A 
 cry of treason immediately echoed through the castle, and 
 the keeper of the inner gate prepared to shut it, but was 
 instantly slain by Sir Eichard Denton. The watchword 
 being given, the parties formed into bodies, took possession 
 of the gates and avenues, and the Earl, with the whole 
 garrison, surrendered without further bloodshed. The 
 King being informed of this while at Knaresborough, 
 appointed five commissioners, having the Earl of Kent at 
 their head, to repair to Carlisle, and there to degrade, and 
 give sentence against Harcla for his crimes. The King 
 sent them a schedule which directed the judgment they 
 were to give, and in which it is affirmed that Harcla had 
 gone to Eobert Bruce, and bound himself by oath and 
 writing, to maintain to him and his heirs, the kingdom of 
 Scotland against all men. It had been agreed between 
 them that Bruce should name six men, and Harcla the like 
 number, who were to settle all the great affairs of Scotland 
 and England ; and to maintain this alliance, Harcla had
 
 CARLISLE. 15 
 
 traitorously caused Edward's subjects to swear. After 
 degradation from his earldom and knighthood, by being 
 ungirt of his sword, and having his golden spurs cut off 
 from his heels, he was to be drawn and hanged ; his heart 
 and entrails to be torn out, burnt, the ashes cast to the 
 wind, and the body beheaded and quartered; the head 
 to be set upon London Bridge, and the quarters in the 
 most conspicuous places of Carlisle, Newcastle, York, and 
 Salop. It is related that Harcla aspired to marry a sister 
 of Eobert Bruce. He suffered in the ordinary place of 
 execution at Carlisle with great fortitude, affirming to the 
 end that in his transactions with the King of Scotland he 
 had meant no hurt to his own king or country. Imme- 
 diately he was seized some of the family repaired with all 
 speed to Highhead Castle, to acquaint his brother John, 
 who immediately fled into Scotland, and with him Sir 
 William Blount and many others. After Harcla's degra- 
 dation the title of Earl of Carlisle does not appear to have 
 been revived for many centuries. There was one Hay, Earl 
 of Carlisle, in the time of Charles I. On the restoration 
 of King Charles II., Charles Howard, son of Sir William 
 Howard, was created Lord Dacre of Gilsland, Viscount 
 Howard of Morpeth, and Earl of Carlisle, in reward for his 
 having been highly instrumental in forwarding the cause 
 of the restoration. 
 
 During the reign of Edward III. Carlisle was frequently 
 besieged by the Scots. In 1338 the suburbs were burnt, 
 but the city held out. Four years after this, an army 
 under the command of Sir William Douglas made another 
 incursion and burnt Carlisle, and also the town of Penrith 
 and other places, but were afterwards pursued and over- 
 come by the English under Lord Lucy. Again Cumber- 
 land suffered like devastation in 1380, when Eichard II. 
 was on the throne of England. The country was laid 
 waste as far as Penrith, which place was attacked on a 
 market day, and the Scots returned with large booty and 
 4000 head of cattle, or, as some historians say, 40,000. 
 They had designed to attack Carlisle, but finding it well 
 manned they durst not make the attempt, and some of the 
 citizens then sallied out and killed many of the stragglers. 
 
 A quaint historian tells us that " about four years after- 
 wards, as soon as they had eaten their stolen provisions, 
 the Scots again invaded Cumberland, burnt part of 
 Penrith, lay siege to Carlisle, and threw fire into it, which 
 consumed to ashes one whole street, and they had in all
 
 16 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 probability taken the city, but that they were frightened 
 away in the following miraculous manner. When they 
 had put the citizens to great consternation, and were 
 ready to make an assault, there appeared a woman to 
 them, and told them that the King of England, with a 
 puissant army, was coming upon them ; they looking 
 about, saw the English banner and a vast army advancing 
 towards them, as they supposed, whereupon they left their 
 ladders and engines at the wall, and took to their heels 
 for security, never looking behind them till they came 
 into their own country. This woman was then supposed 
 to be the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Patroness of the city, 
 who upon other occasions had often appeared to the 
 citizens and inhabitants : and such religious esteem has 
 been towards the Blessed Virgin Mary by the citizens in 
 old times, that her impress, with our Saviour in her arms, 
 is the public seal of the Corporation to this day A.D. 1397." 
 
 The wealth of the city was so much reduced by these 
 repeated outrages, that Edward IV. remitted to the in- 
 habitants one-half of the ancient annual rent of eighty 
 pounds paid to the Crown, and also granted them the 
 lordship of the royal fisheries at Carlisle. 
 
 During Aske's rebellion in the reign of Henry VIII. the 
 city was besieged by 8000 of the insurgents, under the 
 command of Musgrave and Tilby ; but they were repulsed 
 by the garrison, and had their retreat more fatally inter- 
 cepted by the Duke of Norfolk, who ordered all the leaders, 
 with about seventy other persons, to immediate execution ; 
 their bodies were afterwards hung on Carlisle walls. 
 
 In the reign of Elizabeth, Cumberland was greatly 
 afflicted by a plague, and 1196 of the inhabitants of the 
 city of Carlisle fell victims to its ravages ; this number is 
 supposed to have included nearly one-third of all the 
 persons residing within the walls. 
 
 During the year 1568, Mary, Queen of Scots, spent two 
 months in the castle at Carlisle. Having fled from her 
 kingdom she landed on the west coast of Cumberland, and 
 after staying some time at Workington Hall, was escorted 
 through Cockermouth to Carlisle, by Mr. (afterwards Sir 
 Eichard) Lowther. Here, by orders from Elizabeth, she was 
 treated with due respect ; but we also learn from the follow- 
 ing graphic letter, written by Sir Francis Knollys to Secre- 
 tary Cecil, that her movements were closely watched, and 
 that in reality she was looked upon as a prisoner. He says : 
 
 " Yesterday, hyr grace went owte at a posterne to walke
 
 CARLISLE. 17 
 
 on a playing greene toward Skotland, and we with '24. 
 halberders of masf Eead's band w th divers gentlemen 
 and other servants waited upon hyr. Where about 20 of 
 her retinue played at footeball before hyr the space of two 
 howers very stronglye, nymbylly, and skilfullye, without 
 any fowle playe offered, the smaleness of theyr balls 
 occasyoning theyr fayr playe. And before yesterdaye 
 since our comyng she went but twyce owt of the towne, 
 once to the like playe at footeball in the same place, and 
 once roode owte a huntyng the hare, she gallopyng so 
 fast uppon everye occasyon, and hyr hool retinue beyng 
 so well horsyd, that we uppori experyence thereoff, 
 dowtyng that uppon a sett cowrse some of hyr frendes 
 owt of Skotland myght invade and assaulte us uppon the 
 sodayne to reskue and take hyr from us, we mean here- 
 after yff any Scotche ryding pastymes be reqwyred that 
 waye, so motche to feare the indangering of hyr parson 
 by some sodayne invayson of hyr enemyes, that she must 
 hold us excused in that behalfe." Instead of being re- 
 stored to her kingdom, Mary, as all our readers know, 
 was taken from Carlisle, first to Bolton Castle and then 
 to Fotheringay, and, after spending eighteen years in 
 captivity, was destined to lose her head on the block. 
 
 In 1596 Carlisle was the scene of a daring exploit 
 which has been celebrated in Border song, and greatly 
 resembled in character the story already related of the 
 gallant capture of Harcla by Lord Lucy. A noted 
 Scotch freebooter, William Armstrong, whose sobriquet 
 was " Kiumont Willie" having been captured and placed 
 in irons in Carlisle Castle, William Scott, "Lord of 
 Buccleuch," determined to effect his release, and with 
 that object had the castle reconnoitred and scaling ladders 
 prepared. Having assembled 200 horse, Buccleuch 
 crossed the Esk and then the Eden during the night, 
 and drew up his gallant band in a field below the castle. 
 He then led eighty men forward with scaling ladders, 
 which, however, were found to be too short. He, there- 
 fore, gave orders to force the postern gates with instru- 
 ments which had been kept in reserve. A breach was 
 made, the gate secured, and the sentries were seized. 
 The Scots then made their way to the cell of Kinmont, 
 led him forth, and sounded a trumpet as a signal to those 
 without that all was well. Willie saluted the warden and 
 his deputy with a "good night!" The alarm soon 
 
 o
 
 18 CARLISLE SECTION-. 
 
 spread, drums beat, the bells were set ringing, and a 
 watch-fire blazed from the castle keep. Buccleuch 
 gathered together his men, recrossed the Eden, and once 
 more entered Scotland, two hours before sunrise. Sir 
 Walter Scott relates that a cottage on the roadside 
 between Longtown and Langholm was, in his time, 
 pointed out as the residence of the smith who was em- 
 ployed to knock off Kiumont Willie's irons, after his 
 escape. " Tradition preserves the account of the smith's 
 daughter, then a child, how there was a sair (great) 
 clatter at the door about daybreak, and loud crying for 
 the smith ; but her father not being on the alert, 
 Buccleuch himself thrust his lance through the window, 
 which effectually bestirred him. On looking out (the 
 woman continued) she saw in the grey of the morning 
 more gentlemen than she had ever before seen in one 
 place, all on horseback, in armour, and dripping wet ; 
 and that Kinmont Willie, who sat woman fashion behind 
 one of them, was the biggest carle she ever saw and 
 there was much merriment in the company." 
 
 The contentions between Charles I. and his Parliament 
 once more involved this city in the horrors of a siege, and 
 the general distress was increased by the calamities of 
 famine. The blockade commenced on the 9th of October, 
 1644, and continued till the ensuing June, when the 
 place surrendered for the Parliament. During the inter- 
 mediate time, the wants of the garrison and inhabitants 
 were so great, that not only horses, but even dogs and 
 rats, were eaten; and hemp seed was substituted for 
 bread, till that also was consumed ; the city was then 
 given up on honourable terms. A silver coinage of three- 
 shilling pieces, sixpences, and groats took place in the 
 castle during the siege, from the plate of the inhabitants, 
 sent in for that purpose. 
 
 After this severe ordeal Carlisle enjoyed a century of 
 repose, and then came the rebellion of 1745, which finally 
 brought to a close the chequered history of the city as a 
 border fortress. Prince Charles Edward, the young Pre- 
 tender, arrived before its walls on the 9th of November, 
 with an army of 8000 or 9000 men, when on his way 
 from Scotland to the south. The city shut its gates and 
 refused to surrender, although it was defended by only a 
 hundred invalid soldiers, a few militia, and about 400 able- 
 bodied citizens. The Prince left a few regiments to carry
 
 CARLISLE. 19 
 
 on the siege, and marched with his army to Brampton, 
 expecting to give battle to General Wade, who was 
 thought to be on his way from Newcastle to the relief 
 of Carlisle. A message having been received stating that 
 Wade could not come, the city was surrendered on the 
 15th instant, and the Mayor and Corporation proceeded to 
 Brampton, and on bended knees presented the keys to 
 the young Chevalier. On the 18th the Prince made a 
 triumphant entry into the city, preceded by a hundred 
 pipers, and four days afterwards he left at the head of his 
 army, and marched southwards. After passing Lancaster, 
 Preston, and Manchester, he reached Derby without a 
 check. A council of war was then called, and a.s two 
 armies were being rapidly formed by Government, it 
 was decided to commence a retreat, and then came dis- 
 grace and ruin. On the 18th December, in the depth of 
 winter, the dispirited army crossed the bleak fells of Shap, 
 and were there overtaken by the vanguard of the Govern- 
 ment forces, under the command of the Duke of Cumber- 
 land. A slight skirmish took place at Clifton, a few miles 
 south of Penrith, and the rebels made good their retreat to 
 Carlisle. Charles left 400 men to defend the castle, and 
 then entered Scotland by crossing the Eden and the Esk, 
 the latter stream being forded breast deep, there being at 
 one time " two thousand of them in the river, and nothing 
 of them to be seen but their heads and shoulders. Hold- 
 ing one another by the neck of the coat, they stemmed 
 the force of the stream, and lost not a man in the passage. 
 The moment they reached the opposite side, the pipes 
 struck up, and they danced reels till they were dry 
 again." The Duke of Cumberland invested the city, 
 and on the 27th opened a six-gun battery of 18- 
 pounders against the castle. Two days afterwards, the 
 rebels displayed a flag of truce, and on the 30th sur- 
 rendered on terms offered to their acceptance by the 
 Duke, and conceived in these words : " All the terms his 
 Royal Highness will, or can, grant to the rebel garrison of 
 Carlisle, are, that they shall not be put to the sword, 
 but be reserved for the King's pleasure." Scores of the 
 prisoners were tried and executed in Carlisle and else- 
 where, and hundreds suffered transportation. Prince 
 Charles was pursued in Scotland, and after wandering 
 about for a time in disguise, he effected his escape to 
 France. 
 
 c 2
 
 20 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 Carlisle Cathedral. 
 
 Carlisle Cathedral was begun in the time of William 
 Kufus, and completed in the reign of Henry 1. The only 
 portions now remaining of the original building are the 
 lower half of the piers supporting the tower, the principal 
 part of the south transept, and the two eastern bays of 
 the nave. These two bays are the only parts of the nave 
 yet standing, and were used as the parish church until 
 within the last few years. The nave is said to have been 
 eight bays in length, and about 141 feet long, west of the 
 tower: originally the choir was probably much shorter 
 than now, and circular or apsidal at the east window. 
 Mr. Purday, the clerk of the works during the restoration 
 of the cathedral, estimated the choir at about 80 feet long, 
 the tower at 35 feet square, making, with the nave, the 
 total length of the Norman cathedral 256 feet. 
 
 Both the interior and exterior of these portions of the 
 original building present the usual characteristics of 
 Norman architecture the billet, chevron, and zigzag or- 
 naments, the flat buttresses running into the cornice, and 
 large circular pillars carrying plain round arches ; the 
 whole having, notwithstanding its stern simplicity, a 
 grand and imposing eifect. As is often the case in Nor- 
 man buildings, the foundations appear to have been bad, 
 a fact which is attested by the shattered walls and broken 
 arches of the central tower, and also by the leaning walls 
 of the nave and transept. 
 
 Whatever might be the cause, the edifice failed to give 
 satisfaction, and in 1246 Bishop Silvester de Everdon 
 commenced to rebuild the whole on an enlarged scale, and 
 in accordance with the new and fashionable style of archi- 
 tecture. The work was continued patiently for years. 
 The choir was enlarged both in width and length, the 
 north side being extended twelve feet farther into the 
 churchyard ; thus the central lines of the choir and nave 
 do not coincide, and consequently the cathedral has ever 
 since had an unsymmetrical and twisted appearance both 
 within and without. There are various indications that 
 the original intention was to rebuild the nave as well as 
 the choir on this extended plan. One such proof is found 
 in the pillar at the west end of the north aisle which has 
 been rebuilt. It is supposed that by 1292 the choir was 
 finished and roofed, and preparations made for rebuilding
 
 CARLISLE CATHEDRAL. 21 
 
 the north transept. A most disastrous fire now broke out 
 and destroyed the conventual buildings, part of the north 
 transept, and all the new choir except the side aisle walls. 
 The portions that escaped destruction are fine specimens 
 of early English. " The beautiful but scanty remains," 
 says Mr. Purday, " left us by the fire, are the outside walls 
 of the north and south aisles (with the exception of the 
 eastern bay), the whole of St. Catherine's Chapel, which is 
 in the angle between the south aisle and south transept, 
 and now used as a vestry ; and the arch of the west end of 
 the north aisle opening into the transept. The cinquefoil 
 arcade supported by detached pillars under the aisle win- 
 dows is very beautiful ; above the window heads in each 
 bay is a sunk quatrefoil. The central capitals of the 
 windows are carved in extremely beautiful designs, the 
 stone groining is supported on clustered shafts running 
 up the wall with carved capitals in the north aisle." 
 
 Soon after the fire the work of restoration was com- 
 menced. The domestic buildings and the north transept 
 being most required were first completed, and then the 
 choir and its east end were again rebuilt, or rather the 
 rebuilding was begun, for Mr. Purday thinks that after 
 the whole of the walls, arches, and piers were raised to 
 about the cill of the triforium, want of funds compelled a 
 cessation, until the work was resumed by Bishops Welton 
 and Appleby, who finished the rest of the choir before the 
 death of Edward III. To these bishops are due the 
 glorious east end, the triforium, clerestory, and the roof 
 and ceiling. 
 
 Some of the carving appears to have been left un- 
 finished, and completed at a later date, and in parts of the 
 works the old materials seem to have been employed a 
 second time. 
 
 A fire in 1392 destroyed the north transept, which was 
 rebuilt almost from the foundation by Bishop Strickland, 
 who came to the see in 1401. Funds must have been 
 lacking, for the utmost economy was used in the building 
 by the employment of old material as far as it would go. 
 The curious carvings of the nave piers were now executed. 
 All idea of completing the cathedral on the scale and plan 
 of the choir was abandoned ; Bishop Strickland rebuilt the 
 upper part of the tower and finished it with a lead and 
 wooden spire. The tower being on the old Norman piers 
 was, of course, only the width of the Norman-- nave, and
 
 22 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 narrower than the new choir. This difficulty was most 
 cleverly got over by the introduction of a turret on the 
 north side, where the choir overlapped the tower: the 
 turret rises only part of the height of the tower, which 
 has an angle turret on its top. Bishop Strickland also 
 fitted up the stalls, the entrance through which from the 
 nave is very fine. 
 
 In 1646 the greater part of the nave and the chapter 
 house were destroyed, and the materials employed in the 
 construction of guardhouses in the town; and much 
 mischief was done by the idle soldiery of the day. After 
 the civil wars the fragment of the nave was fitted up as a 
 parish church, and so used until a very recent period. 
 In 1764 a general repair was effected in the prevalent taste 
 of the day, lath and plaster being freely used, and a lath 
 and plaster ceiling being placed under the fine oak one. 
 About fifteen years ago a general restoration was effected 
 under Mr. Christian, and but recently the fragment of the 
 nave has been thrown open to the cathedral. 
 
 On week days there is service in the cathedral at 
 10 A.M. and 4 P.M., and on Sundays at 11 A.M. and 3 P.M. 
 The great door of the cathedral in the south transept 
 is almost constantly open, and strangers can enter the 
 cathedral close either from the wicket in Castle Street or 
 by the gateway from Abbey Street. The great door and 
 the south transept are new. The conventual buildings 
 were attached to the cathedral at this point, and formed 
 round the cloister garth a square of about 75 feet, of which 
 one side only, the refectory or fratery, now remains, be- 
 sides that side formed by the cathedral nave. The 
 chapter house, a tall octagonal building, and some dor- 
 mitories, formed the east side of the square, and continued 
 along the east end of the fratery. The west side was 
 probably formed by other dormitories, all as well as the 
 fratery raised on crypts or vaults. The building now 
 called the fratery or refectory formed the south side of 
 the square, and was the great hall of the priory : it is now 
 divided into two or three rooms, and used as a chapter 
 house and library. South again of the fratery was the 
 infirmary. The guest house was probably to the eastward. 
 The prior's lodge still exists, and is the present deanery. 
 It was built by Prior Senhouse in 1507, and the modern 
 additions by Bishop Smith (1671-84). The abbey gate- 
 house was built by Prior Slee, and over the arch is the
 
 CARLISLE CATHEDRAL. 23 
 
 legend " Orate pro anima Christopher Slee." The burial- 
 ground of the priory was south of the choir, and east of 
 the cloister garth square. The town burial-ground was 
 on the other side, the north side, of the cathedral. 
 
 If the visitor now enters the cathedral, he will at once 
 be struck with the massive proportions of the Norman 
 nave, and with the shattered and distorted arches which 
 support the tower. St. Catherine's Chapel, now a vestry, 
 is on his right, and he should here, as elsewhere in the 
 cathedral, examine the beautiful carving of the woodwork, 
 mostly of the time of Prior Gondibour, 1490. Direct in 
 front, in the north transept, is the Consistory Court of the 
 Chancellor of Carlisle, under a fine stained glass window 
 to the memory of five children of the Archbishop of Can- 
 terbury, who all died within a few days, when he was 
 Dean of Carlisle. Close to the Consistory Court stands 
 the altar tomb of Prior Senhouse, on which the tenants of 
 the abbey used formerly to pay down their rents. Op- 
 posite to St. Catherine's Chapel on the west side of the 
 north transept is a glass covering the Kunic inscription 
 mentioned at page 12. 
 
 In the transept are monuments to persons of more than 
 local celebrity ; Anderson, the Cumberland bard ; Smirke, 
 the architect ; Blamire, the M.P. and tithe commissioner ; 
 Musgrave Watson, the sculptor ; and the officers and men 
 of the 34th Cumberland regiment who fell in the Crimea. 
 Two stand of laurel-wreathed colours of the same gallant 
 regiment hang high in the nave. The empty casement of 
 a once magnificent brass is close to the west wall of the 
 nave. 
 
 Entering the choir the visitor should note the stalls, 
 forty-six, erected in the time of Henry V. by Bishop 
 Strickland, and the tabernacle arch over them added by 
 Prior Haithwaite after 1433. The fine brass of Bishop 
 Bell should be noticed : he is in full eucharistic vest- 
 ments, viz. alb with orphreys, stole, tunic, dalmatic, 
 chasuble, amice, maniple, pastoral staff with vexillum, 
 gloves, and the mitra preciosa. This brass is remarkable 
 as showing very clearly the distinction between tunic and 
 dalmatic: its date is 1494. The pulpit and bishop's 
 throne are modern, unworthy of the church, and will 
 probably soon disappear. Behind the pulpit is a fine 
 cinquecento screen by Lancelot Salkeld, last prior and 
 first dean. The reredos and the pavement within the
 
 24 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 altar rails are both new, from the designs of Mr. Street. 
 The very curious carvings of the capitals of the pillars 
 should be noticed ; they represent the occupations of the 
 various months, and commence with a three-headed and 
 much-imbibing Janus on the second pillar at east end of 
 south aisle : Pocula Janus amat ; Februus algeo clam at ; 
 a husbandman warming his feet at a fire. The carvings 
 at the sides and backs of these pillars are most grotesque, 
 and are said to be masonic in their mysticism. The 
 organ by Willis was new in 1858. The great east window 
 is the glory of the building, the finest window in all 
 England of the Decorated style, for elegance of composi- 
 tion and easy flow of its lines. Mr. Mackenzie Walcott, 
 in his Memorials of Carlisle, states that it contains forty- 
 five trefoils and quatrefoils, and that the tracery consists 
 of eighty-six pieces struck from 263 centres. The upper 
 part of the glass is of the time of Eichard II., and repre- 
 sents the last Eesurrection and the Judgment. The glass 
 in the lower part is modern. 
 
 The colouring of the roof is from the designs of Owen 
 Jones, and the angels on the hammer beams are sup- 
 posed to have supported magnificent lamps at ends of 
 long chains. 
 
 The beautiful aisles now require attention. We have 
 already noticed some of their architectural features. In 
 the south aisle, the wood carving of the screen, ctitting 
 off St. Catherine's Chapel, should be noticed, and the 
 monument of Bishop Welton, d. 1362, in eucharistic vest- 
 ments. Opposite are some curious monkish paintings, 
 long whitewashed over, and due to Prior Gondibour. 
 Similar pictures are in the north aisle. They represent 
 the legends of SS. Cuthbert, Anthony, and Augustus, 
 and of the Apostles. Near the reredos are the casements 
 of some lost brasses ; and in the east end is a walled up 
 door, supposed to have been used for bringing in building 
 materials. At the east end of each aisle will be noticed 
 fragments of groining ribs, part of an abandoned design. 
 In the north aisle is the monument of Bishop Halton, 
 once jewelled on breast and mitre; and two niches for 
 effigies, one of which is supposed to have been prepared 
 for Bishop Everdon. A very curious brass to Bishop 
 Eobinson is screwed to the wall ; he died 1616. He was 
 provost of Queen's College, Oxford, and that building as 
 well as his cathedral are drawn on the brass.
 
 CARLISLE CASTLE. 25 
 
 Carlisle Castle.* 
 
 Few visitors to Carlisle will leave the city without 
 having a peep at the castle. It stands on a slight head- 
 land, near the south bank of the river Eden, and not far 
 from the right bank of the river Caldew. The keep is 
 supposed to have been planned by William II. in 1092, 
 and is a tolerably perfect specimen of Norman work, 
 though in more recent times much disfigured to make 
 it carry artillery, and obscured by its conversion into 
 prisons and store-rooms. In all probability it stands on 
 the site of a Boman station ; the great Eoman wall having 
 skirted it on the north-west side, and the Vallum on the 
 south-east. 
 
 The first entry we find about the castle in the early 
 records is in 1168, during the reign of Henry II., when a 
 bill was paid for removing one of the gates. About the 
 same period the inner and outer wards were probably 
 made, and the castle connected with the city walls. 
 During the reigns of Henry II., Eichard I., and John, 
 it was often besieged and consequently undergoing repair. 
 In fact, we are told that " its whole history is one of 
 decay and ruin, and it so constantly required an outlay 
 that it can scarcely be said to have been at any time in a 
 sound state." 
 
 Edward I., being often in these parts during his wars 
 with Scotland, resided much in the castle, as well as at 
 Eose, Linstock, and Lanercost, and here he assembled 
 three of his parliaments, viz. those which met in 1299, 
 1300, and 1307 ; from the second of which he set out for 
 the famous siege of Caerlaverock Castle, while the third 
 passed the statute, known as the Statute of Carlisle, 
 which was directed against papal encroachments. The 
 room in which the parliaments met was a large hall that 
 was pulled down about forty years ago. It occupied the 
 site of the present magazine. 
 
 On the death of Edward I. on Burgh Marsh, his son 
 Edward II. was at once summoned to the north, and he 
 received the homage of his nobles and prelates in the 
 castle of Carlisle. 
 
 * We have taken most of these facts, by kind permission, 
 from a paper entitled " Carlisle Castle," by R. S. Ferguson, 
 Esq., read before the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian 
 and Archaeological Society.
 
 26 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 During the reign of Edward III. the repairs of the 
 castle were very extensive ; and for one or two centuries 
 afterwards the Scots frequently harassed and besieged 
 the place, but nothing of great mark happened to harm 
 the castle, though the city and the suburbs suffered 
 severely. 
 
 In the latter part of the reign of Edward IV., Richard, 
 Duke of Gloucester (afterwards Eichard III.), was go- 
 vernor of Carlisle and Penrith castles, and sheriff of the 
 county. He made extensive repairs, and it is supposed 
 that the great gateway is part of his work. 
 
 In 1522 we first hear of Carlisle Castle in connection 
 with artillery : in that year the Duke of Albany was de- 
 terred from attacking it by the news that it mounted 
 forty-five pieces of cannon. These would probably be the 
 small guns we hear of in Elizabeth's reign. Henry VIII. 
 made extensive alterations in the building so as to adapt 
 it to carry artillery. The work was probably done in 
 haste, for in 1563 the whole was in great decay, as appears 
 from a survey made by the order of Queen Elizabeth. 
 Three sides of the keep were in a dangerous state. The 
 captain's tower wanted parapets, as did much of the inner 
 curtain, and all the glass of the great hall and great 
 chamber was decayed. In the outer ward was an open 
 breach, 70 feet long, where the wall had fallen in 1557. 
 Apparently this breach was at the south-west angle of the 
 outer ward. The result of this survey was the building 
 of a chapel and barrack, and no doubt the reparation of 
 the wall and keep. The report (printed in all the county 
 histories) is curious as showing the transitional state of 
 warfare: the ordnance, artillery, and munitions include 
 sagars, falcons, pot-guns, demibonibarders, half-hags, 
 serpentines, fowlers, murderers, bowes, arrowes, and 
 arquebusses, as well as picks, hammers, chisels, spades, 
 and shovels ; the powder was all kept in the town, as no 
 house of ordnance existed in the castle. 
 
 Mary, Queen of Scots, resided in the castle for two 
 months during 1568, between her landing at Working- 
 ton and removal to the south. The tower in which she 
 lodged was in the south-east corner, and was pulled down 
 in 1835. She was the occasion of much anxiety to her 
 keepers, who feared her being rescued from Scotland, and 
 were highly glad when she consented to move southwards. 
 When Nathaniel Hawthorne, the well-known American
 
 CARLISLE CASTLE. 27 
 
 writer, visited Carlisle Castle, the soldier who showed him 
 round told him a most romantic story of a daughter of 
 Lord Scrope, the governor of the castle, who attempted 
 to aid Queen Mary to escape. She was shot dead by a 
 sentinel, and the very spot where she fell was pointed out 
 to Hawthorne, who says " the story would be very in- 
 teresting were there a word of truth in it." 
 
 James I., on his accession to the throne of England, 
 reduced the garrison of Carlisle, but in 1639 it consisted 
 of 500 men : it was then raised to 1500 on account of 
 troubles in Scotland, but the garrison was, by a treaty 
 with Scotland, disbanded in 1641, and the arms and stores 
 laid up. 
 
 In 1644 the castle and city were besieged by the Parlia- 
 mentary forces under General Leslie. On the surrender 
 of the place, the garrison, according to the terms of the 
 capitulation, marched out under arms, colours flying, 
 drums beating, matches lighted at both ends, bullets in 
 their mouths, with all their bag and baggage, and twelve 
 charges of powder apiece. A garrison of Scots was placed 
 in charge, and there remained until Parliament dismissed 
 them in 1646. Sir Philip Musgrave and Sir Thomas 
 Glenham in 1648 seized the castle by surprise, but it 
 had shortly to surrender to Cromwell, who altered the 
 keep so as to adapt its roof for the service of artillery. 
 For some time after this, the garrison kept at Carlisle was 
 large, so large as to be able to detach flying columns into 
 Scotland of 1000 and 2000 men. On the restoration, Sir 
 Philip Musgrave became the governor, and took great 
 care to select his officers from the veterans of the Tangiers 
 regiments. James II. garrisoned the castle with Irish 
 papists, whose officers celebrated the prospect of an heir 
 to James II. by dancing drank and naked round a bonfire 
 in the market-place, but who sneaked off by night on 
 hearing of Dutch William's arrival, and the bold stroke 
 made by the two Lowthers on his behalf. 
 
 In 1715 the tide of war rolled away from Carlisle 
 Castle ; true, the militia were called up, and the horse 
 militia, under Brigadier Stanwix, patrolled to Longtown, 
 only to find that the expected enemy had moved south by 
 way of Brampton. When all was over, and the High- 
 landers had surrendered at Preston, their arms, mostly 
 broadswords, were sent to Carlisle Castle and stored 
 there.
 
 28 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 On the advance of the Highlanders in 1745 the castle 
 was found utterly unprepared to stand a siege. From the 
 records of the court-martial held afterwards upon Colonel 
 Durand for surrendering the place, it appears that the 
 garrison consisted of two companies of invalids, some 
 eighty in number, all old and infirm men, four gunners, 
 two of whom were townsmen, and two old soldiers, but 
 one of them a very old and infirm man ; that the militia 
 were disaffected, and in all probability only deterred from 
 supporting Charles Edward by their national hatred for 
 his Scotch supporters; that the castle and city walls were 
 in a ruinous condition and utterly defenceless, the castle 
 having but twenty guns, all 6-pounders, while ten only 
 were available for the city walls, ranging in calibre from 
 2 to 4-pounders. The consequence was the town and 
 castle quickly surrendered, and the Prince entered in 
 triumph, and then proceeded southwards. A short time 
 saw his fortunes change. In December he was again in 
 Carlisle, and at a council of war Lord George Murray 
 advised that Carlisle should be evacuated, the castle 
 blown into the air, and the stores pitched into the Eden. 
 In a military point of view this advice was sound, but it 
 was rejected. The Prince left a garrison behind, and in 
 the course of a few hours the place was completely 
 invested by the Duke of Cumberland, who drew a cordon 
 of troops around the town, at a distance of half a mile. 
 A week's delay was occasioned by the bringing of six 
 18-pounders from Whitehaven, which were placed in a 
 trench on the site of the present Infirmary, and at once 
 opened on the 3-gun angle battery of the castle, and 
 on the 4-gun battery, which having only earthen para- 
 pets were soon silenced. This was on a Saturday, on 
 which day also the Dutch troops shelled the castle 
 from Stanwix. By Monday the Duke had three more 
 18-pounders in a new position, whereat the garrison 
 surrendered, the castle walls being breached both at 
 the angle and at the sallyport. The Government now 
 crowded Carlisle with the most famous regiments in the 
 army, and the consequence was that for six months they 
 died off at the rate of a man daily. Henceforth the 
 history of the castle is little more than a record of its 
 destruction. At the beginning of the present century 
 the Government pulled down the Elizabethan barracks; 
 the long hall where Edward I.'s parliaments met ; changed
 
 ROSE CASTLE. 29 
 
 the great chamber and chapel into quarters for officers ; 
 pulled down Queen Mary's Tower level to the ground; 
 destroyed some trees she had planted ; and at one time it 
 was in contemplation to have let the castle for a manu- 
 factory. A more healthy public opinion has recently 
 been stimulated on the subject, partly through the exer- 
 tions of Mr. B. S. Ferguson, and the members of the 
 Cumberland and Westmorland Archaeological Society, 
 and partly through the efforts made by some members 
 of the corporation of Carlisle, who have warmly taken up 
 the matter. Thanks to these exertions, some of the old 
 buildings which now hide the castle will soon be pulled 
 down, and any necessary alterations made in the castle 
 itself will be in harmony with its older features. 
 
 Rose Castle, and the See of Carlisle. 
 
 Eose Castle, the palace of the bishops of Carlisle, 
 stands 6 miles to the south-west of the city, and 2.7 
 miles from the Dalston railway station. Its situation is 
 extremely pleasant, on gentle rising ground, commanding 
 an extensive prospect, whilst immediately in front is a 
 broad expanse of meadow, bounded by the high wooded 
 bank of the river Caldew. 
 
 In 1300 Edward I. stayed here, but we do not read of 
 it in connection with the see of Carlisle until the reign 
 of Edward II., when it was the residence of Bishop 
 Hal ton. It must originally have been a Norman keep or 
 Peel castle, and the Strickland tower which stands at the 
 north-east corner of the existing building, and was 
 restored or rebuilt by Bishop Strickland early in the 
 fifteenth century, is probably the remains of the ancient 
 keep. The Norman plan of architecture, as circum- 
 stances permitted, was generally adapted to the require- 
 ments of a mansion. 
 
 In 1322 the buildings were destroyed by Eobert Bruce, 
 and in 1336 Bishop Kirby obtained a licence to crenellate 
 his mansion of Eoss. The licence gave power to embattle, 
 kernel, and machecollate. Bishop Kirby, besides execu- 
 ting these defensive works, also built himself a more 
 spacious mansion within the walls, and this was doubt- 
 less carried on by his successor, Gilbert Welton, who, in 
 1356, also obtained licence to crenellate. Few of these 
 additions now remain, though we can trace what they
 
 30 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 were. In the fifteenth century, the hall, which had 
 previously reached its greatest perfection, and was 
 undoubtedly one of the finest specimens of domestic 
 architecture ever produced in England, fell somewhat 
 into decadence, and private sleeping accommodation was 
 increased. Late in the fifteenth century Bishop Bell 
 added a tower on the north front, and in the sixteenth 
 century we find further additions by Bishop Kite, who 
 not only built the tower on the west side, but is said to 
 have built the whole of that side of the quadrangle. 
 
 In 1645 Eose Castle was held for the royalists by Mr. 
 Lowther, constable of the castle ; was taken by a party of 
 Colonel Heveringham's regiment, and was for some time 
 used as a prison for the royalists. In 1648 it was again 
 garrisoned by a company of the royalists, and after an 
 assault of two hours was taken by storm, and afterwards 
 burnt by order of Colonel Cholmly. " Eose Castle, the 
 Bishop's best seat," says Fuller, writing about this time, 
 "hath lately the rose therein withered, and the prickles 
 in the ruins thereof only remain." So low, in fact, had 
 the fortunes of the castle fallen, that on a survey made 
 by the Puritans in 1649-50 for its sale, it was valued at 
 1000?.; "yet," it is added, "if the same be sold to a 
 gentleman who will purchase the whole estate and make 
 it his habitation, we take it to be worth 1500?." It was 
 sold, together with the manors of Dalston and Linstock, 
 for the small;; sum of 4161?. 11s. I0d., to Colonel Hevering- 
 ham, who is said to have fitted up the offices for his own 
 residence. On the restoration, Eichard Sterne was nomi- 
 nated to the see, and rebuilt the chapel and other portions, 
 but in such an unskilful manner that his successor, Bishop 
 Eainbow, who was appointed to the see when Sterne was 
 translated to the archiepiscopal see of York, brought an 
 action against him for dilapidations. He recovered 400?., 
 and rebuilt the chapel ; and spent 1500?. in addition. 
 His successor, Thomas Smith, made further additions, 
 with the assistance of William Machel, vicar of Kirkby- 
 thore, in Westmorland, in 1688, and the appearance of 
 the castle at that time is illustrated by a view from water- 
 colour drawings taken by Hayman Eooke. 
 
 Under Bishop Percy the castle was brought to its 
 present form, and it was somewhat remarkable that 
 whereas Bishop Smith in his alterations employed 
 Machel, who prided himself on being the pioneer of 
 regular or classical architecture in this diocese, Bishop
 
 THE SEE OF CARLISLE. 31 
 
 Percy should have carried out his alterations from the 
 designs of Eickman, one of the great leaders of the Gothic 
 revival. The north and west sides of the quadrangle 
 alone remain, and they are mostly modern. 
 
 In the time of Bishop Nicholson the Scots had designs 
 upon the castle, but were prevented from attempting 
 them by the swollen state of the river. During the 
 rebellion of 1745 Eose had a still more narrow escape, 
 which was due to the gallantry of Captain Macdonald, 
 the leader of the Scotch party. At the time of his 
 arrival the infant granddaughter of the bishop, Sir 
 George Fleming, was about to be baptized, and on the 
 captain being appealed to, not only drew off his men 
 without disturbance, but presented the white cockade 
 from his bonnet for the little lady to wear during baptism 
 and as a protection against any stragglers. Eose Mary 
 Dacre, the little lady, as Lady Clerk, survived to a great 
 age. 
 
 Visitors to Eose Castle ought to include a peep at 
 Dalston Hall and Highhead Castle. The former stands 
 in a charming situation on the Carlisle side of Dalston 
 village, and comprises a fine specimen of the Peel towers 
 so common in these parts in former times. 
 
 Highhead Castle stands 2 miles south-east of Eose 
 Castle, on the bank of a beautifully wooded dell, through 
 which flows the Ivebeck, and near the junction of the 
 streamlets Ive and Eoe. It is a comparatively modern 
 mansion built on the site of an ancient castle. It was 
 here that Harcla's brother, Sir Edward Blount, and 
 others, were assembled when Harcla was seized in 
 Carlisle Castle, and when the news arrived they fled 
 hence into Scotland. 
 
 The See of Carlisle. 
 
 Whatever was the cause, bishoprics and kingdoms were 
 originally conterminous in their limits; and hence, as 
 Cumberland, which extended from the Clyde to the Dud- 
 don, and was subject in ecclesiastical matters to the Bishop 
 of Whitherne, was once part of the Welsh kingdom of 
 Strathclyde, we need not be surprised to find the Bishop 
 of Witherne, or Candida Casa, in Galloway, the earliest 
 to exercise ecclesiastical authority in what is now Cumber- 
 land. When Egfrid, King of Northumberland, conquered 
 and granted Carlisle and 15 miles round to St. Cuthbert,
 
 32 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 Bishop of Lindisfarn, the district so granted became part 
 of the see of Lindisfarn,, and then of Durham, which 
 absorbed Lindisfarn. 
 
 In 1133 Henry I. formed the see of Carlisle, and its 
 formation was regarded by the Bishops of Whitherne and 
 Durham as a robbery committed upon them. Athelwald, 
 the first prior of St. Mary's, Carlisle, became the first 
 bishop of the new see, which at first had no landed 
 property, but the impropriation of three benefices, Carlton 
 and Dalston in Cumberland, and Meaburn in Westmor- 
 land. To the fact that Athelwald was prior and bishop 
 is due the curious circumstance that the Bishop of 
 Carlisle has both a throne and a stall in his cathedral, 
 he enjoying the prior's stall while the dean only has the 
 sub-prior's stall. This duplication of characters also 
 caused confusion as to the property of the see and the 
 priory, and disputes arose which the Papal legate had 
 twice to arbitrate upon this he did by a partition of the 
 property. When the see did acquire landed property, it 
 acquired it under a very favourable tenure. Carlisle and 
 Eochester are the only episcopal sees that hold their 
 property in pure alms, the freest tenure known to the 
 law, and not in barony. The see lay vacant for many 
 years while the Scots held Cumberland, and during that 
 time the Bishops of Whitherne and Durham asserted their 
 ancient sway. Indeed the Bishop of Durham about 1255 
 made good his claim to the profits of the see whenever 
 vacant. The Bishop of Whitherne on this set off to Rome 
 to make a similar claim, but died on the road. 
 
 The earliest residence of the bishops of Carlisle appears 
 to have been Linstock, whence they moved to Eose Castle. 
 Both these places were often burnt and robbed by Scottish 
 armies, and the luckless bishops fled to Buley in West- 
 morland, Horncastle in Lincolnshire, or begged Parlia- 
 ment and the King to give them a house within the walls 
 of Carlisle. 
 
 The earlier bishops of Carlisle numbered among them 
 many famous generals, politicians, and diplomatists, such 
 as Halton, Kirkby, Welton, Merks, Kite, and Oglethorpe 
 who crowned Queen Elizabeth. Other famous bishops 
 have been Usher, Archbishop of Armagh ; Nicholson, the 
 antiquary; Law, father of Lord Ellenborough ; and 
 Veruon, afterwards Archbishop of York. The present 
 bishop is the Eight Eev. Harvey Goodwin, D.D. (con-
 
 HOLME CtTLTRAM. 33 
 
 secrated A.D. 1869), sometime Fellow of Gonville and 
 Caius College, Cambridge, Incumbent of St. Edward's, 
 Cambridge, and subsequently Dean of Ely. 
 
 The Abbey of Holme Cultram.* 
 
 Twelve miles to the west of Carlisle, and close to the 
 Abbey station on the Silloth Kailway, is the parish church 
 of Holme Cultram, a building which from its outward 
 appearance seems to be little worthy of notice ; but some 
 strangers will visit it with interest, as it is the only relic 
 of a once famous abbey. 
 
 Sir Walter Scott, in the 'Lay of the Last Minstrel,' 
 speaks of " Holme Cultrame's lofty nave ; " and when we 
 enter the church and see the grand proportions of the 
 nave arcade we must admit the justness of the allusion. 
 The walls outside, the stones and monuments, ancient 
 slabs of various sorts and sizes, worn with the storms of 
 centuries, smooth with age, and with inscriptions almost 
 gone, testify to the antiquity of the place. The tourist 
 will wonder how it came to pass that so substantial a 
 building could ever have been so mutilated, for edifices 
 in other parts of the country as old and less substantial 
 still remain. This once noble abbey seems to have suf- 
 fered every possible misfortune; more than all, it has 
 suffered from that cold neglect which allowed its ruins to 
 be at the mercy of every comer, the nearest and most 
 convenient quarry for building materials. Traces of this 
 cruel destruction may be found in nearly every adjacent 
 farmhouse, and most prominently in the remains of the 
 abbey itself, where large portions have been taken down 
 in order to furnish material for enclosing the poor rem- 
 nant left. 
 
 " Still do ye stand, fair ruins, like the ghosts 
 Of friends departed, mouldering to decay. 
 Oh ! would that ye might warn us that at best 
 Frail are our deede, and frailer still ourselves 
 That, like the rainbow of a weeping sky, 
 We rise, we shine, we change, and pass away." 
 
 * We have pleasure in stating that Charles J. Ferguson, Esq., 
 allowed us to extract many of the following facts from an article 
 on Holme Cultram, published by him in 1872. 
 
 D
 
 34 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 There seems some doubt as to the exact date of the 
 foundation of the abbey. It is variously stated to have 
 been founded in 1100, 1124, 1135 and 1150, the last three 
 of which dates, it is noteworthy, coincide with the acces- 
 sion of David of Scotland in 1124, and of Stephen and 
 Henry I. of England in 1135 and 1150. Though Henry I. 
 of England, and one Alan, have been put down as the 
 founders of the abbey, the real credit seems probably due 
 to Henry, Prince of Cumberland, son of David, King of 
 Scotland, and father of Malcolm, King of Scotland, he 
 himself dying vita parentis. Stephen of England, on his 
 accession to the English throne, gave up Cumberland 
 and other territory to the Scotch, apparently as the price 
 of their acquiescence in his usurpation, and the heir 
 apparent to the Scotch throne ruled the ceded terri- 
 tory as a nominal vassal to Stephen. The charter of 
 Prince Henry, and his father's confirmation of it, are given 
 in the local histories. It seems probable that, after the 
 example of their brethren at Fountain's Abbey, a small 
 fraternity of monks had settled in the Holme, and that 
 they had been more or less countenanced and benefited by 
 successive rulers and magnates, each of whom the monks 
 successively looked on as their patron and founder for the 
 time being, until eclipsed by a more liberal successor. 
 Thus they might have had founders and benefactors prior 
 to Prince Henry, their undoubted and substantial bene- 
 factor ; while we find that when Henry II. of England, in 
 the third year of his reign, possessed himself of Cumber- 
 land, the monks lost no time in proclaiming him as their 
 founder, and thus acquiring his protection and a confirma- 
 tion of all previous grants. And, indeed, he would be 
 their founder: coming into Cumberland as a conqueror, 
 claiming under a title hostile to Prince Henry and to 
 Prince Henry's liege lord King Stephen, he would not be 
 bound by the grants of Prince Henry, or the confirmations 
 of the King of Scotland ; and thus, in granting to the 
 monks lands already granted to them by Prince Henry, 
 King Henry II. would consider he was giving away his 
 own property, and so entitled to all the honours of a 
 founder. It is probable that the doubt as to who founded 
 the abbey of Holme Cultram arises from the fact that 
 successive lords of Cumberland from 1070 to 1154 claimed, 
 not through one another, but against one another. 
 
 Henry, Prince of Cumberland, gave to the monks two- 
 thirds of the Holme, and in the same deed confirms the
 
 HOLME CULTRAM. 35 
 
 grant to them of the other third, by Alan, son of Waldeff, 
 who had received it from Henry as a chase. He f>lso gives 
 them Eaby. The deed mentions that the bounds had 
 been perambulated, and it and the deed of confirmation by 
 David of Scotland were executed at Carlisle, where were 
 assembled King David, Prince Henry, and his barons. 
 The Bishop and the Prior of Carlisle were among the 
 witnesses to the deeds. 
 
 The subsequent grant of Henry II. of England was 
 confirmed by Pope Clement III., who makes no mention 
 of any grant or foundation prior to Henry II. The abbey 
 had many liberal benefactors, and a list of its possessions 
 is to be found in the local histories. 
 
 One of its best friends was Christian, Bishop of Candida 
 Casa, or Whitherne, who consecrated Lanercost. He gave 
 the abbey many gifts : by one deed he gave the grange and 
 lands of Kirkwinny in Galway, directed his body to be 
 buried at Holme Cultram, and threatened with terrible 
 evils anyone who molested the house of Holme Cultram 
 or the grange of Kirkwinny. Pope Innocent gave the 
 abbey the church of Kirkwinny, and invoked the indigna- 
 tion of God and St. Peter and Paul on meddlers. 
 
 The church at Burgh was given to the abbey by Hugh 
 de Morville, out of the profits thereof to find lights and all 
 necessaries for the ornament of the church at Holme Cul- 
 tram, and for the service of the altar there. 
 
 The church at Wigton was also given to them, and 
 amongst other possessions they acquired houses in Car- 
 lisle, one in Kichardgate, and two near St. Mary's 
 churchyard towards the castle ; lands at Edenhall near 
 Penrith, at Aspatria, Blencoggow, Branslibet, Bromfield, 
 Caldbeck, Distington, Dundrake, Flimby, Gilcrux, Har- 
 rais, Hertelpol, Kelton, Kirkbride, Kirby Thore, New- 
 biggin, Castlerig, Sandstath, Warthebirth, Maidengate, 
 Laysingby, Newby near Carlisle, Newton, Ormesby, 
 Dereham, Sacmirdash, together with possessions in Ireland 
 and Scotland, and numerous fisheries and commons of 
 pasture ; also iron mines at Egremont and Coupland, and 
 sundry benefactions in coin, such as the gift of Edward I. 
 of England, of 300 marks yearly out of forfeited estates in 
 Scotland : this last was given by charter dated at Cordoyl 
 in Scotland, and witnessed by the greatest dignitaries of 
 the day. 
 
 The monks thus established and endowed, were of the 
 Cistercian order, a reformed branch of the Benedictines, 
 
 D 2
 
 36 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 founded by Eobert, Abbot of Molesme, at Cistertium or 
 Cisteaux, whence the name, in the year 1098, and after- 
 wards so augmented by the efforts of St. .Bernard of Clair- 
 vaux, as within a century after its formation to number 
 3000 affiliated monasteries. In England the first seats of 
 this order were Waverley in Surrey, Furness, Fountains, 
 Kirkstall, Bolton, Tintern, Holy Cross, Koche, Sweetheart, 
 Netley, Buildwas, and many others. This order was 
 considered as especially under the protection of the Virgin 
 Mary ; its members were often called White Monks from 
 their habits, which consisted of a white cassock with 
 narrow scapulary, and over that a black gown when 
 abroad, white when in church. They were especially 
 devoted to agricultural pursuits, and to the duty and 
 virtue of obedience. The general characteristics of their 
 churches were extreme simplicity of outline, absence of 
 triforium, a single central tower, a simple west front, 
 and plain undivided windows, while generally a flight 
 of steps led from the transept into the dormitory. 
 
 The first object of the monks of St. Mary's, Holme 
 Cultram, on their establishment, seems to have been to 
 make themselves secure ; we may presume from the traces 
 we can see, that they set about building their church at 
 once, and that they enclosed the precincts with a great 
 earthwork, proteeted by a ditch on its outer side ; remains 
 of the wall and ditch still exist on the north side, adjoining 
 the Carlisle road. We are further told by Den ton that 
 the monks presently erected five granges for husbandry, 
 whose names Hutchinson gives as Old Grange, Grange 
 Determs, Mayberg, Skinburne, Calfhouse, and Eaby, six 
 in all; while Burn and Nicholson name them Eaby, 
 Mawbergh (Mowbray), Skinburne (Skinburness), Culshaw 
 (probably Calvo), and Newton Arlosh. They are also 
 said to have turned all into arable, meadow, and pasture, 
 or to have extensively reclaimed the wild forest ground, 
 full of red deer, which at first coming covered the isle of 
 Holme Cultram and Eaby. They also built themselves a 
 place) of safety at Wulstey near the coast, due west from 
 the abbey. This castle is mentioned by Camden as 
 having in his day sufficient remains to prove it had been 
 a place of great strength, with a broad and deep ditch 
 around it. It was finally dismantled, and the materials 
 carried to Carlisle by order of Colonel Thomas Fitch, 
 Cromwellian governor of and M.P. for Carlisle. Tra- 
 dition says that its gates were re-hung on the Irish gate-
 
 HOLME CULTRAM. 37 
 
 house at Carlisle. " In this castle," says Camden, " tra- 
 dition reports that the magic works of Michael Scot (or 
 Scotus) were preserved till they were mouldering into 
 dust. He professed a religious life here about the year 
 1290, and became so deeply versed in mathematics and 
 other abstruse sciences, that he obtained the character of 
 a magician, and was believed in that credulous age to 
 have performed many miracles." Another writer tells us 
 that "Michael Scot was a Durham man, 'who applied 
 himself to the abstruse Aristotelian philosophy, which he 
 pretended to translate from Avicenna, and dedicated to 
 Frederick II., Emperor of Germany, whose astrologer he 
 was. Some of his philosophical and astrological works 
 have been printed ; and Dempster says some remained in 
 his time in Scotland, which his countrymen would not 
 dare to open, for fear of the devilish pranks that might be 
 played by them." 
 
 The abbots of St. Mary's Abbey, Holme Cultram, though 
 not mitred, were occasionally summoned to parliament 
 during the reigns of the first and second Edwards, and 
 were entrusted with jurisdiction within their own territory. 
 
 In the taxation of Pope Nicholas IV. the revenues of the 
 abbey were valued at 217/. 5s. 1(H. In 1266 the abbey 
 was pillaged by Alexander, King of Scotland. 
 
 In 1301 we read that Bishop Halton granted to the 
 abbot and convent of Holme Cultram power to erect a 
 chapel at Skinburness. In 1305 we find the abbot 
 petitioning that, whereas he had paid a fine of 100 marks 
 to the king for a fair or market to be held at Skinburness, 
 and whereas that town, together with the way leading to 
 it, is carried away by the sea, the king would grant that 
 he may have such fair and market at his town of Kirkby 
 Johan, instead of the other place aforesaid, and that this 
 charter may be renewed. Skinburness seemed to have 
 been a place of some importance, having been used as a 
 depot for supplying the armies then employed against the 
 Scots. 
 
 In 1303 we find Bishop Halton, by his charter bearing 
 date at Linstock Castle, near Carlisle, the llth April, 
 grants licence to build a church at Newton Arlosh or 
 Kirkby Johan, with all parochial rights and titles within 
 their territories for the use of the monastery, half a mark 
 to be paid yearly to the bishop in the name of a " cathe- 
 draticum," and in token of subjection to him. A second 
 Gregory seems to have been abbot at this time, and it is.
 
 38 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 recorded of him that he, being more greedy of gain than 
 any abbot before him, petitioned that a parish church 
 should be granted him whereby he might present a 
 priest, and call for tithes. It seems, however, that some 
 Af the more stubborn of his parishioners declined to pay, 
 . -id that therefore their lands were cursed and tithes not 
 exacted, but their rents doubled : be that as it may, these 
 lands still bear the name of " cursed lands," and are tithe 
 free. 
 
 In 1322 the abbey was pillaged by Eobert Bruce, and 
 threatened by him with destruction by fire, notwith- 
 standing that his father's body was interred here. In 
 1353 the abbot and convent paid 20. to Lord Douglas to 
 save the monastery from plunder. 
 
 Holme Cultram is mentioned in the visitation of Thomas 
 Tonge, Norroy King-at-Arms, in 1530. Later we read of 
 its being cautioned against certain evil practices (such 
 as inviting ladies to dinner and supper), which had crept 
 in, and on the 5th of March, 1537, it was dissolved, 
 Gawin Borrowdale being the then abbot. Abbot Borrow- 
 dale was made rector of Holme Cultram, and on his death 
 Queen Mary, in the first year of her reign, granted the 
 rectory and vicarage with the chapel of Newton Arlosh to 
 the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of 
 Oxford, on condition that they should maintain a graduate 
 clergyman, and that the surplus revenues of tithes and 
 other emoluments should be devoted to the maintenance 
 of the examination schools at Oxford. 
 
 Such is an outline of the early history and foundation 
 of St. Mary's Abbey, Holme Cultram, but it must have 
 gone through many varied scenes ; exposed as it was to 
 constant inroads from the Scots, and to the no less lawless 
 raids of its border neighbours, it must have been at once 
 a fortress and a monastery. We know that its two 
 churches of Burgh and Newton Arlosh were fortified, so 
 that doubtless the abbey which could build a fortified 
 church for its own aggrandisement would fortify itself, 
 and we can even now trace the remains of the earthworks 
 that once defended it, while curious entries in the parish 
 books show the bitter hatred of the Scots which long eras of 
 rapine and robbery had engendered. We may notice that 
 Wolstey Castle, the stronghold of the abbey, was extremely 
 well placed in a military point of view. At first sight one 
 would think it exposed to attacks from the sea, but there 
 were few boats in the Solway in those days ; deep water
 
 HOLME CULTRAM. 39 
 
 was a safeguard; the enemy forded the Sol way in the 
 shallows at Burgh, and to get at Wolstey Castle they had 
 to leave in their rear the fortified churches of Newton 
 Arlosh and Burgh, and the earthworks of the abbey itself ; 
 unless they first occupied these strongholds, the warlike 
 tenants of the abbey would collect there and cut c'f the 
 retreat of the marauders. Thus Wolstey Castle '" 
 peculiarly a place of refuge. 
 
 The whole area about the east end of the present 
 church of Holme Cultram is filled with the ruins of the 
 former tower, choir, and transepts. It is stated in an old 
 document that " Holme Cultram church was 279 feet 
 long and 135 feet broad. The length of the chancel was 
 96 feet, the breadth 63 feet, from the steeple (which was 
 in the middle) to the lower church door 162 feet; and 
 this church (which was in the form of a large cross) was a 
 good landmark, and a great refuge and defence in time of 
 war and invasion against Scottish and English rebels and 
 outlaws, and the steeple being 114 feet, stood upon the 
 chancel, and fell 9 feet ajaiew for lack of repairs." 
 
 The church was cruciform in plan, and consisted of a 
 nave of nine bays, with a spacious aisle and lofty clerestory, 
 of a crossing beyond, with choir and transepts. The 
 conventual buildings were on the south side ; few remains 
 of them now exist, the field on which they stood having 
 been thoroughly excavated for the sake of the building 
 material. The abbey is built of a close-grained red 
 sandstone, not from any local quarry, but brought from a 
 distance. Quantities of chippings have been found on the 
 river bank, at the point nearest to the abbey, so that 
 probably the stone was brought from Scotland by sea, 
 and worked where it was landed. All the stones are 
 extremely well wrought, and in some the chisel marks are 
 as fresh as on the day they were executed, and many 
 mason's marks have been found. 
 
 One of the earliest and most noticeable features of the 
 existing church is the west door, which is of the transi- 
 tional period, and is a late example of round-headed Gothic. 
 The nave arcade is of fine proportions, and is transitional 
 in character, slightly more advanced than the west door. 
 The pointed arch first appears, and the earliest types of 
 conventional foliage are to be noticed in the capitals. The 
 columns are clustered, and, on plan, consist of four circu- 
 lar shafts, grouped together with smaller shafts at the 
 angles, all attached, and worked as one column. The
 
 40 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 fifth shaft from westward differs in plan from the others, 
 and is of a slightly earlier type, being formed of a com- 
 bination such as one finds in the earliest ornamentation of 
 a jamb a series of recesses filled in with angle shafts. 
 The respond at the west end is similar to this shaft ; pos- 
 sibly the chancel may have extended into the nave to this 
 point, and the rood screen may have been here. This we 
 may learn, if the whitewash and plaster should ever be 
 removed. 
 
 The later history of the church seems to have been a 
 series of misfortunes. In 1600, we read that upon the 1st 
 of January the steeple of the church suddenly fell to the 
 ground, and by the fall brought down a great part of 
 the church, both timber, leads, and walls. In 1602-3 the 
 tower was rebuilt, and on the 18th of April, 1604, it was 
 burnt down by the vicar's servant, Christopher Harden, 
 carrying a live coal into the roof of the church, a sudden 
 gust of wind having blown the light into a daw's nest and 
 set the roof on fire. The vicar and his servant were brought 
 into the Queen's Bench, but acquitted of wilfully burning 
 the church. An old writing states that " the vicar Man- 
 deville hired and agreed with his servant for 40s. to kill 
 the doues (i.e. daws or jackdaws) in Holme Cultram 
 church, and that he ripped up the lead to go in and out 
 to shoot at them during divine service, and put the people 
 in great fear." 
 
 In 1604 the chancel was re-edified by the vicar, and in 
 1606 the body of the church was repaired by the parish- 
 ioners. In 1703 Bishop Nicholson's visitation took place, 
 and he thus describes the building : " The inside of the 
 church was full of water, the rain falling in plentifully 
 everywhere. The parishioners, about fifteen or sixteen 
 years before, took off the lead from the south aisle (the 
 arches of which are drooping down), to cover that on the 
 north. The fabric is large, though only the body of the 
 church is standing, of nine arches on each aisle, and very 
 high." The church was brought to its present state about 
 the middle of the last century. 
 
 Gretna Green. 
 
 Few strangers will visit places of interest around 
 Carlisle without having a desire to see the far-famed 
 village of Gretna Green, which is situated nine miles
 
 GRETNA GREEN. 41 
 
 from the city, on the Glasgow and South-Western 
 hallway. 
 
 It was formerly daily resorted to by romantic lovers 
 of all classes of the English people, who, in their pil- 
 grimages here, were often hotly pursued, but immediately 
 they had crossed the bridge over the river Sark, and 
 entered Scotland, and there stated before two witnesses 
 they were man and wife, they were united for ever in the 
 eyes of the law. 
 
 At the tollgate close to the bridge, the first house over 
 the river, the poorer couples were often united ; but the 
 rich generally went to an hotel in the village, and there 
 were married either by the landlord or by a certain indi- 
 vidual who was looked upon by Hymen's votaries as the 
 high priest of Gretna. It has generally been stated that 
 this person was the village blacksmith, but persons re- 
 siding on the spot say this was a popular delusion, 
 originating, in all probability, from the hot hasty marriage 
 resembling the welding together of heated iron.* 
 
 In February, 1875, we visited the place, and found that 
 there were half-a-dozen people who had acted the part of 
 priest ; but one, William Long, a hand-loom weaver, seems 
 to have married more than all the rest put together. His 
 father and grandfather had had the same occupation, and 
 he showed us books which reached back for more than a 
 hundred years, and contained thousands of names; the 
 celebrated Lord Erskine, Lord Chancellor of England, 
 Lord Durham, and Lord Coventry being, he stated, among 
 the number. Lord Erskine's name is still on a pane in 
 the window of the village inn, said to have been written 
 by himself. 
 
 Sometimes for these marriages a good fee was paid. 
 Lord Erskine, we were told, gave the handsome sum 
 of eighty guineas ; and another person, who was married 
 by the landlord of the hotel, gave 60?. to the landlord, 
 and 20?. to each of his daughters. 
 
 The usual custom was for the parties to go to the 
 house of the person who was going to marry them, or 
 they would send for the individual to come to them at the 
 hotel. The ceremony was of the shortest and simplest 
 kind, for marriage in Scotland is merely a civil contract. 
 
 * A correspondent informs us that the blacksmith's shop was 
 once the first house in Scotland, and hence the smith was the 
 priest most easily got. Afterwards the tollgate was built 
 nearer England.
 
 42 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 Mr. Long told us that not a word was read from any 
 book. He merely asked the parties if they were single 
 and wished to be man and wife. They replying in the 
 affirmative in the presence of two witnesses (male or 
 female, old or young), the two were married. No writings 
 were necessary, but he made it a custom to enter the 
 signatures of all present in a book, and to give the parties 
 married a certificate printed as under : 
 
 " Kingdom of Scotland. 
 County of Dumfries. 
 Parish of Gretna. 
 
 These are to certify, to all whom they may concern, that 
 , from the parish of , 
 
 in the county of , aud , 
 
 from the parish of , in the county of , 
 
 being now both here present, and having declared to me that 
 they are single persons, have now been married after the manner 
 of the laws of Scotland. 
 
 As witness our hands at Gretna, this day of 
 
 ,187 
 
 Witnesses < 
 
 It is generally understood that marriages at Gretna are 
 entirely done away with ; but such is not the case, for we 
 saw in Mr. Long's book entries as late as January and 
 February, 1875, and one only a few days before our visit. 
 In 1856 a law was passed making Scotch marriages illegal 
 unless either the man or the woman had resided for three 
 weeks previously in Scotland. This had the effect of 
 putting a stop to many hasty runaway weddings, but was 
 chiefly intended to do away with the weddings of the 
 hundreds of servants who visited the place from Carlisle 
 during the time of the hirings. Probably these customs 
 at term time were relics of what was known on the 
 western borders as hand-fisting in former times. Hutchin- 
 son says : " In the upper part of Eskdale, at the con- 
 fluence of the White and Black Esk, was held an annual 
 fair, where multitudes of each sex repaired. The un- 
 married looked out for mates, made their engagements 
 by joining hands, or by hand-fisting, went off in pairs, 
 cohabited till the next annual return of the fair, appeared 
 there again, and then were at liberty to declare their 
 approbation or dislike of each other. If each party con- 
 tinued constant, the hand-fistiny was renewed for life;
 
 NETHERBY. 43 
 
 but if either party dissented, the engagement was void, 
 and both were at full liberty to make a new choice ; but 
 with this proviso, that the inconstant was to take the 
 charge of the offspring of the year of probation. This 
 custom seemed to originate from the want of clergy in 
 this country in the time of popery. This tract was the 
 property of the abbey of Melrose, which, through 
 economy, discontinued the means that were used to dis- 
 charge the clerical offices ; instead, they only made 
 annual visitations, for the purposes of marrying and 
 baptizing ; and the person thus sent was called Book-in- 
 Bosom ; probably from his carrying, by way of readiness, 
 the book in his breast ; but even this being omitted, the 
 inhabitants became necessitated at first to take this 
 method, which they continued from habit to practise, 
 long after the Reformation had furnished them with 
 clergy. Persons of rank in times long prior to these, 
 took the benefit of this custom ; for Lyndsey, in the reign 
 of King James II., says, ' that James, sixth Earl of Mur- 
 ray, begat upon Isabel James, daughter of the Laird of 
 James, Alexander Dunbar, a man of singular wit and 
 courage. This Isabel was but hand-fist with him, and 
 deceased before the marriage ; where, through this Alex- 
 ander, he was worthy of a greater living than he might 
 succeed to by the laws and practices of this realm.' " 
 
 How Gretna Green came to have the monopoly of run- 
 away marriages we know not, for any point on the borders 
 between England and Scotland would have answered the 
 purpose. Coldstream Bridge End Toll and Lamberton 
 Toll, near Berwick, were the rivals of Gretna for lovers in 
 the eastern counties. There is a tradition that Gretna 
 received the special privilege by a grant from a king of 
 Scotland, but in all probability it derived its fame from its 
 favoured situation, for it was in old times the first place 
 on the Great Western Mail Eoad, or Great North Road, 
 from London to Scotland. 
 
 Netherby. 
 
 Netherby, the seat of Sir Frederick Graham, Bart., is 
 an elegant mansion charmingly situated on the east bank 
 of the river Esk, 11 miles north of Carlisle, and 2i miles 
 from Longtown. It was erected in the middle of the last 
 century by Dr. Eobert Graham, and commands an ex- 
 tensive prospect in the direction of the heights Burns-
 
 44 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 wark and Criffel, and the estuary of the Solway Firth. 
 The nucleus of the building was a border tower of great 
 thickness, which stood on the site of a Eoman station, 
 supposed to be the Castra Exploratorum of the second 
 Iter of Antoninus. Some very fine altars and sculptured 
 stones found in the station are preserved on the spot, but 
 no traces of the camp remain, although both Leland 
 and Camden speak of extensive ruins of walls and 
 buildings. 
 
 The Grahams are descended from Malice, Earl of Mon- 
 teith in Scotland, whose second son, from whom they 
 trace their genealogy, was surnamed John with the bright 
 sword. From some disgust, John withdrew himself from 
 the court, and, with many of his retainers, settled in the 
 English borders during the reign of Henry IV. One writer, 
 speaking of the Grahams, says : " They were all stark 
 mosstroopers and arrant thieves, both to Scotland and 
 England outlawed, yet sometimes connived at, because 
 they gave intelligence forth of Scotland, and would rise 
 400 horse at any time upon a raid of the English into 
 Scotland. A saying is recorded of a mother to her son 
 (which is now become proverbial), Pdde, Rowley, hough's 
 itK pot ; that is, the last piece of beef was in the pot, and 
 therefore it was high time for him to go and fetch more. 
 Late in Queen Elizabeth's time, one Jock (Grahme) of the 
 Peartree had his brother in Carlisle gaol ready to be 
 hanged; and Mr. Salkeld, sheriff of Cumberland, living 
 at Corby Castle, and his son a little boy at the gate 
 playing, Jock comes by, and gives the child an apple, and 
 says, ' Master, will you ride ; ' takes him up before him, 
 carries him into Scotland, and never would part with him 
 till he had his brother home safe from the gallows." 
 
 " Eichard Grahme, second son of Fergus, when a youth, 
 in the reign of King James I., went to London, and by 
 the recommendation of some friends got entertained in 
 the Duke of Buckingham's service ; with whom he be- 
 came so much in favour, that the duke made him his 
 master of the horse, and introduced him not only to the 
 knowledge but to the particular favour both of the king 
 and prince. He was one of those few who were entrusted 
 with the secret of the prince's going to Spain, and who 
 waited on him thither. Sir Henry "Wotton, in his life of 
 the Duke of Buckingham, giving an account of their 
 travel through France upon this occasion, relates the
 
 NETHERBY. 45 
 
 following circumstance : ' They were now entered into 
 the deep time of Lent, and could get no flesh in their 
 inns. Whereupon fell out a pleasant passage if I may 
 assert it by the way among more serious. There was 
 near Bayonne a herd of goats with their young ones; 
 upon the sight whereof, Sir Eichard Graham tells the 
 Marquis of Buckingham that he would snap one of the 
 kids, and make some shift to carry him snug to their 
 lodging. Which the prince overhearing, ' Why, Eichard,' 
 says he, ' Do you think you may practice here your old 
 tricks upon the borders?' Upon which words, they in 
 the first place gave the goatherd good contentment ; and 
 then while the Marquis and Eichard, being both on foot, 
 were chasing the kid about the stack, the prince from 
 horseback killed him in the head with a Scottish pistol.' 
 This Sir Eichard purchased the barony of the Earl of 
 Cumberland ; after which he was created baronet. In the 
 rebellion which begun in 1641 he armed in defence of his 
 royal master. At the battle of Edgehill he received many 
 wounds, and lay amongst the dead all night. He took 
 his last leave of the king in the Isle of Wight in 1648, 
 and with his permission retired into the country where he 
 lived very private." 
 
 If the stranger cross the river Esk by a ferry-boat close 
 to Netherby he may visit Kirk Andrews church and a 
 fine old border fortress. The latter consists of a square 
 tower, with a ground floor, and two apartments above, 
 one over the other. In the first floor it was usual to keep 
 the cattle, in the two last was lodged the family. In 
 those unsettled times everyone was obliged to keep 
 guard against, perhaps, his neighbour, and sometimes 
 to keep themselves shut up for days together, having 
 no other opportunity of taking fresh air but from the 
 battlements of their castles. 
 
 A quarter of a mile distant is the Scotch Dyke station, 
 on the North British Eailway. It is so named owing to 
 being contiguous to an earth mound which runs four 
 miles across the country, from the river Esk to the river 
 Sark. This mound, locally termed a dyke, was raise d in 
 1552 to mark the boundary between England and Scot- 
 land. Previously the narrow tract of country between 
 the two rivers had been known as the debatable land, and 
 had been the cause of many contentions between the two 
 kingdoms, -as it was the abode of outlaws who feared no
 
 46 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 punishment and obeyed the laws of neither country. In 
 one part of this tract is a flat area of 7 miles in cir- 
 cumference, known as the Solway Moss, where in the 
 time of Henry VIII. a Scotch army was almost com- 
 pletely destroyed during their flight after a disastrous 
 defeat. A skeleton of a trooper and his horse, in com- 
 plete armour, are said to have been found many years 
 afterwards by some persons who were digging peats. On 
 the 13th November, 1771, in one dark tempestuous 
 night, the vast body of moss gave way and continued 
 spreading for weeks over an area of 500 acres. 
 
 The country around Netherby, which was formerly 
 known as the frontiers, marches and debatable ground, is 
 now well cultivated, owing principally to the improve- 
 ment effected by the Graham family. One writer, when 
 referring to these changes, says, " The people were changed 
 from being idle to being industrious, from wretched cot- 
 tagers, grovelling in dirt and poverty, into contented 
 husbandmen and opulent farmers. Still more, they were 
 changed from loose and ignorant barbarians, ever quarrel- 
 some and disorderly, into a peasantry, peaceful and 
 regular, a peasantry, perhaps, more intelligent, and better 
 educated, than most others in the island." 
 
 Corby Castle, and Wetheral Priory. 
 
 Alighting at Wetheral station, 5 miles east of Carlisle, 
 the traveller finds himself in one of the most lovely spots' 
 in England. Stepping on to the handsome viaduct, of five 
 arches, each 80 feet span and 100 feet high, he overlooks 
 that beautiful river appropriately termed the Eden, flow- 
 ing between thickly wooded banks, past the pretty village 
 of Wetheral, and the renowned grounds of Corby Castle ; 
 and glancing along the course of the silvery stream, in a 
 north-west direction, there is spread to view a pleasing 
 and extensive prospect of a plain studded with trees and 
 hedgerows, resembling a great garden, stretching right 
 into Scotland. 
 
 From the station Wetheral may be first visited, and 
 then Corby reached by a ferry-boat over the river, charge 
 Id. ; or the viaduct may be crossed from the station by a 
 footway, on payment of d., and Wetheral reached by
 
 CORBY CASTLE. 47 
 
 ferry-boat after visiting the Castle grounds. There is a 
 large inn close to the station, and smaller ones on each 
 side of the river. 
 
 The grounds of the Castle are only open to the public on 
 Wednesdays, and the interior of the house is not generally 
 shown to visitors. 
 
 A few yards beyond the village of Cor by is the lodge gate, 
 where the park is entered. It is advisable to stroll at once 
 to the top of the hill on the left, crowned with noble trees, 
 as it commands a grand prospect, embracing Carlisle, the 
 Castle and Cathedral a wide extent of level country, the 
 Langholm monument, the Solway Firth, and Criffel moun- 
 tain; and by proceeding a few yards farther, Skiddaw and 
 other of the Lake District mountains appear in sight. 
 Passing a farmhouse, pleasant paths are entered, which 
 continue under large old trees on the brow of the cliffs for 
 a mile or two, with here and there glimpses of the stream 
 below. It is well to follow these paths for some distance, 
 and then to return by other paths close to the river. 
 
 On the opposite side of the water are observed thickly 
 wooded banks, with here and there fine sandstone rocks, 
 presenting a picturesque appearance ; and on reaching a 
 stone statue of a monk-like figure, bareheaded, and with 
 book in hand, some caves will be seen in the face of the 
 opposite cliffs. The figure is that of St. Constantine, a 
 younger son of an early Scotch king, who turned hermit, 
 and is said to have lived in the opposite caves, which are 
 still called St. Constantino's Caves, and sometimes Wethe- 
 ral Safeguards. These caves must be very ancient, for 
 they are mentioned in the charter of St. Mary's, York, in 
 Henry II.'s time. They may have been the abode of a 
 hermit, but in all probability the monks of the adjacent 
 priory excavated them, and used them as places of refuge 
 or retreat from the Scotch marauders or other enemies. 
 They are 40 feet above the river, and hewn out of the solid 
 rock. There are three cavities, each seven yards in length, 
 three in breadth, and three in height, and each has a 
 window looking upon the water. A ledge served as the 
 foundation for a wall which was built in front of the cells, 
 and formed a sort of gallery or covered passage. There 
 are no traces of steps; the entry must therefore have 
 been effected by a ladder afterwards drawn into the cells 
 which were concealed by hanging wood. They can now 
 be visited after a short, pleasant walk from Wetheral.
 
 48 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 Near the cells there is an inscription in the rock, supposed 
 by some to be Eoman. 
 
 A few yards from St. Constantine's statue is a pretty 
 building, with steps, pillars and sculpture in front. It is 
 used as a summer-house, and commands a lovely view 
 through a long avenue to the Castle. After pacing the 
 green sward of the avenue the tourist reaches some cool 
 pleasant cells with water trickling through them, and 
 then having passed a monster statue of Polyphemus in 
 the attire of a Grecian warrior, by Dunbar, a steep ascent 
 is made to a temple-like building, containing the figures 
 of two females and two mermaids. The traveller is now 
 close to the house, but before going to it it is advisable 
 to descend again to the bank of the river, when he will 
 pass a pool of water, in the centre of which stands a statue 
 of Admiral Nelson. Here is a little picture, exquisitely 
 beautiful, the water descending from the temple above 
 over ledges of rock richly coloured with mosses and 
 lichens of every hue. The path then passes some caverns 
 in the sandstone rocks, and when the Wether al Priory and 
 Village on the opposite side come in sight, the bank 
 becomes steep, and the path ascends and leaves the river. 
 It is advisable to return a short distance, and then 
 ascend to the Castle, the residence of P. H. Howard, Esq. 
 The Castle stands on the edge of a cliff overlooking the 
 Eden, and is a plain square mansion, built of red free- 
 stone, with a Doric portico. A parapet round the house 
 is surmounted with lions, the family crest. 
 
 The sight of the lions will remind the tourist of a noted 
 page in English history. The Earl of Surrey, an ancestor 
 of the owners of Corby, had chief command of the English 
 army at the battle of Flodden Field, in 1513, when the 
 Scots were defeated with the loss of their king, the chief 
 nobility, and 10,000 men. Surrey's eldest son, Thomas 
 Howard, Lord Admiral of England, was in charge of the 
 van, and another son, Sir Edmund Howard, knight mar- 
 shal of the army, was in command of the right wing. In 
 reward for his signal service Surrey was created Duke of 
 Norfolk by Henry VIII., a title which had been conferred 
 by Richard III. on his father, who fell fighting on the side 
 of that tyrant at Bosworth Field. An augmentation was 
 appointed to his arms, expressive of his victory over a 
 king of Scotland, being on the bend thereof the upper half 
 of a red lion, painted like that in the arms of Scotland,
 
 CORBY CASTLE. 49 
 
 and pierced through the mouth with an arrow, in token 
 that the victory was chiefly owing to the English bowmen. 
 The title of Earl of Surrey was given to his eldest son, the 
 lord Admiral. 
 
 Though Corby Castle now presents the appearance of a 
 modern hall, having undergone complete renovation at 
 the early part of the present century, it is said to have 
 been an ancient stronghold. Corby, on the attainder of 
 Andrew de Harcla, Earl of Carlisle, in the reign of Edward 
 II., was forfeited to the Crown, whereupon it was granted 
 to Sir Eichard de Salkeld, Knt., whose descendants pos- 
 sessed it for many generations, and finally sold it to Belted 
 Will Howard of Kaworth, who made it a provision for a 
 younger son, from whom the present proprietor is descended. 
 There are several monuments of the Salkeld family in the 
 adjoining church of Wetheral. 
 
 The interior of the Castle is elegantly furnished, and 
 contains many paintings and works of art of great interest 
 and value. 
 
 In the Stuart gallery : Portrait of Charles II., given by 
 himself to Mr. Francis Howard at the Eestoration ; Lord 
 William Howard, and his grandson Colonel Thomas 
 Howard, slain at Atherton Moor ; one, very rare, of the 
 Princess Louisa, sister of Charles Edward, who died in 
 her seventeenth year. In the dining-room : Charles, Duke 
 of Norfolk, by Hoppner. In the library : The Emperor 
 Charles V. and his Consort Isabella of Portugal, by Titian ; 
 David and Goliath, by Poussin ; Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, 
 victor of Flodden, by Holbein ; fine portrait, by Gains- 
 borough, of Ann Witham, wife of Philip Howard ; and 
 other more modern family portraits by Hoppner and 
 Northcot. In the drawing-room : St. Catherine and two 
 Angels, typifying divine love and martyrdom, by Leo- 
 nardo da Vinci, or Luini ; Madonna and Child, by Sasso 
 Ferrato, belonged formerly to the late Cardinal Erskine. 
 Besides these, there are the gems of the collection: the 
 Marriage of St. Catherine, by Corregio, and St. Agnes, by 
 Carlo Dolce ; and also some beautiful miniatures. 
 
 Among the curiosities are many ornaments which be- 
 longed to Mary, Queen of Scots, including the rosary and 
 cross worn by her on the scaffold, and sent through Mel- 
 ville, her secretary, to the Earl of Arundel, as the last 
 pledge of affection for a family which had suffered so much 
 for her. The grace cup of St. Thomas a Becket, and 
 

 
 50 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 another which belonged to Gotz von Berlichingen; and a 
 carved oak chair, formerly at Dilston Hall, the seat of the 
 earls of Derwentwater. 
 
 In the "Ghost Boom," with its tapestried walls and 
 black oak wainscoting, there is a pane of glass on which 
 are the lines written by David Hume : 
 
 " Here chicks in eggs for breakfast sprawl, 
 Here godless boys God's glories squall, 
 While Scotsmen's heads adorn the wall, 
 But Corby's walks atone for all." 
 
 Descending to the brink of the river by a pleasant path 
 from the Corby village, the traveller will enjoy a most 
 lovely prospect while being rowed across in the ferry-boat 
 to the Wetheral side of the stream. He will then stroll to 
 St. Constantino's Caves, and afterwards visit the priory 
 and the church. 
 
 The priory is only a few yards distant. Hardly any part 
 of it remains ; only an embattled tower and an archway, 
 close to which has been erected a farmhouse. It was 
 founded in 1088 for monks of the Benedictine order. On 
 the dissolution of monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII. 
 it was bestowed on the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle. It 
 was afterwards pulled down, and the materials were used 
 for building prebendal residences in that city. It was an 
 appendage to St. Mary's Abbey at York. 
 
 Wetheral village is a clean-looking, pretty little place. 
 The principal object of attraction for strangers is a small 
 mausoleum attached to the parish church, built over the 
 vault of the Howard family, and which contains a marble 
 monument by Nollekens, said to be "one of the finest 
 pieces of sculpture in modern times." Upon it is the fol- 
 lowing inscription : " Maria, the third daughter of 
 Andrew Lord Archer, was married to Henry Howard on 
 the 22nd of November, 1788, and died with her infant 
 daughter on the 9th of November, 1789, in the 23rd year 
 of her age." One writer says : " Mrs. Howard died when 
 she became a mother, and the affecting incident is trans- 
 ferred by the magic chisel to the pure marble. There is 
 the exquisite drapery, and the mother, and the new-born 
 infant on her lap, looking upward from her couch of pain 
 to the benignant figure of religion which is bending over 
 them. 'Tis surely the sweetest group that genius ever 
 created." There is a cast of a monument by Westmacott,
 
 THE NUNNERY. 51 
 
 representing a lady kneeling, to the memory of Mrs. Petre, 
 Mr. Howard's sister. 
 
 A short distance below Wetheral, on the banks of the 
 Eden, is Warwick Church, which was rebuilt five years 
 ago, but the apse, which was retained, is one of the oldest 
 bits of masonry in the district, and is remarkable for its 
 circular shape, with thirteen arcades on the exterior, 
 which is very unusual in England. 
 
 The Nunnery. 
 
 When at "Wetheral some tourists may desire to drive 
 to the beautiful grounds of the Nunnery, distant 10 
 miles up the river Eden. The road turns to the left half 
 a mile out of the village, and then runs through a richly 
 timbered country, with a prospect across to the Cumber- 
 land hills, Skiddaw being very prominent. Two and a half 
 miles from Wetheral the new railway between Carlisle 
 and Settle is crossed, and again 2i miles farther on ; 
 the river Eden is in the hollow a short distance on 
 the left, and on the opposite side of it is the Tindale and 
 Crossfell range of hills. Seven miles from Wetheral the 
 pleasant village of Armathwaite is reached, where, close to 
 the bridge spanning the Eden, is the Eed Lion, a com- 
 fortable inn, where refreshment may be obtained. The 
 village is so delightfully situated along the wooded bank 
 of the river, that few visitors will leave it without loitering 
 there for a short time, and they cannot do better than enter 
 the gate close to the bridge, and stroll to the mansion 
 known as Armathwaite Castle. It is not a castellated 
 building, and does not present the appearance of a fortified 
 residence, but it stands in beautifully wooded grounds, 
 called the bay, where the river's banks present a 
 charming appearance. A few yards higher up the stream 
 is a high weir, over which, after heavy rains, the water 
 rushes with great fury. Here, at a small corn-mill, the 
 visitor may obtain a man to row him across to the oppo- 
 site side, where there are some fine rocks and walks among 
 the woods. One of these paths might be followed until 
 the main road is entered leading to the Nunnery. 
 
 With a carriage the river must be crossed at the Armath- 
 waite bridge, and the distance thence to the Nunnery is 
 3 miles. 
 
 The visitor who expects to meet with the ruins of an old 
 
 E 2
 
 52 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 monastery will be disappointed. An ancient religious 
 house of Benedictine nuns, founded by William Eufus, is 
 said to have existed here, but the old edifice appears to 
 have been demolished, and on the site of it a mansion of 
 red freestone has been erected, which is now occupied as a 
 farmhouse, the owner, Mr. Aglionby, preferring to live on 
 an estate in Virginia, in the United States of America. 
 
 The parties residing in the house kindly allow a visitor 
 to put his horses in the stables, and make no charge for 
 entering the grounds ; but all ought to leave a trifle to help 
 to pay the expense of keeping the grounds in order. 
 
 Close to the house will be observed a Eoman altar, with 
 an inscription ; and on a hill, a few yards distant, is an 
 old cross, said to have been the boundary of the ground 
 to which malefactors could flee for sanctuary. 
 
 The chief, in fact the only attraction of the place, is the 
 river scenery and the delightful walks in the romantic dell 
 through which flows the Croglin streamlet. Although the 
 grounds are not very extensive, the paths wind about in 
 the woods for miles, and in places are carried close to the 
 water under immense cliffs, and on each side of a finely 
 wooded ravine, down which the streamlet dashes with 
 great impetuosity over high rocks, forming a series of fine 
 cascades, the whole effect being singularly impressive. 
 
 Visitors occasionally arrive here from Penrith via 
 Kirkoswald, Lazonby, and Eden Hall, a distance of 12 
 miles. 
 
 Brampton. 
 
 This is a quiet old market-town, containing 2800 
 inhabitants. Market day, Wednesday. It stands li 
 miles north-west of the Newcastle and Carlisle Rail- 
 way, and is reached by alighting at Milton station (now 
 named in the Company's time-tables Brampton station), 
 and then going on a tramway, in a carriage called a 
 dandy, drawn by one horse, the charge being 3d. The 
 place contains a woollen mill, and there are some collieries 
 not far distant. It would be little visited by tourists were 
 it not for the Mote, a steep conical hill, rising between 300 
 and 400 feet above the town, whence may be obtained a 
 splendid view of the surrounding country, and upon the 
 summit of which was erected, in 1870, a statue of the late 
 Earl of Carlisle, pronounced by competent judges to be 
 well executed and an excellent likeness. Upon the raonu-
 
 BRAMPTOX. 53 
 
 mcnt is the following inscription : " Erected by the people 
 of Cumberland to- commemorate the public services and 
 personal worth of George William Frederick Howard, 
 seventh Earl of Carlisle, KG. Born April 18th, 1802, 
 died December 5th, 1864. J. H. Foley, E.A., Sculptor, 
 London, 1869. H. Prince & Co., Founders, Southwark." 
 
 Standing on the top of the hill the spectator sees the 
 streets of the town close below, and then is spread a vast 
 tract of level country, wooded and well cultivated, like a 
 garden, stretching to Carlisle, the Solway Firth, and Scot- 
 land ; Criffel and other Scotch hills being to the right, and 
 the Cumberland hills to the left, including Skiddaw, 
 Grisedale Pike, Blencathara, Carrock and Caldbeck fells, 
 Souterfell, and Helvellyn range. To the south-east are 
 Castle Carrock, Talkin and Tindale fells. To the north- 
 east is the vale of the Irthing, backed by high ground, 
 which stretches into Scotland. 
 
 Eastward of the Mote is an eminence, named the Eidge, 
 much frequented on summer evenings as a promenade by 
 the inhabitants of Brampton and the adjacent villages. 
 Seats are placed at convenient distances, and a row of trees 
 is on the right. It commands an unobstructed view to 
 the north across a vast tract of level woodland to the Sol- 
 way Firth, and to Criffel, Burnswork, and other Scotch hills. 
 Castlesteads is also a fine object. At the end of the Eidge 
 a pleasant wood is entered, and the path winds to the 
 right, and descends and enters the Lanercost road tliree- 
 quarters of a mile out of Brampton. 
 
 The old church is 1^ miles from Brampton. After going 
 through the town and proceeding a quarter of a mile on 
 the Longtown road, follow a lane on the left, which takes 
 direct to the church. It is a small unpretending edifice, 
 with a tiny bell-turret and one bell, and would appear very 
 like a barn were it not covered almost entirely with ivy. 
 It is probably of very ancient date, as Eobert, Parson 
 (persona) of Brampton, was one of the witnesses of the 
 charter granted by Eobert de Vallibus at the foundation 
 of Lanercost Priory in 1169. Some importance must have 
 been attached to this church, for in 1360, when Eichard 
 Eydal, the prior of Lanercost, absented himself from duty, 
 Martin, vicar of Brampton, was appointed by the bishop 
 to fill the place in his absence ; and in another instance, 
 the vicar of Brampton installed a new prior, on the autho- 
 rity of a commission from the bishop. The adjoining
 
 54 CAELISLE SECTION. 
 
 graveyard is thickly studded with headstones, and it is 
 still used as a place of interment for Brampton, though 
 there is no regular service held in the church. In the south 
 wall on the outside of the building is an arch, and beneath 
 it a monumental slab, now grassed over, under which the 
 founder of the church is supposed to be interred. The 
 river Irthing flows close past the grounds, and may be 
 reached by returning on the Brampton road for a hundred 
 yards, and then going through a gate on the right. 
 Tourists who do not wish to return direct to Brampton 
 may extend their walk, and continue by the bank of the 
 stream to the point of junction with the Gelt rivulet, and 
 then along the bank of the Gelt to the Lower Bridge, 
 distant from the church 41 miles. 
 
 Talkin Tarn. 
 
 Talkin Tarn is situated half a mile to the south-west of 
 Milton (Brampton) railway station, and two miles from the 
 town of Brampton. At the station enter a road, which runs 
 westward on the south side of the line, and then passes 
 through a gate and winds to left; the tarn being about 
 one mile distant by this route. Half a mile may be 
 saved by following a footpath over ground covered with 
 gorse and heather, on left, a few yards from the station, 
 and then through a plantation. The tarn is a large 
 sheet of water 1 miles in circumference. Half of its 
 banks are covered with wood, and from the other half 
 rises undulating and cultivated ground, clothed with a 
 few clumps of trees. In the background is the Talkin 
 Fell, hiding the Tindale and Castle Carrock fells. 
 
 There are boats on the tarn, which can be hired either 
 from a person generally in attendance, or at a public- 
 house on the Brampton road half a mile distant. There 
 is a rowing club at Brampton, and regattas are held once 
 a year, also sports or picnic parties occasionally. The 
 water is well stored with pike and perch. 
 
 The Gelt stream and the 'Written Eocks may be 
 reached from the tarn by following the road which crosses 
 the railway, and then bends to left, and descends to 
 the Lower Gelt Bridge, a distance of two miles; or the 
 stream may be reached after walking direct from the tarn 
 one mile through the fields in the direction of Hellbeck, 
 a rill that drains the lakelet of its surplus water.
 
 TALKIN TARN. 55 
 
 On the banks of Hellbeck a battle was fought on the 
 20th of February, 1570, between 1500 regular cavalry 
 under the command of Lord Hunsden, governor of Ber- 
 wick, and 3000 men assembled by Leonard Dacre, who 
 had rebelled against Queen Elizabeth. Leonard's army 
 behaved with great courage, and among them "were 
 many stout women who gave the adventure of their lives, 
 and fought right stoutlie for Dacre," but all was of no 
 avail, for his army was defeated with a loss of 400 killed 
 and 300 taken prisoners. Various accounts are given of 
 the cause of the revolt, but the following appears the 
 most probable. During the autumn of the previous year 
 the papists in the northern counties, under the leader- 
 ship of the Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland, 
 rebelled against Elizabeth, and in support of her prisoner, 
 Mary, Queen of Scots, and they mustered 15,000 strong 
 at Wetherby in Yorkshire. They were defeated, and 
 fled by way of Hexham and Naworth into Scotland, 
 where some were captured, while others found refuge on 
 the Continent. Edward Dacre, Leonard's brother, was an 
 active partisan in this rebellion, and Leonard Dacre him- 
 self appears to have countenanced it, and given vague 
 promises of assistance, but taken no part personally. 
 About the same time, his nephew, Lord George Dacre, 
 Baron of Gilsland, a mere child, was accidentally killed by 
 a fall from a wooden vaulting horse. Leonard claimed 
 the estates by right of entail, but Thomas, Duke of Nor- 
 folk, who had married the widow of Thomas Lord Dacre, 
 Leonard's brother, sought and obtained the Dacre 
 baronies for his wife's daughters by her first husband, 
 and he afterwards married the girls to his own sons. By 
 this means Leonard and his two younger brothers, Edward 
 and Francis, were deprived of the estates. As he was not 
 able to obtain in the courts of law what he considered his 
 rights, or disdaining probably to prosecute his suit by 
 the slow process of law, and knowing that he was 
 suspected of favouring the late rebellion, he seized 
 Naworth Castle, and called his supporters to arms. After 
 the battle he made his escape to Scotland, whence he 
 and his brother Edward afterwards retired into Flanders. 
 His youngest brother, Francis Dacre, who had taken no part 
 in the rebellion, lived and died in poverty and retirement, 
 and Francis' only son, Eandal, appears also to have lived 
 in seclusion, for all that we know of him is that he died
 
 56 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 in London, and was buried at Grey stoke in 1634, his body 
 having been brought down at the charge of Thomas, Earl 
 of Surrey. More than 300 years have passed since Leonard 
 Dacre and his devoted followers fought the battle of the 
 Gelt, and tradition is now almost silent respecting it. All 
 that the stranger can learn from those living near the spot is 
 that Hellbeck is so called because once after a great battle 
 the rivulet ran with blood three days and three nights. 
 Relics of tho conflict have at different times been found on 
 the adjacent grounds, and within a hollow tree there was 
 discovered the skeleton of a human body, in all probability 
 that of some wounded soldier, who having crept in for pro- 
 tection had there died. Some corroded vestiges of an iron 
 weapon were lying near the remains. 
 
 The River Gelt, and the Written Crag. 
 
 The glen through which flows the river Gelt is famed 
 chiefly for having some Eoman inscriptions on the face 
 of a rock known as the Written Crag, and although the 
 writings are very curious and interesting to the historian 
 and the antiquary, the glen deserves to be visited inde- 
 pendently of these memorials, for it is a most lovely spot 
 and in the highest degree picturesque. 
 
 The best plan is to enter the glen at the Lower Gelt 
 Bridge, distant from Milton station 2 3- miles, and from 
 the town of Brampton 2 miles. At the railway station 
 enter the road which runs on the south side of the line, 
 and then crosses the rails and bends to the left. Half a 
 mile before arriving at the river the spot is passed where 
 formerly by the road-side stood an old oak, nearly 18 feet 
 in circumference, called the " Capon Tree." This name, 
 according to tradition, was obtained from the judges of 
 assize and their retinue, who, owing to the poverty of the 
 intervening country, could not in their progress from 
 Newcastle to Carlisle procure sufficient refreshment/ and 
 were wont tinder this oak to regale themselves in the open 
 air on capons and wine. The name, however, in all pro- 
 bability is derived from the Saxon word "kepand,"'to 
 catch or lay hold of, and at this tree the sheriff and his 
 company met or caught the judges of assize on their way to 
 Carlisle. Macaulay, in his 'History of England,' vol. i., says : 
 " The judges on circuit, with the whole body of barristers,
 
 THE RIVER GELT, AND THE AVRITTEN CRAG. 57 
 
 attorneys, clerks and serving men, rode on horseback from 
 Newcastle to Carlisle, armed and escorted by a strong 
 guard tinder the command of the sheriffs. It was neces- 
 sary to carry provisions ; for the country was a wilderness 
 which afforded no supplies. The spot where the caval- 
 cade halted to dine, under an immense oak, is not yet 
 forgotten." 
 
 At the Lower Gelt Bridge is an inn, which was an 
 important place in old coaching days, for it stands on the 
 military road between Carlisle and Newcastle. From the 
 bridge a wide grass-covered path runs through the woods 
 by the east side of the stream, and there are also walks 
 higher up the bank, and on the opposite side. Half a 
 mile above the bridge, a few steps on the left lead to the 
 Written Crag, which overhangs the water. The track to 
 the spot is only a few yards long but very narrow, and in 
 the lace of a precipice, thus requiring the stranger to 
 thread his way with care. 
 
 Dr. Bruce gives the following translation of the in- 
 scriptions : 
 
 "A vexillation of the second legion styled the August on 
 account of its bravery, under Agricola the optio (lieutenant)." 
 
 ' Aper and Maximus being consuls (A.D. 207). The work- 
 shop (quarry) of Mercatius. The band of Julius." 
 
 "Mercatius (the son of) Fermus Julius Peculiaris, a vexil- 
 lation of the 20th legion (styled) Valeria and Victrix." 
 
 Continuing by the path up the stream for a hundred 
 yards farther, steps are observed on opposite bank leading 
 to a hollow in the cliff known as Abraham's Cave, a place 
 which used to be shown to strangers, but has not recently 
 been opened. A short distance farther an immense 
 vertical sandstone cliff is 'passed, which has been, in all 
 probability, a large quarry worked by the Komans. The 
 glen all the way is narrow and remarkably beautiful, the 
 channel of the river being in the rock, which in places is 
 curiously hollowed and scooped, forming little cascades 
 and whirlpools, whilst precipitous cliffs arise like rugged 
 walls on either side, covered here and there with wood 
 from base to summit. The pleasant murmur of the 
 water and the majestic grandeur of the surrounding 
 scenes will tempt many visitors to wend their way up 
 the glen by the smooth path close to the stream.
 
 58 CARLISLE SECTION. 
 
 Two miles distant from the Lower Bridge is the middle 
 bridge, where is a public-house and the railway arches 
 spanning the ravine. A narrow track then leads on the 
 west side of the water for half a mile to the hamlet of 
 Greenwell, where are a few farmhouses and green fields, 
 and by following a lane another half mile the Upper 
 Bridge is reached. Here the water flows in a deep, dark, 
 wooded dell, and in places tumbles over ledges of rbck 
 and forms beautiful cascades. Crossing to the east side 
 and following an ill-defined track high up the bank, a 
 farmhouse is passed, and a road entered which comes 
 from Brampton by Talkin village, and runs into the 
 recesses of the neighbouring fells of Talkin, Castle 
 Carrock, Gelstone, and Tindale. 
 
 The traveller can either return to Milton station via 
 Talkin Tarn, or prolong his journey to the summit of 
 Tindale Fell, the hills here being well grouped and very 
 tempting for a mountain ramble.
 
 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 GILSLAND. 
 
 GILSLAND * is situated on the Newcastle and Carlisle 
 Railway, 20 miles from Carlisle, and 40 miles from New- 
 castle ; exactly on the boundary line between Northum- 
 berland and Cumberland; and on the watershedding to 
 east and west ; the river Irthing flowing past the village 
 to the west, into the Eden, and thence to the Solway 
 Firth ; and the Tipalt, to the east, into the South Tyne, 
 and thence by Newcastle to the German Ocean. 
 
 To the north is a vast tract of common, or undulating 
 mossy pasture land, called the Waste, rendered classical 
 
 * Until \vithin the last few years the railway station was 
 called Rose Hill, and only the ground near the sulphur well 
 was known as Gilsland. At present the village is sometimes 
 spoken of as Rose Hill, but formerly that appears to have been 
 merely the name of a small mound, which was removed to afford 
 a site for the station, and the houses close by were called Run- 
 nerfoot, Buff Head, The Crooks, and Mumps Hall. 
 
 Camden, in Ms ' Britannia,' offers two or three suggestions as 
 to the origin of the name of Gilsland, which in the middle ages 
 embraced a wide tract of the neighbouring country. He says: 
 "Gillesland Barony is a tract so cut and mangled with the 
 brooks (which they call Gilles) that I should have thought it 
 had taken the name from them ; if I had not read in the book of 
 Lanercost church that one Gill the son of Bueth (called also 
 Gilbert in a charter of Henry II.) was possessed of it, so that 
 probably it had its name from him." To this, in Gibson's 
 edition of Camden, there is added the following note : " A gill 
 signifies in the Northern dialect a low ground near a water side 
 encompassed with hills, but nowhere the brook or rill itself. 
 Hubert de V-Mibus probably might give the name to the country, 
 for de Vallibus (Vaux) and Gills signified the same thing, unless 
 one should say that it comes from the river Gelt which runs 
 through the middle of it."
 
 60 G1LSLAND SECTION. 
 
 in romance by Sir Walter Scott's vivid description of it 
 in ' Guy Mannering.' It extends for many miles right 
 into Scotland, the division of the two countries being 
 about 14 miles distant. Three or four miles to the south 
 of the village rises the Tindale Fell, the beginning of the 
 Pennine mountain range extending past Crossfell to the 
 south-west of England. To the east is the South Tyne, 
 and a long cliff-like ridge with its face to the north, 
 presenting for miles a fine escarpment of rock; whilst 
 westward is a fertile and well-wooded district, containing 
 Naworth and Corby castles, and the ruins of Lanercost 
 and Wetheral priories. The Eoman wall passed close to 
 the site of the railway station, and a small part of it is to 
 be seen in the vicarage garden 300 yards distant. There 
 is a fine Roman camp at Birdoswald, Li miles to the west ; 
 and 2 or 3 miles eastwards are the ditch, and portions of 
 the wall in a good state of preservation. One mile to the 
 south of the village, and parallel with the railway, is the 
 turnpike road between Carlisle and Newcastle, provin- 
 cially known as the Military Eoad. It was begun in 1751 
 and constructed by Government, chiefly for the transit of 
 soldiers and war material during the unsettled period 
 when the Stuart family troubled the new Hanoverian 
 dynasty of England. Previous to this time the roads 
 were so bad that in 1745, when the Pretender, Charles 
 Edward, invaded England from Scotland, the governor of 
 Carlisle, on applying to the commander of the troops at 
 Newcastle for assistance, received a reply that the country 
 being impassable for artillery, the enemy would have to be 
 met in Lancashire. 
 
 Gilsland is a favourite resort of the Newcastle, Shields, 
 and Sunderland people ; and many visit it from Scotland 
 and different parts of Cumberland ; and also tourists often 
 stay here a few days when travelling to and from Scot- 
 land. It is considered to be one of the healthiest places 
 in England, the air being remarkably pure and bracing, 
 but it is chiefly resorted to on account of its mineral 
 waters, there being an excellent sulphur spring, and also 
 a chalybeate or iron well. 
 
 In the village, close to the station, there are three small 
 inns, the Station Hotel, the Samson Inn, and Bridge 
 House, and about a dozen lodging houses ; and a mile and 
 a quarter distant, and visible from the railway, is a large 
 handsome hotel, delightfully situated on an eminence 
 610 feet above the level of the sea, upon the wooded banks
 
 GILSLAND. 61 
 
 of the river Irthing, and close to the wells. It is generally 
 called " Shaw's Hotel," Shaw being the Teutonic word 
 schawe, a thicket. Burns in " My Nannie's Awa'," says : 
 
 " While birds warble welcome in ilka green sbaw." 
 
 The edifice, erected at a cost of nearly 10,OOOZ. by the late 
 George Gill Mounsey, Esq., of Castletown, Carlisle, is 
 built on the site of an old hotel which was burnt to the 
 ground on the 27th of August, 1859. It is capable of 
 accommodating 200 visitors, and connected with it, and 
 managed by the same proprietor, Mr. James Gelderd, are 
 three other large houses which were formerly private 
 residences. The principal of these, the Orchard House, 
 stands half a mile from the station, and three-quarters of 
 a mile from the hotel. It is charmingly embowered by 
 trees, and is a favourite retreat for private families and 
 young ladies. There is a public coffee-room, and the 
 usual custom is for parties to provide for themselves and 
 have the cooking done by the servants of the house. The 
 other two houses are the Villa, and Wardrew House. 
 The former stands on its own grounds close to the hotel, 
 and commands an excellent prospect. The latter is 
 situated on a wooded eminence on the opposite banks of 
 the river, three minutes' walk from the hotel. It is a 
 pleasant residence, half mansion, half farm, built in 1752 
 on the site of one much older ; and a more healthy 
 secluded spot could not be desired. The poet Burns 
 appears to have stayed here one night during his Border 
 tour in 1787, for he writes: "June, Wednesday. Left 
 Newcastle early and rode over a fine country to Hexham 
 to breakfast, from Hexham to Wardrew the celebrated spa 
 where we slept." A pane of glass in one of the windows, 
 with Sir Walter Scott's name upon it, said to have been 
 written by himself, was taken out about eight years since, 
 when the house was rented by Mr. Hodgson Hinde, M.P. 
 for Tynemouth, owing to the annoyance caused by the hun- 
 dreds of strangers who visited the place to see the writing. 
 Parties residing here can either be entirely alone and 
 undisturbed, or they can mix with the visitors at the 
 hotel, and take part in the balls, excursions, and other 
 festivities of the place. Those staying at the Orchard 
 House, and at the Villa, are allowed the freedom of the 
 hotel grounds, bowling green, &c. ; and in the evenings 
 they can visit the hotel and join in the dancing. Private
 
 62 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 lodgings, not connected with the hotel, can also be had 
 at the Shaw's Cottages, behind the Villa, and at the Green 
 Grove Cottages near the sulphur well. 
 
 Visitors staying at the hotel are divided into three 
 classes. The charge (including attendance) for board 
 and lodging, for first class, is 8s. per day ; for second 
 class, 6s. ; and for third class, 3s. 6d. Separate sitting 
 and dining rooms are provided for each class, and private 
 rooms can be had by paying a small extra charge. At so 
 healthy a place, where almost everyone quickly finds that 
 he can eat twice or thrice as much as at home, it is 
 important to know the hours appointed for the meals, 
 and to the stranger it is amusing to hear the constant 
 recurrence of the bell calling the visitors to the prime 
 occupation of the place. The first class have breakfast 
 at 9 A.M., luncheon at 1 P.M., dinner at 5 P.M., and tea at 
 8 P.M. ; the second class have breakfast at 8.30 A.M., 
 dinner at 1.30 P.M., tea at 5.30 P.M., and supper at 
 8.30 P.M.; the third class have breakfast at 8 A.M., 
 dinner at 12.30 P.M., tea at 5 P.M., and supper at 8 P.M. 
 
 In the hotel are billiard and bagatelle tables, library 
 and news-room, and a ball-room. There is dancing 
 every week-day evening during the season from 9 P.M. 
 to ll P.M. ; and for those who do not care to trip about 
 on the " light fantastic toe," chess, draughts, and cards 
 are provided. During wet days the visitors often while 
 away a few hours very pleasantly by arranging im- 
 promptu concerts The grounds around the house are 
 tastefully laid out, and well wooded, and the terrace 
 commands an extensive and pleasant prospect across the 
 vale, in which lies the village, and through which runs 
 the railway and road between Carlisle and Newcastle. 
 Anciently it was the course of the Eoman wall, and now 
 traces may be observed of both the north and the south 
 ditches which accompanied the wall. Beyond the village 
 is the gentle rising ground of Denton Fell, backed by the 
 heath-clad height of Tindale Fell ; and, looming in the 
 distance to south-west, are the bulky masses of Skiddaw 
 and Blencathara, reminding the on-looker of the lovely 
 lakeland of Cumberland and Westmorland. Close to the 
 terrace is a large bowling green and croquet ground, 
 where visitors of both sexes may loiter happily enough 
 for hours on a hot summer's day under the shade of the 
 trees.
 
 GILSLAND CHURCH. 63 
 
 As the hotel is a mile and a quarter from the railway 
 station, most visitors will avail themselves of the omnibus 
 which meets every train, the charge being 6d. Those who 
 walk may have a pleasant change in the route by leaving 
 the road in the village at the Hydropathic Bath Esta- 
 blishment, and then proceeding by a footpath through 
 the fields. Close to the baths a small stream, called the 
 Poltross Burn, flows into the river Irthing. It, and the 
 Irthing, are the boundary line here between Northumber- 
 land and Cumberland, so that part of the village is in 
 Northumberland and part in Cumberland, along with the 
 hotel and Orchard House. The footpath runs by the side 
 of the river, and allows of a charming view of the hotel 
 and Wardrew House perched at the top of the wooded 
 eminence. The public path proceeds on the south bank 
 of the river to the Irthing farmhouse, but to reach the 
 hotel and the wells, the river has to be crossed at a foot- 
 bridge, where there is a notice board stating that it is a 
 private road. By paying Id., however, to the boy who 
 is sometimes in attendance, the stranger can cross the 
 bridge, proceed through the fields by the side of a small 
 dell, and gain the main road a few yards below the 
 church. 
 
 Gilsland Church. 
 
 This building was erected in 1854 by the late George 
 Gill Mounsey, Esq., who also provided the greatest 
 portion of the endowment. The church was built 
 principally for the accommodation of visitors. About 
 one-half of the ancient parish of Lanercost, comprising 
 18,240 acres, is united to this church, and formed into 
 a separate ecclesiastical district, by Order in Council. 
 The parish of Over Denton, with its quaint little church, 
 more ancient than the priory of Lanercost, is united to 
 Gilsland, to be held as one benefice. Here a church and 
 an endowed vicarage existed in early times, but the en- 
 dowment is gone, like " the poor man's ewe lamb." The 
 spoliation of the church property was complete, even the 
 ancient parish churchyard being taken and treated as 
 private property. The old baptismal font is used as a 
 trough for cattle, and may be seen just inside the gate, 
 at the dilapidated cottage on the west side of the road 
 near the church gate. The curious old building in the
 
 64 G1LSLAND SECTION. 
 
 north-east corner of the churchyard, a border peel with 
 its massive walls, is yet, and always will be known as 
 the ancient vicarage. Standing in close proximity to 
 the church, and on land yet known as glebe land, it is 
 evident that the tradition is true. The present vicar 
 informed us that for two centuries the rectors and 
 patrons neglected to appoint a vicar. It is easily seen 
 that during that long vacancy of the living, the church, 
 churchyard, vicarage, and glebe land, would be without a 
 claimant. On the 28th November, 1566, Christopher 
 Dacre leased the " advowson, rectory, and parsonage of 
 Over Denton, together with all those his glebe lands, 
 tithes, &c., to Nicholas Twydall of Over Denton for 
 twenty-one years, at forty shillings a year ;" and from the 
 Tweddles the ancestors of the Earl of Carlisle purchased 
 the property. This case affords an illustration of the 
 unsettled state of the borders three centuries ago. 
 
 At the time of Eobert de Vallibus, the founder of 
 Lanercost, there was an ancient church existing in the 
 parish of Over Denton. It was then that Eobert, the 
 son of Asketil, with the concurrence of De Vallibus, con- 
 veyed the rectory and right of presentation to the prior 
 and canons of Lanercost, who, on each vacancy, were to 
 present to the bishop a perpetual vicar of the parish. 
 The vicar was to have his livelihood (" victum suum") 
 out of the endowment, and to pay half a mark a year to 
 the rectors. There is historical evidence to prove that 
 this arrangement was faithfully carried out for about four 
 centuries, and that it was only from the time of the 
 dissolution of the priory that the parish was left without 
 a minister, and that episcopal knowledge of its existence 
 appeared to be lost. It was in the diocese of Durham ; 
 but Bishop Nicolson, of Carlisle, was the first to rediscover 
 and restore the lost and spoliated parish. One pound a 
 year salary for four quarterly sermons, and two shillings 
 for communion wine, appear to have been the utmost that 
 Bishop Nicolson could accomplish. 
 
 An eminent authority kindly supplies the following note 
 on this subject: "The vicar was replaced by a poor 
 incumbent, who received the magnificent stipend of twenty 
 shillings per annum. The neighbouring living of Lanercost 
 was worth about twenty pounds per annum, obtained by 
 the painful collection of threepence each cow and calf, 
 fourpence each foal, and such like miserable dues, to be
 
 THE SULPHUR WELL. 65 
 
 collected orer a parish of 40,000 acres. Farlam was also 
 equally poor, and the three were enjoyed for sixty years 
 prior to 1845 by the Eev. George Gillbanks, who held 
 alternate services at Farlam and Lanercost. His income 
 was helped out by some addition from Queen Anne's 
 Bounty. These livings had all been appropriated to the 
 priory of Lanercost, which took the revenues, and gave a 
 monk some small stipend to do the services. On the dis- 
 solution of the monasteries those who obtained the revenues 
 enjoyed by the priory obtained them subject only to these 
 small stipends, sufficient for a monk who lived free at the 
 priory, but not for an incumbent who had to live on the 
 stipends." 
 
 The times of service are at Gilsland church, every 
 Sunday, 10.45 A.M. and at 6.30 P.M. ; and at Over Denton, 
 3 P.M. The Eev. Adam Wright is the present vicar. 
 
 Near the Gilsland railway station there is a Wesleyan 
 Methodist chapel, where service is held every Sunday at 
 10.30 A.M., and also at 6 P.M. during the summer. 
 
 The Sulphur Well. 
 
 As soon as the visitor has fixed his quarters at the hotel, 
 or some lodging-house, as the case may be, he will take a 
 stroll to the sulphur well, which is situated on the west 
 bank of the river Irthing, at the base of high perpendicu- 
 lar cliffs, and in a beautifully wooded and secluded dell, 
 about 350 yards from the hotel. The descent is steep, but 
 the grounds all around are very pleasant. Close to the 
 well are a few modest buildings, one containing a bazaar, 
 another a refreshment house, and a third baths and an 
 engine for pumping the sulphur water to the hotel. Hot 
 or cold sulphur baths can be had here, the charge being 
 Is. 6d. each. They are also provided in the hotel at 2s. 
 each. 
 
 Throughout the day the well is constantly frequented 
 by visitors from the hotel and village, with their drinking 
 glasses and jugs ; and the stream gives forth a never- 
 failing supply of pure and cold water. The river flows 
 close by over a rugged bed strewn with blocks of free- 
 stone ; and the overhanging cliffs, composed of layers of 
 sandstone and shale, are quite perpendicular, and not 
 less than 100 feet high, and charmingly diversified with 
 
 F
 
 66 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 plants and trees. The geologist will look with interest on 
 these rocks, and picture in his mind the far- by gone time 
 when each alternate layer was formed by a never-ceasing 
 but long-continued process. 
 
 The strata through which the water percolates are 
 deposited in the following manner : Surface soil, 1 foot ; 
 irregularly stratified sandstone, 33 feet 5 inches ; bitumin- 
 ous shale, 22 feet 9 inches, which includes a stratum of 
 aluminous schist 4 feet 2 inches deep; porphyry slate, 
 containing minute crystals of felspar and iron pyrites, 
 22 feet 10 inches. From under this stratum the sul- 
 phuretted water issues, through a leaden pipe, at the 
 rate of two gallons and a half per minute. Below the 
 spa are the following strata : Bituminous shale, 4 feet, 
 through which run four thin strata of clay ironstone; 
 coarse greenstone, 2 feet; bituminous shale, containing 
 eight thin strata of clay ironstone, 6 feet ; and cubical 
 coal, 9 inches. 
 
 Dr. Eeid Clanny, of Sunderland, who gave great atten- 
 tion to the mineral waters of Gilsland, and published a 
 treatise on them in 1816, says : " In general a half-pint 
 tumbler of this water is a sufficient dose for an adult, but 
 the quantity ought to be augmented as the stomach 
 becomes accustomed to it, and may be increased, if need- 
 ful, to the extent of two or three quarts in the forenoon. 
 It acts powerfully upon the kidneys, and as a diuretic 
 stands unrivalled amongst mineral waters. Its diaphoretic 
 effects are of no ordinary nature in severe and obstinate 
 diseases of the skin. It has been found to be very effica- 
 cious in the cure of dyspepsia or indigestion. The water 
 is also highly esteemed as a remedy for the cure of those 
 who are affected with scrofulous habits, for the cure of ill- 
 conditioned and irritable ulcers ; it is often used with great 
 benefit as an external application, and a course of it, and 
 a few tepid baths, have effected several cures of chronic 
 rheumatism. The water is also a valuable remedy in 
 atonic gout, which, being a distressing and obstinate 
 disease, requires the greatest attention and reflection. In 
 those diseases which are attended with a copious secretion 
 of bile, .it cannot be too much extolled ; and in some 
 instances in which the waters of Cheltenham have failed, 
 this water effected a cure. In worn-out constitutions it has 
 done wonders, as its tonic powers are called into action in 
 strengthening the system.
 
 THE SULPHUR WELL. 67 
 
 One gallon of this water contains 
 
 cubic inches. 
 
 Sulphuretted hydrogen gas 17 '0 
 
 Carbonic acid gas 6 ' 2 
 
 23-2 
 
 The following are the gaseous and solid contents of a 
 wine gallon of this water : 
 
 grains. 
 
 Common salt 20-05864 
 
 Carbonate of soda 4 '50296 
 
 Carbonate of lime 1 462 
 
 Silica 1-1696 
 
 27-19320 
 
 In 1858 the late Dr. George "Wilson, of Edinburgh, gave 
 the following analysis : 
 
 COMPOSITION OF AN IMPERIAL GALLON. 
 
 Proto-carbonate of iron 0*66 
 
 Carbonate of lime 2 39 
 
 Carbonate of magnesia 0'73 
 
 Sulphate of lime 0'41 
 
 Sulphate of potash 0-11 
 
 Sulphate of soda 2*62 
 
 Chloride of sodium (salt) 5*07 
 
 Carbonate of soda 21 '49 
 
 Sulphide of sodium 1'78 
 
 Organic matter 1 92 
 
 Silica 0-81 
 
 37-99 
 
 Specific gravity .. .. 1-0003 
 
 cubic Inches. 
 
 Combined carbonic acid gas . . . . 22-56 
 Free carbonic acid -44 
 
 Total in one gallon .. .. 23-00 
 
 cubic inches. 
 
 Oxygen gas in one gallon 2-2 
 
 Nitrogen gas 5 8 
 
 Sulphuretted hydrogen 21-0 
 
 F 2
 
 68 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 The Popping Stone. 
 
 Had it not been that there are always some shy 
 bachelors, we would not have given our usual practical 
 directions for finding this stone, for the orthodox plan is 
 to obtain the companionship of one of the fair sex, who, 
 somehow, generally are aware what direction to take, 
 and not unwilling to render assistance to the puzzled 
 stranger. 
 
 A wooden footbridge spans the river, a few yards from 
 the sulphur well, but, when the water is low, the opposite 
 bank may be gained by walking over stepping stones. 
 The lover of the picturesque will delight in wandering 
 up and down the stream, along the stones over which the 
 water is constantly flowing with a musical sound at the 
 base of high towering and well-wooded cliffs, and he may 
 readily find haunts secluded enough for the play of the 
 imagination, and the abode of water nymphs. 
 
 When over the stream and through the plantation the 
 river, if not too high, is again crossed at some stepping 
 stones in front of the Green Grove Cottages,* and then 
 the traveller wends his way for a few hundred yards over 
 green sward on the bank of the river and through as 
 charming a dell as it is possible to imagine. 
 
 " Poetic fields encompass me around, 
 And still I seem to tread on classic ground." 
 
 Presently, at a bend in the glen, the Popping Stone is 
 reached, where Sir Walter Scott is said to have popped 
 the question, and close to it is a thorn tree known as the 
 Kissing Bush, where the compact is supposed to have been 
 sealed. The stone, though large, is now much rounded, 
 and only half its original size, owing to people constantly 
 chipping off bits to take away with them, as these pieces 
 are said to have great efficacy when placed under the 
 pillows of the unmarried of the fair sex, causing them 
 to dream of their future partners. Gilsland being a small 
 
 * Formerly these cottages were called " The Hulks," and it 
 is supposed the name originated with the people of the hotel in 
 their desire to get a word that would sufficiently describe the 
 inferiority of the place.
 
 THE POPPING STONE. 69 
 
 homely place, few visitors remain any length of time 
 without considerably enlarging their circle of acquaint- 
 ance, and amongst the young people a visit to the Popping 
 Stone sometimes assists in cementing a friendship which 
 lasts for life. 
 
 A more lovely or secluded nook Scott could not have 
 chosen for making known his love to Miss Carpenter, 
 who soon afterwards became his wife. It is easy to 
 understand how supremely happy a young man, full 
 of enthusiasm and poetry, and alive to all that was 
 lovely in nature, would feel in such a spot, in the 
 presence of one so charming as was then the object of 
 his affections. 
 
 In July, 1797, Scott set out on a tour to the English 
 lakes, accompanied by his brother John, and a friend. 
 They visited Carlisle, Penrith, Brougham Castle, May- 
 borough, Arthur's Eound Table, Ullswater and Winder- 
 mere ; and at length fixed their headquarters at the then 
 peaceful and sequestered little watering-place of Gilsland, 
 making excursions thence to various scenes of romantic 
 interest. Scott was, on his arrival, not a little fascinated 
 with the beauty of one of the young ladies who lodged 
 under the same roof with him, but this was only a 
 passing glimpse of flirtation. A week or so later com- 
 menced a more serious affair. 
 
 Eiding one day with his friend, they met, some miles 
 from Gilsland, a young lady taking the air on horseback, 
 whom neither of them had previously remarked, and 
 whose appearance instantly struck both so much that 
 they kept her in view until they had satisfied themselves 
 that she also was one of the party at Gilsland. The 
 same evening there was a ball, at which there was no 
 little rivalry among the young travellers as to who should 
 first get presented to the unknown beauty of the morn- 
 ing's adventure. Though the other two gentlemen had 
 the advantage of being dancing partners, Walter suc- 
 ceeded in handing the fair stranger to supper, and such 
 was his first introduction to Charlotte Margaret Carpenter. 
 Without the features of a regular beauty, she was rich in 
 personal attractions ; " a form that was fashioned as light 
 as a fay's " ; a complexion of the clearest and lightest 
 olive ; eyes large, deep-set, and dazzling, of the finest 
 Italian brown; and a profusion of silken tresses, black
 
 70 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 as the raven's wing; her address hovering between the 
 reserve of a pretty young Englishwoman who has not 
 mingled largely in general society, and a certain natural 
 archness and gaiety that suited well the accompaniment 
 of a French accent. A lovelier vision could hardly have 
 been imagined, and from that hour the fate of the young 
 poet was fixed. She was the daughter of Jean Carpenter, 
 a French royalist, who held an office under Government. 
 On her father's death, her mother escaped with her and 
 her only brother, first to Paris and then to England, 
 where they found a warm friend in Arthur, the second 
 Marquis of Downshire, who had, in the course of his 
 travels in France, formed an intimate acquaintance with 
 the family, and, indeed, spent some time under their roof. 
 Her father had, on his first alarm as to the coming Re- 
 volution, invested 4000?. in English securities part on 
 a mortgage upon Lord Downshire's estates. On the 
 mother's death, which occurred soon after her arrival in 
 London, this nobleman took on himself the character of 
 sole guardian to her children ; and the son received, 
 through his interest, an appointment in the service of 
 the East India Company, in which he had by this time 
 risen to a lucrative situation. Miss Carpenter had been 
 educated in the Protestant faith the religion of her 
 mother. Her brother had settled upon her an annuity 
 of 500?. After a courtship of six months, Scott was 
 married to the lady on the 24th of December, 1797, in the 
 parish church of St. Mary, Carlisle. 
 
 The Chalybeate Well. 
 
 A very pleasant walk may be had through the planta- 
 tion on the brow of the cliffs overhanging the western side 
 of the river, by taking the higher path in front of the hotel 
 door. Seats are placed at convenient distances, from some 
 of which charming views are had down to the stream, and 
 the people may be observed below walking to the sulphur 
 well and to the Popping Stone. The path leads to the 
 chalybeate or iron well, which hardly deserves the name 
 ot a well, as the water comes merely in small drops, and to 
 obtain a tumblerful the tourist has to wait some minutes. 
 Independently of the well, however, the spot is deserving a
 
 THE CHALYBEATE WELL. 71 
 
 visit, and the stranger may continue for a few yards 
 farther to the Green Grove Cottages, and thence to the 
 Popping Stone; or he may, by making a slight ascent 
 from the well, or from the cottages, gain the Common, or 
 Waste, and then wander at his will almost any distance. 
 Those who visit the Popping Stone from the sulphur well 
 may return this way, or vice versa ; and when the river is 
 high, and the stepping stones cannot be crossed, this is the 
 only way that can be taken. The chalybeate well has been 
 known only about half a century, though the sulphur well 
 was frequented in remote times. 
 
 The following are the strata through which the chaly- 
 beate water flows : Surface soil from 2 to 4 feet ; 
 coarse sandstone, cemented by an argillaceous basis, from 
 which the spring flows, 3 feet. Beneath this there is 
 a coarse sandstone, 4 or 5 feet thick, with gravelly 
 bottom. In Dr. Clanny's treatise we read : " The iron 
 suspended in this water is in the state of a sulphate, 
 which is uncommon. The dose should be half a wine 
 glass at first, twice a day, which may be increased to a 
 small tumbler. Perhaps the best mode to be used would 
 be to commence the use of it by putting a tablespoonful 
 of chalybeate into a common-sized tumbler, and taking it 
 to the sulphuretted water, with which it may be filled, and 
 immediately afterwards drunk. The sulphuretted hydrogen 
 and carbonic acid gases of the sulphuretted water will cause 
 the chalybeate to sit more lightly upon the stomach, and 
 by this process the dose may also be more readily aug- 
 mented. The sulphate of iron, which is the most valuable 
 ingredient in this water, gives so strong an impression 
 upon the tongue, that the twentieth part of a grain of it, in 
 a pint tumbler of warm water, may be readily distinguished. 
 This mineral water may be kept for any length of time, 
 provided the bottles be well corked, is very valuable for 
 the cure of dyspepsia, and as an external application in 
 foul ulcers, for which, from its stimulant and astringent 
 properties, it is likely to be very serviceable. As a tonic 
 it is also of great value. Under its use the stomach will 
 be strengthened, the vascular system excited, the secretions 
 promoted, and, consequently, the muscular power in- 
 creased. Its virtues, therefore, are unquestionable in 
 diseases of debility, in excessive discharges, local pain, and 
 irritation, or affections of lungs and head.
 
 72 
 
 JILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 Dr. WjUson analyzed this water, with the following 
 
 result : 
 
 COMPOSITION OF ONE GALLON. 
 
 Proto-carbonale of iron 
 Carbonate of lime 
 Sulphate of potash 
 Carbonate of magnesia 
 Sulphate of soda 
 Carbonate of soda 
 Chloride of sodium (salt) 
 
 
 
 1-16 
 5-89 
 1-41 
 1-82 
 94 
 1-24 
 69 
 1-28 
 
 Organic matter .. 
 
 
 
 . 2-92 
 
 
 Specific gravity .. 1-154 
 
 Combined carbonic acid gas 
 
 Free carbonic acid 
 
 Total in one gallon 
 
 17-35 
 
 cubic inches. 
 9-57 
 2-63 
 
 Oxygen gas in one gallon 
 Nitrogen gas 
 
 , 12-20 
 
 cubic inches. 
 1-6 
 5-7 
 
 Both the springs at Gilsland flow most copiously 
 during the wet season, when they are comparatively weak 
 in quality. In summer and autumn, when visitors most 
 resort to them, they are at their best. 
 
 The Cramel Linn Waterfall. 
 
 This fall is situated up the river, 2 miles from the 
 hotel. When the water is low some persons will delight 
 in wandering leisurely along the rugged bed of the stream, 
 stepping from stone to stone, and thus obtaining almost 
 every minute lovely vistas, as the river winds through 
 charming miniature dells, overhung with picturesque 
 rocks, clothed with plants and trees; the only ob- 
 truder in these delightfully secluded nooks being the 
 curlew, which flies wildly overhead, and with its shriek 
 appears to resent the intrusion. Many times have we
 
 THE CRAMEL LINN WATERFALL. 73 
 
 thus strolled for a few hours between meals, and always 
 with increased interest, for it is a place where, if 
 anywhere, one feels the truth of the well-known line of 
 Keats : 
 
 " A thing of beauty is a joy for ever." 
 
 Here, we fancy, when on his visits to Gilsland in the hey- 
 day of his youth, would the " Northern Magician " delight 
 to saunter, and with his strong imaginative genius people 
 these secluded nooks with beings to us unseen, and 
 
 " Find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, 
 Sermons in stones, and good in everything." 
 
 There being trout in the stream the angler may enjoy 
 his favourite sport, and the geologist and botanist will 
 find innumerable objects of interest. 
 
 Those who object to travel along the rugged bed of the 
 river will reach the fall by entering the common from 
 the chalybeate well, or from the Green Grove Cottages. 
 Having gained the open ground, an extensive prospect is 
 had of the surrounding country, with Skiddaw in the 
 distance. Many persons fond of being alone and safe 
 from intrusion will delight in gaining this ground, where 
 they may walk for hours unmolested, and have the benefit 
 of a pure, healthy breeze, or sit reading under the shade 
 of the trees which fringe the brows of the cliffs overhang- 
 ing the river. By keeping behind the plantation one or 
 two stone fences are passed at stepping stiles, or through 
 gateways, on the north of which is a wide extent of open 
 grass-grown land, known as Spadeadam Waste, which 
 contains only here and there, at wide intervals, single 
 farmhouses, and these are mostly hidden in the hollows. 
 Keeping in the direction of the stream, pleasant glimpses 
 are obtained of it in its course, and no difficulty will be 
 found in discovering the fall. On the sloping and over- 
 hanging banks of the river there are some sheep tracks 
 which may be mistaken for paths. These are not always 
 safe. The water flows over a wide ledge of rock about 25 
 feet high; the ravine both on the north and south sides 
 of the cascade being solitary and picturesque. To realize 
 the beaut 17 of the fall it is necessary to descend to the 
 river bed. This can be done without much difficulty even 
 by ladies. Though there is nothing about the place very
 
 74 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 wild or grand, it possesses many charms, and cannot fail 
 to please and beguile the true lover of nature Tourists 
 fond of a long ramble will follow the course of the river 
 for 1 2 miles farther to a place called Wylie Syke, where 
 are two or three farmhouses and a few green fields. For 
 some distance above the fall the rocks on each side pre- 
 sent features interesting to the geologist, there being some 
 thin seams of coal, and in one place a small working, but 
 afterwards the rocks subside and the banks are covered 
 with grass to the water's edge. When the river is low 
 the return journey from the waterfall may be agreeably 
 varied, and good views obtained, by crossing to the east 
 side and walking over grass- covered ground; the direc- 
 tion of Wardrew House being taken, or a descent made 
 to the river after proceeding some distance. 
 
 Temple Heap. 
 
 After crossing the river by the footbridge near the 
 sulphur well, a pleasant stroll may be enjoyed by follow- 
 ing the path on the right which ascends the hill and 
 passes through the plantation to Wardrew House, and 
 thence by a road in front of the house to a small height 
 crowned with a dozen trees, and known by the name of 
 " Temple Heap." From this point an extensive prospect 
 is obtained of the surrounding country. The village of 
 Gilsland is fully displayed close below, and the river 
 Irthing is seen winding along the wooded vale, and past 
 the foot of the Eoman station of Birdoswald. The 
 practised eye will trace the route taken by the Eoman 
 wall from Birdoswald to the Carvoran Camp. The towers 
 of Thirlwall Castle are visible 2 miles distant, at the 
 beginning of the long cliff-like ridge known as the " Nine 
 Nicks of Thirlwall," or more correctly the Walltown 
 Crags, and the ivy-covered towers of Blenkinsop Castle 
 may also be observed a little to the right of Thirlwall. 
 Tindale Fell is the dark heath-covered mountain to the 
 south; farther west are the Skiddaw and Criffel mountains, 
 and between them on a clear day may be seen the Solway 
 Firth. To the north, behind the hotel and Wardrew 
 House, lies the Waste, which stretches to the Beacon and 
 to the sources of the Irthing. 
 
 A descent may be made by the road which leads past
 
 MUMPS HALL. 75 
 
 Irtking House to the village and railway station ; or, at 
 the house, the footpath may be entered, which conducts 
 either to the village or over the river by the footbridge, 
 and thence to the hotel. 
 
 Mumps Hall and Upper Denton Church. 
 
 Mumps Hall, which stands in the village, opposite the 
 Methodist chapel, was formerly a public-house, and is cele- 
 brated as being the scene of the first rencontre of Brown, 
 Dinmont, and Meg Merrilies, in the novel of ' Guy Man- 
 nering.' Unfortunately even the magic wand of Sir 
 Walter Scott has been unable to preserve the old building, 
 and now it is a private residence, presenting a new and 
 modern appearance. 
 
 In a note appended to the above novel, and headed 
 " Mumps Ha'," Scott says : 
 
 " There is, or rather I should say there was, a little inn, 
 called Mumps Hall that is, being interpreted, Beggar's 
 Hotel near to Gilsland, which had not then attained its 
 present fame as a spa. It was a hedge alehouse, where 
 the Border farmers of either country often stopped to 
 refresh themselves and their nags in their way to and from 
 the fairs and trysts in Cumberland, and especially those 
 who came from or went to Scotland, through a barren and 
 lonely district, without either road or pathway, emphati- 
 cally called the Waste of Bewcastle. At the period when 
 the adventures described in the novel are supposed to 
 have taken place, there were many instances of attacks by 
 freebooters on those who travelled this wild district, and 
 Mumps Ha' had a bad reputation for harbouring the 
 banditti who committed such depredations. 
 
 " An old and sturdy yeoman, belonging to- the Scottish 
 side, by surname an Armstrong or Elliot, but well known 
 by his soubriquet of 'Fighting Charlie of Liddesdale,' 
 and still remembered for the courage he displayed in the 
 frequent frays which took place on the Border fifty or sixty 
 years since, had the following adventure in the Waste, 
 which suggested the idea of the scene in the text : 
 
 " Charlie had been at Stagshaw-bank fair, had sold his 
 sheep or cattle, or whatever he had brought to market, 
 and was on his return to Liddesdale. There were then no
 
 76 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 country banks where cash could be deposited, and bills 
 received instead, which greatly encouraged robbery in 
 that wild country, as the objects of plunder were usually 
 fraught with gold. The robbers had spies at the fair, by 
 means of whom they generally knew whose purse was best 
 stocked, and who took a lonely and desolate road home- 
 wardsthose, in short, who were best worth robbing, and 
 likely to be most easily robbed. 
 
 " All this Charlie knew full well, but he had a pair of 
 excellent pistols and a dauntless heart. He stopped at 
 Mumps Ha', notwithstanding the evil character of the 
 place. His horse was accommodated where it might have 
 the necessary rest and feed of corn, and Charlie himself, a 
 dashing fellow, grew gracious with the landlady, a buxom 
 quean, who used all the influence in her power to induce 
 him to stop all night. The landlord was from home, she 
 said, and it was ill passing the waste, as twilight must 
 needs descend on him before he gained the Scottish side, 
 which was reckoned the safest. But Fighting Charlie, though 
 he suffered himself to be detained later than was prudent, 
 did not account Mumps Ha' a safe place to quarter in 
 during the night. He tore himself away, therefore, from 
 Meg's good fare and kind words, and mounted his nag, 
 having first examined his pistols, and tried by the ramrod 
 whether the charge remained in them. 
 
 " He proceeded a mile or two at a round trot, when, as 
 the Waste stretched black before him, apprehensions began 
 to awaken in his mind, partly arising out of Meg's unusual 
 kindness, which he could not help thinking had rather a 
 suspicious appearance. He therefore resolved to reload 
 his pistols, lest the powder had become damp ; but what 
 was his surprise, when he drew the charge, to find neither 
 powder nor ball, while each barrel had been carefully filled 
 with tow, up to the space which the loading had occupied ! 
 and, the priming of the weapons being left untouched, 
 nothing but actually drawing and examining the charge 
 could have discovered the inefficiency of his arms till the 
 fatal minute arrived when their services were required. 
 Charlie bestowed a hearty Liddesdale curse on his land- 
 lady, and reloaded his pistols with care and accuracy, 
 having now no doubt that he was to be waylaid and 
 assaulted. He was not far engaged in the Waste, which 
 was then, and is now, traversed only by such routes as are 
 described in the text, when two or three fellows, disguised
 
 MUMPS HALL. 77 
 
 and variously armed, started from a moss-hag, while, by a 
 glance behind him (for, marching, as the Spaniard says, 
 with his beard on his shoulder, he reconnoitred in every 
 direction), Charlie instantly saw retreat was impossible, as 
 other two stout men appeared behind him at some dis- 
 tance. The Borderer lost not a moment in taking his 
 resolution, and boldly trotted against his enemies in front, 
 who called loudly on him to stand and deliver. Charlie 
 
 spurred on, and presented his pistol. 'D n your 
 
 pistol!' said the foremost robber, whom Charlie to his 
 dying day protested he believed to have been the landlord 
 
 of Mumps Ha'. ' D n your pistol ! I care not a curse 
 
 for it.' ' Ay, lad,' said the deep voice of Fighting Charlie, 
 ' but the tow's out now ! ' He had no occasion to utter 
 another word, as the rogues, surprised at finding a man of 
 undoubted courage well armed instead of being defence- 
 less, took to the moss in every direction, and he passed on 
 his way without further molestation. 
 
 " The author has heard this story told by persons who 
 received it from Fighting Charlie himself; he has also 
 heard that Mumps Ha' was afterwards the scene of some 
 other atrocious villany, for which the people of the house 
 suffered. But these are all tales of at least half a century 
 old, and the Waste has been for many years as safe as any 
 place in the kingdom." 
 
 Margaret Carrick, the treacherous landlady above re- 
 ferred to, and whose soubriquet was " Meg of Mumps 
 Hall," having passed her days amid these wild and often 
 sanguinary deeds, and in the company of those reckless 
 characters with which the borders were once filled, died 
 in peace on the 4th of December, 1717, " the last of the 
 iron race of the olden time," at the advanced age of one 
 hundred, and sleeps in the churchyard of Upper Denton, 
 where her daughter, Margaret Teasdale, who died 1777, 
 aged ninety-eight, is also interred. 
 
 The church, distant from Mumps Hall one mile, will be 
 visited with interest, as it is said to be one of the oldest 
 and smallest parish churches in England. The road 
 must be entered which passes on the south-west side 
 of the Methodist chapel. A few yards farther is the 
 Vicarage, a new house on the left, in the garden of which 
 may be seen a small portion of the old Eoman wall, 7 feet 
 8 inches broad, and 2 or 3 feet high. The road 
 slightly ascends and crosses the railway at the school-
 
 78 GILSLAND SECTIOy. 
 
 house gates, and runs parallel with the line for half a 
 mile to the hamlet of Upper Denton. Near the Hare and 
 Hounds inn the railway is again crossed to the church, 
 distant about 100 yards. It is a plain unpretending edi- 
 fice, evidently built of stones from the Roman wall. It is 
 17 yards long and 6 yards broad, and contains a small bell- 
 turret and tiny bell. In the burial-ground is a row of four 
 noted gravestones, one being that of Margaret Carrick and 
 Margaret Teasdale of Mumps Hall, mentioned above. Ano- 
 ther is George Teasdale, Margaret's husband, who died 1753, 
 aged thirty-five ; the third is their daughter Bridget, who 
 died 1779, aged fifty-nine ; and the fourth their son John 
 Teasdale, who died 1788, aged seventy-five. The inside 
 of the church may be seen by obtaining the key at the 
 neighbouring farmhouse. In the centre of the small 
 chancel there is a vault, but no stone or other record 
 to tell us whose remains are contained in it. On the 
 north-east corner of the churchyard there is an ancient 
 building now used as a byre and barn. This is the 
 ancient vicarage, built in the form of a border peel. 
 Hutchinson, in his 'History of Cumberland,' under the 
 head of Vicarage, says : " The walls standing in the 
 churchyard ; the lower floor a keep for cattle ; the upper 
 floor for the inhabitant; the walls 5 feet thick, such as 
 are seen on the borders of Northumberland." The 
 ancient glebe land extends from the church to the 
 river-side below Birdoswald. This belongs to the vicar, 
 who, according to the deed conveying the patronage to 
 the prior and canons of Lanercost, was to have his main- 
 tenance out of it, subject to the payment of half a mark 
 annually to the patrons and rectors. The deed is in the 
 chartulary of Lanercost, and Hutchinson gives a copy of 
 it. Upper Denton was then in the county of Northum- 
 berland and diocese of Durham ; it is now in Cumberland 
 and in the diocese of Carlisle. 
 
 After visiting the church the tourist will have pleasure 
 in strolling to the adjoining bank of the river Irthing, to 
 see what is called the " petrifying well." A few yards 
 beyond the hamlet, cross the line and enter a field at a 
 wooden step-stile. Descending to the bed of the river at 
 the north-west corner of the field the south bank is found 
 o be composed of cliffs covered with beautiful moss and 
 plants, and crowned with trees ; and the moss is petrified 
 in many places by water which is incessantly dropping
 
 THE ROMAN WALL. 79 
 
 from the rocks above. It is a cool, pleasant place, but 
 one only to be visited by those who do not fear a rough 
 stony path, and an occasional wetting from the drops 
 above or the stream below. 
 
 The Roman "Wall between the Poltross and the 
 Irthing. 
 
 The Poltross is the streamlet which flows past Gilsland 
 railway station, and enters the river Irthing close to 
 Mumps Hall. It forms there the boundary line between 
 Northumberland and Cumberland. The visitor will be 
 repaid if he cross the railway behind the school-house and 
 walk up the bed of the stream for a short distance. The 
 water flows through a tiny wooded dell, and over stones 
 and ledges of rock forming one or two small cascades, 
 presenting here and there a pleasant little picture. 
 
 On the west side of the stream, just behind the 
 line, and about 50 yards from the railway station, 
 will be observed the ruins of part of a Eoman mile 
 castle. It is overgrown, but would, in all probability, 
 if excavated, be found to form a good specimen; and is 
 very conveniently situated for inspection by strangers. 
 Believing as we do that the vallum, or south mound and 
 ditch, was merely a Eoman military road, we were agree- 
 ably surprised on being shown by the Eev. Adam Wright, 
 the vicar of the parish, some stones on the west bank of 
 the stream, which presented the appearance of having 
 been Eoman masonry, and the foundation of a bridge 
 across the stream at the very spot it ought to have crossed 
 to be in a line with the vallum. Mr. Wright also states 
 that when clearing the school ground a belt of stones 
 about 14 feet broad was discovered, which appeared to be 
 the foundation of a road. 
 
 On again crossing the railway to the school-house a fine 
 specimen of the wall will be observed in the Vicarage 
 garden. The Vicarage house is built on the north fosse, 
 and the school is near the line of the vallum. By enter- 
 ing the field opposite, and following the course of the wall 
 for a short distance, there will be found, close to an ash 
 tree, three courses of facing stones bared, and in as perfect 
 a condition as when placed ; and if the accumulated 
 rubbish were removed from the bottom of the fence it is 
 probable much of the lower part of the wall for two or
 
 80 GILSLAND SECTIOX. 
 
 three hundred yards would be found in a good state of 
 preservation. On the opposite side of the fence the lower 
 courses of facing stones are still perfect and visible for a 
 score of yards, the wall here being about 8 feet thick. At 
 the north-west end of the field the river makes a bend, 
 and here the wall overhangs the precipitous banks for a 
 few yards, without leaving room for the north fosse, but 
 immediately on passing this place the fosse reappears in a 
 very perfect condition, with its northern side high and 
 sloping direct down to the river, and some of the wall in 
 a good state. It is curious to observe that the wall here 
 is about eight yards distant from the fosse, although it 
 generally stands directly above it. Passing in the rear of 
 a farmhouse, called Willow Ford, the ditch has been filled 
 up, but the wall, though in a dilapidated condition, 
 descends through another field, and may be traced by 
 the great quantity of large, square, and rounded stones 
 in the fence, overgrown, and almost entirely covered with 
 trees and underwood. It continues in this way until 
 within fifty yards of the river, and in a straight line with 
 it, on the top of the opposite high cliff, may be seen the 
 beginning of the wall running to Bird Oswald. Of the 
 bridge which must, in all probability, at one time have 
 crossed the stream a few yards lower down, we could find 
 no trace, but if the accumulated sand were removed it is 
 likely the foundation stones would be seen. 
 
 Birdoswald and Coome Crags. 
 
 One of the favourite short excursions from Gilsland is 
 to the Eoman station of Birdoswald, and to Coome Crags ; 
 the former is 2i miles, and the latter 4 miles from the 
 hotel, but half a mile may be saved by following the foot- 
 path through the fields. 
 
 A few yards below Orchard House enter the road which 
 branches to the right. It leads over a little dell through 
 which trills Eed Beck, and then gradually ascends and 
 commands a view of the river winding through a miniature 
 vale at the foot of the Birdoswald cliffs. 
 
 On the right is passed a height called Eock Mount, 
 upon which is a cluster of trees (two rows of beech and 
 one of holly) surrounding a gravestone inscribed with the 
 following : " Here lies Eock, a faithful and sagacious dog,
 
 BIRDOSWALD. 
 
 81 
 
 in attachment and fidelity to his master he was an emblem 
 of his name ; died July, 1830." Eock's grave may be 
 visited from Hill House, the mansion on the right. On 
 the top of the mount is seen an extensive prospect 
 embracing Skiddaw, Birdoswald, river Irthing, Tindale 
 Fell, Gilsland, and the heights of Carvoran, or "Magna," 
 above Thirlwall Castle. 
 
 A short distance beyond Hill House the road divides, 
 the right hand leading to Triermain, Askerton Castle, and 
 Bewcastle. The left-hand way has to be followed, and 
 presently a glimpse is caught of a tower-like object, the 
 only remaining portion of the ruin of Triermain Castle, 
 and then the farmhouse of Birdoswald is reached, where 
 the road again turns to the west. 
 
 As the ground is rather hilly, it is advisable for all who 
 can do so, to leave the conveyance and walk through the 
 fields by a footpath, which is entered at the first gate on 
 the left after passing Hill House, and which conducts 
 direct to the road close to Birdoswald. After crossing the 
 first field, and a small dell down which runs the Kiln 
 Hill beck, there will be observed, behind a mound, some 
 heaps of grass-grown rubbish, apparently traces of ancient 
 buildings, perhaps for camp followers during the time of 
 the Eomans, or even more ancient still. Here, on the 
 slope towards the glen, and near to a thorn bush, there 
 was formerly a mosstrooper's cottage. 
 
 Another way of reaching Birdoswald, but one suitable 
 only for those who are not afraid of a little rough work, 
 and only practicable when the water is low, is that of 
 strolling for a mile along the banks of the river; com- 
 mencing at Mumps Hall bridge. A few hundred yards 
 below the bridge, the stream pours over large ledges of 
 rock, and divides into two, flowing thus for some distance, 
 and forming a small island. It then winds along over a 
 rough bed, the banks being low and covered with foliage, 
 tintil directly under the high cliff of Birdoswald, upon 
 the brink and summit of which may be observed some of 
 the old Koman wall. The height is composed of loose 
 sandy soil, and must have weathered and worn greatly 
 since the time of the Eomans, so that it is now impossible 
 to say whether the wall descended to the stream or not. 
 The stranger may, by proceeding a few yards farther, wind 
 his way without difficulty to the summit of the cliff. 
 
 There is a farmhouse at Birdoswald on part of the site 
 
 G
 
 82 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 of the ancient station, and the residents supply excellent 
 milk, or provide tea, &c., for picnic parties. It is a 
 pleasant spot, being elevated, and commanding an ex- 
 tensive prospect. Just outside the station the cliffs 
 descend steeply to the river Irthing, and are well clothed 
 with wood. From them is had a beautiful view of the 
 river winding through a tiny vale, whilst in the distance 
 are the Thirlwall heights, Tindale Fell, Skiddaw, and 
 Blencathara. This view is referred to by the late Earl 
 of Carlisle, in his ' Diary in Turkish and Greek Waters.' 
 He says : " Strikingly, and to anyone who has coasted the 
 uniform shore of the Hellespont, and crossed the tame 
 low plain of the Troad, unexpectedly lovely is this site of 
 Troy, if Troy it was. I would give any Cumberland 
 borderer the best notion of it, by telling him that it 
 wonderfully resembles the view from the point just out- 
 side the Eoman camp at Birdoswald; both have that 
 series of steep conical hills, with rock enough for wild- 
 ness and verdure enough for softness ; both have that 
 bright trail of a river creeping in and out with the most 
 continuous indentations ; the Simois has, in summer at 
 least, more silvery shades of sand." 
 
 On the ground is a board containing the following 
 notice : ' " Persons wishing to examine the camp must 
 obtain permission to do so at the farmhouse. Visitors 
 are urgently requested to refrain from pulling down or 
 displacing stone, mortar, &c., or otherwise injuring the 
 walls or gateways." 
 
 The remains of this station are the most perfect on the 
 line of the Eoman wall, with the exception of that at 
 Borcovicus or Housesteads, near the Northumberland 
 Lakes. It is supposed to be the Eoman Amboglanna, and 
 to have been garrisoned by a strong force of Dacians from 
 the districts now known as Wallachia and Moldavia. It 
 is the largest station now found on the line, having an 
 area of 5j acres, which is almost a quarter of an acre 
 more than Chesters, and half an acre more than House- 
 steads. The eastern gateway is still in a fine state of pre- 
 servation, with large blocks on each side of the double 
 portal, placed in their original position, and still contain- 
 ing the pivot holes. The arch which would anciently 
 stand above the gateway is destroyed, but some of the 
 stones which formed it lie strewn about. In 1787 a 
 similar gateway with an arch entire was discovered at 
 Ellenborough, near Maryport, but unfortunately destroyed
 
 BIRDOSWALD. 83 
 
 by the workmen. Close to the gate are the ruins of a 
 building, apparently a guardhouse, and a portion of 
 the boundary wall, 6 feet in breadth. The western and 
 southern gateways and walls are also well preserved, the 
 walls having five or six courses of facing stones, and being 
 7 or 8 feet thick. Dr. Bruce says : " Although the wall 
 adapts itself to the north rampart of the fort, the station 
 is entirely independent of the wall, and must have been 
 built before it. Probably the first step taken in the con- 
 struction of the barrier, in every case, was the erection of 
 the stationary camps." Close to the garden in front of 
 the house are remains of buildings which look as though 
 they had been sleeping apartments or small barracks. 
 Within the boundary wall are heaps of grass-grown 
 rubbish, where formerly existed the temples, streets, &c. ; 
 and outside, to the east, are similar mounds, apparently 
 the former abodes of camp followers and native inhabit- 
 ants. Slight traces may also be observed of the moat or 
 fosse which surrounded the walls of the station. In the 
 rear of the house, close to the road, the northern gateway 
 and wall are destroyed, but to the west of the station the 
 wall runs for about 500 yards close to the road in as good 
 a state of preservation as on any other part, being in some 
 places 7 feet broad and 7 feet high. The best portion is 
 observed inside the field. Not a single turret remains of 
 the hundreds which were originally on the line of the wall. 
 This is to be regretted ; especially as one existed here 
 until within the last few years. Hodgson says : " In 1833 
 I saw a turret opened about 300 yards west of Birdoswald, 
 the walls of which were standing to the height of six 
 courses of stones, and 34 inches thick the doorway on 
 the south and the internal area 13 feet square ; all of it, in 
 1837, was taken away." 
 
 Sir Walter Scott in the prime of youth often visited this 
 spot, and it was probably here that he penned the following : 
 
 "To A LADY, WITH FLOWERS FBOM THE ROMAN WALL. 
 
 " Take these flowers, which, purple waving, 
 
 On the ruin'd rampart grew, 
 Where, the sons of freedom braving, 
 
 Eome's imperial standards flew. 
 Warriors from the breach of danger 
 
 Pluck no longer laurels there, 
 But they yield the passing stranger 
 Wild-flower wreaths for Beauty's hair." 
 
 G 2
 
 84 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 In the grounds at the west end of the house are some 
 broken Roman altars and millstones, and inside the house 
 is a beautifully-sculptured stone (being part of a figure in 
 drapery), the head having been removed to the museum 
 at Newcastle, and two or three small altars. The latter 
 are such as were used by the soldiers in their private 
 devotions. 
 
 Coome Crags. 
 
 After leaving Birdoswald the Eoman wall disappears, 
 and the road occupies its site, which is rendered evident 
 by the perfect state of the north ditch, running along, 
 close to, and parallel with the_road, just behind the right- 
 hand hedge. 
 
 When three-quarters of a mile beyond Birdoswald the 
 antiquary will do well to leave the conveyance for two or 
 three minutes, and stroll through a field along a cart-road 
 leading to the first farmhouse on the left, called High 
 House, in order that he may inspect what is perhaps the 
 best specimen of the vallum or ditch and earth mounds, 
 which ran at a little distance from the Eoman wall, on the 
 south side, and about the origin of which there has been 
 much dispute. These mounds are so high that the 
 traveller will easily distinguish them at some distance. 
 
 On gaining a slightly elevated portion of the road, with 
 a single tree on the top, called " Wallbour's Tree," the 
 view opens to the west over an undulating well-timbered 
 district, with the Tindale and Castle Carrock fells on the 
 left, and in the distance Skiddaw, Blencathara, and other 
 Cumberland mountains. On the opposite side of the 
 ravine, through which flows the river Irthing, is the 
 Nether Denton Church, a new edifice. 
 
 A few yards farther is the Coome Crags cottage in a 
 email plantation close to the road. The grounds have 
 been planted within the last few years by the Earl of 
 Carlisle, and the cottage built specially for the accommo- 
 dation of visitors. In the house may be obtained a guide 
 to the crags, and hot water is provided for picnic parties ; 
 also a room is set apart for retreat in case of rain. The 
 stranger is, however, allowed free access to the spot, and 
 he may wander alone, and at his will. 
 
 After walking a few hundred yards along a grass-grown 
 path, a wooded bench is gained on an eminence overlook- 
 ing the river. Here there is a lovely view embracing a
 
 COOME CRAGS. 85 
 
 wide extent of undulating woodland, whilst immediately 
 at the spectator's feet is a charming dell with high rocks 
 and cliffs beautifully timbered, and the river winding 
 musically at their base over a rugged stony bed. This 
 spot is most lovely on an autumn afternoon, when the 
 trees are clothed in their varied and rich autumnal tints, 
 with the sun shining from the south-west along the course 
 of the river. The effect is truly charming, far surpassing 
 the boldest efforts of the painter's skill, and recalling the 
 poet's lines : 
 
 " Who can paint 
 
 Like Nature ? Can Imagination boast, 
 Amid its gay creation, hues like hers ? 
 Or can it mix them with that matchless skill, 
 And lose them in each other, as appears 
 In every bud that blows ? If fancy then 
 Unequal fails beneath the pleasing task, 
 Ah ! what shall language do ? " THOMSON. 
 
 Following the path which winds in and put amongst 
 the woods, vantage points are obtained allowing of lovely 
 vistas. Paths descend in different directions to the brink 
 of the river, and then wind and ascend by other routes, 
 over soft green-sward, and under bowers which ever and 
 anon hide the stream ; but where are heard the soft sweet 
 murmurs of the water, whilst it appears to sing in the 
 words of Tennyson : 
 
 " I chatter over stony ways, 
 
 In little sharps and trebles, 
 I bubble into eddying bays, 
 
 I babble on the pebbles. 
 With many a curve my bank I fret 
 
 By many a field and fallow, 
 And many a fairy foreland set 
 
 With willow-weed and mallow. 
 I chatter, chatter, as I flow 
 
 To join the brimming river 
 For men may come, and men may go, 
 
 But I go on for ever." 
 
 The combination of wood, rock, and water is such as 
 to make the spot a little earthly paradise, where the 
 lover of nature may loiter for hours in a listless contem- 
 plative mood. 
 
 The Eomans appear to have used the place as a quarry; 
 for, on the east side of the narrow ridge over which a path 
 leads down to the river, may be observed on the face of
 
 86 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 the rock some ancient Roman inscriptions, which some 
 individual, fancying that a coat of paint was necessary 
 to preserve from decay what had defied the storms of 
 seventeen centuries, has bedaubed with white, with one 
 exception, thereby destroying their antique character.* 
 These rude memorials even the learned in antiquarian 
 matters have been unable satisfactorily to interpret. It 
 has been suggested that one inscription may be read 
 " Severus Augustus ; " and another, " In the consulship of 
 Faustinus and Eufus," who were consuls A.D. 210, the year 
 before Septimus Severus died, at which time extensive 
 repairs were no doubt effected in the Roman wall. 
 
 Some visitors will be tempted to walk along the path 
 which continues up the bank of the stream for a good 
 distance, passing directly under a bold cliff where has 
 evidently been an ancient quarry. They might follow the 
 course of the river to Birdoswald, or if the water be not 
 too high the stream might be crossed to the petrifying 
 well, and thence to Denton Church. See page 78. 
 
 Those who cross the river a little below the Coome 
 Crags may have a romantic scramble up the opposite 
 bank, and wind amongst the rocks by a path known as 
 the " Fairy Walk." 
 
 Gilsland to Lanercost Priory and Naworth Castle, 
 via Birdoswald and Coome Crags ; and back by 
 Upper Denton Church. 
 
 Birdoswald, 2J miles ; Coome Crags, 4 miles ; Lanercost Priory, 
 6 miles ; Naworth Castle, 7 miles ; Upper Denton Church, 
 12| miles ; Gilsland (Shaw's) Hotel, 15 miles. 
 
 For a wagonette or other conveyance, to carry six persons and 
 
 the driver, 18s. 
 For a wagonette or other conveyance, to carry eight persons 
 
 and the driver, 24s. 
 For a four-wheeled break, 3s. each person. 
 
 Most visitors to Gilsland look upon this as their 
 favourite excursion ; and it is deserving the honour, for 
 it passes through a beautiful part of the country, and 
 affords a treat to the antiquary, the lover of works of 
 art, and of natural scenery. 
 
 ' Dr. Bruce, in his ' Lapidarium,' says the microscope shows 
 this to be not paint, but a rare lichen.
 
 LANERCOST PRIORY. 87 
 
 For a description of Birdoswald and Coome Crags refer 
 to pages 80 and 84. 
 
 Leaving Coome Crags, the road runs in a perfectly 
 straight line, and makes a gradual ascent to the hamlet 
 called Banks, the road still being on the site of the 
 ancient Eoman wall, with the north ditch well denned 
 close to on the right : here and there are traces of the 
 vallum in the fields on the left. To the south is seen 
 the Low Kow railway station, and in the rear in the dis- 
 tance are the heights of Thirlwall. From the high 
 ground, on a clear day, most of the Cumberland moun- 
 tains are visible, and those acquainted with them will 
 distinguish Skiddaw, Blencathara, the Helvellyn range, 
 Grisedale Pass, Fairfield, Eed Screes, Eobinson, and High 
 Stile. When the summit of the hill called the Pike is 
 gained, there is also spread to view a wide extent of level 
 and well-timbered country stretching past Carlisle to the 
 Solway Firth, with Criffel, Burnswark, and other Scotch 
 hills, and it is said that on a clear day the Isle of Man is 
 visible. The' river Irthing is observed in the hollow on 
 the left. At the hamlet of Banks is a small public-house, 
 called the Traveller's Eest, with the following distich on 
 the sign : 
 
 " This house stands high and troubles none ; 
 Drink and pay, and travel on." 
 
 Leaving the inn the road bends to the left, and de- 
 scends steeply to Lanercost Priory, situated in the midst 
 of a level tract of pasture land watered by the river 
 Irthing, and environed by rising ground thickly covered 
 with timber. In the midst of the wood, on the other 
 Bide of the stream, is Naworth Castle, though out of 
 sight from this point. 
 
 On reaching the abbey the stranger will be delighted 
 with its picturesque and antique appearance. The tower, 
 transepts, and chancel are roofless, but otherwise in a 
 tolerable state of preservation, and beautified by a cover- 
 ing of ivy, and a few shrubs sticking here and there aloft 
 in the niches of the walls. The nave has recently been 
 restored by Messrs. Cory and Ferguson, of Carlise, at the 
 expense of the Howard family. It has long been used as 
 the parish church, where service is held every Sunday. 
 
 Beneath the wings of the structure are the vicarage, a 
 farmhouse, and the parish graveyard, whilst all around 
 are large venerable trees. The antiquary will observe
 
 88 GILSLAND SECTION". 
 
 that the surrounding walls are built of stones from the 
 Eoman wall, which barrier crossed the vale only a few 
 hundred yards distant, and the principal part of the 
 old building is of the same material, although additions 
 and renovations appear to have been effected with new 
 red sandstone from quarries in the neighbourhood. Some 
 persons have been led to think that the priory stands 
 upon, or near, the site of a Eoman station, all vestiges 
 of which have disappeared, owing, perhaps, to the whole 
 of the stone being used in the building of the monas- 
 tery. Such a supposition appears quite natural, when 
 we take into account that along the whole length of the 
 wall the Eomans erected stations about four miles apart, 
 and Birdoswald is eight miles distant from Castlesteads. 
 It is, however, very unlikely that the low ground would 
 be selected for a camp, when there existed close by 
 such a suitable height as that where now stands the 
 hamlet of Banks, corresponding in character with the 
 sites of Birdoswald, Carvoran, and other stations, and 
 commanding a view along the course of the wall for 
 many miles, both to the east and to the west. The 
 people at the hamlet have often dug up coins, and in 
 1808 they found two altars, which are now at Lanercost, 
 and also in 1832 a broken slab bearing the name of Anto- 
 ninus Pius. 
 
 Lanercost Priory was built, according to tradition, by 
 Eobert de Vallibus or Vaux, the second lord of Gilsland 
 after the Norman conquest, in expiation for the crime of 
 having slain the dispossessed Anglo-Saxon proprietor, 
 Gilles Bueth, who, after making many attempts to regain 
 his inheritance, had been invited to a friendly meeting 
 for settlement of differences, and then treacherously 
 murdered. 
 
 Although Denton, the father of Cumberland history, 
 gives this story as authentic in his MSS., it has been 
 treated as fabulous by Mr. E. S. Ferguson, in a recent 
 little book written by himself and his brother Mr. Charles 
 J. Ferguson, entitled ' Lanercost Priory,' a work from 
 which we have gleaned most of the following facts. We 
 can hardly think that Eobert de Vallibus was capable of 
 so dark a deed, for we are told by Denton that " he was a 
 valorous gentleman and well learned in the law of the 
 land," and that "he became of so much account with 
 King Henry II. that the king did little in Cumberland
 
 LANERCOST PRIORY. 89 
 
 without Eobert's advice and counsel." Whether or not 
 there be truth in the above story, all agree that Eobert 
 founded the priory, and that the building was consecrated 
 in the year 1169, in the name of Mary Magdalene, and 
 granted to Black Canons of the order of St. Austin. 
 
 A tablet placed in the church by the vicar in 1761, 
 gives 1116 as the date of the foundation, but this cannot 
 be correct, for although after the grant some years would 
 in all probability be occupied in preparing parts of the 
 building before the place was consecrated, yet the original 
 grant or charter of Eobert de Vallibus, which has no date, 
 is witnessed by Walter, prior of Carlisle, and the said 
 Walter was not prior of Carlisle until 1133. The lan- 
 guage of the grant also shows that Hubert de Vallibus, 
 the father of Eobert, was dead when the grant was made, 
 and the date of his death was 1164. 
 
 The members of the order of St. Austin held a some- 
 what intermediate position between the regular and 
 secular clergy, being not so much monks as a community 
 of parish priests living under rule. Their garb consisted 
 of a long black cassock, with rochet above it, and a black 
 cloak and hood over all. Though the order had a pre- 
 vious existence, yet its rules were first imposed by Pope 
 Innocent II. in 1139. Carlisle and Hexham were also 
 priories of this order, and Lanercost received priors from 
 both these places. 
 
 A manuscript known as the Chronicle of Lanercost, 
 which is a monkish history of the times, and now de- 
 posited among the Cottonian MSS. in the British Museum, 
 has generally been considered a production of the canons 
 of this priory; but it has been proved by Mr. William 
 Stevenson, who edited it for the Bannatyne Club, that it 
 derived its name merely from having somehow got into 
 the library of the priory of Lanercost, and that it is really 
 the work of a friar minor of Carlisle, and not of Laner- 
 cost, which place it merely mentions. The principal 
 source of the historical facts connected with this priory 
 is obtained from a MS. entitled the Chartulary or Ee- 
 gister of Lanercost, the original of which cannot now be 
 found, although it was at Kaworth Castle in 1777, and 
 had been annotated by Lord William Howard, "Belted 
 Will." A copy of it was fortunately made by Mr. Nichol- 
 son, one of the editors of the History of Cumberland, and 
 deposited in the library of the dean and chapter of Car-
 
 90 GILSLAND SECTION". 
 
 lisle. Mr. Ferguson thinks it probable that the original 
 may be found in the muniment room of Greystoke Castle. 
 The existing copy has been edited by Mr. Mackenzie 
 Walcott, and will be found in the Transactions of the 
 Royal Society of Literature (vol. viii., new series) ; it has 
 also been printed in a separate form. As its name implies 
 it is a list or register of the muniment deeds of the priory, 
 and close examination brings to light many curious pieces 
 of information. 
 
 Among the deeds we find confirmations of charters by 
 popes Alexander III., Honorius III., Lucius III., Inno- 
 cent III., and Gregory XI. The earliest of these con- 
 firmations is one by Alexander III., dated 1181. By it the 
 pope takes the priory under his protection, and confirms 
 all the gifts that have been made to it. He grants to the 
 priory the right of sanctuary for clerics or laics flying 
 from the law, and prohibits any of the canons "after profes- 
 sion " from leaving without the prior's licence. He directs 
 that the priory shall choose and present to the bishop the 
 priests of all the churches held by it, who are in spiritual 
 things to be subject to the bishop, but in temporal matters 
 to the priory. In times of a general interdict the priory 
 might celebrate in its own church, in a low voice, with 
 closed doors and without ringing of bells ; the priory 
 might also give burial within their church to all who 
 desired it, except persons excommunicate or under an 
 interdict, so however as not to interfere with the rights 
 (burial fees) of the parish churches, from which the bodies 
 were brought. After providing for the quiet election of 
 new priors, the pope concludes his confirmation with a 
 curse on all who molest the priory. In the Chartulary are 
 found instances of the Roman Catholic parish clergy being 
 married, for their sons and daughters are mentioned. 
 There are instances of all sorts of quaint rights and 
 tenures; nominal rents of Id. or %>L, or of a pound of 
 pepper, of cumin, or of wax, payable on a fair day, fre- 
 quently occur as reserved for property. Amongst the 
 many gifts of land, houses, cattle, oak-bark, skins of deer 
 and foxes, fishing in lakes and rivers, &c., there are 
 mentioned grants of serfs, their wives, and all their issue 
 and goods. 
 
 Little is known of the history of the priory, and 
 probably owing to its exposed situation in the wild border 
 country it was often subject to depredations from the
 
 LANERCOST PRIORY. 91 
 
 Scots, and thus prevented amassing those riches which 
 fell to the lot of religious houses in more peaceable 
 southern quarters. The height of its prosperity appears 
 to have been in the reign of Edward I. This king being 
 constantly at war with the Scots in the latter years of his 
 reign, spent much of his time in the northern part of Ms 
 dominions, and in 1280 he visited Lanercost, along with 
 Eleanor, his queen, and they were met at the gate by the 
 prior and canons. On this occasion the king presented a 
 silk cloth to the priory, and the chronicler tells us it was 
 said he took in his hunting two hundred stags and hinds 
 in Inglewood Forest. In 1296 a Scottish army of 40,000 men 
 stayed one night at Lanercost, and next morning hastened 
 homewards on hearing that the English king was close at 
 hand with a large force. They behaved with great bar- 
 barity, and burnt the conventual buildings, but not the 
 church. The following year the priory was again plun- 
 dered by William Wallace and his men. On Michaelmas 
 Day, 1306, King Edward I. arrived here, and the prior 
 had the honour of entertaining his majesty until the fol- 
 lowing Easter. This was the king's last visit to the north. 
 He was too ill to head his army in person against Bruce, 
 and had travelled to Newcastle, and thence by Hexham 
 and Haltwhistle, in a litter carried by horses. The small 
 tower at Lanercost, which stands close to the vicarage, is 
 said to be the place the king occupied during his illness, 
 and it is still called the Edwardian tower. On leaving 
 Lanercost he proceeded to Carlisle, and thence to his 
 army, which was encamped on Brough Marsh, where he 
 died on the 7th of July. 
 
 Many important documents and writs are dated from 
 Lanercost during the time of the king's visit, among 
 others a grant of certain churches to the priory of Hex- 
 ham. The judges were sent hence to Berwick, where 
 " they tried hundreds and thousands of breakers of the 
 peace and conspirators, many of whom were hanged, and 
 the Countess of Bowen was enclosed in a cage, whose 
 breadth, length, height, and depth was 8 feet, and was 
 hanged over the walls of Berwicke." From Lanercost, 
 too, was issued the writ which banished for ever Piers 
 Gaveston from the kingdom as a corrupter of the Prince 
 of Wales. During this visit one Dungall Machduel, a 
 noble of Galway, captured alive two brothers of Eobert 
 Bruce, namely, Thomas Bruce and Alexander Bruce, Dean
 
 92 GILSLAKD SECTION. 
 
 of Glasgow, and also Eeginald de Crawford ; these he sent 
 prisoners to the king at Lanercost, and with them the 
 heads of a small Irish king, a gentleman of Cantyre, and 
 two unnamed nobles, all adherents of Bruce. Thomas 
 Bruce was sent forthwith to Carlisle, dragged by horses 
 round that city, then hanged and beheaded, and his head 
 put on a spike on the Castle of Carlisle. The others were 
 merely hanged and beheaded, and their heads and those of 
 the small Irish king and company divided among the 
 three gates of Carlisle, being two heads for each gate. 
 On leaving Lanercost at the end of his visit, the king 
 presented the churches of Mitford, in Durham, and 
 Carlattan, to the priory. The grant is dated Carlisle, 
 17th March, 1307. A copy of the grant is in Prynne and 
 Eymer, and also copies of letters addressed by the king to 
 the pope, and to the cardinal vice-chancellor of the Eomish 
 Church, praying to have the gift confirmed by the pope. 
 From this we learn that the king's reasons for his liberality 
 were his special devotion to Mary Magdalene, and the 
 restoration of the status of the priory of Lanercost, 
 which was much impoverished, both through the burning 
 of its houses and the plundering of its goods by the 
 Scotch, and also by reason of his own long stay while 
 he was detained by bad health, an honour which doubt- 
 less fell heavy on the impoverished treasury of the 
 priory. 
 
 In the month of August, 1311, the prior, much against 
 his wish, had the honour of entertaining another illus- 
 trious visitor in the person of Eobert Bruce, King of 
 Scotland, who came with a great army and stayed three 
 days. He imprisoned most of the canons and did infinite 
 evils, but at length the canons were liberated by him. In 
 1346 David, King of Scotland, paid the priory a visit. His 
 army entered with haughtiness into the holy places, they 
 threw out the sacred vessels, stole the treasures, smashed 
 the doors, played practical jokes, and reduced "in 
 nihilum," into nothingness, everything they attacked. 
 After this invasion Lanercost dropped its head and re- 
 lapsed into obscurity; henceforth the register of the 
 bishops of Carlisle, which had up to this time made some 
 scant mention of the names of the priors, is silent as to 
 either prior or priory. From other sources we learn that 
 in 1409 the priory was in mournful condition, for the 
 Archbishop, Bowet, of York, in a letter to his suffragan
 
 LANERCOST PRIORY. 93 
 
 bishops, says that he has turned his attention to the poor 
 canons, prior, and convent of Lanercost, whose monastery 
 and most of its buildings, as the prior with a lamentable 
 voice tells us, are threatened with ruin ; their buildings 
 and possessions, in consequence of frequent attacks from 
 the Scots, are in ruins and burnt; their lands for the 
 same reason lie uncultivated ; in short, that the prior and 
 convent are reduced to such poverty that they cannot 
 nowadays live without the help of other Christians, nor 
 serve God according to the rules of their order or duty. 
 The archbishop, who was a Black Canon himself, requests 
 his bishops, when deputations from the priory arrive to 
 collect money, to receive them well, to explain their 
 errand thoroughly by means of the parish priest in each 
 church, and to let him have the money collected without 
 any deduction, and further grants subscribers to the re- 
 storation fund an indulgence of forty days. How far this 
 appeal was successful we know not ; we may presume it 
 to some extent enabled the priory to restore its ruined 
 buildings and fallen fortunes. Nothing is known at pre- 
 sent of the history of the priory between 1409 and 1536, 
 the date of its dissolution. It probably lingered on iu 
 poverty, its canons but little superior to the rude peasants 
 by whom they were surrounded. How different this from 
 the days of King Edward I., and of the time of Thomas 
 de Hextoldesham, a canon of Hexham, who became prior 
 of Lanercost, and was admonished by the Bishop of 
 Carlisle on his installation " not to frequent public hunt- 
 ings, or keep so large a pack of hounds." 
 
 In 1536 the Act for the dissolution of smaller religious 
 houses having become law, Lanercost was disestablished 
 and disendowed, and the prior, John Eobyson, became 
 rector of Aikton, and probably the canons got small 
 pensions and went adrift. 
 
 After the dissolution the property of the priory was 
 granted to Sir Thomas Dacre, the lineal descendant of 
 Eobert de Vallibus, the founder. He was commonly 
 called Dacre the Bastard, being an illegitimate son 
 of one of the Lords Dacre of the north. The reason 
 assigned for the grant was good, true, and faithful ser- 
 vice. On failure of male issue the site of the priory 
 and demesne lands reverted from the Dacres to the Crown, 
 and were until lately under a lease to the earls of Carlisle, 
 who have recently purchased them. Other portions of
 
 94 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 the estate, which had not been limited in the grant to 
 heirs male, descended in the female line to the Applebys 
 of Kirklinton, who took the name of Dacre. A curious 
 fireplace from Lanercost is now in the drawing-room of 
 Kirklinton Hall. When in possession of the Crown the 
 buildings were allowed to fall into extreme squalor ; the 
 very vaults were open to heaven, and, according to some 
 writers, the corpses were exposed to view one in par- 
 ticular, that of a venerable man with a long white beard, 
 is mentioned as being visible. The following advertise- 
 ment, taken from the Newcastle papers, speaks to the 
 neglect with which the place was treated : 
 
 " Whereas some evil-disposed person did some time this spring 
 enter into the ruinous part of Lanercost Church or Priory, and 
 did felonously take away from out of a vault in the said church 
 a lead coffin, which contained the remains of Lord William 
 Dacre, Knight of the Garter. A reward of ten guineas on the 
 conviction of the offenders. 
 
 "Naworth Castle, 9th May, 1775." 
 
 At a later period the local volunteers were wont to 
 practice with ball at the ruins. The Commissioners of 
 Woods and Forests recently aided in the restoration of 
 the parsonage and the parish church. 
 
 On application at the vicarage strangers are allowed 
 free admittance to all parts of the priory ruins between 
 the hours of 10 A.M. and 5 P.M. Whilst waiting for the 
 cicerone, the old cross which stands in the green will 
 be examined. It probably marks the site where buying 
 and selling took place, and where public preachings 
 were occasionally delivered. 
 
 Judging from the gradual progress in style of archi- 
 tecture, from the very Early Transitional to the per- 
 fected Early English, which is observed in different parts 
 of the building, it would appear to have been begun 
 about the middle of the twelfth century, the whole being 
 completed in about seventy or eighty years; during 
 which period the canons gradually grew in wealth, and 
 availed themselves of any new development of style as 
 it arose. The west front appears to be the most mo- 
 dern, and has a noble and beautiful appearance. It has 
 a finely-recessed doorway, surmounted by an arcaded 
 gallery, and a window of seven lancets. The niches in 
 the arcading probably contained figures of Christ and the
 
 LANERCOST PRIORY. 95 
 
 twelve Apostles. The nave, now renovated and used as 
 the parish church, has an aisle to the north but not to 
 the south. The transepts, tower, chancel, and chapels 
 are roofless, and in ruins, but the remains have a pic- 
 turesque effect. The massiveness of the pillars gives great 
 dignity and stability, and the small groining shafts and 
 multiplicity of parts lend delicacy and finish. 
 
 In the north transept is the tomb of Sir Eoland 
 Vaux of Triermain ; and in the chapel at the east of 
 the north transept that of Humphrey or Hugh Lord 
 Dacre, Lord Warden of the Marches in the reign of 
 Eichard II., and his wife Mabel Parr. The chapel on 
 the south side of the chancel was restored and re- 
 roofed by the Dacres, judging from the fact that their 
 badge appears on the corbels carrying the roof-timbers ; 
 and the window might have been inserted by the puis- 
 sant Thomas Lord Baron Dacre of Gilsland, the repre- 
 sentative of the great families of Multon and Vaux, 
 and in right of his wife Elizabeth of Greystoke, Baron 
 of Greystoke, Greymethorpe, and Wemme. He com- 
 manded the reserve force at Flodden Field, and died in 
 1526, the seventeenth year of King Henry VIII. ; his is 
 the magnificent altar tomb which stands in the arch- 
 way between the south chapel and the choir, exquisite 
 in design and cunning in workmanship, carved over 
 with the arms of the various baronies, and still a study 
 for lovers of heraldry. In the choir and also in the north 
 chapel are the remnants of a piscina, where the sacred 
 vessels were washed. Visitors in general ascend some 
 steps and stroll round the tower and transepts along a 
 winding arcaded gallery, and the cicerone tells how a 
 cow once made its way up here and startled the canons 
 by ringing the bell. He also points out a stone effigy 
 laid in the graveyard below, which is supposed to cover 
 the grave of a workman who was thrown from the 
 building by his brother masons after having given them 
 some offence. 
 
 To the south of the church was situated the cloister 
 garth, now converted, into a garden, and around it were 
 the prior's lodge, the refectory, dormitories, cellars, &c. 
 In 1539, after the dissolution of the monastery, the prior's 
 lodge and other buildings were converted by the Dacres 
 into a dwelling-house. The alterations were commenced 
 by Sir Thomas Dacre, and carried on by his successor
 
 96 G1LSLAND SECTION. 
 
 Sir Christopher Dacre, as we learn by the inserted fire- 
 place in the hall bearing the initials C. D. and the date 
 1586. The alteration seems to have been effected in 
 this wise: the various rooms comprising the west front 
 of the cloister were thrown into a large hall, and new 
 windows inserted ; the fireplaces seem originally to have 
 been on the west side of the hall, and to have been 
 done away with, and a grand open fireplace inserted in 
 the centre of the east wall. The use of the large hall 
 as the common room of the house for every purpose 
 had at this time become obsolete ; this apartment would 
 be used as a reception hall and a banqueting hall on 
 great occasions ; from it were entered all the other 
 rooms of the house. The north end seems to have 
 been the dais end, and at the south end we find re- 
 mains of what probably was the minstrels' gallery. In 
 the time of Christopher Dacre it must have been a fine 
 hall, being about 100 feet in length ; although only 
 18 feet wide in its narrowest part, at the north end it 
 widened out considerably. A portion of the decorations 
 remain, and can be distinguished under the whitewash. 
 
 In the cellar or vault are several interesting Eoman 
 altars and millstones, &c. One altar is dedicated by 
 the hunters of Banna to the holy god Silvanus. It is 
 not known where Banna was, but it must have been in 
 the neighbourhood, and some have suggested Bewcastle 
 as the place. Another altar was found at the hamlet of 
 Banks ; it reads : " To the god Cocidius, the soldiers 
 of the twentieth legion, styled the Valerian and the Vic- 
 torious, dedicated this altar, in discharge of a vow to 
 an object most worthy of it in the consulship of Aper 
 and Eufus." The boar at the foot is the emblem of the 
 twentieth legion. On another stone is a representation 
 of Jupiter and Hercules. A metal thunderbolt (probably 
 gilt) was no doubt inserted in the hole in the right hand 
 of Jupiter. All these altars are engraved in that most 
 magnificent work, ' The Lapidarium Septentrionale,' 
 edited by Dr. Bruce for the Society of Antiquarians of 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne. 
 
 At the door of the farmhouse is a centurial stone, which 
 may probably be read, " The century of Claudius Priscus." 
 In the west wall of the cloister garth is another, which 
 may be translated, " The century of Cassius Priscus." In 
 the south-east angle of the choir is an altar which may
 
 NAWORTH PARK. 97 
 
 be translated, " To Jupiter, the best and greatest, tue first 
 cohort of the Dacians, styled the (Elian, commanded by 
 Julius Saturninus, the tribune (dedicated this)." 
 
 The Edwardian tower is separated by a few yards from 
 .the priory. It was probably used as a defence and re- 
 fuge, and as a lodging for guests of distinction. To the 
 west of it stood the stables, barn, and buildings connected 
 with the farming operations. The porter's lodge stood 
 close to the ancient round-headed gateway, which still 
 forms such a picturesque feature in the landscape and 
 figures so prominently in views of the place. 
 
 The gateway conducts from the grounds to the road, 
 which presently crosses the Irthing at an antique bridge, 
 close to which is a small public-house, called Abbey 
 Bridge Inn, and the entrance gate to Naworth Park. 
 
 It is a pleasant walk or drive through the park to the 
 castle, but some tourists will prefer following a footpath 
 near the river which leads through the woods and up a 
 delightful dell. This path may also be gained direct from 
 the priory by crossing the river at some stepping-stones. 
 Those who go through the park ought to stroll into the dell 
 after seeing the castle, descending by one path and return- 
 ing by another on the opposite side. Two gushing stream- 
 lets, forming some pretty cascades, descend between high 
 banks richly clothed with trees, ferns, and mosses, and 
 the spot is one where, if the stranger have time, he may 
 spend one or two pleasant hours. 
 
 " The water it sings merrilie 
 
 Alang the castle dean ; 
 The water it rins merrilie, 
 The grassy banks a-tween : 
 
 An' merrilie the birdie sings, 
 
 A-top o' the greenwood tree ; 
 An' there's a heart that has a part 
 
 In the sweet harmonic." 
 
 PETER BURN'S Border Ballads. 
 
 The park consists of a large tract of undulating land, 
 with here and there patches of timber, and all around 
 are cattle and sheep, but no deer, although both fallow 
 and red deer are said to have existed here in large num- 
 bers in ancient times. On each side of the carriage-way 
 are aged trees ; one, an immense oak, which throws its 
 branches across, was, according to tradition, the gallows 
 
 H
 
 98 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 where Lord William Howard (" Belted Will "), the famous 
 ancestor of the Earl of Carlisle, is reported to have 
 hanged those depredators who came into his clutches 
 when appointed Warden of the Marches by King James I., 
 and from the window of his private room in a tower of 
 the castle he is said to have been able to see his victims 
 dangling in the air. We are told that once when employed 
 in his library a servant came to tell him a mosstrooper 
 had just been captured, and desired to know what should 
 be done with him. Vexed at being disturbed, he answered 
 peevishly, Hang him ! A few hours afterwards, when he 
 had finished his work, he called and ordered the man to 
 be brought before him for examination, but was told that 
 his order had been complied with, and the man was 
 dead. He kept here constantly 140 men in arms, as his 
 guard. The approach to his apartments was secured 
 by plated doors, several in succession, fastened by im- 
 mense locks and bolts of iron, defending a narrow winding 
 staircase, where only one person could pass at a time. 
 His prisoners were kept in dungeons difficult of approach, 
 and were there chained to rings fastened in the walls. 
 The borders were a wild country in those times, and in- 
 habited by a still wilder race of men, the result of centu- 
 ries of contention between the English and Scotch, and 
 when plunderers were taken in the act, swift and stern 
 justice had to be administered. The cause of contention 
 ceased when James I. ascended the throne of England ; 
 but to bring order out of chaos, it required Wardens of 
 firm resolve and dauntless courage. Belted Will appears 
 to have been eqiial to the work, and to have spread terror 
 among all evildoers. Though in his official capacity he 
 was a man of iron, tradition has much belied him, and 
 little reliance is to be placed on these stories of summary 
 execution. In all probability convictions were almost 
 always previously obtained at the annual assizes at Car- 
 lisle, Newcastle, &c., or before the local courts of the 
 Warden, who administered march law or the law of the 
 marches, or borders. The Wardens were, however, in- 
 vested with despotic power, and could imprison and hang 
 at pleasure. Belted Will was a studious and well-read 
 man, and spent much of his time in a carefully-selected 
 library, many of the large folios of which still remain in 
 their old bookcase in his favourite room, mute evidences of 
 the real character of the man. In the old histories of the
 
 BELTED WILL. 
 
 99 
 
 district lie is constantly mentioned as corresponding with 
 the learned of that era, and taking an especial interest in 
 antiquarian and kindred pursuits. Camden, who visited 
 Naworth in 1607, speaks of him as " a singular lover of 
 venerable antiquities, and learned withal." Sir Walter 
 Scott thus refers to him in the " Lay of the Last Min- 
 strel :" 
 
 " Cosily his garb his Flemish ruff 
 
 Fell o'er his doublet, shaped of buff, 
 With satin slashed and lined ; 
 
 Tawny his boot, and gold his spur, 
 
 His cloak was all of Poland fur, 
 His hose with silver twined; 
 
 His Bilboa blade by marchmen felt, 
 
 Hung in a broad and studded belt ; 
 
 Hence, in rude phrase, the Borderers still 
 
 Call nublc Howard, 'Belted Will.'" 
 
 He was born on the 19th December, 1563, being the third 
 son of the Duke of Norfolk and Lady Margaret Audley. 
 His mother died a few weeks after his birth, and nine years 
 afterwards his father was beheaded for an unfortunate 
 attachment to Mary, Queen of Scots. Being thus deprived 
 by the act of attainder of title and estates, his only hope of 
 retrieving his fortunes was by marriage with Lady Eliza- 
 beth Dacre (" Bessie with the braid apron "), to whom he 
 had been betrothed at a very early age, while his two 
 brothers were betrothed to, and afterwards married, his 
 bride's two sisters, thus bringing to the Howards the three 
 great Cumberland baronies of Greystoke, Burgh, and Gils- 
 land ; two of which the Howards still hold, while Burgh 
 has been sold to the Lowthers. The three sisters, heiresses 
 of the Dacres, had been committed by Queen Elizabeth to 
 the guardianship of the Duke of Norfolk, who, without the 
 queen's leave, arranged these marriages, and so incurred 
 her wrath. Belted Will is said to have been married in 
 October, 1577, when he was only fourteen years old, and 
 his bride some mouths younger. When about twenty-one, 
 he and his elder brother, Philip, Earl of Arundel, having 
 espoused the Eoman Catholic faith, and being suspected of 
 disaffection to the Government, it was thought advisable 
 to place them in the Tower of London, where they remained 
 some years. After their release Lord William got posses- 
 sion of the barony of Gilsland, his wife's portion of the 
 Cumberland estates of the Dacres ; and after the accession 
 
 H 2
 
 100 GILSLAKD SECTION. 
 
 of James I., being in favour at Court, lie was appointed, in 
 1605, Warden of the West Marches. He lost his wife in 
 1639, and in the following year he died on the 9th October, 
 at the age of seventy-seven. 
 
 Before entering the castle the stranger will like to know 
 something of its history, and that of its former occupants, 
 the ancestors of the present Earl of Carlisle. 
 
 The statement that William the Conqueror granted 
 Cumberland to Eanulph de Meschines, and that Eanulph 
 gave the barony of Gilsland to a relative, Hubert de 
 Vallibus, has been proved to be a blunder, traceable to 
 a marginal note interpolated in a MS. of Matthew de 
 Paris. The grant of Gilsland to Hubert de Vallibus 
 was made by Henry II. in these words : " Totam terram 
 quam Gilbertus films Boet tenuit die quo fuit vivus et 
 mortuus," and no reference is made to any previous 
 grant by the Conqueror, or by De Meschines ; indeed, 
 until the time of Henry II. the Normans had no posses- 
 sions in Cumberland, except a garrison at Carlisle. In 
 the reign of Henry III., Hubert, the fifth baron of Gils- 
 land, dying without male issue, his only daughter Matilda 
 succeeded to the estates and married Thomas Multon, Lord 
 of Burgh, whose mother was the heiress of the Morvilles, 
 of Kirkoswald Castle. Male issue again failing in the 
 reign of Edward III., the barony devolved to Margaret, 
 the sister of Thomas Multon, the eighth baron. Margaret 
 at the age of sweet seventeen eloped by moonlight from 
 Warwick Castle with Eanulph, Lord Dacre, whom she 
 married, and the estates passed in a direct male line to 
 eleven of their descendants. On the accidental death of 
 the infant Lord George Dacre, baron of Gilsland, Greystoke, 
 and Wemm, during the reign of Elizabeth, the sisters of 
 the deceased laid claim to the estates, but were opposed 
 by their uncles. After a delay of many years it was 
 decided in the courts of law that the girls were the right- 
 ful heirs; but the queen had seized the baronies, and 
 would hardly give them up. To the eldest, Anne, was 
 apportioned Dacre and Greystoke, and she married the 
 Earl of Arundel, eldest son of the Duke of Norfolk. The 
 second daughter, Mary, got Burgh, and married Thomas, 
 Earl of Suffolk, the second son of the Duke of Norfolk, and 
 dying childless, her barony of Burgh was sold and pur- 
 chased by the Lowthers. The youngest, Elizabeth, got 
 Gilsland and Wemm, and married Lord William Howard 
 (Belted Will), the youngest son of the Duke of Norfolk,
 
 N A WORTH CA.STLE. 101 
 
 and their greatgrandson Charles was created Earl of 
 Carlisle by Charles II. for his services in bringing about 
 the Eestoration. 
 
 The present proprietor of the castle, the Earl of Carlisle, 
 thus springs from an illustrious ancestry, being descended 
 from the great family of Norfolk, and a lineal descendant, 
 on the female side, of the ancient barons of Dacre and 
 Gilsland. 
 
 It is uncertain when the castle was built, and it can 
 hardly have been before the time of Edward I., for that 
 king twice took up his abode at Lanercost Priory, which 
 he would probably not have done had Na worth then been 
 in existence. Some are of opinion that the Barons of 
 Gilsland had a fortress at Castlesteads, the site of a 
 Eoman station, and where now stands the beautiful man- 
 sion of G. J. Johnson, Esq., but no vestiges remain of any 
 such building. Tradition says that the baronial residence 
 at Castlesteads was pulled down and its site sown with 
 salt, as a place accursed, the scene of the murder of 
 Gilles Bueth, or of some dark deed. It is on record that 
 Balph Dacre, who had married the heiress of Gilsland, 
 obtained a licence in the ninth year of King Edward III. 
 to make a castle of his house at Naworth, and it is again 
 mentioned in the time of Eichard II. It stands on rising 
 ground overhanging two deep but narrow dells, and is 
 surrounded by venerable trees. It consists of two large 
 square towers, united by other buildings, and enclosing a 
 quadrangular court. The castle of Kirkoswald, situated a 
 few miles to the north-east of Penrith, which had formerly 
 come into the possession of the barons of Gilsland by 
 marriage, and had been apportioned, on the division of 
 the Dacre estates, to Lord Dacre of the South, was dis- 
 mantled in 1604, when Lord William Howard (" Belted 
 Will ") purchased many of its ornaments and brought them 
 to embellish his castle at Naworth. Among these was an 
 oak ceiling and wainscoting, which he had placed in his 
 hall and chapel. The ceiling was divided into panels, and 
 on every panel was painted a portrait of the kings of 
 England, from Brute down to Henry VI. Brute is given 
 by Malmesbury as an ancient king of England. The whole 
 of this antique oak work, except a little in Belted Will's 
 chapel, perished by a fire which burnt down most of the 
 castle in 1844. Since that date the building has been 
 entirely renovated, but every endeavour made to retain 
 its character of an old border fortress.
 
 102 GILSLA.ND SECTION. 
 
 Visitors to the castle enter the courtyard by a gateway, 
 above which are the Dacre arms, and then the services 
 are obtained of Mrs. Eeeves, the housekeeper, who is an 
 excellent guide. The most convenient times are from 
 10 A.M. to 1 P.M , and from 2 P.M. to 5 P.M. Everyone is 
 treated with the utmost courtesy, and the family of the 
 Earl of Carlisle are exceedingly kind in allowing the 
 interior of the castle to be inspected. The portraits, 
 tapestry, ancient armour, and other relics of the past are 
 well worthy of a visit. The hall itself suggests ideas of 
 lordly gatherings and magnificent hospitality, or often- 
 times the daylight assembling of retainers preparing for 
 a moonlight raid over the border to secure and punish the 
 lawless freebooter. On entering the hall the visitor will 
 see on the left the armour of Lord William Howard 
 (Belted Will) ; and at the east end the portraits of Lord 
 William and of the Lady Elizabeth Dacre, his wife. The 
 tapestry, and the various armorial bearings on the corbels, 
 being the arms of the families allied to the Earl of Carlisle, 
 will be examined with interest. The partial destruction of 
 the castle by fire, and subsequent restoration, are referred 
 to in the quotations over the fireplace in the hall. In the 
 drawing-room there is a picture of a mosstrooper by Glass, 
 an American artist. The present library is the ancient 
 chapel. After seeing this the stranger ought to visit the 
 bedroom, oratory, and library of Belted Will ; and the 
 entrance to the secret staircase from his bedroom to the 
 dungeon. 
 
 Leaving the castle the straight road is taken, which 
 gradually ascends and commands a glorious retrospec- 
 tive view of the castle and neighbourhood, and across a 
 cultivated and wooded tract to the Scotch hills in the far 
 distance. On emerging from the park, at the lodge gate, 
 the turnpike road from Carlisle to Newcastle, locally 
 known as " the military road " is entered, close to a mile- 
 post stating 12 miles to Carlisle and 44 miles to New- 
 castle. Here a turn must be made to the left ; the direct 
 road leads to the railway station, which is situated about 
 300 yards distant. Presently the Newcastle and Carlisle rail- 
 way is passed over by a bridge, and the station is observed 
 pleasantly situated amongst the woods on the right, When 
 passing the Low Eow Tollgate the road commands a view 
 of a wide tract of level country, also Tindale Fell, Crossfell, 
 the Scotch and Cumberland hills, and a strip of the Solway 
 Firth. Here, quitting the military way, a turn is made to
 
 DESTON HALL. 103 
 
 left, and when over the railway the right-hand road has to 
 be followed. It passes the Nether Denton rectory and 
 church, both new elegant buildings erected through the 
 exertions of the Eev. Canon Shipman, who had previously 
 built a rectory and restored the church at Scaleby. The 
 old church here was unsightly and without antiquarian 
 claims to recommend it. The site of the rectory and 
 church was, however, full of interest, having been a 
 Roman camp, as was proved, when the alterations were 
 being made, by the large quantity of coins, pieces of 
 pottery, lamps, and other interesting relics which were 
 found, and are now in the possession of Mr. Clayton of 
 Chesters, near Chollerford. 
 
 Denton Hall in Nether Denton is situated near to Low 
 Row station. It was many centuries ago the seat of the 
 ancient family of the Dentons del Hall de Carlisle. 
 Denton Hall formerly consisted of a tower with massive 
 walls ; it is now a farmhouse with no external feature 
 to indicate its antiquity and importance, but some of the 
 old thick walls exist in the present building. The Rev. 
 C. J. Denton, M. A., Vicar of Askham Richard, Yorkshire ; 
 and Wm. Denton, Esq., J.P., Keswick, are the present 
 representatives of the ancient family of the Dentons of 
 Denton. The pedigree of the family is considered to be 
 the oldest and best authenticated of any in Cumberland, 
 and one of the members, who lived in the sixteenth 
 century, left a manuscript history of the county that has 
 been the fountain from which all historians of Cumber- 
 land have since drawn the bulk of their information. A 
 copy, or possibly the original, of this MS., is in the posses- 
 sion of Mr. Denton, of Keswick, who kindly lent it to us, 
 and from it we have gleaned facts which appear here and 
 there in this work. There are said to have been two 
 Denton MS. histories of Cumberland : one by John 
 Denton, of Cardew, above referred to, and another by 
 Thomas Denton, of Warnell, which is lost. 
 
 About half a mile west of Denton Hall is a farmhouse, 
 which also was a border " peel " with massive walls. It is 
 now converted into a comfortable farmhouse. Between 
 Denton Hall and Bowsteads is a barn-like building, which 
 also deserves the attention of the antiquary. 
 
 As the traveller proceeds on the journey he will be 
 interested in observing to the left, on the opposite bank of 
 the river, the position of the Coome Crags, and Birdos- 
 wald, which were passed during the early part of the
 
 104 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 drive, and he will not fail to discern the hotel as soon 
 as it appears in its commanding position in the distance. 
 When driving through Upper Denton, those who have 
 not previously visited the interesting old church will be 
 tempted to leave their conveyance for a few minutes and 
 stroll into the churchyard and look at the tombstones, 
 which are described at page 78. 
 
 Persons who do not desire to drive to Naworth can of 
 course go by train, as the railway station is only half a 
 mile from the castle, and it would be a pleasant walk back 
 to Gilsland via Lanercost, Coome Crags, and Birdoswald. 
 A very pleasant day's excursion may also be had by taking 
 the train to Naworth, thence walking to the Castle, Laner- 
 cost Priory, Brampton by the Eidge and Mote, the river 
 Gelt and Written Crag ; then to Talkin Tarn and the 
 Milton railway station, thus making the walking distance 
 about 9 miles. 
 
 Gilsland to Triermain Castle, Askerton Castle, 
 and Newcastle. 
 
 Triermain, 2J miles ; Askerton, 6 miles ; Bewcastle, 10 miles. 
 
 For a wagonette or other conveyance, to carry six persons and 
 
 the driver, 25s. 
 For a wagonette or other conveyance, to carry eight persons 
 
 and the driver, 30s. 
 For a four-wheeled break, 5s. each person. 
 
 Starting from the hotel, enter the road which branches 
 to the right, a few yards below the Orchard House. It is 
 the same way as that leading to Birdoswald, but after 
 proceeding another mile the Birdoswald road is passed on 
 the left. Keeping straight forward high ground is at- 
 tained, and on passing a house by the roadside the ruin of 
 Triermain Castle appears a short distance in front. There 
 appears to have been a mansion or castle here during the 
 time of the Norman conquest, and it was afterwards the 
 property of the lords of Gilsland, and the residence of a 
 branch of that family. A single strip of the outside wall, 
 standing on a mound strewn with lumps of cemented 
 rubble stone, is all that remains of this famed border for- 
 tress, rendered famous principally by Sir Walter Scott, who 
 fixed here the scene of, and hence obtained the name for,
 
 TRIERMAIN AND ASKERTON CASTLES. 105 
 
 his poem " The Bridal of Triermain." Many thoughts will 
 rush into the mind as the stranger stands on its site and 
 sees less than a mile distant the Eoman station of Birdos- 
 wald. The ancient Eomans, the former conquerors of the 
 world, the uncivilized Britons and Caledonians, the fierce 
 Barons of the middle ages and their followers, and the 
 modern Magician of the North, all appear to pass in review, 
 and thus render the visit one of unusual interest. The 
 ruin is the property of the Earl of Carlisle. The adjoining 
 farmhouse is occupied by Mr. Thomas Milburne, two gene- 
 rations of his ancestors having lived here before him. The 
 visitor may obtain some excellent milk at the house. 
 
 Leaving Triermain the road proceeds for a mile without 
 any object of particular interest, and then a rivulet, called 
 King's Water, is crossed close to a small inn and black- 
 smith's shop. One mile beyond the inn the road bends to 
 left, and care must be taken not to enter the road on the 
 right, which merely leads to some farmhouses and to the 
 common. A pleasant cultivated district is passed through, 
 with occasional views of distant hills, including Tindale 
 and Castle Carrock fells ; the Lake District mountains, 
 Skiddaw, Blencathara, and Helvellyn range ; and also the 
 Scotch hills, Criffel, Burnswark, and others. Directly 
 opposite the Lees Hill brick and tile works, enter the right- 
 hand road. It makes a gradual ascent, commanding fine 
 retrospective views across the vale to the Tindale and 
 other fells, and leads direct to Askerton Castle. 
 
 The edifice belongs to the Earl of Carlisle, and is a good 
 specimen of the old border fortified residences. Two of the 
 towers remain almost perfect, and are connected by old 
 buildings still used as a farmhouse, whilst around are out- 
 buildings of modern construction. The whole when seen 
 from the front entrance presents an ancient and pleasing 
 appearance. On a stone outside of one of the towers is 
 carved T. D., supposed to be the initials of Thomas Lord 
 Dacre, who occasionally resided here when Lord Warden, 
 in the reign of Henry VIII. In ancient times this castle 
 was the usual residence of an officer called the Land 
 Sergeant, whose duty it was to take the command of the 
 inhabitants in repelling the mosstroopers. The tenant, 
 Mr. Thomas Tweddle, kindly allows people to enter the 
 house and ascend to the summit of the towers, standing 
 upon the leaden- roofs of which a wide extent of country 
 is spread to view, with the Tindale and Castle Carrock
 
 106 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 fells, Skiddaw, and a host of the Lake District moun- 
 tains ; also Solway Firth, Criffel, Burnswork, and Chris- 
 tenbury Crags. Though there are now only two towers 
 standing, in all probability there were originally four, and 
 there yet remain a few steps which appear to have led up 
 to one at the north-west corner. 
 
 From the castle the road runs through an open country, 
 covered with coarse grass, and tenanted with sheep and 
 cattle, whilst here and there is a thorn bush or a clump of 
 trees. As the traveller wends his way he has a good 
 prospect of the hills of Cumberland and Scotland, and 
 now and again the silvery streak of the Solway Firth is 
 visible. When Bewcastle comes in sight it is found to 
 consist of two or three houses, a church, and the ruins of 
 a castle, situated in the middle of a tolerably wide vale, 
 from which rise low heath-clad hills. The whole district 
 appears open and undulating, with a verdant tract extend- 
 ing to the south-west, but in the opposite direction we 
 appear to be on the confines of cultivation, for to the 
 north and north-east stretch a wide tract of low hills and 
 heathy moorland. The country around was in former 
 times of bad repute, being the abode of the worst speci- 
 mens of robbers and freebooters ; and the evil fame of the 
 district had spread so wide that there was a by-law of the 
 corporation of Newcastle prohibiting any freemen of that 
 city to take for apprentice a native of certain of these dales. 
 An amusing story is told of one thief here. He had stolen 
 a fat hog, and the bailiff and his assistants being in pursuit 
 with a search warrant found him rocking a cradle, when 
 he received them with the utmost composure and courtesy. 
 On being informed of their errand, he coolly observed, 
 " Aye, you are much in the right to search ; pray search 
 well, and examine every corner ; let me request you only 
 not to make a noise, as the child with which my wife has 
 left me in charge is cross and peevish ; I beg you not to 
 awaken it." The pig was in the cradle, and of course 
 could not be found. At one time the place was much 
 inhabited by dealers in horses and cattle, called " Border 
 Coupers." They were generally men full of a rude and 
 ready kind of wit, continual talkers, hard drinkers, and 
 often quarrelsome companions. One of these " coupers " 
 attempted to recommend himself to a travelling Scotch- 
 man by claiming kindred, affirming that he was a border 
 Scot. " Gude faith, I dinna doubt it," quoth the canny
 
 BEWCASTLE. 107 
 
 Scotchman, " the coarsest part of the cloth is aye at the 
 border." 
 
 On descending into the vale the Limekiln Inn will be 
 entered. It is a small house of modern entertainment, 
 and contains one of the old large open chimneys which 
 will be glanced at with interest by some visitors. Crossing 
 the Kirkbeck streamlet by a wooden footbridge, a slight 
 ascent is made to the church and castle, which are said to 
 be built on the site of a Eoman station, and to be on the 
 line of the Maiden Way, which leaving the great Roman 
 road from York to the north at Kirkby Thore, in West- 
 morland, ran by Alston, Birdoswald, and Bewcastle into 
 Scotland. 
 
 The late Mr. Maughan, formerly rector of Bewcastle, 
 who wrote a pamphlet on the subject, thought he could 
 trace the Maiden Way* running past the station, but 
 we think the tourist will find the task rather difficult, and 
 may prefer to listen to the schoolmaster here whilst he 
 relates that the Maiden Way was not a Eoman road at all, 
 but was made in order that one of Edward I.'s daughters, 
 who was going to Scotland to be married to a Scotch 
 prince, might accomplish a vow she had made that she 
 would walk the whole way to Edinburgh without dipping 
 her foot in water. 
 
 Mr. Maughan tells us that the place was not destitute 
 of memorials and evidences of ancient occupation, there 
 having been found at different periods several Eoman 
 coins, rings, urns, pieces of red Samian and black pottery, 
 both plain and figured, vases, querns, flanged tiles, bricks, 
 oxidated iron, beads, glass, votive tablets, inscribed altars, 
 and other relics. Pieces of coal are also often found, 
 showing that the Romans were probably acquainted with 
 the coal mines of the district. The outer wall of the 
 station appears to have been of considerable thickness, 
 but it is now in ruins and covered with turf. In some 
 places it is nearly level with the ground, but it still shows 
 distinctly the site of the wall. 
 
 There is nothing striking in the church, but in the 
 graveyard is a most interesting Runic monument, which 
 has given rise to much antiquarian discussion. It is an 
 
 * The word Maden or Madien is an old Celtic or British 
 appellation, and signifies "raised or elevated." Hence the term 
 Maiden Way, simply means " a raised road " or " highway."
 
 108 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 obelisk 15 feet high, 2 feet square at the base, and 16 
 inches at the upper part, where has been broken off a 
 cross that would formerly surmount it, but is now lost. 
 
 On the west side is a long inscription in Runic cha- 
 racters, which is rendered by Mr. Maughan as follows: 
 "Hwsetred, Waethgar, and Alwfwold set up this slender 
 pillar in memory of Alcfrid, a king, and son of Oswy . Pray 
 thou for them, their sins, their souls/' This Alcfrid is sup- 
 posed to have died about the year 664, and to have been 
 an Anglo-Saxon king of Northumbria, a district which in 
 all probability then embraced all the counties in England 
 north of the Humber, and the southern counties of Scot- 
 land nearly as far as Edinburgh. Below the inscription is 
 a human figure, with a bird like a hawk or eagle perched 
 on his arm. Above the inscription is a cloaked figure, with 
 a nimbus or glory encircling the head, and surmounted 
 by two lines of Runes, which, when rendered into English, 
 are said to be simply " Jesus Christ." Above this are two 
 figures, thought by some to be the Virgin and Child, and 
 by others to be St. John the Baptist and the Holy Lamb. 
 On the top are two or three fragments of letters. 
 
 The sculpture on the south side is divided into five 
 compartments. In the bottom, central, and top divisions 
 are magical knots. In the second are two vines intersect- 
 ing each other, and in the fourth is another vine, in one 
 of the curves of which a vertical sun-dial has been placed, 
 somewhat resembling the dial placed over the Saxon 
 porch on the south side of Bishopstone Church in Sussex, 
 and also resembling the Saxon dial placed over the south 
 porch of Kirkdale Church, in the North Riding of York- 
 shire; a short description of each of which may be found at 
 p. 60 of the eleventh volume of the 'Archaeological Journal.' 
 In the Bewcastle dial the principal divisions are marked by 
 crosses, as on the forementioned dials, which are con- 
 sidered examples of a very early date, the Kirkdale dial 
 having been made, as it is supposed, between the years 
 1056 and 1065. At the top of this side of the monument 
 is a defaced inscription. Between the other compartments 
 are four inscriptions, which are said to read, " In the first 
 year (of the reign) of Egfrid, King of this Kingdom of 
 Northumbria." Egfrid ascended the throne A.D. 670, and 
 therefore this would appear to be the date of the erection 
 of the monument. 
 
 On the north side are also five compartments occupied
 
 RUNIC MONUMENT. 109 
 
 by sculpture. In the highest and lowest divisions we find 
 vines with foliage and fruit, which some have considered 
 to be the Danish symbols of fertility, as Amalthea's horn 
 was among the Greeks. In the second and fourth divisions 
 are two curiously devised and intricately twisted knots, 
 often called " magical knots." The third division is filled 
 with a quantity of chequerwork, " which is pronounced by 
 Mr. Smith to be ' a Scythian method of embellishing funeral 
 ornaments'; and is regarded by Bishop Nicholson ' as a 
 notable emblem of the tumuli or burying places of the 
 ancients.' Camclen says, ' Seeing the cross is chequered 
 like the arms of Vaux, we may suppose that it has been 
 erected .by some of them.' Hutchinson thinks that ' the 
 cross must of necessity be allowed to bear a more ancient 
 date than any of the remains of that name ; which cannot 
 be run up higher than the Conquest.' He also thinks 
 that ' armorial bearings were not in use at the same time 
 as the Runic characters.' It is probable, however, that 
 this chequerwork had no reference to the family of Vaux or 
 De Yallibus, as they were not really and legally possessed 
 of the lordship of Bewcastle until the reign of Henry II., 
 or about the middle of the twelfth century, whicb. is too 
 late a period for the decoration of this monument. The 
 late ingenious Mr. Howard, of Corby, suggested that ' very 
 possibly the family of De Vallibus took their arms from 
 this column, being one of the most remarkable things in 
 the barony.' The cheque appears to have been a device 
 used by the Gauls and Britons long before the erection of 
 this cross. The Gaulic manufactory of woollen cloth 
 spoken of by Diodorus and in Pliny's ' Natural History ' 
 was woven chequerwise, of which our Scottish plaids 
 are perfect remains. Bishop Anselm's book concerning 
 ' Virginity,' written about the year 680 the era of the 
 cross nearly when the art of weaving in this country 
 was probably in a comparatively rude state, contains a 
 distinct indication that chequered robes were then in 
 fashion ; and many of the figures in Eosselini's Egyptian 
 work are dressed in chequered cloths. The cheques are 
 still retained in common use to this day among the inhabit- 
 ants of Wales, the descendants of the Ancient Britons; 
 and so great is their veneration for their ancient emblem 
 that whenever a Welshman leaves his native mountains to 
 reside in an English town, he is sure to carry this symbol 
 along with him. Shops with the sign of the chequers were
 
 110 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 common even among the Eomans, as is evident from the 
 views of Pompeii presented by Sir W. Hamilton to the 
 Antiquarian Society. A human figure in a chequered 
 robe is sculptured on the side of an altar which was found 
 in digging a cellar for the Grapes Inn, on the site of the 
 Eoman station at Carlisle, thus establishing the probability 
 that the cheque was used among the Eomans in Britain. 
 We read also of nets of chequerwork in the days of King 
 Solomon." Immediately above the lowest compartment is 
 one line of Eunic characters, said to be " Cyneburga," the 
 daughter of Penda, King of Mercia, and the wife of 
 Alcfrid. Between the second and third compartments 
 (from the bottom) is another line read " Kyneswitha," the 
 sister of Cyneburga. Between the third and fourth com- 
 partments is another line of Eunes which, though indistinct, 
 appears to read " King of the Mercians," and it appears 
 to have been connected with another line between the 
 fourth and fifth divisions, which may be read " Wulfhere," 
 who was a son of Penda, brother of Cyneburga, and King 
 of the Mercians. He succeeded his brother Peada in the 
 year 657, according to the Anglo-Saxon chronicle. 
 
 On the eastern face a vine branch laden with bunches of 
 grapes and figures of birds and animals runs from the 
 bottom to the top. The sculpture on this side of the 
 cross has suffered very little damage from the corroding 
 effects of the weather. It contains no inscription, but it 
 is probable there have been some letters near the top of 
 the shaft on a part which has been broken off. In all pro- 
 bability all the hieroglyphics had a meaning, although some 
 have thought they were merely the fancy of the sculptor. 
 
 Before leaving this burial-ground it is curious to note 
 the following on one of the headstones : 
 
 "Jonathan Telford, of Craggy Ford, who died April 25th, 
 1866, aged 72. Deceased was one of the moor game-shooters 
 in the north of England ; in the time of his shooting he bagged 
 fifty-nine grouse at seven double shots." 
 
 Two or three years ago, the clergyman being ill, there 
 were a few interments here without the burial service 
 being read. The vicar of Gilsland offered to go over to 
 officiate if he could be driven the distance one way, but 
 he was never solicited on these terms, and the interments 
 took place without the presence of a clergyman. 
 
 Close to the church are the ruins of the castle, consist- 
 ing almost solely of a large patch of the southern wall, of
 
 BEWCASTLE. Ill 
 
 great thickness, and 42 feet in height; and evidently 
 built of stones of the shape and size used by the Romans. 
 A part of the western turret remains, but the northern 
 and eastern sides are overthrown and lie in confused heaps 
 to the very edge of the broad fosse which formerly sur- 
 rounded the building. The form of the castle was a 
 square of 87 feet. The bleak and lonely appearance of 
 its still stately ruins awakens in the mind of the moraliz- 
 ing visitor the idea of fallen greatness proudly and sternly 
 smiling even in desolation and neglect. 
 
 The first historical record we have of Bewcastle is, that 
 previous to the Conquest it was possessed by the family of 
 Bueth, who built the castle, whence it took the name of 
 Bueth Castre, or Both Castle, and by corruption Bew- 
 castle. Bueth, who was also Lord of Gilsland, taking part 
 with the Scots against Stephen, was obliged to fly with his 
 son into Scotland. His possessions were afterwards given 
 by Henry II. to Hubert de Vallibus ; and in the time of 
 Henry III. another Hubert de Vallibus was the last 
 of that name, whose daughter and heiress Matilda 
 married Thomas de Multon. After the Multons, it was 
 in the possession of the Swinburnes for several genera- 
 tions, and in the seventh year of Edward I. John Swin- 
 burne obtained a grant for a fair and market to be held 
 here. In the reign of Edward III. it came into the 
 possession of Sir John Striveling, by marriage with the 
 heiress of the Swinburnes. It appears to have been in 
 the possession of the Crown in the reign of Edward IV., 
 and was by him given to Eichard, Duke of Gloucester, 
 though some authors suppose that grant was of a place 
 bearing the same name on the borders of Wales. In the 
 reign of Henry VIII. it was in possession of the Musgraves. 
 James I. demised it to Francis, Earl of Cumberland, for 
 forty years' term, and Charles I. granted it to Richard 
 Graham, knight and barrister, to hold of the Crown in 
 capitf. In 1641 the castle was reduced to a ruinous state 
 by the Parliament forces under Cromwell, and the inhabit- 
 ants still point out the place where be planted his cannon, 
 a few hundred yards distant. In the days of Charles II. 
 one Jack Musgrave, " a most pestilent fellow," was captain 
 of Bewcastle. In the life of Lilly, the famous astrologer, 
 will be found a most amusing account of how he made 
 Jack very drunk, and got from him a document Jack 
 held, highly compromising to Sir William Pennington, 
 ancestor of the present Lord Muncaster.
 
 112 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 Tradition relates that the castle was burnt by the 
 retainers of the family of Johnstone of Loch Wood, in 
 Annandale. A deadly feud had long existed between 
 Nixon, the governor of Bewcastle, and the Johnstones 
 of Loch Wood ; and during the minority of a young heir 
 of Loch Wood, Nixon determined to plunder that estate, 
 and for that purpose sent his band of armed ruffians 
 across the border. It happened that the young heir, in- 
 heriting all the inflexible malice of his ancestors, had 
 at the same time formed a resolution to imbrue his yet 
 untried sword for the first time in the blood of the here- 
 ditary foes of his family ; and arrived at Bewcastle during 
 the darkness of that night on which the retainers of Nixon 
 were foraging the estate of Loch Wood. Here, it is said, 
 through a window he beheld the aged and hoary form of 
 Nixon asleep in his elbow-chair by the fire, near to which 
 also sat his lady, and in another part of the room the 
 menials were busily employed in arranging supper. 
 Whilst the young savage was satiating his eyes on the 
 object of his hatred, now seemingly within his power, 
 Nixon awoke, and told his lady "that he had dreamed 
 the youthful foe of his family was come to ' Bewcastle, 
 and was then looking in at the window." She soothed 
 him by observing that his dream would be reversed, 
 for by that time the retainers of Bewcastle would have 
 plundered Loch Wood, and were then, doubtlessly, re- 
 turning with the booty. Young Johnstone no sooner 
 heard this than he ordered every entrance to the castle 
 to be secured, and having set fire to it, hastened home- 
 wards. Meeting the plunderers of Loch Wood, near the 
 banks of the river Liddal, after a desperate conflict the 
 Johnstones recovered their property. Old Nixon essay- 
 ing to make his escape through a window, stuck fast, 
 and in that position fell a prey to the flames. The re- 
 collection of his fate has furnished a simile still current 
 among the peasantry of Bewcastle. When anyone has 
 suffered severely, they figuratively term it, " He has 
 ' bidden ' (or suffered) Nixon's glow." The traveller on 
 surveying the massive thickness of the walls, and the 
 height of the small window from the ground, through 
 which Johnstone is said to have reconnoitered his victim, 
 and through which Nixon endeavoured to escape, will 
 discover the improbability of this traditional legend. 
 
 The castle, demesne lands, and manorial rights of Bew-
 
 CHRISTENBURY CRAG. 113 
 
 castle, are now the property of Sir F. U. Graham, Bart., of 
 Netherby. 
 
 Whilst at Bewcastle the tourist ought to spare time, if 
 possible, for a visit to Christenbury Crag,* distant seven 
 miles. When we first arrived at Bewcastle we inquired 
 the distance to the top of the crag, and were told three 
 miles by one person, another said five, a third six, and 
 a fourth ten. We frequently learned to our cost that 
 the natives hereabouts have very vague notions as to 
 distances of places, and, like the hero of Guy Man- 
 nering, we were often told the distance was " a gey bit ; " 
 then the " gey bit" was more accurately described as 
 " Ablins three mile ; " then the " three mile " diminished 
 into "like a mile and a bittock ;" then extended them- 
 selves into "four mile or thereawa' ;" and lastly, a female 
 voice, having hushed a wailing infant which the spokes- 
 woman carried in her arms, assured us, " It was a weary 
 lang gate yet, and unco' heavy road for foot-passengers." 
 
 Halfway between Bewcastle and Christenbury Crag is 
 a hamlet named the Flatt, at which place is a handsome 
 hunting seat, belonging to Sir F. Graham, and it is usual 
 to drive to this point and then ascend to the summit of 
 the crag on foot. 
 
 Between Bewcastle and the Flatt formerly lived one 
 Thomas Armstrong, well known in oral tradition by the 
 nickname of Socky Tom. He was a daring freebooter, 
 and the hero of many determined deeds, cunning strata- 
 gems, and hairbreadth escapes. His house was on the 
 summit of a steep declivity, rising almost perpendicularly 
 from the margin of the brook. For some more than 
 ordinary crime, the civil officers of justice, after repeated 
 and unsuccessful attempts to capture him, had called in the 
 aid of a party of military from Carlisle, and at break of 
 day surrounded the barn in which the redoubted Socky 
 had for some time lain concealed. His favourite grey 
 mare, which had borne him off safely from many a hot 
 pursuit, stood ready saddled beside him, and Tom was 
 awakened out of his sleep by her neighing. The officers 
 stood near the door, and for once deemed the marauder in 
 their power. Aware of his desperate situation, he in- 
 
 * Derived, according to one writer, from " crista," a crest ; and 
 " bury," the Saxon term for a particularly formed hill, and signi- 
 fying the crested hill a distinction very appropriately bestowed. 
 
 I
 
 114 GILSLAXD SECTION. 
 
 stantly mounted, and calmly awaiting till the officers burst 
 open the door, he dashed at one bound, through the midst 
 of his foes, headlong down the declivity. The officers 
 fired, but only slightly wounding the mare, she safely bore 
 off her master to the not far distant fells, where all search, 
 if made, was ineffectual. The place still bears the name 
 of "Socky's Leap," and the place where the first foot- 
 prints of the mare indented the ground is still pointed out 
 to the curious traveller. 
 
 About forty years ago a writer thus described the ascent 
 of Christenbury Crag : " After passing the White Leven 
 or Line river, which here is only a mountain brook, the 
 eye of the traveller is arrested by two large conical heaps 
 of stones, or cairns, blanched by exposure to the storms of 
 a thousand winters to an almost perfect whiteness, and 
 which are said by antiquaries to mark the place of 
 sepulture of some renowned Celtic warrior. These are 
 about 100 yards apart, and one of them has been partially 
 removed by some person, no doubt under the vulgar 
 delusion, still prevalent, that treasure was deposited under- 
 neath such piles. After surmounting the steep bank on 
 which the cairns are placed, the rocks of Christenbury 
 appear at only a short distance, and so exactly resemble in 
 appearance an immense ruined fortress that it requires 
 some little exertion of mind to dispel the illusion. The 
 traveller is yet 2 miles from the rocks. Owing, however, 
 to the smooth surface of the intervening bog, upon which 
 the eye can find no particular object to dwell, nor estimate 
 by any comparison of magnitude how far the crags are 
 removed, the distance does not appear more than a few 
 hundred yards. On a nearer approach, however, they 
 increase in apparent magnitude, and the anxiety of the 
 visitor is proportionally excited, until, on attaining the 
 summit of the mountain, the whole bursts on the view. 
 The face of the crag, which is a soft sandstone, is not on an 
 average more than 30 feet in height, but the amazing dis- 
 order in which the immense blocks, which by some dread- 
 ful convulsion have been severed from the parent rock, are 
 piled and tumbled around in every direction, fills the mind 
 with emotions of astonishment. These masses, many of 
 them from 20 to 30 feet in length, and from 15 to 20 feet 
 in depth and thickness, appear heaped upon one another, 
 as if human art had been employed in their compilation, 
 and form dark passages and unshapely dismal caverns,
 
 SPADEADAM WASTE. 115 
 
 amongst and around which the mountain breezes howl 
 and whistle in melancholy and dreary concert. Amid 
 these solitary masses is one isolated rock, named the 
 'Long Crag,' which is 48 feet high, and appears at a 
 distance like a quadrangular tower, and may, though not 
 without some difficulty, be ascended. On its summit 
 are a few scanty tufts of heath, and amid its clefts the 
 mountain crow builds her nest and brings forth her young 
 in safety." 
 
 In returning from Bewcastle to Gilsland the adven- 
 turous pedestrian may shorten the distance from 10 to 7 
 miles by taking a direct course across Spadeadam Waste. 
 Half a mile out of Bewcastle, at a bend in the road, go 
 through a gate on the left, and ascend by ground covered 
 with brushwood to the rear of a stone fence. During the 
 ascent there is a wide extent of country visible, with the 
 Solway Firth and the distant hills Criffel and Burnswark ; 
 and gradually as the tourist advances he will see spread 
 before him a vast panorama stretching across a level culti- 
 vated plain to the Tindale and Castle Carrock fells, and the 
 Cumberland Lake District mountains. The highest point 
 passed after leaving Bewcastle is Side Fell : this is 1012 
 feet above the level of the sea. The stranger will have 
 some difficulty in pushing his way, and must choose his 
 steps with care and deliberation, for he will have to pro- 
 ceed along what Sir Walter Scott terms a blind road, a 
 track so slightly marked by the passengers' footsteps, that it 
 can only be detected by a slight shade of verdure from the 
 darker heath around it, and being only visible to the eye 
 when at some distance, ceases to be distinguished while the 
 foot is actually treading it. Sometimes it sinks between 
 two broken black banks of moss earth, sometimes crosses 
 narrow ravines filled with stuff of a consistence between 
 mud and water, and sometimes along heaps of gravel and 
 stones which have been swept together by some torrent 
 that has overflowed the marshy ground. The Maiden 
 Way, which ran between Birdoswald and Bewcastle, is said 
 to have crossed this tract of country, and to be still visible 
 in one or two places. On the top of a hill, called the 
 Beacon, which the traveller has close on his right, is the 
 ruin of a Eoman watch tower. From this point a south- 
 east direction must be taken almost in a line with the 
 Thirlwall heights. Leaving a farmhouse and small 
 plantation on the right, and soon afterwards three or four 
 
 i 2
 
 116 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 other farmsteads, the hollow is crossed through which 
 flows the King Water streamlet, and then the trees around 
 the hotel gradually come in sight. In passing over the 
 Waste in a mist, or when darkness overtakes the traveller, 
 it is sometimes necessary to notice the direction of the 
 wind in order to keep in a direct line. By this means two 
 travellers walked safely across through mist, rain, and 
 darkness. They left Bewcastle Eectory at a quarter to 
 five o'clock in the evening, and arrived at Gilsland Eailway 
 Station at ten minutes past seven. 
 
 Ascent of Tindale Fell. 
 
 A pleasant change from the general character of the 
 excursions usually taken from Gilsland may be had by 
 ascending Tindale Fell. Those who are fond of a ramble 
 amongst the heather, the freedom of the hills, a fine 
 bracing atmosphere, and lovely views of a wide extent of 
 country, will in all likelihood make more than one visit 
 to this northern outlier of the Pennine mountain chain. 
 
 It may be ascended in many ways. On the east side, 
 Lambley railway station is a good starting point. From 
 thence the traveller may proceed in the direction of Glen 
 Dhu, and then have a long gradual climb to the summit of 
 the mountain ; or he may walk up Hartley Burn, and 
 follow the course of the Black Burn streamlet into a wild 
 but beautiful mountain recess, where are some small 
 cascades and most interesting geological sections of the 
 rock strata. 
 
 From Gilsland village a direct course may be taken by 
 crossing over Denton Fell, and through the head of the 
 Hartley Burn vale. 
 
 Those who take the train to Low Eow will follow the 
 road which runs southwards from the station, and when it 
 enters the Military Eoad turn to left for a few hundred 
 yards, then proceed by a footpath through some fields and 
 by a small dell to the Cleugh Head farmhouse, the resi- 
 dence of Mr. Tweddle. Hence to some spelter or zinc 
 works, and by Black Burn to the summit. 
 
 Perhaps the easiest and simplest course is to take the 
 train to Milton or Brampton station, and then proceed by 
 road, or by the colliery railway, to the village of Hall 
 Bank Gate, 2 miles from Milton station. Another 1
 
 ASCENT OF TINDALE FELL. 117 
 
 miles along a good road brings to Tindale Tarn, a large 
 sheet of water with a farmhouse on its bank, situated 
 close at the foot of the mountain. After a good steady 
 climb over short smooth grass, the tourist cannot fail to 
 gain the top, where is a large cairn or heap of stones, 
 sometimes denominated a stone man, at a height of 2038 
 feet above the sea level. 
 
 Another plan is to track the river Gelt to its source, 
 or walk past Talkin Tarn and Talkin village. In many 
 respects the ascent of Tindale Fell by this western side 
 will be preferred, for it enables the traveller to see the fine 
 recesses in the Geltside and Castle Carrock mountains, 
 and from some points of view those hills look very 
 beautiful. 
 
 On gaining the summit of Tindale Fell an extensive 
 panorama is spread to view. To the north is a wide tract 
 of woodland and desolate moors reaching to the Scotch 
 hills. To the east, the ,South Tyne is seen winding its 
 way in the direction of Hexham, and the course of the 
 Eoman Wall is tracked for miles over the "Walltown and 
 Sewingshields Crags. To the west are Burnswark, Criffel, 
 Skiddaw, Carlisle, the vales of the Irthing and the Eden, 
 the Solway Firth, and the Irish Sea. 
 
 If the day be fine, the hardy mountaineer might descend 
 to Alston, on the south-east, or into the vale of the Eden, 
 on the south-west ; and some may even think of continuing 
 on the tops in the direction of Cross Fell. A very pleasant 
 ramble might also be had to the tops of Geltside and Castle 
 Carrock. 
 
 A "Walk to Thirlwall Castle. 
 
 Thirlwall Castle is situated 2 miles to the east of Gils- 
 land, and half a mile from the Greenhead railway station. 
 It is included in the excursions given at pages 119 and 
 136; but some persons may prefer strolling to it direct 
 from the hotel. 
 
 After crossing the river and passing Wardrew House, a 
 foot-track must be entered, which branches to the right, 
 and leads in a south-east direction. Leaving Temple Heap, 
 with its dozen trees, on the right, and on the left the 
 house called the Lodge, and an outbuilding, the ridge 
 known as the " Nine Nicks of Thirlwall " presently appears, 
 and a fine view is had of the wooded ground to the west.
 
 118 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 At a corner in the stone fence a stile is crossed, and here 
 come into view the ruins of Thirlwall, about a mile dis- 
 tant, and in the opposite direction the village of Gilsland, 
 with Tindale Fell to the south. From this point a descent 
 must be made to the farmhouse in a direct line with the 
 Castle. The house is reached by passing through a gate 
 and then following a cart-track ; when through the farm- 
 yard the road leads over a small rill. Here follow the 
 foot-track which first winds to left and then to right, and 
 ascends the hill. The track leads to a small house standing 
 behind a large ash tree. At this house pass through a gate 
 and follow a cart-road taking direct to the Castle. The 
 ruins are not yet visible, being hid in a hollow in front ; 
 but a view is had of the village of Greenhead and the ivy- 
 covered towers of Blenkinsop Castle beyond. Presently 
 Thirlwall Castle is reached, and the traveller may return 
 to Gilsland by the same route, or by rail. If the trains 
 are not convenient, a pleasant walk of 21 miles, along a 
 good road, will bring the tourist back to the hotel. 
 
 Gilsland to Carvoran. 
 
 Those who desire to make a special visit to the Eoman 
 station of Carvoran, or Magna, can travel by rail 2 miles to 
 Greenhead, and then walk" along the military road past 
 Glen Whelt. After making a rather steep ascent for half a 
 mile the first road on the left is entered, and by proceeding 
 along it a few hundred yards the farmhouse is reached : it 
 stands in the midst of a cluster of trees. Lying about in 
 the yard, and built into the walls, are many altars and 
 other relics, such as millstones, figures, and parts of 
 columns, which have been dug up and carted from the 
 camp. In the house are two beautiful Eoman altars, of 
 the medium size. The site of the camp has been, in 
 recent times, levelled and cultivated ; but before this, we 
 are told, there were many vestiges of buildings. Some 
 portions of the north rampart and fosse still remain, and 
 are seen to the west of the house. This camp was situated 
 about a hundred yards to the south of the wall, and 
 between the two ran the vallum or south ditch. Heaps of 
 grass-covered rubbish are all that remain here of the wall ; 
 but the north fosse is in a perfect condition, and descends 
 to the banks of the Tipalt, close to Thirlwall Castle,
 
 HALTWHISTLE. 119 
 
 which, half hidden by trees, presents from this point a 
 picturesque appearance. 
 
 From the castle the traveller may proceed to Greenhead 
 station, situated a few hundred yards distant, or walk to 
 the hotel by the route described at page 117. 
 
 Gilsland to Haltwhistle, and thence to Bellister, 
 Featherstone, Blenkinsop, and Thirl wall Castles. 
 
 This excursion may be taken with carriage, a distance 
 of 15 miles, but most persons will go by train to Halt- 
 whistle, and then visit the four castles on foot, a walk of 
 7 miles, and return by train from Greenhead station ; or, 
 if it be inconvenient to catch the train, the hotel may be 
 reached by adding to the walk the 2 2 miles, via Thirl wall 
 Castle, as given at page 117. 
 
 Those who are anxious to visit the castles, but object 
 both to the carriage drive and the pedestrian excursion, 
 may visit the places by railway, as Thirl wall and Blenkin- 
 sop Castles are near the Greenhead station; Bellister 
 Castle is near to Haltwhistle station; and Featherstone 
 Castle is near to Featherstone station. 
 
 Haltwhistle contains 1500 inhabitants. The principal 
 hotels are the Crown, Sun, Manor House, and Temperance 
 Hotel. It is pleasantly situated on the north bank of the 
 South Tyne river, and is a respectable town of consider- 
 able antiquity ; but it appears to find it a hard struggle 
 to emerge from its antique tranquillity to the active com- 
 mercial life of the present day. Within the last twenty 
 years it has greatly improved, owing that improvement, 
 no doubt, to its being the centre of an extensive and pros- 
 perous agricultural district, and also to the development 
 of mineral wealth immediately around it. A weekly 
 market was granted to the town by Edward I., when he 
 rested there a night on the llth September, 1306, on his 
 last journey into Scotland. Thursday is the market day, 
 but there is now no regular market, as the district has 
 been in a great measure converted from arable into 
 pastoral, and the railway enables the inhabitants to visit 
 Carlisle, Hexham, and Newcastle. The dairy produce is, 
 however, still brought into the town, and few places can 
 boast of being better supplied with butcher meat, butter, 
 eggs, milk, and poultry. There are some good shops, and
 
 120 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 also a banking establishment a branch of the Cumber- 
 land Union Bank. Tourists staying in Gilsland often find 
 it convenient to run down here to make a few purchases. 
 
 In olden times Haltwhistle had its share of the feudal 
 and predatory wars which devastated the borders, and 
 its principal guardians appear to have been the Mus- 
 graves, Blenkinsops, Featherstonehaughs, and Eidleys. The 
 tower of Hautwysill, mentioned in a list of the castles and 
 towers in Northumberland in 1416, was no doubt the 
 venerable manorial Peel which stands in the rear of the 
 Castle Hill, at the east end of the town. It has a loop- 
 holed turret, built on corbels ; the floors consist of stone 
 flags laid on joists composed of oak trees roughly squared. 
 Although it now presents an insignificant appearance by 
 the side of modern structures, in ancient times it would, 
 no doubt, be the official residence of the bailiffs of the 
 town. It is a pity that such a genuine relic of antiquity 
 should be neglected and dilapidated. 
 
 The Castle Hill, which commands a good view, is a 
 diluvial bank, artificially formed at a remote period into 
 its present shape, and fortified with earthworks. To the 
 south the Tyne has swept its base; Haltwhistle Burn 
 gurgling down its deep glen cuts it off from the adjacent 
 hill ; a wide ditch has defended it on the north, while to the 
 west the ground has been cut away to render it as inac- 
 cessible as possible. The earthen rampart is about 4 feet 
 high, and encloses an area of about 200 feet from east to 
 west, by 100 from north to south. A recent writer says, 
 the meaning of Hautwysill is the Holy Hill on the high 
 water ; thus showing that the hill was used not only as a 
 defence for the inhabitants and their cattle against any 
 sudden inroad of the enemy, but also as a place for public 
 worship, and probably for the administration of justice. 
 
 The castellated house, now used as a temperance hotel, 
 near the market place, is a more modern structure than 
 the old Peel, and was probably used at a later period as a 
 residence for the bailiffs. One of the towers presents an 
 antique appearance at the back of the house, but in front 
 it has been cemented and coloured. 
 
 It is said that in the time of Queen Elizabeth, when Sir 
 Eobert Carey was Warden of the West Marches, the Liddes- 
 dale mosstroopers having plundered the town of Halt- 
 whistle, the English Wardens, in retaliation, entered 
 Liddesdale in a hostile manner and laid waste the lands 
 of the freebooters. Upon this occasion an Armstrong was
 
 HALTWHISTLE. 
 
 121 
 
 killed by one of the Eidleys of Haltwhistle, which pro- 
 cured the town another visit from the Armstrongs, who 
 reduced a great part of it to ashes, but not without losing 
 one of their leaders. Sir Eobert followed the freebooters ; 
 but upon his approach they abandoned their dwellings and 
 retreated to a place of defence. Whilst Sir Eobert in- 
 vested their stronghold, the freebooters sent him a piece 
 of one of his own cattle, telling him that fearing he might 
 fall short of provisions during his visit to Scotland, they 
 had taken the precaiition to send him some English beef. 
 
 Haltwhistle is said to be one of the healthiest places in 
 England, and the ages which are recorded on the head- 
 stones in the churchyard bear out this statement in a 
 remarkable degree. Very few indeed of the gravestones 
 are without the record of some one who lived to be above 
 sixty years of age. We took a note of all above that age 
 (341 in number) with the following result : 
 
 Age. 
 
 61 
 
 62 
 
 63 
 
 64 
 
 65 
 
 66 
 
 67 
 
 68 
 
 69 
 
 70 
 
 71 
 
 72 
 
 73 
 
 No. 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 14 
 
 9 
 
 18 
 
 17 
 
 Age. 
 74 
 75 
 76 
 77 
 78 
 79 
 80 
 81 
 82 
 83 
 84 
 85 
 86 
 
 No. 
 12 
 15 
 15 
 20 
 13 
 
 4 
 16 
 14 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 8 
 
 13 
 
 87 
 88 
 89 
 90 
 91 
 92 
 93 
 95 
 96 
 97 
 99 
 101 
 108 
 
 No. 
 7 
 4 
 4 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 One gravestone, recording the ages of seven of one 
 family is so remarkable that we copy it entire. The eighth 
 member of the same family, a son, died a few months ago, 
 above ninety years of age : 
 
 "In memory of John Carrick, of Carvoran, who died 
 November 4, 1814, aged 82. 
 
 " Also of James, his wife, who died June 29, 1816, aged 73. 
 
 "Also of Elizabeth, their daughter, who died December 18, 
 1839, aged 69. 
 
 " Also Robert, their son, who died February 5, 1848, aged 75. 
 
 "Also John, their son, who died September 11, 1855, aged 86. 
 
 " Also Ann, their daughter, who died May 28, 1868, aged 85. 
 
 " Also Margaret, their daughter, who died September 2, 1869, 
 aged 91."
 
 122 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 The vicar of the parish informed us that in the re- 
 gister there is an entry of a man who died at the age of 
 117. 
 
 An eld lady, M. Beattie, lately died at Pott's Loan, near 
 Bewcastle, aged 107, and was buried at Lanercost. 
 
 The church is a very ancient building, and has recently 
 been restored. It contains a remarkable old tombstone, 
 which is figured (under the 14th century) in 'Boutell's 
 Christian Monuments.' 
 
 Bellister Castle is half a mile from Haltwhistle. To visit 
 it the traveller must go under the railway, and over the 
 South Tyne river, close to the station ; then turn to the 
 right, and after proceeding 700 or 800 yards, a branch road 
 on the left will be observed, leading direct to the building. 
 The ruins are not very extensive, there being merely part 
 of the outside walls remaining of what, in its best days, 
 must have been but a small border tower. It stands on a 
 boss of whinstone, and is shaded by an immense sycamore 
 tree. A modern farmhouse, built in the castellated style, 
 is attached to the ruin. In the rear is a belt of trees, and 
 in front an extensive view of Haltwhistle and the surround- 
 ing country. The manor is very ancient, and belonged to 
 Eobert de Eoos in 1296, but the castle does not make its 
 appearance in border history till 1470, when it was the 
 property of Thomas Blenkinsop, a younger branch of the 
 family of that name. In 1715, the castle was purchased 
 by John Bacon, whose son John married the widow of 
 John Blenkinsop ; and their grandson, the Eev. Henry 
 Wastel, in 1818, sold it to John Kirsop, of Hexham, who 
 left it to Mr. Eobert Williams, of London, the present 
 owner. 
 
 Tradition tells us that when Bellister Castle was 
 occupied by the Blenkinsops, a wandering minstrel sought 
 the protection of its roof. The evening was far advanced, 
 and the old man was gladdened on being invited to the 
 family hearth. This favour had not been long granted 
 before suspicion entered the bosom of the Lord of 
 Bellister. At that time animosity existed between him and 
 a neighbouring baron, and the thought that the minstrel 
 might be a spy in the employ of his enemy at once took 
 possession of his mind. The stranger was not slow in 
 noticing the change distrust had written upon the features 
 of the baron, and this knowledge had the effect of check- 
 ing his cheerfulness in return. This circumstance soon
 
 BELLISTER CASTLE. 123 
 
 communicated itself to the entire circle, and it was, there- 
 fore, with more than usual alacrity that the order for with- 
 drawal was obeyed. No sooner, however, was the lord left 
 to himself than suspense rose to passion, and the atten- 
 dants were summoned to bring the harper into his pre- 
 sence. Great was his surprise on being told he could not 
 be found the minstrel had escaped from the castle argu- 
 ing, no doubt, distrust at the hands of his entertainer. 
 The baron was now sonfirmed in his suspicion, and his 
 embittered spirit thirsted for revenge. The bloodhounds 
 were let loose, and by them the unfortunate stranger was 
 torn to pieces before the baron and his dependents could 
 reach the spot. It is added, the spirit of the murdered 
 man haunts the place, and visitors to the neighbourhood 
 hear from the story-loving people strange accounts of the 
 doings of " The Grey Man o' Bellister." 
 
 Featherstone Castle, distant 2 miles, is reached by 
 fallowing the main road in front of Bellister. A gradual 
 ascent is made, and then the river is on the right, and 
 Alston railway on the left, and an extensive view is had of 
 Haltwhistle and the high ground to the north and south. 
 The large handsome building on the opposite side of the 
 river is Blenkinsop Hall. Presently the rearward view is 
 lost to sight ; but this is'amply compensated by the wood- 
 land scene displayed in front ; with the dark heath- clad 
 hills of Tindale, Blacklaw, Thornhope, and Coanwood in 
 the distance. After passing a branch road, on the left, 
 leading to Park village, a sharp descent is made to the 
 large and beautifully wooded park of Featherstone, with 
 the South Tyne flowing round its north and north-west 
 sides. Few strangers will visit the spot without being 
 surprised and delighted to find such a charming sylvan 
 scene in, what will appear to many, an out-of-the-way 
 place, and where nothing but heath and moorland might 
 have been expected. The road runs through the park on 
 the south bank of the river, the opposite side of the stream 
 being a high slope beautifully clothed with wood. 
 
 After passing a farmhouse the castle comes in sight, its 
 ivy-mantled battlements presenting a picturesque appear- 
 ance. The Featherstonehaughs, who formerly lived here, 
 were a noted family in these parts in ancient times. The 
 origin of their name is thus given by an old writer : 
 " Their house was formerly upon a hill, where there are 
 two stones, called Featherstones, and was moated about for
 
 124 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 defence against the Scots ; but upon the ruin of this, the 
 house was afterwards built in the holme or valley under 
 the hill, which they there call Haugh, and thence it was 
 called Featherstonehaugh. Courts of manor were an- 
 ciently, and many of them to this day are, held in the 
 open air ; the place is distinguished by a large stone, which 
 the steward uses as a table, at which the homage take the 
 oath. It seems probable that the stones here mentioned 
 were used for such purpose in former ages, and were called 
 the Feuderstones, where the feudal tenants of the manor 
 were assembled." Helios de Featherstonhalf was in pos- 
 session of the castle in 1212. Thomas Featherstonehaugh 
 was conservator of a truce between England and Scotland 
 in 1327, and in 1335 Edward II. gave him a mandate to 
 array all the men at arms in South Tindale. In 1374 
 Alexander Featherstonehaugh, being about to proceed to 
 the king's foreign wars, made a settlement of his estate 
 before the high sheriff. About 1460, Alexander de 
 Featherstonehaugh engaged to marry Maud, daughter of 
 Sir Eichard Salkeld, in case his brother should die before 
 he married the same lady. Sir Albany Featherstonehaugh 
 was High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1530. He was 
 murdered at Greensilhaugh, near the farm-house of Wydon 
 Eals (situated on the opposite side of the river, about 
 a mile from his castle), by Eidley, of Unthank, on the 24th 
 October, 1530. The event is quaintly told in Surtee's 
 famous ballad : 
 
 " Hoot awa', lads, hoot awa', 
 
 Ha' ye heard how the Kidleys and Thirlwalls and a' 
 Ha' set upon Albany Featherstonehaugh, 
 And taken his life at the Deadman's haugh ? 
 
 There was Williamoteswick, 
 
 And Hardriding Dick, 
 
 And Hughie o' Harden, and Will o' the Wa', 
 I canna' tell a', I canna' tell a', 
 And many a mair that auld Nick may knaw." 
 
 Eichard Featherstonehaugh, D.D., was chaplain and 
 manager for Queen Catherine of Arragon in the affair of 
 her divorce, which he conducted with great zeal ; but re- 
 fusing to subscribe to the king's supremacy, he suffered 
 death, July 30, 1540. Henry Featherstonehaugh was 
 appointed receiver-general by James I. of all the king's 
 revenues in Cumberland and Westmorland. Timothy,
 
 FEATHERSTONE CASTLE. 125 
 
 his son, who during the civil wars in the reign of Charles 
 I. raised a troop of horse at his own expense, was knighted 
 under the king's banner for his gallant conduct, but he 
 was taken prisoner at the battle of Worcester, and be- 
 headed at Bolton, in Lancashire, in 1651. The castle and 
 estate continued in the male line of the family for twelve 
 generations, but their interest in it disappeared in Abigail, 
 only surviving daughter of the last of their line. Tradi- 
 tion assigns her a most romantic death (see page 128) ; but 
 history marries her unromantically to Mr. Peter Dodson, 
 of Kirby Overblows, Yorkshire, and brings her quietly and 
 timely to a natural end. The castle and estate afterwards 
 came into the possession of Matthew Featherstonehaugh, 
 of Newcastle; his son, Sir Matthew Featherstonehaugh, 
 sold them to James Wallace, Esq., barrister-at-law and 
 Attorney - General of England, in 1780 and 1783. He 
 died in 1783, and was succeeded by his son, Thomas 
 Wallace, of Ash Holme, Knarsdale, Carlton Hall, and 
 Featherstone, who was sworn of the Privy Council, 21st 
 May, 1801, and for his distinguished services under four 
 sovereigns he was created Baron Wallace, of Knarsdale, in 
 1828. In 1814 he married Lady Jane Hope, daughter of 
 John, second Earl of Hopetoun, and widow of Viscount 
 Melville. Lord Wallace died in February, 1844, when the 
 title became extinct, and was succeeded by the Hon. James 
 Hope, second son of John, the great Earl of Hopetoun, 
 who took the command at Corunna after the death of Sir 
 John Moore. Mr. Hope Wallace died January, 1854, and 
 was succeeded by his son, John Hope Wallace, Esq., the 
 present proprietor. On Mr. Hope Wallace coming of age, 
 in 1860, he so improved the whole of the castle and 
 grounds, that as they now stand they may fairly be called 
 the work of the present possessor. The flower and kitchen 
 gardens have been brought to surround the castle, and are 
 all enclosed by an embattled wall. The highest part in the 
 centre of the castle is the ancient tower of Featherstone, 
 but with that exception, the whole of the castellated 
 edifice has been altered and rebuilt. Mr. Hope Wallace 
 was High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1871. 
 
 The Featherstone railway station being only half a mile 
 distant, some tourists may stroll there and return to 
 Gilsland by rail. It is reached by ascending the high 
 ground in the rear of the castle. It is close to the boun- 
 dary of the park, and a few yards distant is the comfort-
 
 126 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 able snuggery of the Wallace Arms. A short distance 
 beyond is the hamlet called Featherstone Rowfoot. 
 
 Those who do not return by rail can have a pleasant 
 walk to Greenhead station, visiting Blenkinsop and 
 Thirlwall Castles. Near the Bridge End farmhouse, in the 
 middle of the park, the river is crossed by a picturesque 
 bridge which spans the stream with one arch. The anti- 
 quary will be interested in examining two old oak coffins 
 which are kept at the house, and were found along with 
 some other similar ones in a field on the Wydon Eals farm, 
 situated half a mile distant on the north side of the river. 
 The place, which appears to have been a very ancient 
 burial ground, is reached by going through a gate on the 
 right after crossing the bridge. Some workmen acciden- 
 tally found the coffins when making drains. Each coffin 
 consists of the hollow trunk of part of an oak tree rudely 
 split from end to end, the two halves being fastened 
 together by means of oaken pegs driven into holes. The 
 interior contained human bones, and consisted of a cavity 
 of about 6 feet by 20 inches, rudely shaped, apparently 
 with some very primitive kind of instrument. In 1859, 
 Mr. Clark, land agent, Featherstone Castle, wrote a report 
 on the subject at the request of the Archaeological Insti- 
 tute of Great Britain, and it was printed along with the 
 ' Transactions' for that year. Similar oak coffins have been 
 found, though rarely, both in England and Scotland ; but 
 there seems to be no close agreement amongst antiquaries 
 as to the age in which they were made. In a deed, dated 
 1223, the place is called the Temple Land, and paid 19s. 
 per annum to the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle. 
 
 On his way back to the road the tourist may turn up the 
 Pynkinscleugh burn, and follow a track which ascends 
 through the wood. He will thus pass through a small 
 dark glen, where, by the side of two venerable thorns, 
 stands the Witch's Cot, a crumbling ruin, consisting merely 
 of a wall and gable covered with moss and fern. About 
 150 years ago this lonely and rude hut was inhabited by an 
 eccentric old woman, named Janet Pearson, familiarly 
 known in the neighbourhood by the characteristic cogno- 
 men of Beardie Grey, from her singularly long beard. 
 She enjoyed the unhappy privileges of a reputed witch 
 and prophetess, and consequently lived upon her neigh- 
 bours, " getting more for her ill than her good." Many of 
 her oracular utterances are handed down from father to
 
 BEARDIE GREY, AND ABIGAIL. 127 
 
 son. One of these resembles some that are widely current 
 in the traditionary lore of Scotland, and reminds us of 
 Scott's ' Border Minstrelsy/ where it is said, "At Pynkins- 
 cleugh there shall be spilt much gentil blood that day." 
 The tradition is that at the west corner of Beardie's hut 
 there stood a huge grey stone, on which she used to rock 
 to and fro whilst venting her maudlin ravings to the mid- 
 night blast, and she prophesied that when that stone was 
 covered with moss a great battle would take place here 
 that would make the burn run three days red with blood. 
 This stone, which was being rapidly overgrown with moss, 
 was destroyed some years ago, and no doubt that untoward 
 accident saved the credit of the prophetess or averted the 
 dreadful consequences of the strife. The last time the 
 dreaded old witch was seen she was making her way to her 
 lonely hut on a stormy night, when the burn and river 
 were considerably swollen with rain. The next day her 
 neighbours missed her on her accustomed round, and on 
 the most courageous among them breaking open the door 
 of her hut, it was found empty, and the current belief 
 was that the de'il had wafted her away amid the howling 
 of the tempest on that dismal stormy night. 
 
 " When a land rejects her legends ; 
 Sees but falsehoods in the past ; 
 
 And its people view their sires 
 
 In the light of fools or liars, 
 
 "Tis a sign of its decline, 
 And its splendours cannot last ! " 
 
 After dwelling a few minutes on the mysterious fate of 
 wrinkled old Beardie, the traveller gains the road close to 
 a bridge, which, according to tradition, is the site of the 
 death of lovely Abigail, the last of the line of the Feather- 
 stonehaughs. It is said, the last Baron of Featherstone 
 had an only daughter of great beauty, named Abigail, and 
 the baroness being dead, his whole affections were centered 
 on this charming girl, who at "sweet seventeen" was 
 wooed, in all the devoted fervency of the times, by two 
 gay and gallant lovers. The baron's favourite was Timothy 
 Featherstonehaugh, a distant relative ; the other was Eidley 
 of Hardriding, who was secretly loved by the daughter, 
 and the favourite with the vassals ; but owing to an ancient 
 feud between the families his suit was rejected by the 
 baron, and he was forbidden the castle, and an immediate
 
 128 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 marriage decided upon with Featherstonehaugh. Neither 
 tears nor entreaties could prevail, and ere she had time to 
 thwart the baron's designs, the Prior of Lambley was 
 summoned to perform the ceremony, which took place in 
 a small chapel adjoining the castle. After the sacred vow 
 and plighted troth, a hunting party took place in honour 
 of the occasion. The numerous vassals who were enjoy- 
 ing the hospitality of their chief were soon in readiness ; 
 and, characteristic of the times, the charming bride was to 
 be one of the party. Mounted on a beautiful palfrey she 
 took her place in blushing loveliness by the side of her 
 gallant lord, and the gay calvacade burst from the ivied 
 archway, and rushed into the thickets of the forest glade, 
 accompanied by the fervent blessings of the baron, who 
 was unable, from age and infirmities, to pursue and enjoy 
 the sport. Amid the woody glens of Hartley Burn the 
 harpers' notes made every spirit light. The blast of the 
 horn came echoing through the dales to call all up when 
 twilight grey told it was banquet hour. The chase termi- 
 nating on Notterish Hill, the party were returning by 
 the gloomy glen of Pynkinscleugh, when at the bridge 
 they were met by the rejected lover, at the head of a well- 
 appointed band of vassals, who attempted to carry away 
 the bride, willingly, tradition saith, but whether by ap- 
 pointment we know not. The bridegroom not willing to 
 lose his prize, offered resistance, and both parties closed 
 in deadly combat, but the vassals of Featherstonehaugh 
 having come lightly armed for the chase, were soon over- 
 powered and cut down. The fair prize was now within 
 Eidley's grasp, but the chivalric spirit of the times forbade 
 the victorious vassals taking so foul an advantage of the 
 chances of the conflict. In single combat it must now be 
 decided, and the steady parrying and desperate thrusts of 
 the two combatants told that valour held death equal in 
 the scales, when the heroic bride the guiltless cause of all 
 the strife flung herself between the combatants. As if 
 anticipating her purpose, they made a superhuman effort 
 to close the deadly scene, and ere they could stay the over- 
 strung nerves of their uplifted arms, their reeking blades 
 had pierced her breast ; the purple stream told the blow 
 was mortal. Casting a look of forgiveness on both she 
 sank among the slain. Both paused for a moment, and 
 but for a moment, for then the furious clashing of steel 
 announced the regardlessness of life, now that the prize
 
 BLEXKINSOP CASTLE. 129 
 
 worth living for was gone. They both fell, and expired by 
 her side. Such was the melancholy fate of the last of the 
 direct line of the Featherstonehaughs. The fragment of a 
 stone long marked the spot to the passing stranger. 
 
 The road ascends steeply in a straight line, and is 
 bordered on each side by plantations. When the top of 
 the high ground is gained, which is called Notterish Hill, 
 a splendid view of the surrounding country is obtained, 
 and presently the ivy-covered battlements of Blenkinsop 
 Castle present a picturesque appearance directly in front, 
 with Greenhead village beyond. Within the ruins is a 
 chimney or ventilating shaft connected with the working 
 of an old coal mine, and portions of the building are now 
 tenanted by persons connected with the adjoining colliery. 
 It was the seat of the ancient family of Blenkinsop, and is 
 supposed to have been built in 1339, when " Thomas de 
 Blenkinsopp " had a licence to fortify his mansion on the 
 borders of Scotland. It occurs as the residence of John 
 de Blenkinsope in the list of Border castles about the year 
 1416 ; and in 1488, its proprietor of the same name, and 
 his son Gerard, committed the custody of it to Henry 
 Percy, Earl of Northumberland, who at that time was 
 Warden of the West and Middle Marches, and no doubt 
 thought this a desirable situation for a garrison on the 
 borders. Under the protection of their castles, the people 
 in this valley so strongly resisted the Act of Parliament 
 made in Henry VIL's time, to incorporate them with the 
 county of Northumberland, that in 1550 it was reported to 
 Government that the sheriffs of the county had, often to 
 ride to attack offenders at Thirlwall, Blenkinsop, and other 
 places on the South Tyne ; " for both they and the people 
 of North Tindale always claimed and used their old liber- 
 ties, and were therefore more obedient to the keeper of 
 Tindale, or the Lord Warden than to the sheriffs of North- 
 umberland." In 1542 this castle is described as a tower 
 of the inheritance of John Blenkinsope, damaged in the 
 roof, and not in good reparations. When it was finally 
 deserted as a residence by its owners we have no account. 
 In 1727 it came into possession of the Coulsons, of 
 Jesmond, near Newcastle, by the marriage of William 
 Coulson with Jane Blenkinsop, the heiress of the estate. 
 In 1785, the names of the two families were blended, and 
 John iBlenkinsop Coulson left the estates to his nephew, 
 Colonel John Blenkinsop Coulson, who built for his resi- 
 
 E
 
 130 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 dence the fine castellated mansion of Blenkinsop Hall, and 
 whose portrait hangs in the town hall of Haltwhistle. 
 He was called the heather chieftain, from having ridden to 
 Morpeth at the head of the voters of South Tynedale 
 during the fiercely-contested election of ] 826, with a sprig 
 of heather in his hat. He died in 1863, and was succeeded 
 by his son, Captain John Blenkinsop Coulson, who married 
 the eldest daughter of the seventh Lord Byron, represen- 
 tative of the celebrated poet. He died in 1868, and was 
 succeeded by his eldest son John Byron Blenkinsop Coulson, 
 the present proprietor. 
 
 There is a legend connected with the castle of Blenkin- 
 sop, called " The White Lady o' Blenkinsop," which is 
 somewhat as follows : Bryan de Blenkinsop, a brave and 
 handsome youth, was lord of the castle. He possessed 
 many good qualities, which won him favour amongst his 
 neighbours, but he had one failing, which ultimately 
 wrecked his fortune'; namely, an inordinate love of 
 wealth. Being present at the marriage of a brother 
 warrior with a lady of high rank and fortune, amongst 
 other toasts was given " Bryan de Blenkinsop and his ladye 
 love." The youthful lord passionately replied, "Never 
 shall that be until I meet with a lady possessed with a 
 chest of gold heavier than ten of my men can carry into 
 my castle." The effect this announcement made upon the 
 assembly was noticed by the speaker, who, ashamed of 
 having disclosed his secret thought, suddenly left the 
 castle, and ultimately quitted the country. After an 
 absence of some years he returned, bringing with him a 
 wife, and a box of gold which took twelve men to carry 
 into his castle. But his married life was not all sunshine : 
 his lady, jealous and revengeful, had her chest re- 
 moved to a secret vault, when the baron, aggravated by her 
 conduct, left the castle and was never heard of again. The 
 lady, after repeated efforts to find her lost lord, also dis- 
 appeared, and the lives of the two became enveloped in 
 mystery. It is said the lady, filled with remorse, cannot 
 rest in her grave, but must needs wander back and mourn 
 over the chest of gold, the cursed cause of all their woe. 
 
 Half a mile from Blenkinsop Castle is the Greenhead rail- 
 way station, and half a mile from the station are the ruins 
 of Thirlwall Castle, upon an eminence on the west bank of 
 the Tipalt streamlet. Dr. Bruce, in his book entitled ' The 
 Roman Wall,' says : " Thirlwall Castle is, as Hutchinson
 
 THIRLWALL CASTLE. 131 
 
 calls it, ' a dark, melancholy fortress ' of the middle ages. 
 It was for many centuries previous to its purchase by the 
 ancestors of the Earl of Carlisle, the residence of an 
 ancient Northumbrian family of the name of Thirlwall. 
 Amongst the witnesses examined on the occasion of the 
 famous suit between the families of Scrope and Grosvenor, 
 for the right to bear the shield ' azure, a bend or," which 
 was opened at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1385, before King 
 Kichard II. in person, was John Thirlwall, an esquire of 
 Northumberland. The witness related what he had heard 
 on the subject of the dispute from his father, who ' died at 
 the age of 145, and was when he died the oldest esquire in 
 all the north, and had been in arms in his time sixty-nine 
 years.' Such is the language of the record of these pro- 
 ceedings, preserved in the Tower of London." 
 
 We extract the following story from Mr. Teter Burn's 
 ' English Border Ballads ' : "A tradition is linked to 
 Thirlwall Castle, called ' The Gold Table o' Thirlwa.' We 
 are told that one of the barons of Thirlwall returned 
 from the wars laden with treasures, amongst which was a 
 table of solid gold. Not only did he become an object of 
 envy amongst his neighbours, but he excited the covetous 
 dispositions of the numerous bands of freebooters with 
 which the borders abounded ; yet the baron held the pos- 
 sessions against all comers ; brave himself, he boasted of 
 true and daring followers. Furthermore, the gold table 
 was said to be guarded day and night by a hideous dwarf, 
 represented by many to be the foul fiend himself. But a 
 change came to the house of Thirlwall ; a Scot more bold 
 than his neighbours, came with his men ; they stormed the 
 castle by night, and the baron and his retainers, after a 
 desperate resistance, were slain. Search was made for the 
 treasure,- but dwarf and gold table had disappeared; a 
 further search was made, but without success, when, after 
 having set fire to the castle, they departed. It is said that 
 the dwarf had, during the heat of the engagement, re- 
 moved the treasure; and after having thrown it into a 
 deep draw-well, jumped in, and by his infernal power 
 closed the top of it. So much for the tradition, which, 
 wild as it is, finds a place in the faith of the people. Many 
 speak of the treasure which lies at the bottom of the 
 ' dwarf's well.' " 
 
 K 2
 
 132 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 Glen Dhu. 
 
 This is a small, but an exceedingly pretty ravine, situated 
 one mile from the Lambley railway station, on the Alston 
 line; and it contains one of the best waterfalls in the 
 district. 
 
 Formerly there was a small nunnery at Lambley, which 
 was destroyed by the Scots in 1296. In the reign of 
 Queen Elizabeth the South Tyne ran among the ruins of 
 the building, and now it has swept away every vestige 
 of it. 
 
 The Lambley viaduct is a fine object in the landscape, 
 and before leaving the bridge a small Koman camp, called 
 the Castle, at the east end of the bridge should be visited. 
 Here, too, the geologist will get the best section to be seen 
 of what is known by geologists as the 90-fathom dyke. 
 It brings in the Newcastle coal-field, which is being worked 
 at different places in the neighbourhood. For 6 or 7 miles 
 along the dyke the geology is most interesting, and the 
 traveller can stand as it were with one foot on the New- 
 castle coal measures and the other on the millstone grit 
 and the mountain limestone. 
 
 Glen Dhu may be reached by a rather circuitous road 
 from the station, but a better plan is to proceed close to 
 the line for one mile to the place where are five arches. 
 Here cross the right-hand fence, and proceed up the glen 
 with the stream on the left. It is a very beautiful, narrow, 
 rugged dell; the water tumbling over large blocks of 
 freestone, and the overhanging cliffs being luxuriantly 
 clothed with trees, shrubs, ferns, and mosses. Three- 
 quarters of a mile up the dell there is a delightful cascade, 
 the water having a fall of about 30 feet over a ledge of 
 rock, and tumbling into a deep pool below. The spot is 
 most secluded and romantic. The cliffs are high and 
 charmingly covered from base to summit with a profusion 
 of vegetation, trees and shrubs growing on every rock, 
 through the leaves and branches of which glance rays of 
 the sun on the mosses and ferns that fill every crevice. 
 After a steep climb the top of the ravine is gained and the 
 road entered that runs from Brampton to Alston. From 
 this point the mountain ground might be entered and a 
 gradual ascent made to the summit of Tindale Fell. Those 
 who keep the road will walk in a north-western direction
 
 NORTHUMBERLAND LAKES. 133 
 
 np the vale called Hartley Burn ; here are some collieries, 
 and a private single line of rails running from Lambley 
 station to Milton station, and used almost solely for the 
 transit of coal ; sometimes a traveller may, however, suc- 
 ceed in getting a ride on the engine. When half-way up 
 Hartley Burn, Gilsland can be reached by following a road 
 which crosses the vale and ascends the opposite high 
 ground, called Denton Fell. Any of the natives will tell 
 the stranger where to leave the road and strike across the 
 fell in order to descend close to the Gilsland station. 
 
 Gilsland to the Northumberland Lakes, and to 
 Housesteads. 
 
 Greenhead, 3J miles ; Common House, 7 miles ; Twice Brewed, 
 10 miles; Northumberland Lakes, 12 miles; thence to House- 
 steads, on foot, 14 J miles ; by carriage, 17 miles ; to House- 
 steads direct from Gilsland, 13 miles. 
 
 These distances are from Shaw's Hotel, Gilsland. 
 
 For a wagonette or other conveyance, to carry six persons and 
 
 the driver, 30s. 
 For a wagonette or other conveyance, to carry eight persons and 
 
 the driver, 35s. 
 For a four-wheeled break, 5s. each person. 
 
 Leaving Gilsland by the road which passes under the 
 railway, close to the station and the hamlet of Crooks, a 
 good view is had of the Hotel and Orchard House, and 
 surrounding woodland; and in front appear the Nine 
 Nicks of Thirlwall, and the cluster of trees close to the 
 site of the Koman station of Carvoran. Presently the 
 ruins of Thirlwall Castle appear, and near to them the 
 north and south ditches are observed ascending the hill. 
 The road crosses the line of the Koman wall, passes within 
 a^few hundred yards of the castle, and joins the military 
 way at the village of Greenhead. After going over the 
 railway and the Tipalt streamlet, a house called Glen 
 Whelt is passed, which, in old coaching days, was an inn, 
 and the place for changing horses ; in the house are a pair 
 of red deer's horns, taken out of the Eoman well at Car- 
 voran. From this point a very steep ascent is made, and 
 the view embraces a wide extent of country. Close below 
 on the right is seen Blenkinsop Castle, and across a field on
 
 134 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 the left is the Carvoran farmhouse on the site of the Boman 
 station of Magna. From Carvoran the Roman wall crosses 
 over the tops of the long ridge of hills on the left, stretch- 
 ing to the east for many miles. The road now runs for a 
 long distance in a straight course over high ground, which 
 hides Haltwhistle on the right and the vale through which 
 runs the railway and flows the South Tyne, whilst beyond 
 are heath-clad hills stretching to Crossfell. Where a 
 descent begins to be made, the Roman station of Great 
 Chesters can be discerned close to a farmhouse half a mile 
 on the left. A small stream is crossed, which flows from 
 Green Lee Lough, one of the Northumberland lakes, 
 situated a short distance north of Housesteads and the 
 Roman wall ; and then a small inn, called the Common 
 House, is reached, at the point where the road branches to 
 right for Haltwhistle, li miles distant. At the house the 
 traveller will observe Cawfields mile station, a few hundred 
 yards on the left. It is the most perfect castle of the kind 
 on the whole length of the wall. 
 
 After passing the public-house the road runs in a 
 straight course on high ground. The Roman wall is 
 visible half a mile on the left, following in an up and down 
 course the hills and hollows of the cliff-like ridge facing 
 to the north. Half a mile beyond the inn there are two 
 upright stones on a mound on the left ; they are known 
 locally as the Mare and Foal, and are in all probability 
 the remains of a Druidical circle, or denote the burial place 
 of some ancient Norse or Danish warrior. In a map pub- 
 lished in 1769 they are called " The Three Stones." The 
 country around is bare of trees, and thinly studded with 
 houses, but the traveller will feel braced with the pure 
 breeze, and will occasionally catch pleasant glimpses of 
 distant hills as he proceeds along the road, which runs up 
 and down in an almost perfectly straight course. More- 
 over he cannot fail to take an especial interest in the 
 journey when he observes the Roman wall running on 
 the ridge for miles, a few yards on his left, and pictures in 
 his mind those far-off times when the Roman warrior, day 
 and night, paced and jealously guarded every inch of that 
 mural barrier. 
 
 On reaching the public-house known as Twice Brewed, 
 a large round stone will be seen in front of the building. 
 It is evidently part of a Roman milestone, such as that 
 mentioned at page 139. The original and far-famed
 
 NORTHUMBERLAND LAKES. 135 
 
 " Twice Brewed " was a quarter of a mile distant, and is now 
 a farmhouse. Two hundred yards beyond the inn enter a 
 branch road on the left ; it ascends the high ground and 
 passes through the Eoman wall at a point where it has 
 been rebuilt within the last few years to keep it in good 
 preservation. The Crag Lough will be observed on the 
 right at the base of some perpendicular crags. When 
 over the ridge go through a gate on the right and follow a 
 cart-track ; the Crag Lough and the bold vertical cliffs, 
 over which the Komans erected their wall, now present a 
 picturesque appearance. Presently, on gaining the top of 
 a slight elevation, the wide open district known as the 
 Waste, appears in front, stretching away to the north, and 
 close below are seen parts of the two sheets of water 
 known as the Green Lee Lough and Brown Lee Lough, 
 and there is observed a pleasant-looking house embowered 
 in a small plantation, it being Sir Edward Blackett's 
 shooting-box, near to which is a farmhouse, and the 
 gamekeeper's cottage. The place has a lonely, rural and 
 picturesque appearance, and on a fine day the stranger 
 may while away an hour or two very pleasantly by saunter- 
 ing about on the banks of the loughs. The visitor used 
 to be able to obtain the loan of the rowing-boat on Green 
 Lee Lough by applying to the gamekeeper, but this 
 favour has been discontinued owing to some foolish people 
 having done wilful damage to the boat. 
 
 Whilst the carriage is returning empty to " Twice 
 Brewed," and thence to Housesteads, a distance of 5 miles, 
 the visitor will walk 2 miles from the lakes to the latter 
 place. After crossing the ground in front of the ridge 
 and proceeding through a gap in the wall, turn to the left 
 and follow the course of the wall ; it is here in a good state 
 of preservation, and a mile castle will be observed before 
 a small plantation is passed through, at the back of which 
 is the fine station of Borcovicus or Housesteads. See page 
 203. 
 
 The journey home may be agreeably varied, and only 
 a slight addition made to the distance, by following the 
 road which leads past Haltwhistle, or by Chesterholm, 
 Bardon Mill, and Haltwhistle. See pages 136 and 138.
 
 136 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 A walk along tlie Roman "Wall, over the Nine 
 Nicks of Thirlwall. 
 
 A very pleasant 8 miles walk may be had by taking the 
 train to Haltwhistle, and then strolling to the Boman wall, 
 and tracing its course over the Nine Nicks of Thirlwall 
 to Thirlwall Castle, and thence proceeding to Gilsland 
 Hotel. 
 
 When through the town of Haltwhistle, take the road 
 which branches to the left, close to Haltwhistle Burn, a 
 streamlet that has its source in Green Lee Lough, one of 
 the Northumberland lakes, and flows into the South Tyne. 
 The road makes a steep ascent, commanding good retro- 
 spective views, and when the prospect opens to the north, 
 the Nine Nicks of Thirlwall and the Roman wall appear. 
 Another plan is to follow the footpath by the side of the 
 burn ; it is more romantic, but a trifle more circuitous. 
 One mile and a half from Haltwhistle railway station, the 
 military road is reached at the point where there is a 
 small inn, called the Common House ; here cross the turn- 
 pike and follow the road leading direct to the wall, which 
 is seen a little less than half a mile distant, the Cawfield's 
 mile station being also in sight. 
 
 When a few yards from the public-house, branch to the 
 right to the mile castle, passing over the south ditch, 
 which is here clearly traced, taking a direct line at the 
 foot of the heights. The Cawfields mile castle is con- 
 sidered to be the most perfect structure of the kind known. 
 See page 201. To the east of it the wall is almost perfect 
 for nearly a mile. 
 
 Leaving the castle, the Haltwhistle burn is crossed close 
 to the Burnhead farmhouse, which stands on the site of 
 the wall. For the next 200 or 300 yards there are no re- 
 mains, but the direction is clearly defined by the northern 
 ditch. Presently in the stone fence a portion of the 
 original wall appears, three or four courses of stones high ; 
 all traces then disappear until the next farmhouse, Great 
 Chesters, is reached, which is situated upon the site of the 
 wall and close to the camp or station of JEsica. The 
 uninitiated might pass the latter without noticing any 
 trace of its having been so important a place in former 
 times, but on examining the spot more closely there is
 
 NINE NICKS OF THIRLWALL. 137 
 
 found to be a large square plot of land, 3 acres in extent, 
 enclosed by high banks composed of stones overgrown 
 with grass, and outside of which appears to have been a 
 ditch, and inside are grass-covered heaps, where have 
 evidently existed buildings. 
 
 To the next farmhouse, Cockmount Hill, distant a few 
 hundred yards, there are only slight traces of the wall, but 
 the present stone fence is a good guide, as it takes the same 
 direction. A short distance to the left is a lead mine, which 
 has been worked for the last seven years, but not much lead 
 has yet been obtained. Just beyond the house the wall 
 runs through a small plantation, and may be followed along 
 a foot-track ; it is overgrown with grass and shrubs, but in 
 some places there may be observed three or four courses of 
 facing stones. For the next half mile the only trace of the 
 wall is a line of heaps of stone overgrown with ferns 
 and grass, but by jumping over to the north side the stones 
 are seen here and there neatly fixed in their original posi- 
 tion. Here will be observed the remains of a mile castle 
 entirely overgrown, and of the same shape and size as that 
 at Cawfields, and distant from it about a mile. The wall 
 then runs some distance tolerably perfect, being 7 feet, and 
 on the north side 10 feet high, but without the ditch on the 
 north, as the ground has a gentle slope in that direction. 
 
 Leaving a clump of trees and the farmhouse of Allolee 
 on the left, the Nine Nicks of Thirlwall begin to be 
 ascended, and the view opens out grandly to the west, 
 whilst to the east is a long ridge of cliff-like hills, over 
 which the wall can be traced, and at the foot of which lie 
 the Northumberland lakes, one being visible from this 
 point. To the north stretches for miles a wide tract of 
 land gradually rising in the distance to slightly elevated 
 ground, without a tree, and scarcely a farmhouse to be 
 seen. To the south is a pleasantly wooded vale, watered 
 by the South Tyne, and more distant heath-clad hills, 
 terminating in Crossfell. Near at hand may be seen one 
 or two houses, but the only denizens of the place appear 
 to be innumerable sheep and black cattle, which constantly 
 enliven the solitude. 
 
 The wall now almost disappears, but it may be traced 
 by the grass-grown mound along the very summit of the 
 cliffs, which present a sheer precipice of from 100 or 200 
 feet to the north, and gradually slope to the south. The 
 walk along these tops is most enjoyable, the traveller being
 
 138 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 invigorated by a pure and healthy breeze, and having 
 spread before him a glorious panorama stretching to the 
 Solway Firth, with Skiddaw on the left, and Criffel on the 
 right of that arm of the sea. 
 
 After leaving on the left, embosomed in trees, the farm- 
 house of Waltown, which was formerly a castellated 
 tower, the property of a brother of Bishop Eidley, the 
 martyr, the grass-grown remains of another mile castle 
 are observed, and then a strip of the wall is found facing 
 to the north, 5 feet high, and still perfect. 
 
 On descending from the crags close to a quarry of whin- 
 stone, worked for supplying paving-stones for the streets 
 of Edinburgh, Newcastle, &c., the traveller reaches the 
 farmhouse of Carvoran, and the site of the Eoman camp 
 Magna. For particulars respecting the camp, and the 
 remaining part of the journey, see pages 117 and 118. 
 
 Gilsland to Bardon Mill, and thence to Chester- 
 holm and Housesteads, 
 
 The finest Eoman camp on the line of the wall is at 
 Housesteads, and it may be visited either by taking the 
 train to Bardon Mill or Haydon Bridge ; the former is 3i, 
 and the latter 6 miles from the camp. Haydon Bridge 
 being the larger place, and having plenty of posting 
 accommodation, many strangers alight there from the train, 
 but the route by Bardon Mill is not only the shortest but 
 the most interesting, as it enables the tourist to visit the 
 Eoman camp of Chesterholm, where is standing the only 
 remaining Eoman milestone in Great Britain, except that 
 in the wall of Saint Swithin's Church, Cannon Street, 
 London. 
 
 Bardon Mill is a small old place, situated in a fertile 
 district on the bank of the South Tyne Eiver. On alight- 
 ing at the station the traveller may follow the road either 
 to right or left. Those who go to the left must take the 
 first turn on the right and then ascend straight up the hill, 
 avoiding a way leading north-west. If the opposite course 
 be taken, the left-hand road must be entered at the last 
 house through the village. After passing a row of cottages 
 the road bends to the right, and continues to ascend the 
 hill, with fine retrospective views across the vale to the
 
 CHESTERHOLM. 139 
 
 summit of the high ground, southward. Half a mile 
 might be saved by entering a footpath before arriving at 
 the cottages. The path takes through the fields and con- 
 ducts past some houses to the top of the hill in the direc- 
 tion of dark heath-covered ground. It is, however, not 
 advisable to cut off this corner, as by so doing the camp 
 of Chesterholm is not visited. 
 
 When on the top of the hill, leave the road, go through 
 a gate on the left, and follow a way leading down to a small 
 ravine planted with trees, and containing one or two 
 houses ; here on a slight eminence is the old Eoman camp 
 of Chesterholm. It is of the same shape and size as those 
 situated close to the wall, and appears to have been on the 
 line of a Eoman road ; close to it is a Eoman milestone, 
 a round solid block, 6 feet in circumference and 5 feet 
 high, but without any inscription now visible. By follow- 
 ing the lane 1 mile to west will be found the lower part of 
 a similar milestone, lying loose on the ground, but we are 
 told within a yard of the position it occupied when erect. 
 The upper part has been broken off and split into pieces ; 
 the pieces are now used as gate-posts on the top of the field 
 entering a cross road. At a neighbouring public-house on 
 the military road, called " Twice Brewed," is also another 
 portion of a similar stone, and we found a part of one 
 used as a seat in'the Robin Hood public-house, near Harlow 
 Hill. Hodgson tells us that a few years since there were 
 three successive milestones remaining west of Chesterholm, 
 each in its proper place. 
 
 The camp at Chesterholm is well denned, the walls, and 
 debris within, being overgrown with grass. It is supposed 
 to have been the Eoman station of Vindolana, and it has 
 sometimes been called Little Chesters, The Bowers,* and 
 Chester-in-the-Wood; and the adjoining stream goes by the 
 name of Chineley Burn. The villa close by was formerly 
 the residence of the Eev. Anthony Hedley, a zealous and 
 warm-hearted antiquary. An old writer tells us of a 
 temple having been found at the west end of the station 
 " adorned with Doric pilasters and capitals," which, from 
 the workmen's ignorance of the value of such antiquities, 
 perished under their tools. Some years ago there was 
 
 * Hutchinson, in his ' History of Northumberland,' says that 
 it was called The Bowers ''on account of the trees which 
 cover it."
 
 140 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 discovered under a heap of rubbish, a few yards from the 
 west wall of the station, a square room, strongly vaulted 
 above, and paved with large square stones set in lime, and 
 under this a lower room, whose roof was supported by 
 rows of square pillars of about half a yard high. The upper 
 room had two niches, like chimneys, on each side of every 
 corner or square, which in all made the number sixteen. 
 The pavement of this room, as well as its roof, was tinged 
 with smoke, and the pillars were quite black with soot. It 
 is supposed to have been a hypocaust, but the people 
 residing hereabouts say that The Bowers, from the Eoman 
 age till within the last century, was the elysium of a 
 colony of fairies, and this ruined bath the kitchen to one 
 of their palaces, of which the soot among the stones was 
 undeniable evidence; and confident belief affirmed that 
 long passages led from this laboratory "of savoury messes " 
 to subterraneous halls, that ever echoed to the festivities 
 and music of the Queen of the Bowers and her aerial 
 court. 
 
 On again entering the road the dark heath- clad height of 
 Borcombe, crowned with a stone monument, is on the 
 right, and at a little distance on the left is seen the ridge 
 over which runs the Eoman wall; bending to left and 
 then entering the military way and continuing along it for 
 a few hundred yards, the cluster of trees and shepherd's 
 house are observed close to the camp at Housesteads. A 
 rough cart-road must be entered, which proceeds through 
 a few fields to the house. For a description of the camp 
 see page 203. 
 
 From Housesteads the pedestrian might track the 
 Eoman wall to Cawfields mile station, and thence branch 
 off to Haltwhistle. See page 136. Or he might go to 
 Haydon Bridge, a distance of 6 miles by road, but reduced 
 to 4 miles if he strikes across the fields, aiming first for 
 the small sheet of water a little to the south of Housesteads, 
 and then in a south-east direction. To reach Haydon 
 Bridge by road the military way has to be followed to the 
 east for 2 miles, and then the right-hand road entered, 
 which runs southwards through a district bare of trees, 
 and with only [one or two houses, until the vale of the 
 South Tyne is entered.
 
 WILLIMONTSWYKE CASTLE. 141 
 
 Willimontswyke Castle, the birthplace of Bishop 
 Ridley, the Martyr. 
 
 Willimontswyke* Castle was the chief seat of the 
 ancient family of the Kidleys, and is said to have been the 
 birthplace of Bishop Eidley, the great Eeformer, who was 
 burnt at the stake in the days of Queen Mary. One of the 
 towers of the old castle remains in ruins, and around it 
 has been built a farmhouse and outbuildings. It is seen 
 from the Bardon Mill railway station, being situated 
 1 mile distant on the bank of the South Tyne river. 
 When the water is low it may be reached by crossing the 
 stream at some stepping-stones close to the station, but at 
 other times the opposite side can only be gained at a 
 bridge H miles farther down, close to Ridley Hall and 
 the Allen River, thus increasing the distance from the 
 station to the castle from 1 to 4 miles. The return 
 journey might be varied by walking 4 miles along a cart- 
 road on the south side of the river to Haltwhistle. 
 
 The farmyard is entered by an old archway, and the 
 tower, which commands an extensive view, may be 
 ascended by winding stone steps. Some time ago a cow 
 got up these steps, and a hole had to be made in the wall 
 before she could be got down. The building is now the 
 property of Sir Edward Blackett, Bart. 
 
 Some persons will no doubt consider this tower the most 
 interesting relic in the district, and few will visit it 
 without dwelling with admiration on those brave and 
 holy men who suffered patiently the most terrible of 
 deaths rather than renounce the cause of the Reforma- 
 tion. 
 
 Nicholas Ridley was born in the beginning of the six- 
 
 * We give the spelling according to the Ordnance Maps, but 
 have also seen the name spelt Wyllimountswick, Wilmontswick, 
 Willymotswick, Willowmountswick, Willimoteswick, and \Vil- 
 lowmontswick. 
 
 The etymology of the word appears doubtful. One writer 
 says, " Wick is a village or hamlet, and Willowmont in the 
 Northumberland language signifies a wild duck, or duck of the 
 rocks. This bird is called Guillem by the Welsh ; Guillemot, or 
 Sea Hen, in Northumberland and Durham; in the southern 
 parts Willocks."
 
 142 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 teenth century, but the exact date is not known.* His 
 father was the third son of a very ancient family, which 
 had been seated at Willimontswyke, through a long descent 
 of knights for many generations ; the second son was John, 
 father to Dr. Lancelot Eidley, and a fourth son was Dr. 
 Eobert Eidley. The Eidleys appear to have had their 
 full share in the disturbances so frequent in the border 
 territory, and in works which treat on border history 
 occur many instances both of their courage and their 
 importance. A feud existed between the Eidleys and the 
 Featherstonehaughs, another border family, which led on 
 more than one occasion to fatal, results. A passage in the 
 'Border Minstrelsy' mentions those branches of the 
 Eidley family located at Willimontswyke, Hardriding, 
 Hawden, and Waltown, the first of whom was probably 
 the uncle of Nicholas Eidley, and father to the "Wor- 
 shipful cousin of Willimountswick " addressed by the 
 bishop in his last farewell, written in prison just before 
 going to the stake. 
 
 Eidley received his school education at Newcastle-upon- 
 Tyne, whence he was removed about the year 1518 to 
 Pembroke College, Cambridge,! at the expense of his 
 uncle, Dr. Eobert Eidley, then a Fellow of Queen's 
 College. His career at Cambridge was highly honourable 
 and successful, and so great were the hopes excited by his 
 learning and abilities, that a fellowship at University 
 College, Oxford, was offered for his acceptance. This 
 honour he thought it best to decline, preferring the pro- 
 spects which his own university presented to him, and was 
 accordingly the next year elected a Fellow of his own 
 college, to the mastership of which he subsequently 
 attained. Impelled by that thirst for knowledge which 
 ever distinguished him, he went in the year 1527 to Paris, 
 for the purpose of studying at the Sorbonne ; and here 
 doubtless he availed himself of every advantage presented 
 to him by that then celebrated seat of learning. But the 
 University of Paris was already in its decline, and Eidley 
 has given a picture, by no means favourable, of the then 
 
 * We have seen it stated in a local newspaper that the date 
 was 1493. 
 
 t There is a walk in the garden of Pembroke College still 
 distinguished by the name of Kidley's Walk.
 
 BISHOP RIDLEY. 143 
 
 prevailing style of disputation among its members. His 
 absence from England was not of long duration, for we find 
 him, in 1530, junior treasurer of Pembroke Hall. He 
 signed, as proctor, in 1534, the decree against the Pope's 
 supremacy, and continued steadily rising in his university 
 career. In 1538 he appeared in a new capacity, that of 
 a parish priest. The vicarage of Herne, in Kent, was 
 bestowed upon him; and with the intense but well- 
 directed zeal which formed so essential p part of his 
 character, he applied himself to the duties of his new 
 situation. So successful was he as a preacher, that he 
 attracted numbers who had hitherto altogether omitted 
 the duty of attendance on the services of the church ; nor 
 was he less attentive to the other parts of his parochial 
 duty. 
 
 In 1540 he was made chaplain to Henry VIII., and 
 promoted in 1547 by Edward VI. to the Bishopric of 
 Eochester ; and from thence translated in 1550 to the 
 Bishopric of London. He took an active part in the 
 Keformation, and soon after the accession of Mary, in 1553, 
 was committed to the Tower along with Cranmer, Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, and Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, 
 on a charge of heresy. 
 
 The following year the three were sent to Oxford to 
 dispute with the divines there, that under the show of fair 
 discussion the intended murder might be veiled. The 
 disputation being ended, all were condemned. On the 
 16th October, 1555, Eidley and Latimer were burnt at the 
 stake, near Baliol College ; * Cranmer being spared for 
 five months longer as he appeared to show signs of waver- 
 ing. When at the stake, a kindled faggot having been 
 laid at Kidley's feet, Latimer exclaimed, "Be of good 
 comfort, Master Eidley, and play the man. We shall this 
 day, by God's grace, light in England such a candle as I 
 trust shall never be put out." Latimer died first, exclaim- 
 ing, "'O Father of heaven, receive my soul." Eidley, after 
 
 * Lord Dacre offered ten thousand pounds to the queen if 
 she would spare Ridley's life, but she refused. " Perhaps one 
 reason why this offer was made was that a cousin of Ridley's 
 had married Mabel, a granddaughter of Lord Dacre. Another 
 reason might be that Ridley's paternal grandmother was Mary, 
 daughter of Thomas Curwen of Workington, and the Curwens 
 were a very ancient and influential family.
 
 144 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 much protracted suffering, expired, repeating the words, 
 " Lord, Lord, receive my spirit." 
 
 " Read, in the progress of this blessed story, 
 Rome's cursed cruelty and Ridley's glory : 
 Rome's sirens sung, but Ridley's careless ear 
 Was deaf: they chartn'd, but Ridley would not hear. 
 Rome sung preferment, but brave Ridley's tongue 
 Condemned that false preferment which Rome sung. 
 Rome whispered death ; but Ridley (whose great gain 
 "Was godliness), he waived it with disdain. 
 Rome threatened durance, but great Ridley's mind 
 Was too, too strong for threats or chains to bind. 
 Rome thundered death, but Ridley's dauntless eye 
 Star'd in death's face, and scorn'd death standing by. 
 In spite of Rome for England's faith he stood, 
 And in the flames he sealed it with his blood." 
 
 Bishop Eidley complied with the apostolic maxim, 
 " Let your moderation be known unto all men." The 
 share which he took in the management of the Book of 
 Common Prayer, and other ecclesiastical formularies, 
 enables us to judge with some accuracy as to his correct 
 views of Church government.* As a bishop, both at 
 Eochester and in the more important see of London, his 
 conduct was beyond all praise. A remarkable instance of 
 the beneficial effect of Eidley's counsels is to be seen in the 
 foundation of three institutions, in the reign of Edward 
 VI., and which, in point of date, may be called the first- 
 fruits of the Eeformation. Both in the council chamber 
 and the pulpit did this eminent prelate resist the sacrile- 
 gious spirit of his day, and though the young king was 
 but partially able to oppose the tide of corruption, he yet 
 founded, at the suggestion of Eidley, no less than sixteen 
 grammar schools, and designed, had his life been spared, 
 to erect twelve colleges for the education of youth. Shortly 
 before his death he sent for the bishop, and thanking him 
 for a sermon in which he strongly pressed the duty of 
 providing for the poverty and ignorance of our fellow-men, 
 asked by what particular actions he might in this way 
 best discharge his duty. The bishop, who was not pre- 
 pared for such a request, begged time to consider, and to 
 
 * The Book of Common Prayer having been sanctioned by 
 Parliament, was first read by Bishop Ridley in St. Paul's 
 Cathedral on the 1st of November, 1552.
 
 HAYDON BRIDGE. 145 
 
 consult with those -who were more conversant with the 
 condition of the poor. Having taken the advice of the 
 Lord Mayor and aldermen of London, he shortly returned 
 to the king, representing that there appeared to be three 
 different classes of poor. Some were poor by impotency 
 of nature, as young fatherless children, old decrepit 
 persons, idiots, cripples, and such like, these required to 
 be educated and maintained ; for them, accordingly, the 
 king gave up the Grey Friars' Church, near Newgate 
 Market, now called Christ's Hospital. Others, he observed, 
 were poor by faculty, as wounded soldiers, diseased and 
 sick persons, who required to be cured and relieved ; for 
 their use the king gave St. Bartholomew's, near Smithfield. 
 The third sort were poor by idleness or unthriftiness, as 
 vagabonds, loiterers, &c., who should be chastised and 
 reduced to good order ; for these the king appointed his 
 house at Bridewell, the ancient mansion of many English 
 kings. The Hospital of St. Thomas, in Southwark, which 
 had been erected and endowed the previous year, was also 
 enlarged, and the grant confirmed. Many additions have 
 since been made to those houses, and they have now risen 
 to be amongst the noblest in Europe. 
 
 Although Eidley's biographers say he was born at "Willi- 
 montswyke, the ancestral home of the family, Hodgson, 
 in his ' History of Northumberland/ gives the honour to 
 Unthank, a mansion between here and Haltwhistle, on the 
 south bank of the river, and now the residence of the Eev. 
 Dkon Brown. 
 
 Hay don Bridge. 
 
 Haydon Bridge, 15 miles east of Gilsland, is the place at 
 which some tourists alight from the train, for a visit to 
 Langley Castle, and the Eoman "Wall, and the Camp at 
 Housesteads. Langley Castle is 1^ miles distant ; House- 
 steads 6 miles. See pp. 151 and 203. 
 
 The village contains 907 inhabitants, and stands on both 
 sides of the South Tyne river, which is crossed by a stone 
 bridge of six arches. The church is a plain edifice, erected 
 in 1796. The living is a curacy, in the presentation of W. B. 
 Beaumont, Esq., M.P. There are also places of worship 
 belonging to different denominations of Dissenters. In the 
 neighbourhood are lead mines, one of which is supposed 
 to have been worked in the time of the Romans. The
 
 146 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 manor of Haydon was formerly the property of Anthony 
 Lord Lucy, of Cockermouth, who, in 1344, obtained a 
 charter from Edward III., in which permission was granted 
 to hold a weekly market and an annual fair. These privi- 
 leges have been long disused. There is also a grammar 
 school, which was founded by deed of the Rev. John 
 Shaftoe, in 1685, and regulated by Acts of Parliament. 
 It is governed by seven trustees, who have the right of 
 appointing a master and an usher, the former of whom 
 must be Master of Arts, and a clergyman in priest's orders. 
 In addition to the grammar school, Mr. Shaftoe founded 
 almshouses for twenty poor persons, each of whom received 
 3s. per week, with a siipply of coals. 
 
 Haydon Bridge was the birthplace of the Eev. John 
 Eotherham, the author of several works ; John Tweddle, 
 the Grecian traveller ; and James Cunningham, Esq., who 
 was mayor of Blackburn, 1859-60. Few travellers will 
 pass the village unheeded when they learn that here also 
 was born that distinguished artist, 
 
 JOHN MAETIN, 
 
 whom Bulwer denominates " the greatest, the most lofty, 
 the most permanent, the most original genius of his age." 
 
 He says : " I see in him the presence of a spirit 
 
 which is not of the world the divine intoxication of a 
 great soul lapped in majestic, unearthly dreams'. .... 
 Vastness is his sphere ; he has chained and wielded it, 
 and measured it, at his will : he has transfused its character 
 into narrow limits ; he has compassed the Infinite itself 
 with a mathematical precision. He is not, it is true, a 
 Eaffaelle, delineating and varying human passion, or 
 arresting the sympathy of passion itself in a profound 
 and sacred calm ; he is not a Michael Angelo, the creator 
 of gigantic and preternatural powers the Titans of the 
 ideal heaven. But he is more original, more self-depen- 
 dent than either; they perfected the style of others; 
 
 Martin has borrowed from none." 
 
 The house in which Martin was born is called East 
 Land Ends, and is situated about half a mile from the 
 railway station. The date of his birth was 19th July, 
 1789. He received the rudiments of his education at the 
 grammar school of the village, and there gave evidence of 
 his peculiar genius. He rarely left the school at play 
 time, preferring to remain indoors and sketch upon his
 
 JOHN MARTIN, THE ARTIST. 147 
 
 slate. He made several sketches upon the school-wall with 
 a burnt stick, such as that of two schoolfellows fighting, 
 and the master thrashing a boy over his knee, the latter 
 being a most striking likeness of both master and boy. 
 He often painted pictures upon coarse calico ; and on one 
 occasion, when there was great rejoicing in the village, 
 the place being illuminated, young Martin had some 
 pictures fastened to the end of some short poles, the other 
 ends of which were stuck in the thatched roof, and they 
 were greatly admired. At times he was known to go 
 down to the river-side, to where a large quantity of fine 
 sand lay, pour some water upon the sand, carefully smooth 
 it, and commence sketching with a stick. 
 
 When he was fourteen years of age his parents removed 
 to Newcastle, where he was apprenticed to a Mr. Wilson, 
 coachmaker ; but a dispute arising between them, the in- 
 dentures were cancelled. When he first arrived in New- 
 castle he was much taken up with the variety of sign- 
 boards, and would frequently leave the sports of his com- 
 panions to withdraw to some spot where he could fix his 
 attention upon a superior sign. Occasionally he travorsed 
 the town from end to end that he might compare the dif- 
 ferent paintings with each other, and then went home and 
 arranged his rude materials for the purpose of sketching 
 something of his own, which should surpass, and usually did 
 surpass the best signs upon which he had been intent abroad. 
 
 After quitting the employ of Mr. Wilson, Martin was 
 placed under an Italian master of great reputation in New- 
 castle, named Boniface Musso, the father of the celebrated 
 enamel painter, Charles Muss. He remained under his 
 instructions about a year, when Mr. C. Muss, who was 
 settled in London, wished his father to go and reside with 
 him, and Mr. Musso urged upon Martin's parents the ad- 
 vantage of young Martin accompanying him. After much 
 cogitation, many misgivings on his mother's part, and 
 solemn charges to their friend, it was ultimately agreed 
 that he should join Mr. Musso in London, within a few 
 months. He accordingly arrived in town at the beginning 
 of September, 1806. Martin himself, in a letter to the 
 ' Illustrated London News,' in 1849, says : " The treatment 
 I received from Mr. C. Muss soon satisfied me that he con- 
 ceived my means to be far more extended than they were ; 
 I therefore took an early opportunity of informing him 
 that I had resolved never more to receive pecuniary 
 
 L 2
 
 148 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 assistance from my parents, who had already done enough 
 in providing means lor establishing me in London ; that, 
 as my present resources were not equal to a due recom- 
 pense for his liberality, I thought it only right to tell him 
 my position. He was pleased with my honourable can- 
 dour, and saying that he would do all in his power to pro- 
 mote my laudable intentions, immediately undertook to 
 employ me in his glass and china painting establishment, 
 in a department where my facility in designing and paint- 
 ing landscape scenes would be very useful ; and from this 
 time I supported myself solely by my own exertions, and 
 with advantage to my employers." 
 
 Martin married in 1809. Almost up to that time he 
 had been in Mr. Muss' employ during the day, and had 
 passed the nights until two or three o'clock in the morning 
 acquiring that knowledge of perspective and architecture 
 which proved so valuable to him in after life. Shortly 
 before his marriage, Mr. Muss' establishment broke up, and 
 those employed in it had the option of seeking indepen- 
 dent employment, or following the fortunes of the different 
 members of the firm. Martin accompanied his friend, Mr. 
 Muss, and was subsequently engaged with him in the 
 glass painting, carried on by Mr. Collins, in the Strand, 
 occupying his evenings upon water-colour drawings, and 
 contriving in odd hours to paint in oil the first picture he 
 ever exhibited (" A Clytie "), which was sent to the 
 Academy in 1810, and rejected for want of room, but not 
 condemned. He sent it again in 1811, when it was hung in a 
 good situation in the Great Room. At the beginning of the 
 following year, having lost his employment at Collins's, it 
 became necessary for him to work hard, and as he was 
 ambitious of fame, he determined on painting a large pic- 
 ture, " Sadak," which was executed in a month. Mr. Martin 
 himself said : " You may easily guess my feelings when I 
 overheard the men who were placing it in the frame dis- 
 puting as to which was the top of the picture ! " The 
 work, however, though hung in the ante-room of the 
 Eoyal Academy, received, to Martin's great delight, a 
 notice in the newspapers, and was eventually sold, under 
 interesting circumstances, to the late Mr. Manning, for 
 50 guineas. The following year, 1813, he sent "The 
 Expulsion" to the British Institution, and "Adam's first 
 sight of Eve " to the Eoyal Academy, and was again given 
 a place in the Great Koom. His next painting was
 
 JOHN MARTIX, THE ARTIST. 149 
 
 "Clytie." In 1815 he sent the "Joshua" to the Royal 
 Academy, but it was hidden in the ante-room. In 
 1817 he sent it to the British Institution, where it 
 attracted great attention, and the painter was re- 
 warded with the chief premium of the year, 100?. ; but 
 the picture was not sold till some years afterwards, when 
 it went as a companion to the " Belshazzar." In 1818 he 
 removed to a superior house, and had to devote his time 
 mainly to executing some immediately profitable works ; 
 but in 1819, he produced the " Fall of Babylon," which 
 was second only to the " Belshazzar " in the attention it 
 excited. The following year came " Macbeth," one of his 
 most successful landscapes. Then in 1821, " Belshazzar's 
 Feast," an elaborate picture, which occupied a year in 
 executing, and received the premium of 200?. from the 
 British Institution. In the year 1822 appeared the " De- 
 struction of Herculaneum," another elaborate work. In 
 
 1823, " The Seventh Plague," and " Paphian Bower ;" in 
 
 1824, the " Creation ;" in 1826, the " Deluge," and in 1828, 
 the " Fall of Nineveh." In addition to the above he pro- 
 duced many other pictures, sketches, &c., but the most 
 important of all was his acquiring the art of engraving, 
 and producing the " Illustrations of Milton," designed on 
 the plates, for which he received 2000 guineas : the " Bel- 
 shazzar's Feast," the finest large steel plate ever engraved 
 in mezzotinto ; the " Joshua," and the " Deluge ;" between 
 the years 1823 and 1828. It will be seen that Martin's 
 greatest works were produced within the eleven years 
 immediately succeeding the first fair exhibition of his 
 " Joshua." Only two of his pictures were exhibited 
 abroad : the " Fall of Nineveh," at Brussels ; and the 
 "Deluge," in Paris. The first procured him the large 
 medal of the exhibition, the Order of Leopold, and his 
 election as a member of the Academy of Antwerp; the 
 second, the gold medal, and a magnificent present of Sevres 
 from the King of the French. In his latter years Martin 
 devoted much of his time to engineering subjects, as he 
 felt a strong interest in the improvement of the condition 
 of the people, and in the sanitary state of the country. He 
 also produced three wonderful pictures. " Great Day of 
 His Wrath," " Last Judgment," and " Plains of Heaven," 
 which, having been exhibited in most of the large towns 
 of Great Britain, are well known to the general public. 
 One writer, speaking of them, says : " Martin was a poet of
 
 150 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 a high order, and with his pencil he painted the snblimest 
 of epics. He is equally at home in scenes sublimely 
 terrible, and the softest and most enchanting views which 
 the mind of mortal can conceive. On the one hand, he 
 gives us visions of gorgeous temples and palaces, built 
 line over line up into the darkened heavens until they look 
 as if mountains had been quarried into stately habitations 
 by a world of giants, and these mountainous masses of 
 masonry he depicts reeling with earthquake throes and 
 toppling over in fearful ruin ; while, on the other hand, he 
 puts before you one of the sweetest, softest, and most en- 
 trancing visions of celestial felicity which ever the imagina- 
 tions of the truest poets concei ved. There is a Titanic grasp, 
 a gigantesque power about al 1. John Martin had no equal." 
 
 Martin died at No. 4, Finch Eoad, Douglas, Isle of Man, 
 on the 17th February, 1854, at the age of sixty-five, and 
 was buried in the family vault of a relative in the cemetery 
 at Kirk Braddan. 
 
 In 1754 there was born in Haydon Bridge a person 
 known by the name of Ned Coulson, whose swiftness of 
 foot and eccentricity of character made him quite a local 
 celebrity. He could perform on the violin whilst he ran 
 along the road with the instrument on his back. He 
 could run with the greatest ease before a post-chaise, and 
 has often alarmed travellers by passing them and then 
 hiding himself, repassing, and at length bidding them a 
 good night. He had a method of producing a sound 
 somewhat resembling the report of a pistol, and this he 
 mischievously employed to intimidate travellers. He has 
 often been sitting in the inn at Haydon Bridge when 
 travellers have arrived wet with perspiration, caused by 
 the fright he had given them. He went 50 miles one 
 stormy winter's night with a message, and returned next 
 morning. On being asked by his master his reason for not 
 going, he replied, " I have been, and here is the return 
 message." He was not only swift, but strong, and cour- 
 ageous. He often walked on the parapet of the bridge in 
 the village with a sack of corn upon his back. One day, 
 after walking 65 miles, he reached home in time to take a 
 successful part in some athletic sports. At Brampton 
 races, Ned having said that he could run as fast as the 
 horses, a wager was made, and he tried his speed against 
 a certain horse, the distance being from Brampton to 
 Glen Whelt. The rider of the horse gave in at Denton
 
 LANGLEY CASTLE. 151 
 
 tollgate, saying he was 'matched against the devil, but 
 Ned went to the end of the journey, and arrived back at 
 Brampton before the horse and rider. Those who are apt 
 to make too long a stay when visiting their friends or 
 neighbours, will do well to remember one of Ned's mis- 
 chievous tricks. Being good company and fond of fun, 
 his house was a favourite resort, but when parties seemed 
 inclined to stay too late at night, Ned took up his Bible 
 and read the following : " Withdraw thy foot from thy 
 neighbour's house ; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate 
 thee." Proverbs xxv. 17. The bridge at Haydon Bridge 
 having been taken away by a flood, Ned walked through 
 the river, took a cold, and died December 27, 1807, aged 
 fifty-four, and was interred at Bellingham. 
 
 Much of our information respecting Haydon Bridge was 
 gleaned from a very intelligent and self-taught resident, 
 Mr. Wm. Lee, who will be happy at all times to make 
 himself equally useful to any visitor requiring information 
 as to the topography, botany, and antiquities of the 
 district. 
 
 Langley Castle. 
 
 Langley Castle is situated I? miles to the south of 
 Haydon Bridge, and only three-quarters of a mile from 
 Langley station, on the Allendale branch. 
 
 It stands on gradual rising ground, commanding a good 
 view to the north-east. It is a large square keep, having 
 had four towers with walls 8 feet thick. The outside 
 masonry, which is high, is in such excellent condition, 
 that if the few missing stones on the top were replaced it 
 would appear as though it were a modern structure. The 
 inside, however, is a complete ruin, its roof and internal 
 fittings having been destroyed by fire at an early but 
 unascertained period. The large banqueting room IB 
 entirely gone, and only defined by the windows and huge 
 openings for the fireplaces. The spectator is enabled to 
 gaze from the bottom upwards, right through the top of the 
 towers, but there are no steps left by which to ascend. 
 
 A few small trees are on one side of the building, and on 
 the other is a cottage, where the persons in charge reside, 
 who show the building to visitors. 
 
 To the north-west are seen the heights over which runs 
 the Eoman wall, and the camp of Housesteads may be
 
 152 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 discerned by the practised eye. The grounds around are 
 cultivated, and close by are a small dell and belts of trees, 
 backed by rising ground covered with heath, so that from 
 some points of view the building has a picturesque ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 Langley was the seat of the barons of Tindale, who held 
 it by service of one knight's fee. Adam de Tindale 
 possessed it in the reign of Henry I., and it continued in 
 his male descendants till the time of Henry III., when the 
 family inheritance was divided between two coheiresses, 
 and this part came to Eichard de Bolteby, by marriage of 
 one of them. From the Boltebys, from like cause, it 
 passed to the Lucys, barons of Egremont and Cocker- 
 mouth, with whom it remained five descents, when issue 
 male again failing it became the possession of Gilbert de 
 Umfranvill, Earl of Anegos, by marriage of Maud, sister 
 and heiress of Anthony Lord Lucy. On the demise of the 
 Earl of Anegos, his widow married, in 1383, Henry Percy, 
 Earl of Northumberland, a circumstance which united 
 the large possessions of the Umfranvills and Lucys in the 
 Percy family, with whom this castle and manor remained 
 in 1567 ; but it afterwards became the property of the 
 Eatcliffes, of Dilston, with whom it continued till it was 
 forfeited by James, the last Earl of Derwentwater, in 1745. 
 It was afterwards granted to the Commissioners of Green- 
 wich Hospital, and is still in the hands of the Lords of 
 the Admiralty. 
 
 Alston, and Allendale Town. 
 
 Alston is a market town, containing about 1500 inhabi- 
 tants, situated near the sources of the South Tyne, on the 
 confines of the Pennine mountain chain, and in the centre 
 of an extensive lead mining district. It is 963 feet above 
 the sea level, and is said to be the highest market town 
 in England. Market on Saturdays. A branch line, 13 
 miles long, leaves the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway at 
 Haltwhistle, and runs to Alston along a pleasant well- 
 timbered vale, through which flows the South Tyne river. 
 
 Unless the visitor takes an interest in wild moorlands 
 and mining operations, he will find little here to interest 
 him, although the town contains one or two good inns, a 
 few pleasant-looking houses, and a civil lot of people.
 
 ALSTON MOOR. 153 
 
 The market cross was erected by the Eight Hon. Sir 
 William Stephenson, who was born at Crosslands, in this 
 parish, and elected Lord Mayor of London in 1764. 
 Close to the railway station is a cascade, called the Low 
 Nent Force, which has a fall of 30 feet over a ledge of 
 limestone rock ; and at a little distance is the High Nent 
 Force, with a descent of 20 feet. Here also is the Nent 
 Force Level, a stupendous work, begun in the year 1776, 
 and designed and carried out by Smeaton, for the Com- 
 missioners and Governors of Greenwich Hospital (being 
 part of the confiscated estates of James, Earl of Derwent- 
 water), with the view of exploring the manor from Alston 
 to Nenthead, a distance of upwards of 5 miles, and for 
 the purpose of carrying off all the water from the mines 
 without pumping. It commences beneath the scar lime- 
 stone, and is driven under ground in the direction of the 
 valley of the Nent. A rowing-boat is taken up it to the 
 Nentsberry shaft, a distance of 4 miles, the voyage in 
 those subterranean regions being in the highest degree 
 romantic, reminding the traveller of some of the stories 
 in the ' Arabian Nights Entertainments.' Strangers will be 
 highly delighted with the excursion, especially if accom- 
 
 Sanied with music, when it is said to be grand beyond 
 escription. At one time the place was much frequented, 
 but of late it appears to have been almost forgotten. 
 
 Another underground expedition, in character with this 
 bleak and desolate district, will be found full of interest 
 and romance to the majority of strangers. It is a cave in 
 the limestone, and called Tutman-hole, being very similar 
 to the caves in Yorkshire and Derbyshire. In Hutchin- 
 son's 'History of Cumberland,' published in 1794, we read : 
 " There is a large cavern in Gildersdale fell, called Tut- 
 man-hole, which several persons have ventured to explore 
 for a mile in length. At a place called Dunfell (which is 
 in the limits of Westmorland), some miners were at work 
 not long since, pursuing a vein of ore, when they opened 
 into a spacious cavern. Some people, who have viewed 
 this place, have found it expedient to adopt the contrivance 
 of Daedalus in the labyrinth, and take a clue of thread 
 with them, to guide them safely in their return, the 
 chambers and passages are so intricate. The Rev. William 
 Eichardson was seven hours in examining this curious 
 place : he describes the roof in some parts to resemble 
 Gothic arches, in others a flat surface ; that the windings
 
 154 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 are intricate ; that he found in places the stalactites, and 
 pieces of rhomboidal spar. He travelled near 2 miles in a 
 right line, and discovered evident marks of some of the 
 chambers having been filled with water, by the coating of 
 mud on the sides. The greatest height of the vault was 
 above 25 yards, and the breadth in some places about 150 
 yards. In other passages he could scarcely crawl. Other 
 visitors have spoken of the astonishing lustre of the spar 
 with which these vaults are encrusted, struck by light of 
 the candles and flambeaux which they carried." Tutman- 
 hole is 3 miles from Alston. It is reached by following 
 the Penrith road for 2 miles to a farmhouse called the 
 Bayles, whence a wire fence leads direct to the place. 
 Some tourists may desire to proceed to Penrith, distant 
 from Alston 18 miles. It is a pleasant journey, the road 
 leading over the Hartside mountain pass, and then along 
 the vale of the Eden, past the village of Melmerby, and 
 Eden Hall. 
 
 At the hamlet of Nenthead, situated 5 miles east from 
 Alston, there are extensive lead mines and smelting works, 
 belonging to the London Lead Mining Company. Perhaps 
 this is par excellence the model lead mining village in Eng- 
 land. Baths, washhouses, reading-room, library, schools, 
 and chapels, have all been provided by the company. It 
 is a show place, and hundreds visit it every year. 
 
 Four miles south of Alston is the pretty village of 
 Garrigill, situated at a height of 1124 feet above the sea 
 level, on an alluvial terrace formed by the Tyne. Here- 
 abouts is well displayed the gradual formation of valleys 
 by river action. Strong stone embankments built in the 
 last century, to prevent the river from washing away the 
 land, are now in the centre of the meadows, while the bed 
 of the river is worn down several feet below the old marks. 
 From Garrigill to the source of the South Tyne is about 
 3 miles. The river rises in a peaty bog. The valley is 
 narrow, and two long sweeping peat-covered slopes stretch 
 to Bel Beaver on the east, and Noonstones on the west. 
 On the top of Bel Beaver are some traces of an old camp. 
 Crossfell mountain is to the west of Garrigill. It is 
 about 7 miles from the village to its summit. The 
 road is steep and rough, but on a clear day the view 
 will amply repay the pedestrian for the labour of the 
 ascent. 
 
 The inhabitants of these mining dales are very civil and
 
 ALSTON MOOR. 155 
 
 intelligent, but the stranger will sometimes receive a reply 
 in an unknown tongue, unless his Celtic education has 
 been attended to. Compulsory education is not new here. 
 The London Lead Mining Company have always required 
 their workmen to send their children both to day and 
 Sunday school. The following extract from the Keport of 
 the Commissioners on Education, presented to Parliament 
 in 1861, and originally taken from Forster's book on the 
 lead miners of Alston Moor and Teesdale, clearly proves 
 the good resulting from this system : " I prosecuted a 
 pretty extensive house-to-house visitation, found every- 
 thing clean, whole, and in its place ; no trumpery little 
 ornaments as in the collier cottages. Where there is a 
 picture it is that of some favourite minister, such as 
 Wesley ; or a copy of the ( Cottar's Saturday Night.' There 
 are in almost every cottage some select Sunday books be- 
 sides the Bible and hymn-book ; an occasional volume of 
 poetry, as Cowper, Milton, Burns, or some favourite local 
 author, and not unfrequently some of the extensively 
 illustrated books published by Fullarton, Black, or Blackie. 
 I counted 19 copies of the Imperial Dictionary. There 
 were no cheap periodicals or people's editions they are 
 not reckoned at all canny. The miners like everything 
 good of its kind. Many of them have cows, and not a few 
 of them have a pony also. The remarkable personal 
 beauty of the children, as compared with those of the ad- 
 joining colliery districts, is, I presume, to be attributed to 
 nothing but the transmitted and reflected intelligence 
 which has resulted to the parents from their moral and 
 religious cultivation. I saw nothing of a neglected brat ; 
 no dirty or undarned stockings ; no unblackened clogs or 
 unwashed faces. The general character of the lead 
 miners presents a striking contrast to that of the colliers. 
 They consist of families who have lived for ages on 
 the spot A steady, provident, orderly, and indus- 
 trious people. Engaged from year to year by the lead 
 owners, and generally besides their work underground, 
 cultivate a small farm, which in many cases is their own. 
 A high-minded people they are, too, disdaining pauperism 
 as the deepest degradation. They have been subject to 
 very little or no mixture for ages past, as appears by 
 
 their language approximating to the dialect of 
 
 the lowlands of Scotland. The lead miners are remark- 
 ably intelligent, and well educated. There are books in
 
 156 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 almost every cottage. Attendance on public worship is the 
 rule, not the exception, and profane language is scarcely 
 ever heard." 
 
 The rude old farmhouses are often very picturesque 
 without, sheltered by a few aged beeches or sycamores, 
 but within they bear testimony to a very rough way of 
 life. They are generally built with a passage from the 
 door right through the building, called the entry. Another 
 passage, formed by a high screen, called a hallan, leads 
 from the entry to the fireside. This second passage is 
 called the heck. A passage turning to the other hand opens 
 into the cowhouse. This was seldom the only entrance to 
 the cowhouse, but it was so in some cases, as in a house 
 at Loaning-head at the present time, the farmer and his 
 cattle enter at the same door : the cattle turning off one 
 way into the byre, and the farmer the other, into the 
 kitchen. The kitchen is generally very low, with huge 
 joists of undressed black oak. 
 
 " In days gone bye 
 The Hall of an Alston Moor squire 
 Was a lofthouse over the byre." 
 
 The hum of the spinning-wheel may still be occasionally 
 heard, as the frugal housewife spins the self-grey wool 
 into stockings, unequalled for comfort and wear. But 
 these old houses are fast being altered or rebuilt, and 
 many of the primitive customs of an hospitable race are 
 passing away. 
 
 A pleasant drive of 18 miles, over a good road, will 
 take the visitor from Alston to High Force, in Teesdale, 
 generally considered the finest waterfall in England. 
 About 62 miles from Alston the road passes through the 
 pretty and well-wooded estate of Ashgill, belonging to the 
 London Lead Company. About five minutes' walk from 
 the gamekeeper's house, on the roadside, is the Ashgill 
 Force, a fall which is well worth seeing. The Ashgill 
 burn here descends perpendicularly, about 50 feet, over 
 the scar limestone, and a thick bed of shale beneath it. 
 On account of the shale wearing away faster than the 
 limestone, a passage is made behind the falling water and 
 beneath the overhanging rocks. Below the waterfall is 
 a charming little glen, where the parsley, oak, beech, and 
 many other pretty ferns nestle in quiet nooks among 
 the limestone rocks. The extensive plantations here con-
 
 HIGH FORCE AND CAULDRON SNOUT. 157 
 
 tain a remarkably rich variety of wild flowers, and the 
 meadows are in a high state of cultivation, forming a 
 striking contrast to the wild heath-covered hills on 
 either hand. After leaving Ashgill, the road gradually 
 ascends for about 3 miles to the top of Yadmoss, 1946 
 feet above the sea. Here all trace of cultivation is left 
 behind, and the barren moors stretch away for miles and 
 miles in lovely, weird grandeur. Crossing Crookburn, the 
 traveller leaves Cumberland and enters Durham. A stone 
 by the roadside marks the boundary. The sources of the 
 three great rivers of the north, the Tyne, Wear, and Tees, 
 are within a very short walk from this point. The road 
 here is often rendered impassable in winter by heavy falls 
 of snow, and many persons have lost their lives through 
 attempting to cross the fell in a storm. 
 
 The road now runs through the property of the Duke 
 of Cleveland. Ashgill Head is the first house in Harwood 
 after crossing the fell. Its elevation is 1794 feet, but 
 Rumney's house on a hill to the left is marked on the 
 Ordnance Map 1980 feet above the sea, and is probably the 
 highest dwelling-house in England. Another at Ashgill, 
 Priorsdale House, is 1766 feet. We had always under- 
 stood that the inn at the top of the Kirkstone Pass, in 
 Westmorland, which is 1475 feet high, laid claim to 
 be considered the highest inhabited, house in England; 
 but the houses just mentioned, and many others, are 
 several hundred feet higher. The road descends rapidly 
 from this point. The character of the surrounding land- 
 scape is that of a wild, upland, pastoral district, sur- 
 mounted by heather-clad mountains, gullied by ravines 
 with rushing streams. At Langdon Beck, in the Forest, 
 is a roadside inn, at which the traveller should put up his 
 horse, and ask the way to Cauldron Snout, where the Tees 
 flings itself down a rugged rock of 200 feet. No one who 
 is ever in the neighbourhood, and cares for the wild and 
 majestic in Nature, should fail to visit this place. The 
 distance from Langdon is about 3 miles, through green 
 meadows, and over rough bog. This part of the dale is 
 called the Forest, but it is without trees ; wild open tracts 
 of land being in former times often known by that deno- 
 mination. The visitor can either return to Langdon 
 Beck, and drive down the road to High Force, or, if he 
 does not object to a walk over rather rough ground, follow 
 the river from Cauldron Snout down to the Force. He wilj 
 find it a picturesque scene. Among the rugged cliflfs of
 
 158 GILSLAITO SECTION. 
 
 the Cronkly Scar the hardy juniper grows luxuriantly, and 
 ferns and rare plants are to be met with in plenty. Below 
 Cronkly the Blea Beck rushes down in pretty cascades 
 from the summit of the hill, and then the Tees, after 
 receiving a few small streams, plunges with a sullen roar 
 down a fall of 70 feet into the black basin beneath. " No- 
 thing can exceed the glowing grandeur of this scene; 
 high rocky barriers shut in the waters ; the wild fells 
 
 stretch away and away beyond Tees High Force 
 
 will seem to stand alone amongst the waterfalls, in the 
 breadth of the fall; the passion of the swirling waters 
 fretted and chafed by the rocks in the bed of the stream ; 
 the deep, sullen roar which all the year round greets the 
 ear as one approaches the scene, and, above all, the sombre 
 gloom of the surroundings." There is a comfortable inn 
 at the Force, from which conveyances run every day, in 
 the summer season, to the railway station at Middleton, 
 4 miles distant. 
 
 Two and a half miles north of Alston is a place called 
 Whitley Castle, where are the remains of a Eoman station. 
 The form of the camp is peculiar, being that of a trapezoid, 
 whereas the usual figure is that of a parallelogram. In 
 another respect it differs from all other camps. It is 
 surrounded by an extraordinary number of earthen en- 
 trenchments; and this fact, along with the comparative 
 absence of Eoman stones, renders it probable that the 
 garrison trusted to breastworks of earth, rather than of 
 masonry. Its whole area, including the entrenchments 
 and ditches, amounts to nine acres. 
 
 Tourists who are fond of a moorland ramble will do 
 well to walk the 12 miles from Alston to Allendale Town, 
 and then catch the Allendale branch train to Hexham ; or 
 follow the course of the Allen river to the South Tyne, 
 and catch the train at Bardon Mill. 
 
 The road leaves Alston close to the station, and after 
 passing a tollgate, gradually ascends the fell; the hollow, 
 down which flows the Ayle burn, being on the left. 
 II miles out of the town, roads branch to right and left. 
 Take the straight road : it crosses over the summit of the 
 fell, and commands good views of the neighbouring hills, 
 the Crossfell range being in the rear ; and far away in the 
 distance, to the east, are discerned the Cheviot Hills. A 
 descent is made to a vale containing a few green fields, 
 houses, and clumps of trees, through which flow the 
 Mohope burn and the West Allen river.
 
 ALLENDALE TOWN. lO 
 
 Near the sonrce of the West Allen is the village of 
 Coalcleugh, which is 1700 feet above the sea level, and 
 said to be the highest inhabited village in England. Of 
 late this village has decreased in size, owing to the poverty 
 of the mines around. 
 
 Some distance farther down, the West Allen passes 
 Whitfield Hall, and then runs for another mile or two 
 through a beautiful vale, and joins the East Allen river 
 near Staward-le-Peel, the two waters forming the Allen 
 river, referred to at page 160. 
 
 The traveller might follow the stream past Whitfield 
 Hall, and then to Staward-le-Peel, there gaining the train; 
 or he might lengthen the journey 4^ miles, and follow the 
 river to the South Tyne, and catch the train at Bardon 
 Mill, thus travelling through a district exquisitely 
 beautiful. 
 
 If he walks to Allendale Town he will cross the West 
 Allen at the hamlet of Nine Banks, then go over another 
 fell, and descending to the East Allen, walk up its banks 
 for half a mile to Allendale Town, which is pleasantly 
 situated, on high ground, directly above the stream. Here 
 are extensive lead mines and some smelt mills. The level 
 or tunnel of one mine is 7 miles long. The smelt mills 
 are well worth a visit. Formerly the fumes from the 
 furnaces were taken direct to the chimneys. As a good 
 deal of lead in a volatilized state is brought away by the 
 draught, much property was lost ; deleterious matter was 
 diffused in the air and deposited in the fields ; and, as a 
 necessary consequence, the health of the workmen was 
 injured, and cattle and sheep were occasionally poisoned. 
 Now, however, the vapours are taken along flues laid on 
 the ground, and they eventually discharge themselves by 
 a chimney planted upon the top of a hill, at the distance, 
 it may be, of 2 or 3 miles from the works. The con- 
 sequence of this arrangement is, that the metallic particles 
 of the vapour are deposited before it reaches the outlet. 
 The flues are swept once or twice a year, and sometimes 
 produce a joyous harvest of hundreds or thousands of 
 pounds. 
 
 Owing to the want of funds, the branch railway from 
 Hexham, which it was intended to bring to Allendale 
 Town, has been cut short, and ends at Catton Road, 
 li miles distant.
 
 160 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 Staward-le-Peel, and the River Allen. 
 
 Before the river Allen enters the South Tyne, it flows for 
 4 or 5 miles through a deep wooded ravine, which is highly 
 romantic and picturesque, and superior to anything of the 
 kind in other parts of the district. It is comparatively 
 unknown and little visited, but the few who have strolled 
 up its exquisitely lovely banks pronounce it as beautiful as 
 any of the far-famed streams of Derbyshire. 
 
 To reach it the tourist can take the train on the Allen- 
 dale branch line to Steward. Half a mile from the 
 station are the mines of Staward-le-Peel, on a wooded 
 eminence, around the base of which, deep below, winds 
 the river through a delightfully rocky and wooded ravine. 
 The ruins are not extensive ; only a small part of a tower 
 and the base of an end wall remaining. The fortress was 
 granted, in 1386, by Edward, Duke of York, to the friars 
 of Hexham, to be held by the annual payment of five 
 marks. 
 
 Paths lead down to the brink of the stream, where the 
 tourist will be perfectly secluded, and at every step have 
 charming views of the Glen, with high crags and woods 
 on either hand. It is a place " ' to sit on rocks, and muse 
 o'er flood and fell,' for the voice of Nature is heard in these 
 woodland solitudes ; the waving breeze of summer stirs 
 the forest leaves ; the notes of the feathered tribe make 
 vocal the greenwood glade ; the stream is heard here gently 
 rippling on its shore, there, murmuring over rocks that 
 oppose its even flow, or in the distance falling over the 
 weir with a monotonous but soothing sound ; and the 
 influences on every hand are such as tranquillize and exalt 
 the mind." 
 
 As the waters of the Allen flow into the South Tyne 
 river, close to Eidley Hall, li miles from Bardon* Mill 
 station, some tourists will first make their acquaintance 
 with the stream from that point. If the Tyne be crossed 
 at some stepping stones near the station, the distance to 
 the Hall is reduced to 1 mile, and the traveller passes 
 Beltingham Church, a small edifice, containing a number 
 of tablets, and in the graveyard of which are an ancient 
 cross and three venerable yew trees. Eidley Hall is a 
 modern mansion, the residence of Mrs. Davidson. In 
 1567 the estates were in the possession of the Bidleys, of
 
 HEXHAM. 161 
 
 Willimontswyke Castle. For 2 miles up the river the 
 grounds on each side belong to Mrs. Davidson, and the 
 tourist cannot proceed close to the stream without obtain- 
 ing permission, but if the public road, which passes the 
 Hall, be followed for 2 miles, the river may be reached by 
 a footpath which passes two or three farmhouses and 
 descends to a chain swing-bridge leading over the water 
 at a house known as Plankey Mill, and from thence a walk 
 of 1 mile by the river's bank conducts to Staward-le- 
 Peel. 
 
 The scenery all along the brink of the river is, however, 
 so extremely beautiful, that the stranger ought to ask 
 permission to stroll by the pleasant grassy path-like grove 
 which runs from the Hall for 2 miles through the woods, 
 close to the stream. 
 
 Hexham. 
 
 Hexham is a picturesque old town standing on the 
 south bank of the Tyne, at the point of its junction with 
 the brooks Hextol and Halgut. It contains a population 
 of 5331. Market day, Tuesday. It is supposed by some 
 to have been a Eoman station, and during the dark and 
 unsettled times of the Saxon Heptarchy it was a place of 
 considerable importance. 
 
 A church was erected here in 674, by St. Wilfrid, which 
 is said to have been in those days the finest building on 
 this side of the Alps. Four years later flexham was 
 raised to the dignity of an episcopal see, an honour which it 
 retained, under a succession of twelve bishops, until A.D. 821. 
 In 860 it was united to the see of Lindisfarn, and twenty- 
 three years later the seat of the bishopric was removed 
 from Lindisfarn to Chester-le-Street, and afterwards to 
 Durham. Henry I. being offended with the conduct of 
 Flambard, Bishop of Durham, gave Hexham to the see 
 of York, and the connection continued until the early part 
 of the present century, when it was severed, and Hexham 
 again united to Durham. 
 
 St. Wilfrid was an extraordinary personage, and one of 
 the principal churchmen of those times. He was a 
 Northumbrian by birth, of honourable parentage, edu- 
 cated as a monk in the convent of Lindisfarn, and had, 
 by travelling to France and Eome, acquired the learning of 
 that age, and a particular acquaintance with the rites and
 
 162 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 canons of the Eoman Church. He also acquired a high 
 relish for the riches, pomp, and splendour he had seen in 
 the foreign churches. This education concurring with a 
 haughty, ambitious, and intractable spirit, rendered him 
 a most notorious troubler of the peace of the English 
 Church, and a principal instrument of subjecting it to the 
 usurpations of the Eoman pontiffs. He was one of the 
 chief disputants at the Conference, held by the Northum- 
 brian king at Whitby in 664, respecting the observance of 
 Easter. Being consecrated Bishop of Northumberland, 
 which then included all the district between the Humber 
 and the Firth of Forth, he fixed the seat of his diocese at 
 York, made great additions to the cathedral there, the 
 roof of which he covered with lead, and glazed the 
 windows ; he also built the cathedral at Eipon, and em- 
 ployed the most skilful artists he could procure from 
 France and Italy. He had the government of nine 
 abbeys ; in his family the sons of many of the Northum- 
 brian nobles resided for their education ; his attendants 
 were numerous ; his fortune splendid ; and at his table he 
 is said to have been served on gold. His principal 
 patroness was the queen of the Northumbrian king. 
 From her he received Hexham and the adjacent lands, 
 said to have been lands of her own dowry, for the support 
 of the convent and of the magnificent church built by him 
 in that town. "When the queen took the veil and retired 
 into the abbey of Coldingham, Wilfrid lost favour at court. 
 His enemies persuaded the king to divide his immense 
 diocese into two provinces, the see of one bishopric being 
 fixed at York, and the other at Hexham. Wilfrid went to 
 Borne to obtain redress, and got a favourable decision. 
 On his return the king committed him to prison, alleging 
 that he had used bribes at Borne. After remaining 
 prisoner about a year, the bishop was set free upon condi- 
 tion that he should abandon the Northumbrian dominions. 
 He retired to the Isle of Wight, and there employed his 
 time in preaching until the death of the king, when he 
 returned to his native country. Upon his return he was 
 reinstated in the see of Hexham, and is said to have been 
 afterwards restored to that of York, and to have obtained 
 possession of his monastery of Eipon ; once more he 
 fff nd ed the court, was expelled from his diocese, and 
 obliged to seek refuge in the neighbouring kingdom of 
 Mercia, where he was appointed to the see of Leicester.
 
 HEXHAM. 163 
 
 He again appealed to Eome, and made a journey to that 
 city at the age of seventy. An agreement was concluded, 
 and he was restored to the monasteries of Hexham and 
 Bipon, and soon afterwards the famous St. John of 
 Beverley, who was then Bishop of Hexham, being trans- 
 lated to York, Wilfrid regained his diocese of Hexham, 
 and four years afterwards, in 709, died in peace at his 
 monastery of Oundle, and was buried in the church of 
 St. Peter at Eipon. St. Wilfrid was contemporary with 
 St. Cuthbert, and with Bede the historian. 
 
 The church at Hexham was laid in ruins by the Danes 
 in 875, and after continuing in a dilapidated state for 
 more than 200 years was restored in the early part of the 
 twelfth century, and a second time doomed to partial de- 
 struction, inasmuch as a Scottish army burnt down the 
 nave in 1296. At the same time 200 boys were burnt 
 alive in the Grammar School, such was the savage 
 barbarity of the times. The choir, and the north and 
 south transepts remain, with a part of the chapter house, 
 but the dormitories are entirely gone. The building is 
 said to form a very text-book of the early English period 
 of pointed church architecture. In it are comprised 
 every distinctive feature that marks the style, combining 
 a simplicity and grandeur of effect not excelled by any 
 other structure in the kingdom. 
 
 On entering the south door, indeed the only door, the 
 visitor is struck with the effect of the beautifully pro- 
 portioned pillars, and the noble arches that sustain the 
 tower, and form the divisions of the cross. In the 
 entrance are to be seen two Koman altars which were dug 
 out of the earth near the door, one about thirty, and the 
 other about seventeen years ago. There are also several 
 gravestones of the old canons of Hexham, which were 
 found in the chapter house some years since. The eastern 
 aisle of the south transept contains a curiously carved 
 Saxon tombstone ; and a shrine, generally supposed to be 
 that of Prior Bichard, who died in 1190, and whose 
 manuscript history of the times is still extant. On this 
 shrine are carved grotesque figures of St. George, the fox 
 clothed in the garb of a monk preaching to the geese, 
 the thumb screw, the nightmare, &c. The upper part is 
 rich flamboyant tracery in woodwork. Within this oratory 
 stands a stone altar with five small crosses ; above are three 
 paintings of St. Peter with the keys, St. Andrew holding 
 
 ii 2
 
 164 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 the cross, and St. Paul with the sword ; beneath are repre- 
 sented the sufferings of Christ. The Saviour is in the 
 centre, with his hands crossed before him and tied, crowned 
 with thorns, &c., but much obliterated. In a niche below 
 the altar slab sits an ape, having taken possession of the 
 seat of sanctuary, shutting out the weary pilgrim, as he 
 appears by the appropriate costume of the cockleshell in 
 front of the cap, with scrip and staff. Opposite the ape 
 is a hare, the meaning of which is, that security from our 
 enemies must be had by flight and speed. The interest of 
 this altar is great, in consequence of the rarity of such in 
 the ancient churches. Passing on to the choir, we next 
 come to a large slab of stone which has been inlaid with 
 brass, the only remaining portion simply bearing the in- 
 scription, " Eobertus Ogle, who died in 1410." Immedi- 
 ately adjoining this are the remnants of the monks' stalls, 
 but unfortunately the canopies are all destroyed. Each 
 seat is a chair with elbows or arms quaintly carved, and 
 the bottom made to be occasionally turned up, when the 
 under face displays a grotesque mask, flowers, or other 
 ornament. 
 
 On the north side of the choir, within 3 or 4 feet of the 
 communion rails, stands the Freed-stool or sanctuary chair. 
 In ancient times St. "Wilfrid procured for this church the 
 privilege of sanctuary, a right confirmed by the highest 
 authority, viz. the papal see, archbishops and bishops, 
 kings and princes, Scotch as well as English. The sanc- 
 tuary extended in various directions to some distance from 
 the church. One writer says : " The stone seat is called 
 the Freed-stool, that is, the chair of peace, to which if any- 
 one flying for safety cometh, he shall be altogether secure." 
 There is a similar stone chair or Freed-stool in the 
 cathedral at Beverley, in Yorkshire. Speaking of Hexham, 
 another writer tells us : " There were four crosses set up 
 at a certain distance from the church, in the four ways 
 leading thereunto ; now if any malefactor flying for refuge 
 to that church, was taken or apprehended within the 
 crosses, the party that took or laid hold of him there, did 
 forfeit two hundredth. If he took him within the town, 
 then he forfeited four hundredth ; if within the church, 
 then twelve hundredth ; if within the doors of the quire, 
 then eighteen hundredth, besides penance as in case of 
 sacrilege; but if he presumed to take him out of the 
 stone chair, near the altar, called Freed-stool, or from
 
 HEXHAM. 165 
 
 amongst the holy relics behind the altar, the offence was 
 not redeemable with any sum, and nothing but the utmost 
 severity of the offended Church was to be expected by a 
 dreadful excommunication, besides what the secular power 
 would impose for the presumptuous misdemeanour." 
 These and other privileges were diminished in 1413, on 
 account of the place being an asylum to outlaws and 
 robbers; and were finally abrogated in the 28th Henry 
 VIII., when the Archbishop of York and his temporal 
 chancellor were made justices of the peace for the shire of 
 Hexham, which district, in the 14th of Elizabeth, was 
 annexed to the county of Northumberland. One writer, 
 when speaking of the Freed-stool, says : " I have no doubt 
 whatever that this is the ' Cathedra ' of the Saxon bishops 
 of Hexham;" and another tells us : "It is very probably 
 the seat on which the bishops of the see were consecrated, 
 and perhaps even that in which the kings of Northumbria 
 were crowned." 
 
 Passing from the choir into the transept, northwards 
 we see the beautiful rood-screen, of the flamboyant style 
 of architecture, with numerous paintings, much obliter- 
 ated. On the four centre panels at the top is a remnant 
 of the " Dance of Death," beginning with the cardinal, 
 monarch, bishop, and pope, and monograms below. Con- 
 tinuing on to the north transept we come to a most beautiful 
 and somewhat singular monumental arch. It is thought 
 to be the tomb of Elfwold, a king of Northumbria, who was 
 slain in the vicinity of Hexham by one of his nobles on the 
 21st September, 788. The monks went in solemn proces- 
 sion and brought the body to the church and honourably 
 interred it. A miraculous light is said to have often been 
 seen over the place where Elfwold was killed, but the exact 
 place cannot now be ascertained. On the stone that covers 
 the shrine there is carved a richly floriated cross. Adjoin- 
 ing this tomb are also two recumbent figures, the one a 
 female, of whom nothing is known; the other a knight, 
 supposed to be Galfred-de-Ayden. Beyond is another 
 figure, that of a knight templar, Umfraville by name, 
 who died in 1227. Above the arcades of this aisle is to 
 be seen some beautiful foliage carved in the stone, also 
 rich corbels and bosses. The next thing to be noticed 
 is the baptismal font, of a date coeval with the building. 
 Immediately below the font is the subterraneous crypt, an 
 appendage to the ancient cathedral of St. Wilfrid. There
 
 166 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 is a similar crypt in the cathedral at Eipon, also built by 
 St. Wilfrid. These are the only Saxon crypts in the 
 country. The crypt at Hexham, concealed for many 
 centuries beneath the debris of the nave, was only dis- 
 covered as recently as 1726, in digging for a buttress to 
 support the west side of the tower. Here it may be 
 noted, the crypt is nearly, if not entirely, built of Eoman 
 stone, chiselled in a curious manner. In it are two 
 Eoman inscriptions, one sadly cut away, the other almost 
 complete. The more perfect of the two is of great 
 historical interest, owing to the name of the Emperor Geta 
 having evidently been designedly erased with a tool, which 
 was done by order of Caracalla to all similar monuments 
 after the murder of his brother Geta. The visitor is fully 
 repaid by descending into this ancient place of devotion. 
 Emerging from the crypt, we next notice the stair, which 
 originally led to the dormitories ; it is quite unique in 
 structure, not being found in any other of our home 
 churches, though the same feature is frequent in conti- 
 nental churches. This stair leads to the belfry. There is 
 a fine peal of bells, eight in number ; the original peal, six 
 in number, was cast in 1404, but recast into eight in 1742. 
 From the belfry the visitor can ascend by the ladder to 
 the top of the tower, the view from which, is very fine. 
 On the west side of the church stands the Seal, what would 
 once be the open cloister of the monks, now a park or 
 recreation ground for the public. Several monumental 
 windows adorn the church, but they are all of recent 
 date. 
 
 On the west side of the north transept was found, in 
 1832, a small copper vessel containing about 8000 Saxon 
 coins, the principal bulk of which are now in the British 
 Museum. 
 
 On the dissolution of the monastery in 1536, the prior, 
 whose name was Jay, was hanged at his own gate for 
 having instigated the people to resist the action of govern- 
 ment. The gate may still be seen in the Cow Garth. 
 
 Many other old buildings remains of the priory 
 stand in the immediate neighbourhood of the church. The 
 cloisters, enclosed on the north by the south wall of the 
 nave, still 20 feet in height, and in excellent condition, 
 with the lavatory of remarkable beauty on the west side, 
 and the chapter house on the east, will well repay a visit. 
 Over the ancient refectory, which yet exists in good con-
 
 DILSTON CASTLE. 167 
 
 dition, there is an extensive suite of rooms of modern 
 construction, now used as county court and magistrates' 
 rooms. Leading from the market there is an archway, 
 and tower, called the Moot Hall, where a court is still 
 occasionally held ; the principal part of the rooms are 
 now occupied as dwellings. 
 
 A large and distinct block of building square in shape 
 seems to have been the stronghold of the place. Its 
 walls are 9 feet thick, and it has vaulted dungeons. The 
 projecting corbels on the summit, for supporting platform, 
 have a fine effect. It is now disused, but seven years ago 
 it contained a bank, and the office of the lord of the 
 manor. In this building is preserved an oak beam covered 
 with quaint early English inscriptions, which it has baffled 
 many an antiquary to decipher : it was formerly the lintel 
 over a fireplace which was removed to make way for one 
 of more modern description. 
 
 D ilst on Castle. 
 
 The ruins of this castle stand in a commanding position, 
 on the east side of the brook called Devilswater, half a mile 
 from Corbridge railway station, and 4 miles from Hexham. 
 
 It is not known at what precise period the castle was 
 first built, but it is supposed to have originally belonged 
 to the family of D'Eivill, of whom we have a record as far 
 back in history as the reign of Henry I., and in the reign 
 of Henry II. we find a family seated here of the name 
 of Dyvelston. Their possessions appear to have been ex- 
 tensive, and Dyvelston is mentioned as having manorial 
 privileges. One of the family, Sir Thomas, was sheriff 
 of Northumberland in the ninth year of the reign of 
 Edward I. ; he was interred in Hexham Abbey. Leaving 
 no issue, his barony and possessions were inherited by his 
 cousin, William-de-Tynedale, lord of the neighbouring 
 barony of Langley. The last member of the direct line of 
 the family died in 1416, and their estates were settled on 
 Sir William Caxton, a collateral descendant on the female 
 side ; and the barony seems to have acquired by this time 
 the name of Dilston. On the failure of male issue a co- 
 heiress became lady of Dilston, and married John Car- 
 tington, a Northumberland esquire. Some time about 
 1494, Sir Edward Kadcliffe, Knight, came into possession
 
 168 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 of Dilston by marriage with Anne, daughter and heiress of 
 the above-named John Cartington. This Sir Edward, who 
 held the office of high sheriff of Northumberland, in the 
 17th Henry VII., was the third son of Sir Thomas Bad- 
 cliffe, of Derwentwater. 
 
 The Badcliffes were a noted Lancashire family, of Saxon 
 origin, who had their name from the village of Badcliffe, 
 near Bury, and their pedigree assumes a De Badcliffe 
 anterior to the reign of Henry II. In the time of Henry V. 
 Sir Nicholas Badcliffe married Margaret, daughter and 
 heiress of Sir John de Derwentwater. 
 
 The early history of the Derwentwaters is shrouded in 
 obscurity, but as far back as the reign of King John the 
 family occurs as possessed of lands in the northern coun- 
 ties, being lords of the manor of Bolton, in Westmorland, 
 and having estates around the Derwent Lake, in Cumber- 
 land, and in other places. In the 48th and 50th Edward 
 III., and 1st and 4th Bichard II., Sir John de Derwentwater, 
 above mentioned, was sheriff of Cumberland, and he was 
 twice, viz. 2nd and llth Bichard II., returned to Parlia- 
 ment as a knight of the shire. His son-in-law, Sir Nicholas 
 Badcliffe, was sheriff of Cumberland in 1422. The next 
 in descent, Sir Thomas Badcliffe, knight, married Margaret, 
 daughter of Sir William Parr, of Kendal Castle, an ancestor 
 of the last queen of Henry VIII. It was Sir Edward, the 
 third son of this Sir Thomas, that won the lady of Dilston 
 for his bride. 
 
 The eldest son, John, succeeded to the Cumberland 
 estates, and he appears to have lived at the house on 
 Lord's Island, Derwentwater, for there he made his will 
 in 1527, and the following year was interred in Crosthwaite 
 Church, where there is his effigy and that of his wife, and 
 a memorial in brass, with a black letter inscription. He 
 was a person of eminence in his day, and was many times 
 selected for the important office of sheriff of Cumberland, 
 under Henry VII. and Henry VIII. He likewise several 
 times held the commission to treat with his warlike, preda- 
 tory neighbours, the Scots, touching peace and other 
 matters affecting the realm. He died without issue, and 
 the Cumberland estates then descended to Sir Cuthbert 
 Badcliffe, of Dilston, the son of Sir Edward Badcliffe. 
 
 Sir Cuthbert was high sheriff of Northumberland in the 
 19th Henry VIII. ; in 1514 he married Margaret, daughter 
 of Henry, Lord Clifford. One of his successors, Sir Edward
 
 DILSTON CASTLE. 169 
 
 Eadcliffe, was a distinguished loyalist in the time of 
 Charles I., and his estate was confiscated by the Common- 
 wealth. He appears to have been reinstated on the acces- 
 sion of Charles II., for he died in 1663, aged seventy-five, and 
 was interred in the family vault below the chapel adjoining 
 Dilston Castle. He was succeeded by his only surviving son 
 and heir, Sir Francis, who was born in 1624, and created 
 Baron Dilston, Viscount Langley, and Earl of Derwent- 
 water by James II., in March 1688, only nine months 
 before the king was compelled to flee the kingdom. In 
 the previous year, Edward, the eldest son of Sir Francis, 
 had espoused Lady Mary Tudor, youngest natural daughter 
 of King Charles II., who was, at the time of her marriage, 
 only fourteen years of age. The Earl departed this life in 
 1697, aged seventy- two, and was interred at Dilston. He was 
 succeeded in his dignities and estates by his eldest son, 
 Edward, who thus became second earl. The latter had 
 issue, James, his eldest son and heir, born in London, 
 June 28, 1689; Lady Mary Tudor Eadcliffe, his only 
 daughter, who, after 1720, married William Petre, of 
 Stamford Eivers, and died without leaving issue surviv- 
 ing ; Francis, who died unmarried in 1715 ; and Charles, 
 who survived his brother, the third earl, for thirty years, 
 and then, in 1746, went to the scaffold on a sentence of 
 treason passed in 1716. 
 
 The second Earl and Countess entered into a deed of 
 separation, dated the 6th February, 1700, and in less than 
 five years they were parted finally by the death of the 
 Earl , which occurred on the 20th April, 1705. His youthful 
 relict did not long remain a widow, for she married in 1705 
 Henry Graham, Esq., of Levens, son of Colonel James 
 Graham, of Levens, Privy Purse to James II., and so 
 nephew to Bichard Graham, Viscount Preston, elder 
 brother to the colonel, but he too departed this life in the 
 following year ; and in August of 1707 she contracted a 
 third matrimonial engagement. Her third husband was 
 James Eooke, whom also she survived, as well as her 
 illustrious son, James, the third and last earl, and his 
 countess, and even the dynasty of her royal father's 
 house, for she departed this life at Paris, on the 5th 
 November, 1726, in the fifty-fourth year of her age. 
 
 James Eadcliffe, the third and last possessor of the tran- 
 sient earldom of Derwentwater, was only sixteen years of 
 age when his father died. Early in. childhood his parents
 
 170 GILSLAND SECTION. 
 
 took him to France, where they helped to swell the court 
 of the exiled monarch James II. of England, and the boy 
 was educated in company with young Charles Stuart, 
 afterwards called " The Pretender," being both about 
 the same age. The whole period of the young Earl's 
 minority was thus spent on the Continent, and he did 
 not visit his ancestral home until 1710, when he was in 
 his twenty-firsst year. On the 10th July, 1712, he married 
 Anna Maria, eldest daughter of Sir John Webb, Bart., 
 their acquaintance having begun when both were receiving 
 education in the French capital. On the morning of the 
 6th of October, 1715, he left Dilston, in company with his 
 friends and servants, to join in the rising in favour of 
 "The Pretender;" on the 14th November following the 
 invading force was defeated at Preston, and the whole 
 made prisoners. The Earl was committed to the Tower 
 of London ; on the 9th February, 1716, his peers found 
 him guilty of high treason, and on the 24th of the same 
 month he was beheaded on Tower Hill. His remains were 
 interred in the family vault at Dilston. His Countess 
 died in 1723, and their only son met with his death by 
 accident in 1731, when in his nineteenth year. Their only 
 daughter was married in 1732, in the seventeenth year of her 
 age, to Eobert James, eighth Lord Petre, whose descend- 
 ants still survive. The Hon. Charles Radcliffe, the only 
 brother of the unfortunate earl, was beheaded for treason, 
 as before stated, in 1746, having been taken prisoner on 
 board a French vessel, when on his way, as it was sup- 
 posed, to join in the rebellion of the previous year. During 
 his residence in France, after his escape from England in 
 1715, he married the Countess of Newburgh. The Coun- 
 tess was a widow, and it is said Charles urged his suit 
 sixteen times. His last proposal was urged after adopting 
 the novel expedient of coming down the chimney, when 
 the Countess, half alarmed and partly pleased at his perse- 
 verance, received her daring suitor graciously. They had 
 issue three sons and four daughters. The eldest son, the 
 third Earl of Newburgh, claimed the reversion in the 
 Derwentwater estates, but he afterwards seems to have 
 acquiesced in an Act -of Parliament, passed in 1749, settling 
 those estates upon Greenwich Hospital ; for, having no 
 other means of subsistence, he accepted 24,000/. as a 
 relief for his support, and consented that his title under 
 the settlement should be extinguished. On the fifth Earl
 
 . 
 DILSTON CASTLE. 171 
 
 of Newburgh petitioning Parliament in 1788, a bill was 
 passed granting 250W. a year to his lordship. He died 
 without issue, November 29, 1814, and his widow had an 
 allowance of 1000/. a year after his death. She died in 
 1861. The Cumberland estates were sold by the Commis- 
 sioners of Greenwich Hospital about the year 1832, to Mr. 
 Marshall, of Leeds, and on the 13th October, 1874, the 
 estates in the county of Northumberland were put up to 
 auction. The principal lot, including Dilston Castle, was 
 purchased by William Beaumont, Esq., the owner of 
 extensive adjacent estates, for the sum of 231,000?. Prior, 
 however, to the sale taking place, the vault beneath the 
 old chapel at Dilston was entered, and six coffins reverently 
 removed. The first five contained the ashes of Francis, 
 the first earl, who died 1796 ; of Edward, the second earl, 
 who died 1705 ; of Mr. Francis Eadcliffe, who died in 1704 ; 
 and of the Ladies Barbara and Mary Radcliffe, whose 
 decease took place respectively in 1696 and in 1726. These 
 five coffins were carried to the cemetery of the Catholic 
 church at Hexham, there to be reinterred. The sixth coffin, 
 which contained the remains of James, third and last 
 Earl of Derwentwater, was removed to Thorndon, in Essex, 
 there to be reinterred in the family vault of Lord Petre. 
 So ends what has been aptly denominated the Derwent- 
 water romance.
 
 ( 172 ) 
 
 KOMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 A WALK ALONG THE ROMAN WALL, FROM 
 COAST TO COAST.* 
 
 ALMOST everyone is taught at school that the Emperor 
 Severus erected a wall between the Solway Firth near 
 Carlisle and the river Tyne near Newcastle, as a barrier 
 against the incursions of the Picts and Scots who dwelt in 
 the more northern region of Caledonia ; and in after life 
 the wall dwells in the imagination, but how few persons 
 have any intelligible idea of the vastness of the original 
 work, or of the state of the remains as they exist at the 
 present day. 
 
 No better method, we venture to think, can be adopted 
 of obtaining an accurate idea, not only of the present 
 state of the wall, but also of its original condition, than 
 by actually walking along it, and tracing out its whole 
 course from sea to sea, and obtaining as much information 
 as possible from the inhabitants of the district ; supple- 
 menting this with a perusal of the works written on the 
 subject, but especially of the book entitled ' The Eoman 
 Wall,' produced within the last few years by Dr. Bruce, of 
 Newcastle. This plan we adopted, first taking a pedes- 
 trian excursion along the route of the wall from Bowness 
 to Wallsend, then, after perusing Bruce and other writers, 
 again strolling along the whole length of the wall, for the 
 purpose of correcting and increasing our knowledge of the 
 great work by the help of the light obtained from books 
 and maps. These labours have led the writer to take a 
 deeper interest than hitherto in the history of Eome, and 
 in that of the ancient inhabitants of his own country ; he 
 ventures therefore to hope that his readers will also have 
 their interest awakened, and that thus they will obtain a 
 thorough appreciation of the wonderful work accomplished 
 
 * We recommend the walk to be taken from west to east. By 
 doing so the traveller moves from the less remains to the greater, 
 and his interest grows.
 
 THE ROMAN WALL. 173 
 
 in this island by those ancient conquerors of the world. 
 As Dr. Bruce remarks : " The casual wanderer by the 
 relics of the Vallum and the Wall may not succeed in 
 culling facts that are new to the historian, but he will 
 probably get those vivid glances into Roman character, 
 and acquire that personal interest in Roman story, which 
 will give to the prosaic records of chroniclers a reality 
 and a charm which they did not before possess." Truly, 
 no person can traverse the course of the ruins from coast 
 to coast without obtaining a hundredfold more insight into 
 British and Roman history than by the study of books ; 
 neither can he do so without a feeling of enthusiasm or a 
 certain expansion of mind as he contemplates a work 
 which Sir Walter Scott, in ' Guy Mannering,' speaks of in 
 the following terms : " And this, then, is the Roman wall. 
 What a people ! Whose labours, even at this extremity of 
 their empire, comprehended such space, and were executed 
 upon a scale of such grandeur ! In future ages when the 
 science of war shall have been changed, how few traces 
 will exist of the labours of Vauban and Coehorn, while this 
 wonderful people's remains will even then continue to in- 
 terest and astonish posterity ! Their fortifications, their 
 aqueducts, their theatres, their fountains, all their public 
 works, bear the grave, solid, and majestic character of 
 their language ; while our modern labours, like our modern 
 tongues, seem but constructed out of their fragments." 
 
 The wall was not less than 75 miles long, and extended 
 over hill and dale in an almost straight line from Bowness 
 on the Solway to Wallsend on the Tyne. Its breadth, 
 though varying a little according to the nature of the 
 ground, is thought to have been generally nearly 8 feet, and 
 about 9 feet at the base, this breadth reaching to a height of 
 14 feet ; being crowned on the north side with a parapet 4 
 feet high, thus making the height of the wall 18 feet. It must 
 have presented a solid and unadorned, but neat and uniform 
 appearance, the outside stones being composed of regularly 
 shaped and well-dressed freestone, from 15 to 20 inches 
 long, 10 inches broad, and 8 inches thick, which would 
 sometimes be obtained from the adjoining quarries, but 
 must often have been carried long distances. Most of the 
 stones have a wedge shape, tapering towards the end, 
 which is set into the wall. Dr. Bruce thinks stones of 
 this shape would be conveniently earned on the backs of 
 " poor enslaved Britons ;" and the present inhabitants 
 along the Line of the wall tell us they were conveyed in
 
 174 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 the apron of an old woman, and the wall was built in one 
 night. Both these modes of conveyance, we venture to 
 think, are too romantic for the practical Eomans, who 
 were not unacquainted with horses and carts. 
 
 The inside part of the wall consists of rubble stone, 
 similar to that found in the massive walls of our old 
 castles, and not unlike the concrete which we are begin- 
 ning to use so extensively at the present day. These 
 stones are of all kinds and shapes, both large and small, 
 evidently picked up on the spot, and they are cemented as 
 firm as the solid rock, by lime, which, when fresh and 
 mixed with sand and gravel, has been poured in amongst 
 them, and filled every crevice. Occasionally, however, the 
 lime has been put on with the trowel, but where this plan 
 is adopted the rubble stones are often laid upon their edges 
 in a slanting position, somewhat in the fashion of herring- 
 bone masonry. The Romans had evidently some better 
 method of preparing the lime than that with which we are 
 acquainted at the present day, for after standing sixteen 
 centuries it is as hard as stone. When travelling along 
 the wall, in places where the outside stones still remain, 
 the lime is generally not visible, apparently having been 
 removed from the exposed parts by the action of rain, and 
 by the plants and herbs which have grown upon it. The 
 whole construction is so massive and so well put together, 
 that it would in all likelihood have stood almost perfect 
 until now had it not been for the destroying agency of 
 vegetable growth, and still more the destruction caused by 
 the inhabitants of the district, who have used the wall as 
 a quarry whence they might obtain stones for their fences, 
 houses, and castles. Considering the destructive agencies 
 which have been at work for many centuries, the wonder 
 is that so much of the structure remains. 
 
 The front of the outside stones of the wall is often 
 found to be roughly scabbled with the pick, the markings 
 taking various shapes, such as a cross, waved lines, or 
 small squares ; the diamond broaching being most com- 
 mon. Perhaps these marks denoted by what legion or 
 body of workmen the stones were prepared, or on what 
 parts of the building they were to be used. 
 
 At regular intervals of about 4 miles, fortified camps or 
 stations were erected, there being, it is supposed, seven- 
 teen or eighteen of these on the line of the wall, each 
 having contained from 600 to 1000 soldiers, horse or foot 
 as the case might be. They were generally close to the
 
 THE ' NOTITIA IMPERII.' ,' 175 
 
 wall on the southern side, and appear, from the remains 
 existing, to have formed almost a square, containing from 
 3 to 6 acres, surrounded by high, thick walls, provided 
 with four gateways, and laid out in streets, barracks, 
 temples, baths, &c., some of the buildings having massive 
 and occasionally beautiful sculptured stones. Outside 
 these stations are heaps of grass-grown rubbish, from 
 which it is inferred that there also existed suburbs, where 
 dwelt natives and camp followers. 
 
 The ' Notitia Imperil,' a document which was compiled 
 about the year 403, or a few years later,* and may be con- 
 sidered as a kind of army list of the Eoman empire, gives 
 a list of the prefects and tribunes, and the stations at 
 which they were located along the line of the Eoman wall. 
 The stations now no longer bear their Koman names, but 
 from this list, coupled with inscriptions found on the spot, 
 it is thought many of the names of the stations have been 
 ascertained with tolerable certainty ; but as to the correct 
 names of some of the other stations antiquaries are yet 
 undecided. 
 
 In addition to the stations on the line of the wall there 
 were others situated at different places to the north and 
 south of it, the whole being connected by a system of 
 roads enabling the soldiers to be amassed at any point 
 attacked. To the north were supporting stations at High 
 Rochester, Risingham, Bewcastle, Netherby, Middleby, &c. 
 To the south, at Shields, Jarrow, Wardley, Corbridge, Hex- 
 ham, Chesterholm, Whitley Castle, Old Penrith, Old Car- 
 lisle, Ellenborough, Moresby, Papcastle, (probably Kes- 
 wick), and many other places. 
 
 "We are inclined to think that the wall would naturally 
 be continued past Wallsend to Tynemouth, and that con- 
 sequently our antiquaries are entirely in the wrong as to 
 the names given to the different stations. In the Notitia 
 the first entry along the line of the wall is the follow- 
 ing : " The tribune of the fourth cohort of the Lingones 
 at Segedunum." There was undoubtedly a Roman station 
 at Tynemouth, and it was a place of some importance, for 
 an inscribed stone, dug up some time ago, states that a 
 
 * Hodgson says, " From internal evidence Pincirollus thought 
 this work was written about the end of the reign of Theodosius 
 the younger, who died in 450." If this date be correct, the Romans 
 must have remained in Britain longer than is generally supposed. 
 In another part of his history Hodgson curiously enough adopts 
 the year 450 as the date of the Notitia, without any comment.
 
 176 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 temple was erected there in the reign of the Emperor 
 Severus, and it is a remarkable fact that an altar was 
 found there in 1783, which reads as follows : " To Jupiter 
 the best and greatest, (Elius Kufus, the Prefect of Cohort 
 the fourth of the Lingones." This inscription would bear 
 out the supposition that Tynemouth is the station of 
 Segedunum ; and in all probability Pons .ZElii would be 
 "Wallsend, for a wall went down there to the brink of the 
 stream, and it is natural to expect a bridge to cross the 
 river at that point for communication with the station 
 at Wardley, which was directly opposite, and a road 
 would run thence to the stations at Jarrow and South 
 Shields. An old writer tells us " he had frequently, after 
 high tides, observed large well-wrought ashlar stones, 
 lying on the side of the river at the foot of the field on 
 which the station stood the scattered ruins probably of 
 a quay." Hodgson, in his ' History of Northumberland,' 
 places Segedunum at Wallsend, but appears to bear out 
 our supposition, for he says : " Mention is made of the 
 Blackchesters in the fields of East Chirton, in a deed in 
 1320, and lines of ancient Eoman earthworks still remain 
 there, and in other places between Tynemouth and Walls- 
 end, on the north side of the Tyne. Indeed, in fortifying 
 the isthmus between this place and the Solway Firth, it 
 was very unlikely that the Eomans, at any period of their 
 occupation of the country, would leave either side of the 
 entrance of the Tyne without defence : and that the 
 Saxons founded some part of their monastic buildings 
 here as in many other places, with Eoman remains, is evi- 
 dent from the discovery of two stones bearing inscriptions, 
 which are now in the possession of the Society of Anti- 
 quaries in London. They both formed foundation stones, 
 at the depth of 6 feet from the surface, of some ancient 
 building on the north side of Tinmouth Castle." 
 
 Many other facts have helped to convince us that anti- 
 quaries are by no means correct in the names they assigned 
 to the different stations on the line of the wall. It has 
 been taken for granted that where a station produced an 
 inscription bearing the name of a cohort mentioned in the 
 Notitia, its real position had been ascertained, especially if 
 inscriptions in like manner satisfactory had been found in 
 neighbouring stations; but this method is based on the 
 supposition that the same cohort occupied the same 
 station for centuries, which can hardly be admitted when
 
 NAMES OF THE ROMAN STATIONS. 177 
 
 we remember that the soldiers were not natives of Britain, 
 but were brought from all parts of the Eoman empire, and 
 would be changed and moved about in a manner similar to 
 the plan adopted in the British army at the present day. 
 We are supported in this objection by Hutchinson, in his 
 ' History of Cumberland,' for he says he cannot admit that 
 cohorts would remain stationary for long periods. Inscrip- 
 tions by the same cohort are found in more than one 
 station, and at the same station are often discovered in- 
 scriptions by various cohorts, clearly proving they were 
 not stationary ; and, as Hodgson remarks, " Many circum- 
 stances might occasion a cohort to erect an altar where it 
 was not stationed." In order to make facts agree with 
 theory, it is amusing to notice what unlikely suppositions 
 are resorted to. We give one instance : Netherby was a 
 Eoman station, situated 10 miles north of Carlisle, far 
 away from the wall, and altars having been found there 
 bearing inscriptions by -the same tribune as others found 
 at Birdoswald, Hodgson says they were probably carried 
 from Birdoswald to Netherby,. which is a distance .of 20 
 miles. Far more likely is it to suppose that the same 
 tribune occupied both stations at different times, than that 
 the altars have since been carried from one place to the 
 other. If Newcastle had been the Pons .ZElii of the 
 Eomans a station would naturally have been looked for at 
 Gateshead on the opposite bank of the river, as at Carlisle 
 on the Eden, but no traces of such have ever been found. 
 If Tynemouth be Segedunum, and Wallsend Pons .ZElii, 
 and the order of the stations then agree with the Notitia 
 as far as Birdoswald (not including, as some do, Chester- 
 holm,which is some distance from the wall), then Housesteads 
 would be JEsica, and Great Chesters, Magna, and this is 
 supported by the derivations of the names given by 
 Hodgson. Speaking of ^Esica, or Great Chesters, he says : 
 " This station was seated at a short distance from the right 
 bank of Haltwhistle burn, and thus might have its name 
 from being upon, or near the esc, or water." Now, if 
 .ZEsica has its name from being near the water, it is very 
 suitable for the station of Housesteads, which is near to, 
 and overlooks the large sheets of water known as the 
 Northumberland Lakes ; but not at all applicable to Great 
 Chesters, which is some distance from the tiny stream of 
 Haltwhistle burn. Speaking of Magna, that is Carvoran, 
 Hodgson says, very significantly : " That Carvoran was 
 
 R
 
 178 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 the Magna of the Notitia, I have been unable to find 
 better evidence than the order of that work. Should the 
 name Magna have Castra understood after it, and thus 
 mean The Great Chesters?" If Housesteads be the 
 Eoman JEsica, as we suppose, then Great Chesters, being 
 next in order, would be Magna. To the west of Birdos- 
 wald it is acknowledged that there has not yet been pro- 
 duced an inscription to corroborate the order of the Notitia. 
 Although only one station, viz. that at Castlesteads, is 
 visible over the 16 miles of ground from Birdoswald to 
 Stanwix, it is .almost certain that there would be one at 
 or near the hamlet of Banks as stated at page 88, and 
 another near either Old Wall or Walby. It is generally ac- 
 knowledged that there was a station at Stanwix, and 
 another at Carlisle, on the opposite bank of the river 
 Eden, and the latter is thought to have been Luguvallum ; 
 but although admitting it is highly probable there was a 
 station on each bank of the river, we cannot reconcile the 
 names given to these with the fact that Luguvallum is not 
 mentioned in the Notitia as on the line of the wall for any 
 station at Carlisle would clearly be on the line of that barrier. 
 Between each station were castella or mile castles, about 
 a mile apart, for the protection of the batches of soldiers 
 while guarding the wall. They were about 60 feet square, 
 and attached to the south side of the wall, and were pro- 
 tected by the same kind of masonry as the wall, and of the 
 same height and thickness. In each there is a gateway 
 to the south and to the north, and though the castles 
 generally were a mile apart they were not invariably that 
 distance, but placed in positions where the wall required 
 extra protection, and where roads led through the barrier 
 to the north. As there was a gateway leading to the 
 north at each of the stations and castles, numbering in all 
 perhaps nearly 100, the territory north of the wall cannot 
 have been given up to the enemy, and the wall itself could 
 not be looked upon as a mere boundary fence, but as a 
 base of military operations, and a line of safe retreat in 
 case of defeat, an intrenched camp, in fact, stretching 
 across the island. In some of the mile castles the founda- 
 tion of an inside wall has been found, parallel with the 
 outside wall, and a little distance from it ; thus leading to 
 the supposition that between the two had been buildings 
 for the lodgment of the soldiers. Dr. Bruce, speaking of 
 the mile castles, says : " Against their massive stone walls
 
 THE VALLUM. 179 
 
 buildings of a comparatively slight structure were placed, 
 each with a sloping roof, whilst a considerable space in the 
 centre was left unoccupied and uncovered." 
 
 In each of the spaces between the mile castles were four 
 stone turrets or watch-towers, used as sentry-boxes, and 
 placed about 350 yards apart, thus allowing the sentinels 
 to be within call of one another, so that communication 
 could be kept up along the whole length of the wall, with- 
 out having recourse to a sounding trumpet, or pipes laid 
 under ground, which the. inhabitants of the district tell 
 the stranger was the case. Unfortunately none of these 
 turrets remain, but old writers speak of some of them as 
 existing in their day. 
 
 Along the wall, with the exception of a few places where 
 it is on the summit of steep precipices, the Eomans added 
 to its height and strength by making a ditch close below, on 
 its north side. This ditch was generally about 36 feet wide, 
 and 15 feet deep. It is now easily traced from sea to sea, 
 along almost the whole of the line, and is a good guide in 
 places where the wall has been entirely destroyed. As it 
 follows the course of the wall over hill and dale, it must 
 have been intended as a dry ditch, and not to be filled 
 with water. In making it the solid rock has in many 
 places had to be excavated, and the stone thus obtained 
 would no doubt be used to assist in the building of the 
 wall. Occasionally the soil dug out of it has been depo- 
 sited on its northern bank, thus adding to its depth. 
 
 To the south of the stone wall, at a distance perpetually 
 varying, in some places being only a few yards, and in 
 others almost half a mile apart, but generally 60 or 80 yards 
 distant, is a vallum or earthwork, apparently consisting, 
 where most perfect, of three ramparts and a fosse, but in 
 many places only the fosse is now to be seen, and in others 
 both ramparts and fosse have disappeared. Dr. Bruce 
 says it fell short of the stone wall by about 3 miles at each 
 end, but we think that in this he is mistaken, for we had 
 not walked along the line of the wall many yards from 
 Bowness before we observed a parallel ridge a few yards 
 to the south, and a resident in the district, who accom- 
 panied us, said that it must have been the foundation of 
 another wall, as it contained so many stones. Not knowing 
 of the vallum at the time, this circumstance appeared 
 very puzzling, but believing as we now do that the vallum 
 was the Eoman road, and would be continued to the end 
 
 K 2
 
 180 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 of the wall both at Bowness and Wall send, we are fully 
 convinced the ridge referred to was the remains of the 
 vallum. 
 
 Various have been the conjectures as to the origin and 
 use of the vallum. Some have thought it was made by 
 Hadrian, and not being found a sufficient barrier, that 
 Severus afterwards erected the stone wall Horsley ap- 
 pears to have been the only antiquary who has looked 
 upon the vallum as a road. He conceived that the 
 stations were built by Agricola, and that the north agger 
 of the vallum was constructed by him as a military way 
 to communicate with them. He thinks the ditch of the 
 vallum and the mounds on each side of it were constructed 
 by Hadrian, as his defence against the Caledonians, and 
 that he availed himself of the previously existing road 
 and stations of Agricola. He is further of opinion that 
 the wall, with its castles, turrets, and military way, are to 
 be ascribed to Severus. Dr. Bruce, along with Hodgson, 
 the historian of Northumberland, thinks it was made at 
 the same time as the wall, and was part of the same 
 engineering scheme, and that it was for protection from 
 the south. He says : " A careful examination of the 
 country over which the wall runs almost necessarily 
 leads to the conclusion that whilst the wall undertook the 
 harder duty of warding off the openly hostile tribes of 
 Caledonia, the vallum was intended as a protection against 
 sudden surprise from the south. The natives of the 
 country on the south side of the wall, though conquered, 
 were not to be depended upon. In the event of their 
 kinsmen in the north gaining an advantage they would be 
 ready to avail themselves of it. The Eomans knew this, 
 and with characteristic prudence made themselves secure 
 on both sides." No one can walk along the wall from end 
 to end without being fully convinced that Dr. Bruce is right 
 in considering the whole, viz. north fosse, wall, stations, 
 and vallum, as one engineering scheme, and made at the 
 same time ; but, although agreeing with him in this, we 
 cannot allow that his solution of the use of the vallum is 
 in any way satisfactory to us. After much thought, per- 
 sonal observation, and inquiry on the subject, we are con- 
 vinced that the vallum has been the ancient Koman road, 
 and on stating our belief to a farmer living on the line of 
 the wall at, or near, the station of Great Chesters, we were 
 agreeably surprised to find that this view was supported
 
 THE VALLUM. 181 
 
 by the high authority of the men engaged on the Ordnance 
 survey, for some of them had told him they thought it 
 must have heen made with that object. We had come to 
 this conclusion, independently, by observing that it could 
 have been little or no protection from either the north or 
 the south, but that it followed the exact track which a 
 road would naturally take if accompanying the wall, and 
 such a road would be required by the Eomans for the 
 conveyance of the soldiers, horses, provisions, and war 
 material ; and this view was confirmed by husbandmen in 
 different parts of the route, who stated that they dug 
 up the foundation of a road on the line of the vallum. 
 Dr. Bruce says no such foundation had been met with, 
 but in this he must be mistaken, for the Eev. Mr. 
 Wright, the vicar of Gilsland and Upper Denton, states 
 that when digging for the foundation of the new schools, 
 close to the vicarage, which is on the site of the vallum, 
 they came upon the pavement of a road 14 feet broad. A 
 few yards distant, where the vallum or road would have 
 to cross the Poltross burn, we observed a bit of Eoman 
 masonry, which was discovered by the men when quarrying 
 close by* and it appears to have been part of the abutment 
 of a bridge. Dr. Bruce cannot have observed this, for he 
 remarks, there are no traces of a bridge over the Poltross. 
 Many other facts might be adduced which have helped to 
 convince us that the vallum was the road. The black- 
 smith living between Birdoswald and Banks Head told us 
 that he had often heard old people say they remembered 
 the time when the vallum was the only road used between 
 those two places. Now the lines of the vallum exist 
 there in a most perfect state, but the road is on the very 
 site of the wall. To the east of Sewingshields the modern 
 military way has in some places been made along the 
 vallum, and Horsley, who thought he could in some places 
 trace the old Eoman road on the vallum, says : " When 
 the two are united they make a military way very beautiful 
 and magnificent." Dr. Bruce admits the absolute neces- 
 sity of a road near the line of the wall, and it is worthy of 
 note that he states the vallum and wall never part com- 
 pany, and that he never finds any trace of the road except 
 along the sloping sides of the heights between Carvoran 
 and . Sewingshields. The vallum runs for miles in a 
 straight line, at the very foot of these hills, and in ^ the 
 exact position that we should have expected a road to
 
 182 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 take ; in fact the modern military road is parallel with it 
 all the way, and only a few yards distant. The wall, 
 stations, and mile castles here being so high tip the hill, 
 the main road naturally would be carried below, whilst 
 smaller branch roads would lead from it to the stations, 
 and along the side of the hill, winding from castle to 
 castle, in an up and down course, from one high point to 
 the other. Another fact, clearly proving that the vallum 
 was the road and not for defence, is, that whenever possible 
 it avoids eminences, running to the north or south of 
 them, and would be commanded by an enemy on the 
 higher ground. This is seen at the Pike near Banks 
 Head; between the Poltross and the Tipalt; below Great 
 Chesters; at Harlow Hill ; Carr Hill; CraggleHill; and 
 Hare Hill, &c., &c. The stations being generally attached 
 to the south side of the wall, a road would be required to 
 come to the southern gateway, and we find the vallum 
 almost always takes that course ; in fact the only stations 
 that it does not touch are those of Housesteads and Great 
 Chesters, which are situated a few hundred yards distant, 
 on the hillside, and are approached by diverging lines. 
 At Carvoran and Castlesteads it was found more conve- 
 nient to take the vallum between the wall and the station, 
 so that it was clearly not for defence from the south. Just 
 as the vallum, being a road, had to come close up to the 
 different stations, so, when crossing a river, it approached 
 close to the wall, the two then being as it were thrown into 
 one, a circumstance which of itself is, we think, a clear 
 proof that the vallum was a road and not a fortification. 
 This is clearly seen near Chollerford, where the North 
 Tyne is crossed. Hodgson says that there the murus and 
 the vallum came close up to the bridge on each side of the 
 river, and that at the bridges on other rivers the barriers 
 also closed in the same way. Another fact which mili- 
 tates against the vallum being a fortification is, that there 
 are no apparent paths of egress through it to the south. 
 Hodgson, quoting from Horsley, gives a fact which clearly 
 proves that the military road and the vallum were not 
 distinct works. He says: "Near the second castellum 
 from Harlow Hill the military road seemed to cross the 
 north agger, or rather to run upon it, there not being 
 sufficient room for it between that agger and the castel- 
 lum ; " and he makes the same remark about a castellum 
 to the west of Welton. We noticed many other places
 
 GRAHAM'S DIKE, AND THE DEVIL'S WALL. 183 
 
 where the vallum was not more than 20 or 30 yards from 
 the wall, too near to allow of a road between when passing 
 the mile castles. Had the vallum and the road not been 
 one and the same, sufficient room would undoubtedly 
 have been left for the latter. Another difficulty cannot be 
 overcome by those who suppose that the vallum was 
 meant to guard against attacks from the south. They 
 cannot explain the object of the small rampart on the 
 south edge of the fosse. Dr. Bruce gives what appears 
 to us a far-fetched supposition. He says : " Possibly it 
 may have been intended as a foothold for the soldiers 
 when fighting on this platform against the revolted Britons 
 south of the barrier." 
 
 It is advisable, when discussing this subject, to compare 
 the line of barrier between the Solway and the Tyne with 
 other similar works constructed by the Eomans. We 
 have two such. One the Scotch, or Graham's Dike, 40 
 miles in length, between the Firth of Forth and Firth of 
 Clyde ; and the other the Devil's wall in Germany, which 
 extended for 200 miles along the Danube, where that river 
 was not broad and deep enough to be itself a sufficient 
 protection. The Scotch dike was erected in the year 140, by 
 Antoninus Pius, the successor of Hadrian, and consisted of 
 a deep ditch, with a rampart of earth intermingled with 
 stone on its southern side, and behind these a military 
 way, a regular causewayed road, 20 feet wide, which kept 
 by the course of the wall or mound, at irregular distances, 
 approaching in some instances to within a few yards, and 
 in others receding to a considerable extent. There were 
 also numerous stations and watch towers. The Devil's 
 wall in Germany consisted of a deep ditch with a high stone 
 wall on its south side, and behind these, roads and camps 
 were formed. Gibbon observes : " Its scattered ruins, uni- 
 versally ascribed to the power of the demon, now serve 
 only to excite the wonder of the S wabean peasant. " It will 
 be seen that both these works corresponded with the barrier 
 running across the north of England, and in both instances 
 roads ran near to and in a line with the wall on the south 
 side, but there was no vallum for protection from the south. 
 
 Similar barriers were erected by the Eomans in other 
 parts of their vast empire, and in this they were only fol- 
 lowing the plan adopted by the still older nations of 
 Greece, Persia, and China ; for we find remains of walla 
 across the isthmus of Corinth ; the north of Greece near
 
 184 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 Thermopylse ; in the Crimea between the Black Sea and 
 the Sea of Azof ; between the Euxine and the Caspian ; in 
 one or two places in Syria ; from the Euphrates to the 
 Tigris near ancient Babylon ; but the greatest mural forti- 
 fication in the world is that in China, which is 1500 miles 
 long, 20 feet high, and 11 feet broad, built of stones and 
 bricks, with inside filled with earth it passes over ridges 
 attaining a height of more than 5000 feet above the sea 
 level, and was commenced 215 years before the time of 
 Christ, and finished in five years, being the most astonish- 
 ing production of human labour and industry to be met 
 with on the face of the whole earth. 
 
 Although the Eoman wall between the Solway and the 
 Tyne is popularly ascribed to Severus, many antiquaries 
 are disposed to confer the honour on Hadrian, and on this 
 disputed point there has been much learned disquisition. 
 Dr. Bruce, the highest living authority on the subject, 
 throws his weight into the scale of Hadrian, but the 
 information on the subject is so meagre that no solution 
 satisfactory to all parties is likely to be attained. 
 
 Spartian, a Eoman historian, who wrote about eighty 
 years after the death of Severus, in speaking of Hadrian, 
 says : " He first drew a wall for 80 miles to separate the 
 Eomans from the barbarians ;" and then he mystifies us 
 by saying that Severus " fortified Britain with a murus 
 drawn across the island, and ending on each side at the 
 sea, which was the chief glory of his reign, and for which 
 he received the name of Britannicus." The historians 
 Herodian and Dion Cassius, who were contemporaries of 
 Severus, and wrote copiously on his reign, never mention 
 a word about any wall or other fortification that he 
 erected on this island, but they were not ignorant that 
 the island was crossed by a great wall, for Herodian tells 
 us that " the two most considerable bodies of the people of 
 that island, and to which almost all the rest relate, are 
 the Caledonians and the Meatse. The latter dwell near 
 the Great Wall that separates the island in two parts : the 
 Caledonians lived beyond them." Bede and other later 
 historians endeavoured to reconcile Spartian's accounts by 
 attributing the vallum or earthwork to Hadrian, and the 
 murus or stone wall to Severus. 
 
 We are inclined to agree with Dr. Bruce that the whole 
 works belong to the reign of Hadrian, for in the absence 
 of satisfactory information handed down by historians, he
 
 HADRIAN AND SEVERUS. 185 
 
 fotmds his opinion on the best of guides, the inscribed 
 slabs and altars found at the stations and castles on the 
 line of the wall, and most of these undoubtedly belong to 
 the reign of Hadrian. Dr. Bruce's view is also confirmed 
 by the fact that most of the coins found are those of 
 Hadrian, from which it appears that Koman legions re- 
 ceived their pay at the wall in his reign. This renowned 
 emperor came to Britain in the year 119, but we are not 
 aware how long he remained. Most of the island had 
 been conquered by Agricola during the years 78, 79, and 
 80, and he had erected forts as far north as the Firths of 
 Clyde and Forth,* but the natives being now in revolt, and 
 Hadrian being anxious to visit every part of his dominions, 
 he came over, quickly subdued the insurgents, and then 
 erected the wall, mounds, ditches, and stations we are now 
 considering, and of which Hodgson writes : " Through 
 the whole line there is unity of design very skilfully 
 adapted to the purpose for which the whole was formed, 
 and to the nature of the ground over which it had to 
 pass." The Britons being again in revolt in the reign of 
 Severus, that emperor came over in person in the year 
 208, and remained until 211, when he died at York. He 
 conducted successful campaigns against the northern 
 inhabitants of the island, and caused the stone wall and 
 the camps to be repaired. As is well known, the Eomans 
 remained in Britain until the dissolution of the empire 
 at the beginning of the fifth century. On their departure 
 the inhabitants of the northern part of the island broke 
 through and began to demolish the stone wall, and ever 
 since then its destruction has been in progress. 
 
 Those who desire to walk along the wall from the west 
 to the east coast, can go from Carlisle by the Silloth line, 
 as far as Drumburgh station, a distance of 9 miles ; and 
 thence by a vehicle called a " Dandy," drawn by a horse 
 along a branch line, for 2j miles to Port Carlisle, on the 
 shores of the Solway Firth. 
 
 Port Carlisle, anciently called Fisher's Cross, is now a 
 small dull place, of one street, the resort of a few summer 
 visitors. The Earl of Lonsdale owns most of the property 
 
 * Horsley and some other antiquaries were of opinion that 
 Agricola erected the stations which are on the line of the wall, 
 and that the wall was built afterwards; but in this they are 
 clearly mistaken, for no inscriptions mentioning the name of 
 Agricola have been found at any of those places.
 
 186 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 around, and in 1819 an attempt was made to constitute it 
 the port for Carlisle city. A canal between the two places 
 was opened in 1823, but in 1854 it was filled up and a 
 railway made on its site, which was continued in 1856 
 from Drumburgh to Silloth, 12 miles farther down the 
 estuary. Previous to the opening of the canal, vessels 
 sailed up the Firth to Fisher's Cross, where the larger 
 ships unloaded, but smaller craft, of perhaps forty or fifty 
 tons burthen, came to the mouth of the Eden at Sandsfield 
 and Eock cliff, whence carts transported their cargoes, 
 chiefly of timber, to Carlisle. Port Carlisle being found 
 unsuitable as a place for shipping, owing to the harbour 
 constantly filling with sand and mud, large docks were 
 constructed at Silloth, the foundation stone being laid 
 by Sir James Graham, on the 18th August, 1857. But 
 although steamers in connection with the North British 
 Eailway still sail from the latter place regularly to Liver- 
 pool, Dublin, Isle of Man, &c., it is found to be far from a 
 prosperous seaport. The ground around Silloth is com- 
 posed chiefly of small sandhills, upon which have been 
 erected a number of houses and hotels, and the place is 
 considered to be a healthy summer resort. The breadth 
 of the Firth, which at Port Carlisle is only 1 mile, is here 
 increased to 12 miles. 
 
 After walking along the shore from Port Carlisle for a 
 mile, the traveller finds himself at Bowness, a small quiet 
 old village, composed of a few farmsteads, lodging-houses, 
 and fishermen's cottages; but containing few traces of 
 the Eoman city which once existed here. The inhabi- 
 tants appear to know little of the old Eomans, but they 
 are well informed as to the Salmon Fisheries Act, and can 
 argue ably and with feeling on the injustice of allowing 
 the standing engines and nets to be used on the Scotch 
 side, and within sight, whilst they are deprived of them. 
 We cannot but sympathise with them, for such an 
 anomaly certainly seems unfair. 
 
 Prying about amongst the houses, we find two or three 
 small altars and inscribed stones in the walls of the build- 
 ings ; and around the old'church is an ancient coffin lid, 
 a stone effigy, and other relics worthy of notice. The 
 camp, the ramparts of which are not easily traced, appears 
 to have been situated just to the north of the site of the 
 church, and to have contained 5 acres. There is no 
 satisfactory account of the wall being continued past
 
 BOWNESS AND PORT CARLISLE. 187 
 
 Bpwness, bnt old people point out a spot 200 or 300 yards 
 distant where it appears to have entered the sea, as a 
 quantity of stones were dug out of the 'beach there not 
 many years since. Camden tells us that here was an 
 ancient harbour, which is now filled with mud and sand, 
 and that a paved causeway is said to have gone along the 
 shore from Bowness to the Koman station at Ellenborough, 
 near Maryport, and from thence a wall was built for 4 miles 
 along the coast to Workington. At the present day a 
 small strip of what appears to have been the wall is 
 standing near Workington, and we are sometimes led to 
 think that it might possibly have been continued all the 
 way to Bowness, which supposition is supported by the 
 fact that some Koman historians say the wall was 132 
 miles long. A Koman road is said to have run from 
 Bowness all along the Cumberland coast, and crossed the 
 estuary of the Dudden into Cartmell, and then across 
 Morecambe Bay. At first sight it will strike the stranger 
 that there was no necessity for a wall at Bowness, the 
 Solway, which is here 1 mile wide, being a sufficient pro- 
 tection ; but he presently finds that in this he is mistaken, 
 for to the east of this point the sands may be crossed at 
 low tide to the Scotch side, but such is impossible farther 
 to the west. Many an inroad was made into the English 
 border by chieftains crossing the Solway- from the Scotch 
 side, and we are told of a battle fought on foot in the 
 estuary when the tide was out, and then continued on the 
 return of the water by men on horseback and in ships. 
 From the promontory is a view of the Cumberland hills, 
 Skiddaw, and others ; and on the Scotch side is the coast 
 of Dumfries and Criffel range of heights ; whilst half a 
 mile down the Solway Firth there is seen, stretching for 
 U miles from coast to coast, a viaduct conducting the 
 Solway Junction Railway across. 
 
 Between Bowness and Port Carlisle the wall and vallum 
 may be traced through the fields by the slightly elevated 
 lines, upon which the herbage has a stunted and discoloured 
 appearance ; and in one place there is yet standing, in the 
 midst of a thickly-grown fence, a part of the wall, a few 
 feet high, consisting of cemented rubble stone, but with- 
 out the facing stones. Also in the bottom of a drain, in 
 one place, are observed some flags, which have been the 
 foundation of the wall ; the groundwork having often been 
 formed in that manner. A few years since a strip of the
 
 188 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 wall existed here in a tolerably perfect state, but was then 
 removed for building purposes. This appears to have 
 been its fate for long distances. When stones have been 
 scarce, the inhabitants have resorted to the wall for 
 material for every kind of building, and the traveller, 
 owing to the uniformity of shape of the Koman stones, is 
 soon able to distinguish them in edifices miles distant. 
 
 From Port Carlisle to Drumburgh, a distance of 2 miles, 
 its course has to be traced by the slight ridge and sickly 
 herbage. It is cut by the railway, ascends a small height, 
 then again is cut by the railway, and attains the top of the 
 hill upon which is situated the village and castle of 
 Drumburgh. The castle is occupied as a farmhouse, and 
 has the appearance of a private residence. The inside has 
 a very ancient look, the walls are very thick, the rooms 
 large, with wide open chimneys, old oak beams, and 
 wainscoting ; and steps lead to the top of the roof, which, 
 however, is not now turreted. A royal licence to fortify 
 the mansion was granted in 1307, and Leland, writing in 
 1539, says : "At Drumburgh the Lord Dacre's father 
 builded upon old ruines a pretty pyle for defence of the 
 country. The stones of the Pict wall were pulled down to 
 build it." Extensive alterations were made upon it in the 
 reign of Henry VIII. It now belongs to Lord Lonsdale. 
 In front of the building is a Koman altar, and another in 
 the garden wall in the rear of the house. 
 
 Many of the houses in the village are built of clay 
 (called clay dubbins), and will be examined with curiosity 
 by most visitors. Such erections appear to have been 
 very common in these parts until within recent years. An 
 old lady told us that when she was a girl, clay houses were 
 often built. The clay having been got ready, the neigh- 
 bours assembled on what was called a " Watering day," 
 and they set to work and mixed the clay and water 
 together, the young people of both sexes having fine fun 
 by sprinkling each other with water. The clay was often 
 mixed by treading with the feet, and it was not unusual 
 to get this work done by cattle, confining the animals in a 
 round space containing the clay and water. When the 
 clay was ready, poles were fixed a few yards apart, and 
 having made a foundation of loose stones to protect the 
 house from rats and to keep it dry, the clay walls were 
 made about 2 or 3 feet thick, a layer of straw being 
 placed about every 3 inches. These houses are said to be
 
 DRUMBURGH. 189 
 
 very warm and comfortable. At the back of the village 
 are some mounds, supposed to be the ruins of a small 
 Eoman camp about three-quarters of an acre in extent ; 
 and also a Eoman well. The proprietor of the adjoining 
 house says, that in digging for repairs, traces of the wall 
 were met with. Milestones have been found here, and 
 there is observed, built into a wall, part of an ancient bap- 
 tismal font curiously figured with flowers. 
 
 From Drumburgh to Burgh-by-Sands is a broad flat 
 marsh, containing about 1500 acres of pasture land. 
 Generally it is tenanted by many thousands of cattle and 
 sheep, which are looked after by two or three herdsmen. 
 Some of it is common land, and other parts of it belong to 
 Lord Lonsdale, the neighbouring farmers having the right 
 of pasturage according to the acreage of their farms. 
 The whole waste is supposed to be divided into so many 
 imaginary plots, called stints, upon which are allowed a 
 certain number of cattle or sheep, and these stints are put 
 up, on a certain day in each year, to public competition. 
 On a fine day the cattle present a picturesque appearance. 
 In the summer of 1307 the marsh presented a scene of 
 another description, for here was encamped a large army 
 under Edward I., waiting for a favourable opportunity to 
 cross the Solway Firth, and enter Scotland. On the 7th 
 July, before the army had moved, Edward, who had been 
 ill some time, died in his tent. On the spot where he 
 breathed his last, li miles from Burgh-by-Sands, has been 
 erected a monument, which is seen for many miles round. 
 The original, a square column 9j yards high, with a Latin 
 inscription, was placed there in 1685 by the Duke of 
 Norfolk, but it fell in 1795, and was rebuilt in 1803 by the 
 Earl of Lonsdale. Previous to the erection of the first 
 monument a heap of stones marked the spot. The country 
 people say that Edward had been warned in a dream that 
 he would die at Brough, and consequently had avoided a 
 place of that name in Yorkshire, and on arriving here and 
 asking an old woman the name of the place, was surprised 
 to hear the ill-fated word. Sometimes when there are high 
 tides and stormy weather, the sea overflows most of the 
 marsh, and within a recent period the currents have 
 washed away hundreds of acres of land. The currents in 
 the Firth are constantly changing their course. 
 
 Around St. Bees, and at other places on the coast, may 
 be seen, at low water, stumps, in situ, and prostrate trunks
 
 190 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 of trees, the remains of ancient forests; thus showing 
 that the sea is gradually but constantly overflowing and 
 receding from the land. Here also has been a similar 
 submerged forest, for on cutting a canal a short distance to 
 the east of Port Carlisle, a prostrate forest of considerable 
 extent was met with. " Although the precise period when 
 the forest fell is not ascertainable, there is positive proof 
 that it must have been prior to the building of the wall, 
 because the foundations of the wall passed obliquely over 
 it, and lay 3 or 4 feet above the level of the trees." Much 
 of the timber was sound ; some of it was used in forming 
 the jetty at Port Carlisle. Camden says : " That the 
 figure of the coast hereabouts has been altered, appears 
 plainly from roots of trees covered with sand at a good 
 distance from the shore, which are commonly discovered 
 when the tide is driven back by the violence of the winds. 
 I know not whether it be worth the while to observe that 
 the inhabitants tell you of subterranean trees, without 
 boughs, they very commonly dig up ; discovering them by 
 the dew which never lyes upon the ground that covers 
 them." Similar trees are mentioned in Todd's manuscript 
 history of Carlisle, written about 1685. Speaking of the 
 time prior to the Norman conquest, he says : " There was 
 no face or appearance of a city, but the very foundations 
 were so buried in the earth that it is said large oaks grew 
 upon them, so that it looked more like a forest than a place 
 of civil government. And this is not only attested by our 
 historians, but also made out by some discoveries that had 
 been lately made of large unknown oak trees, buried 10 or 
 12 yards in the ground, one of which was found lately by 
 Mr. Eobert Jackson, alderman, in digging for a well ; 
 which rude timber can be no other than some of those old 
 monumental oaks that stood upon the walls as marks and 
 witnesses of its utter ruin and destruction." 
 
 After descending the hill at Drumburgh all trace of the 
 line of the wall disappears until we arrive at Dykesfield, 
 on the opposite side of the marsh. It is a direct line 
 across the marsh from one point to the other, and some 
 think the wall would follow that course, and that it has 
 since been washed away, not leaving a trace behind. 
 Others think it highly improbable that the Eomans would 
 build a wall within the reach of the sea, and conclude it 
 has gone round the edge of the marsh by Easton and 
 Boustead Hill. The latter supposition we think the most
 
 BURGH-BY-SANDS. 191 
 
 probable, but antiquaries ought to be able to set the 
 matter at rest by ascertaining where the foundations of 
 the wall were cut when the Canal and the Silloth Eailway, 
 were made. A resident at Easton told us that it was not 
 met with when the canal was made near Drumburgh, 
 therefore it could not cross the marsh. On examining the 
 map it is clear that if it came by Easton it ought to have 
 been cut by the Silloth line near the junction at Drum- 
 burgh, and again near Dykesfield by the canal. In all 
 probability a record would be kept, for Hodgson, in his 
 ' History of Northumberland,' tells us that William Chap- 
 man, Esq., the engineer of the canal, paid great attention to 
 antiquities, and offered a high price to his workmen for all 
 they found. 
 
 At Easton we met with what appeared a portion of the 
 foundation of the wall and the ditch, and were told that 
 here had been found some altars or inscribed stones that 
 had been taken away to Lowther Castle. The buildings 
 here are undoubtedly composed of Eoman stones from the 
 wall. Between Easton and Boustead Hill another lettered 
 stone had been found and carried away. 
 
 As there are no quarries hereabouts the stones for the 
 wall must have been brought long distances. Some of the 
 inhabitants think they must have come from Hawrigg 
 quarry, about 12 miles distant. Others think they might 
 be got from Kockcliff quarry, on the opposite side of the 
 marsh ; or at Lazonby or Kirk Oswald, also far away ; 
 the lime also must have been carried long distances' 
 rather hard work for Dr. Bruce's " poor enslaved Britons." 
 
 From Dykesfield to Burgh the site of the wall may be 
 satisfactorily traced, and stones are being constantly 
 turned up by the plough. The vallum here appears ; and 
 it has been taken for granted that it ended here, but we 
 think it highly probable it was continued through to 
 Bowness, in close companionship with the wall. 
 
 Burgh-by-Sands is situated in a commanding position, 
 and is thought to be the site of a Roman station of about 
 3 acres in extent. Hardly any traces of the ramparts 
 remain. The church, which is supposed to be within the 
 eastern boundary, is an ancient, picturesque object. The 
 ivy-covered tower on the western side is a massive castel- 
 lated structure, which must have been originally a castle 
 or peel house, the walls being 7 feet thick. The church 
 might be a later addition. This supposition is borne out
 
 192 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 by the fact that until 1704 there was another tower at the 
 east end of the building. In a paper written by Mr. Cory, 
 and published in the ' Transactions of the Archaeological 
 Institute ' in 1859, the church of Burgh is described as a 
 fortified church, and classed with those of Newton Arlosh 
 and Great Salkeld, in Cumberland, and Annan, in Scot- 
 land. The towers were made capable of standing a short 
 siege, and cut off from the rest of the building by an iron 
 door. The second tower at Burgh was probably the vicar's 
 residence. The cockpit was at the beginning of this 
 century in the churchyard. If the tourist wind by the 
 dark stone staircase to the top of the turret, he will have 
 an extensive prospect. In the vicarage garden and the 
 churchyard are pieces of Samian ware, querns, and other 
 relics. 
 
 The barony of Burgh has often changed owners, and by 
 female inheritance has passed through six great families. 
 In the year 1685 it was purchased by Sir John Lowther 
 from the representatives of Mary Dacre, wife of Thomas 
 Howard, Earl of Suffolk, son of the Duke of Norfolk, and 
 is now the property of the Earl of Lonsdale. It has often 
 been stated in local histories that the barony, during the 
 time of Henry II., was in the possession of a Sir Hugh 
 Morvill, one of the four knights who assassinated Thomas- 
 a-Becket; and by way of atonement he is said to have 
 given the rectory of Burgh to the abbey of Holm Cultram, 
 and it was appropriated to the monks by the Bishop of 
 Carlisle. This story has, however, been utterly exploded 
 by Mr. Hodgson Hinde, in a paper read before the Archaeo- 
 logical Institute in 1859. The murderer of Becket was 
 Sir Hugh Morvill, lord of Kirk Oswald and Brough, in 
 Westmorland quite a different personage. 
 
 From Burgh the wall ran in a straight line for l miles 
 to the village of Beaumont, and close by the church, which 
 stands on an eminence formerly occupied, in all proba- 
 bility, by a mile castle. In the burial-ground are some 
 curious old incised monumental slabs. Two or three 
 hundred yards from the mount, the wall crossed the 
 Beaumont beck, and gained the high bank of the river 
 Eden. On each side of the beck, the north fosse is deep 
 and well defined. Keeping on the cliffs overhanging the 
 river, we presently reach Kirkandrews; the vicarage 
 house, the graveyard, and the well of St. Andrew are 
 there, but the church was pulled down some centuries
 
 CARLISLE AND STANWIX. 193 
 
 since, and the parish joined to that of Beaumont in 1692. 
 Formerly a church is said, but on doubtful authority, 
 to have existed a mile distant to the south, at a place 
 called Kirksteads. At the latter place were found some 
 curiously carved stones, a quern, and a large Roman altar, 
 which are now in a garden at Kirkandrews. On the altar 
 is part of an inscription, thus translated by Dr. Bruce : 
 " Lucius Junius Victorinus and Caius .2Clianus, Augustal 
 Legates, (belonging) to the sixth legion, (styled) the 
 victorious, the dutiful, and the faithful, (erected this altar) 
 on account of achievements prosperously performed beyond 
 the Wall." The vallum is thought to have run in a straight 
 line from this village to Burgh, thus avoiding the high 
 ground around Beaumont. After crossing the fields to 
 Grinsdale, we again reach the cliffs above the river, and 
 continue by a footpath along the site of the wall. In one 
 or two places the lines of the vallum may be seen, but all 
 traces disappear before arriving at Carlisle. When the 
 great main sewer of the city was made, both wall and 
 vallum were cut across, and it was then ascertained that 
 the wall went direct from near the castle over the river to 
 Hyssop Holm Well and Stanwix, but the vallum took a 
 bend, and crossed the green south of the castle, thus in- 
 cluding the castle hill between it and the wall. Carlisle 
 is supposed to have been a Roman station, which, in all 
 probability, existed on the site of the present castle. 
 Roman coins, jewels, baths, a theatre, and inscribed stones, 
 have at various times been found when excavating in 
 different parts of the city. Camden tells us that " the 
 wall passed the river over against the castle, where in the 
 very channel the remains of it, namely, great stones, appear 
 to this day." None of these great stones are now to be 
 seen, but, without doubt, such would exist there in former 
 times, and since Camden wrote his history the bed of the 
 river may have considerably'changed its course, for in old 
 maps it is placed much nearer the castle than at present. 
 There is said to have been a Roman station at Stanwix, 
 but no traces remain. Part of its site is occupied by 
 the church and graveyard. Great numbers of Roman 
 remains were found during the rebuilding of the church, 
 particularly a fine figure of Victory. The site commands 
 an excellent view of Carlisle, and the castle, Skiddaw 
 mountain, and Tindale fell ; and to the east and north a 
 wide, level, cultivated tract of country. 
 
 o
 
 194 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 In one place the ditch is yet quite distinct between the 
 church and the river, near Hyssop Holm Well, and we 
 were told that five years ago the foundation of the wall, 
 13 feet broad, was cut through when making the sewers 
 for St. George's Terrace, and many cartloads of stones 
 were removed. 
 
 For about 10 miles from Stanwix little of the wall re- 
 mains visible above the ground, but farmers constantly 
 plough up parts of its foundation ; stones are therefore 
 strewn about it, and its course may be traced by the 
 ridge-like form of the ground, the barren nature of the 
 soil, or the peculiar coloured vegetation ; almost invariably 
 a footpath or lane runs along it, being the remains of the 
 old drive, or packhorse road between Carlisle and New- 
 castle. The north ditch or fosse can nearly always be 
 traced : it shows as a slack in the ground ; when viewed 
 from a distance, it can easily be followed by noting the 
 depressions in the hedges. The vallum here and there 
 appears a few yards to the south. 
 
 From Stanwix church follow a footpath which runs 
 along the wall for half a mile, to the hamlet of Tarraby, 
 and then go along a grass-grown lane and past two or 
 three fields, until the road leading from Carlisle to 
 Houghton is met at right angles. Here proceed across the 
 opposite fields, or follow the road to right for a few 
 hundred yards, until the turnpike-road from Carlisle to 
 Brampton and Newcastle is entered, and by the side of it, 
 2 miles from Carlisle, is Drawdykes Castle, a farmhouse, 
 strongly built, but not castellated. It is on the site of a 
 very old castle, the last vestige of which was destroyed 
 about the middle of the eighteenth century, and had been 
 the ancestral home of the Aglionby family for many gene- 
 rations. It now belongs to Charles Featherstonehaugh, Esq., 
 of Staflfield Hall, he having married one of the Aglionbys. 
 On the parapet are three large heads carved in stone, said 
 by the residents to be originally from the Koman wall, 
 which ran only 200 yards distant in front of the house. 
 The figures, however, when closely inspected, are clearly 
 not Roman. Others say they represent Major Aglionby, 
 his attorney, and his Satanic majesty. The stranger is 
 allowed to ascend by the old oaken stairs to the parapet 
 and leaden roof. Here is a capital view of Carlisle, the 
 Cathedral, and Skiddaw range of hills; also Crossfell, 
 Castle Carrock, Tindale, and Talkin fells. Over the door- 
 way of one of the rooms is some lettering, and in the
 
 DRAWDYKES AND LINSTOCK CASTLES. 195 
 
 garden wall at the back of the house is a Eoman monu- 
 mental stone, supposed to have been originally brought 
 from Stanwix, which Dr. Bruce reads : " To the Divine 
 Manes of Marcus Trojanus Augustinius ; his beloved wife, 
 (Elia Amelia Lusima, caused this tomb to be erected." 
 
 Half a mile from Drawdykes is Linstock Castle, which 
 was, up to about 1300, the residence of the Bishops of 
 Carlisle, having been granted to that see by Henry I. ; but 
 the situation, so exposed to Scottish attacks, compelled 
 the bishops to move to Bose. At Linstock, about the year 
 1293, was entertained the Archbishop of York, who 
 remained for a considerable time whilst on his visitation. 
 The present building is not turreted, but merely a tall, 
 massive dwelling-house, with walls 7i feet thick, and 
 built of stones from the Eoman wall a fine sample of the 
 strongholds known as Peels, which were common in all 
 the Border district in the mosstrooper days. At night the 
 cattle belonging to the farmer were secured in the apart- 
 ment below, whilst he and his family barricaded them- 
 selves in the room above. This upper room was generally 
 floored with stone flags, resting upon heavy oak beams, 
 which would long resist the action of fire. The slates of 
 the roof were pinned down with sheep's shanks. Arrow 
 loops were placed in various parts of the building, so as 
 to expose an enemy to the utmost disadvantage. 
 
 At many of the farmhouses in the neighbourhood of 
 Alston may be observed relics of the strange customs of 
 an uncivilized age. The byres (cowhouses) are below the 
 dwellings, access being had to the latter by stone ladders. 
 In one house at Lonning Head, near Garrigill, the farmer 
 and his cattle enter at the same door, the cattle turning off 
 into the byre, and the farmer into the kitchen. Irthington 
 vicarage was so until four years ago, when it was altered. 
 Macaulay, in his ' History of England/ referring to those 
 times, says : " Before the union of the two Crowns, and 
 long after that union, there was as great difference be- 
 tween Middlesex and Cumberland as there now is between 
 Massachusetts and the settlements of those squatters who, 
 far to the west of the Mississippi, administer a rude justice 
 with the rifle and the dagger. The magistrates of Cum- 
 berland and Northumberland were authorized to raise 
 bands of armed men for the defence of property and order, 
 and provision was made for meeting the expense of those 
 levies by local taxation. The parishes were required to 
 
 o 2
 
 196 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 keep bloodhounds for the purpose of hunting the free- 
 booters. Many old men who were living in the middle of 
 the eighteenth century could well remember the time when 
 these ferocious dogs were common. Yet even with such 
 auxiliaries it was often found impossible to track the 
 robbers to their retreats among the hills and morasses ; for 
 the geography of that wild country was very imperfectly 
 
 known The seats of the gentry and the larger ' 
 
 farmhouses were fortified. Oxen were penned at night 
 beneath the overhanging battlements of the residence, 
 which was known by the name of the Peel. The inmates 
 slept with arms at their sides. Huge stones and boiling 
 water were in readiness to crush and scald the plunderer 
 who might venture to assail the little garrison. No 
 traveller ventured into that country without making his 
 
 will The irregular rigour with which criminal 
 
 justice was administered shocked observers whose life had 
 been passed in more tranquil districts. Juries, animated 
 by hatred and by a sense of common danger, convicted 
 housebreakers and cattle-stealers with the promptitude of 
 a court martial in a mutiny ; and the convicts were 
 hurried by scores to the gallows." 
 
 Eeturning to the north side of the Brampton road, in 
 front of Linstock Castle, a lane is entered which runs 
 along the site of the Eoman wall, past Walby and Wall- 
 head, and here and there are distinct traces of both the 
 vallum and north ditch. 
 
 Scaleby Castle is about a mile to the north, and worth a 
 visit. The road to it leads past the Highfield Moor farm. 
 Though the castle is in a flat situation, it appears to have 
 been a place of more than ordinary strength. Parts of 
 the massive old walls are standing, in a dilapidated state, 
 overgrown by ivy and shrubs, and surrounded by trees, 
 and a deep moat ; presenting a scene of utter desolation. 
 One portion of the building has been renovated, and 
 occupied by the owners of the estate, and close by is a large 
 farmhouse. The manor was given by Henry I. to Eichard 
 Tilliol, whose issue male failing in the reign of Edward IV. 
 his possessions were divided between his two heiresses. 
 The estates, thus separated, passed afterwards by purchase 
 into various hands. 
 
 Besuming the stroll along the Eoman wall, the farm- 
 house of Bleatarn is reached. Here the north fosse runs 
 in front of the building, and just behind are slight traces 
 of the vallum. Three quarters of a mile farther is Old
 
 CASTLESTEADS. 197 
 
 Wall, a hamlet evidently built entirely of stones from the 
 wall. The ditch now becomes very distinct. It passes 
 through the gardens, and is wide and deep for hundreds 
 of yards. In one place it is planted with trees, and will 
 act as a guide to the stranger after the lane ends, and 
 until a few fields are crossed to the road at the hamlet of 
 "White Flat. The vallum is also observed about 30 yards 
 to the south. At White Flat the ditch is distinct, and the 
 stones of the wall are seen in the bottom of the fence. 
 Passing close to the south side of Newtown of Irthington, 
 the roadj is crossed which leads to Brampton, situated 
 2 miles to the south, whence the Written Crags on the 
 Gelt may be visited. (See page 57.) The wall now passes 
 the farmhouses of Headswood, Beck, and Cambeck-hill. 
 The north ditch and vallum are seen in two or three places ; 
 and when crossing the streamlet at Beck some of the 
 stones of the wall are observed in the fence. On the west 
 side of the Cambeck river the fosse of the wall has been 
 cut deeply into the red sandstone rock. The river may 
 be crossed by a footbridge after a pleasant walk of a few 
 hundred yards up the bank of the stream. There are no 
 visible remains of the Boman bridge which would un- 
 doubtedly cross the river somewhere near the ford. On 
 the opposite bank the wall went in the direction of the 
 fence. A few hundred yards to the south is Castlesteads, 
 the beautiful residence of G. J. Johnson, Esq. The 
 gardens, a little way from the mansion, occupy the site of 
 a Boman station, supposed to be " Petriana," which was 
 to the south of both wall and vallum, and in this respect 
 unlike most of the stations, for they were generally at- 
 tached to the wall and between it and the vallum. 
 Many altars and other antiquities have been found here, 
 most of which are preserved on the spot, but beyond 
 these there are few signs of Boman occupation. In all 
 probability there would be one or two stations between 
 Stanwix and Castlesteads, but no traces of them are 
 now to be met with. We are inclined to think that 
 Walby is the most likely spot. The farmhouse of Sandy- 
 sike is passed, and then we arrive at the village of 
 Walton, where is a charming view of Naworth Castle and 
 Lanercost Priory, the vale of the Irthing, and Skiddaw 
 in the distance. 
 
 After crossing King Water, the roads must be forsaken, 
 and the fields entered. The wall passes to the north of 
 the farmhouses of Dovecote, Low Wall, and How Gill, and
 
 198 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 may be traced here and there in the fences. In the rear of 
 the latter building is a rude inscription, of which Dr. 
 Bruce says : " It seems to record the achievements of a 
 British tribe, the Catuvellauni. Tacitus tells us that 
 Agricola took southern Britons with him to the battle of 
 the Grampians; Hadrian and Severus may have been 
 similarly accompanied in their expeditions." At the 
 Garthside farm, just before ascending Craggle hill, up 
 which the ditch is well defined, there are pieces of the 
 wall in the hedge five feet high the most promising patch 
 seen since leaving Port Carlisle. From Craggle hill the 
 Solway is seen. On the next height, Hare hill, the ditch 
 is well defined, and there is a large strip of the wall in 
 good preservation. This point commands a glorious pros- 
 pect, including Carlisle, the Solway, Skiddaw, Blencathara, 
 Tindale, Talkin, and Castle Carrock fells. To the north 
 the view extends past the Beacon and Bewcastle district 
 right into Scotland. Close at hand are Naworth Castle, 
 and Lanercost Priory, looking extremely beautiful. The 
 wall is here 4 or 5 feet high, and in places half hid by the 
 overgrowth of the fence. The vallum runs through the 
 wood a few yards to the south, and is better defined than 
 it has hitherto been during the whole of its course, giving 
 evidence of an approach to a more perfect state farther 
 east. A resident, with whom we had a chat, seemed very 
 concerned that the Earl of Carlisle should think so much 
 of this old wall as to let it remain, when the stones could 
 have been used, instead of bricks, in building a house 
 which was then being erected not many yards distant. 
 Would that in former days there had been such earls to 
 astonish the simple-minded rustics by similar care of this 
 ancient monument. 
 
 After a steep descent, a small strip of the wall is met 
 with, 9 feet 10 inches high higher than in any other place. 
 It is stripped of the facing stones, and exhibits layers of 
 stones put in edgeways and cemented with lime. Hutton 
 says: "I viewed this relic with admiration. I saw no 
 part higher." 
 
 After crossing the hollow down which flows Banksburn, 
 the road is entered which ascends the hill to the Banks 
 hamlet and inn, and then continues for 3 miles on the site 
 of the wall to Birdoswald. The north ditch is close to on 
 the left, and a few yards distant on the right may be 
 traced the vallum now and again, and it becomes exceed- 
 ingly well defined a little farther on, the mounds of earth
 
 BIRDOSWALD. 199 
 
 being very large. After passing the hollow where are the 
 inscriptions on the Coome crags, a long stretch of the wall 
 in excellent preservation is passed, and then the station of 
 Birdoswald is reached, which is considered one of the most 
 perfect camps on the line. Birdoswald, Coome crags, and 
 the wall and ditches as far west as Banks Head, having 
 been described at pages 82, 84, and 87, we have purposely 
 avoided giving them here more than a passing notice. 
 
 From Birdoswald the wall is traced by the present 
 stone fence for a few yards to the edge of the cliff over- 
 hanging the Irthing. Here, on the very top of the pre- 
 cipice, is a part of the foundation well preserved. Anti- 
 quaries are undecided as to how the wall descended to the 
 stream. Traces of it are met with directly opposite on the 
 farther side of the river. Although now the cliff is very 
 steep, it might in former times have a gradual descent, 
 and have since been worn by the action of the weather. 
 An old lady residing at Willowford, the farm below, told 
 us that fifty years since there was a tolerably easy footpath 
 from the river's brink to the top of the cliffs, which are 
 now quite precipitous and impossible to ascend. Camden 
 says, " The wall crossed the river Irthing by an arched 
 bridge," but he does not tell us whether any visible traces 
 remained in his day. Dr. Bruce merely says : " How the 
 wall crossed the river, and ascended the cliff which bounds 
 its western bank, no remains are left to show. Usually in 
 the summer season passengers may cross the river dry- 
 shod." Feeling confident that here would exist the 
 foundation of a bridge similar in character to the wonder- 
 ful remains to be seen on the banks of the North Tyne at 
 Chollerford, we paid many visits to the place, and came 
 to the conclusion that such would be met with if the 
 accumulation of sand on the banks of the stream were 
 removed. Fortunately, on our last visit, we met at Birdos- 
 wald with Mr. John Armstrong, a master mason, residing 
 at Gilsland, and he assured us that when the old Peel house 
 at Willowford was pulled down, thirty-six years since, and 
 the present farmhouse built, the foundation of the bridge 
 was visible, and a great number of very large stones, 
 beautifully shaped, and with the luis holes in them, were 
 taken from the bank of the river, close to where the wall 
 evidently crossed, and were broken and used in building 
 the house. From the quality of the stones it was evident 
 they had come from the Lodges Quarry, near the Low 
 Eow railway station. He was also of opinion that they
 
 200 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 only got a part of the stones, and that many more would 
 be found in their original positions if the sand were 
 removed. We hope that ere long so valuable a relic may 
 be divested of its covering. It would be most interesting, 
 not only to the historian and the antiquary, but to the 
 architect and the general public, and a great source of 
 attraction to all who visit Gilsland. 
 
 From the river to Gilsland vicarage and railway station 
 the wall is easily traced, and fully described at page 79 ; 
 therefore we pass along, and commence on the North- 
 umberland side of the Poltross burn, bidding farewell to 
 the Cumberland portion of this great Eoman work. 
 
 Between Gilsland railway station and Thirlwall Castle, a 
 distance of 2 miles, no portion of the wall remains, although 
 some of it was standing a few years since ; but the north 
 fosse and the vallum are very distinct, and here and there 
 in an excellent state of preservation. They run parallel 
 with the railway on higher ground, a few yards distant to 
 the south. This is perhaps the most exposed part of the 
 whole line of the wall, owing to its being on the com- 
 paratively level tract between the two rivers, Irthing and 
 South Tyne, and it was here, at the farmhouse called the 
 Gap, that the barrier is said to have been first broken 
 through by the Picts and Scots. The Eoman s appear to 
 have been aware of its weak state, for a short distance 
 farther south we find, on the high ground, traces of a line 
 of small square camps or earthworks. After crossing the 
 railway, a little to the west of Greenhead, the barriers 
 went over the level ground direct to Thirlwall Castle and 
 the Tipalt streamlet ; and the fosse and vallum are dis- 
 tinctly seen ascending the opposite heights in a parallel 
 and straight course. 
 
 The wall presently attains the summit of a range of 
 hills, which, at a mean height of 700 feet above the sea 
 level, stretches in an almost continuous line for 12 miles to 
 the east, presenting to the north a bold cliff-like ridge of 
 perpendicular rock, from 100 to 200 feet high; overlooking 
 in that direction a vast extent of plain, called the 
 " Waste," which is covered with short grass, and here and 
 there a patch of heather, but without a single tree, shrub, 
 or fence of any description to break the line of vision, and 
 hardly a house to be seen. To the south the ridge has a 
 gentle green slope, and at its feet the vallum is traced for 
 miles following a perfectly straight course. Near the
 
 CAWFIELD MILE CASTLE. 201 
 
 vallum is the modern military road between Carlisle and 
 Newcastle, and 2 miles farther south, over high ground, is 
 the railway, and also the South Tyne river. 
 
 Ascending from Thirlwall Castle, the Eoman station of 
 Carvoran is passed, where the Koman road, known as 
 Maiden Way, is supposed to have crossed from south to 
 north, and then the wall runs along the very edge of the 
 cliffs, called the Nine Nicks of Thirlwall, following in an 
 undeviating line the ups and downs of the crags. A pure 
 pleasant breeze comes over these heights, and fine views 
 are had whilst the traveller wends along and inspects the 
 ruin which is here and there standing a few feet high, but 
 generally laid prostrate and overgrown. Vestiges of two 
 or three mile castles will be observed, and then the station 
 of Great Chesters will be passed, all of which will be found 
 described at page 136, where is included the part of the 
 wall running for 5 miles between Thirlwall Castle and the 
 Cawfield Mile Castle. 
 
 After crossing the streamlet, called to the south of the 
 wall Haltwhistle burn, and to the north, Cawburn, we 
 again begin ascending, and at once meet with the Cawfield 
 Mile Castle. As this castle is considered to be one of the 
 best specimens of that kind of building, it will be as well 
 to examine it thoroughly. The site was covered with earth 
 until about twenty-four years ago, when the proprietor, 
 Mr. John Clayton, of Chesters, near Chollerford, who for- 
 tunately owns the property through which the wall here 
 runs, caused it to be opened out. This gentleman is well 
 known for the interest he takes in the Eoman remains, 
 and for his liberality in preserving them in their present 
 state. The castle stands on the slope to the south of the 
 wall, the wall forming its northern side, and it contains an 
 area of about 360 square yards, being 20 yards long by 
 18 yards broad, inside measurement. Its walls are 7 feet 
 thick, and now about 4 or 5 feet high, the south-west and 
 south-east corners being rounded on the outside. There 
 is a large opening for a gateway in the centre of the south 
 wall, and a similar one directly opposite in the north wall, 
 consisting of massive blocks of freestone. It is impossible 
 to say what were the internal arrangements, but it is 
 supposed there would be an open space in the centre, and 
 buildings on each side for the accommodation of the 
 soldiers on guard. 
 
 Beyond the castle the wall is in excellent preservation
 
 202 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 for about 600 yards, running on the edge of the precipices, 
 and apparently varying a little in thickness according to 
 the nature of the ground. The north ditch vanishes 
 when the wall runs over these steep heights, but again 
 invariably appears when a gap has to be passed over, even 
 if only a few yards across. A mile from the last castle 
 appear the grass-covered mounds of another, a foot or so 
 high ; and 200 yards farther are the stones, 1 foot high, of 
 a tiny building, which might be taken for a turret, but is in 
 all probability modern. Then the wall for half a mile is 
 5 feet high, and in an excellent state, perhaps better than 
 in any other part of its course. 
 
 Arrived on the summit of Winshields fell, which is 
 1230 feet above the sea level, and half way between the 
 two coasts, and the highest point attained by the wall, the 
 traveller will do well to rest a few minutes and enjoy the 
 prospect which it commands, for he must presently make 
 a slight descent, and will lose much of the grand pan- 
 orama that has been in view ever since ascending these 
 cliff-like heights from Thirlwall Castle. To the west, on a 
 clear day, the sea around the Solway is visible, and the 
 heights of Criffel and Burnswark. To the north, the wild 
 waste stretches like a vast plain, with the exception of 
 very slight undulations, to the Cheviot Hills, which now 
 begin to appear in the distance. Near at hand, to the 
 north-east, are the sheets of water known as the North- 
 umberland lakes ; and to the east the eye ranges a long 
 distance over an undulating tract covered here and 
 there with patches of trees ; whilst to the south are low 
 hills ; and farther away others reaching to the summit of 
 Crossfell and Tindale fell. One or two farmhouses are in 
 the hollows on each side of the wall, but, with these ex- 
 ceptions, few habitations are visible. 
 
 Continuing eastwards much of the wall remains, and 
 runs in an up-and-down course on the brink of precipices, 
 reminding the overlooker of the familiar pictures of the 
 Great Wall of China. Passing over Peel crag, a mile castle 
 is observed, with walls 6 feet high and 6 feet broad, and 
 gateways to north and south, and then the wall mounts 
 Lough crag, a grand perpendicular ridge of rock directly 
 overhanging one of the lakes. Some fine peeps are 
 obtained down the wild rocks to the sheet of water. 
 Leaving the cliffs and lake, the north ditch appears ; and 
 after passing Hot Bank farmhouse, another steep ascent is
 
 HOUSESTEADS. 203 
 
 made. The wall, after a break of a few yards, again ap- 
 pears 5 feet high, and continues so for about a mile, where 
 there is another castle similar to the preceding ones. It 
 then runs through a small plantation, in a dilapidated 
 condition, overgrown by long grass, nettles, and trees. 
 Emerging from the plantation it appears almost perfect, 
 and the stranger will be startled on finding that he has 
 come suddenly upon the wonderful remains of the Eoman 
 station of Borcovicus, or Housesteads. 
 
 The situation is wild and solitary, but the ruins are so 
 extensive, and give evidence of such massiveness and 
 grandeur, that the stranger, when wandering alone amongst 
 the scattered broken columns, will feel that he is in a city 
 of the dead, and he will be reminded of Pompeii or 
 Babylon, or of Scipio amongst the ruins of Carthage. On 
 every hand, over a large area, are pedestals, carved stones, 
 huge and well-shaped blocks of freestone, and the founda- 
 tions and remains of the walls of edifices, or mounds of 
 debris overgrown with grass, evidently the relics of beauti- 
 ful stately buildings. A more striking example of the 
 power of that wonderful people is perhaps not to be met 
 with in the British Isles. The spot is more interesting 
 and suggestive than any ruined abbey or castle. Here the 
 traveller may muse alone amongst those huge remains, 
 being disturbed only by a few jsheep or cattle, or the cry 
 of the lapwing ; and while contemplating in amazement 
 and admiration the singular scene presented by these 
 relics of an ancient and mighty nation, the thought must 
 occur to every reflecting mind that all these walls, 
 columns, and chambers were ancient ruins before any 
 existing castles, or abbeys, or churches were built in this 
 land. 
 
 The area of the station is nearly 5 acres, but outside the 
 walls there have been at one time extensive suburbs, pro- 
 bably occupied by natives and camp followers. The 
 boundary walls are in a good state of preservation, being 
 about 10 feet high and 7 feet broad, and forming almost a 
 square. They stand on sloping ground close to the south 
 side of the great wall, the latter forming the northern 
 fence of the camp. The south-east and south-west corners 
 of the walls are rounded. In the middle of the walls, to 
 the north, east, south, and west are openings, about 10 
 yards wide, the remains of double portals formed of 
 massive blocks of stone, and presenting a noble appear-
 
 204 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 ance. Streets running crosswise from gate to gate met in 
 the centre of the camp, and other narrower streets ran 
 parallel with these. In this way the whole of the interior 
 of the camp was divided into parallelograms of greater or 
 less size. Kuts, thought to be caused by the action of 
 chariot-wheels, are said to be observed in the stone thres- 
 hold of the gateways. 
 
 Many antiquities have been found in the station, such 
 as altars, statues, Samian ware, glass, millstones, boars' 
 tusks, horns of deer, and coins ; also gold signet-ring, and 
 gold pendant for the ear, both figured. Many relics found 
 here and at other stations on the line of the wall have 
 been removed to the Museum at Newcastle, and to other 
 museums and private mansions. In one of the guard- 
 rooms a heap of coal was found; but although the 
 Eomans probably obtained coal from different parts of 
 the district, these may have been brought here for the use 
 of some mosstrooper, who would undoubtedly be the 
 occasional occupant of so favourable a situation. It is, 
 however, almost certain that the Eomans used coal, for 
 some has also been found at the stations of Ellenborough 
 and Bewcastle. In front of the station, to the south and 
 south-west, the ground descends a bank in terraces, which 
 appear to have been cultivated. Upon them are founda- 
 tions of streets and houses, so that the approach to the 
 camp would probably have a noble and beautiful appear- 
 ance. At present, the only building near the site is a 
 shepherd's house ; but previous to its erection a farm- 
 house, which has been removed, stood near the south 
 gateway. 
 
 Leaving Housesteads, the wall is traced for the next 
 mile or two over a continuation of the ridge of cliffs, but 
 little of it is standing, and it is often distinguished by 
 nothing but a line of grass-grown rubbish, and one or 
 two faint traces of mile castles. The views are, however, 
 very fine, especially to the west, the lakes being visible, 
 and the cliffs along which the traveller has come stand 
 out picturesquely for miles. Although there are few 
 traces of the wall as the traveller proceeds, the associa- 
 tions connected with this portion of the ground will by 
 many be considered supremely interesting. 
 
 Not far from Sewingshields, the farmhouse standing on 
 the east end of the cliffs, is the site of the castle referred to 
 by Sir Walter Scott, in the sixth canto of "Harold the
 
 KING ARTHUR'S HALL. 205 
 
 Dauntless," under the denomination of the Castle of the 
 Seven Shields. Too truly he says : 
 
 . . . . " No towers are seen 
 On the wild heath, but those that Fancy builds; 
 And, save a fosse that tracks the moor with green, 
 Is nought remains to tell of what may there have been." 
 
 Though no part of the building remains to please the 
 eye, the imagination may dwell pleasingly on the following 
 story : 
 
 " Immemorial tradition has asserted that King Arthur, 
 his queen, Guenever, his court of lords and ladies, and his 
 hounds, were enchanted in some cave of the crags, or in a 
 hall below the Castle of Sewingshields, and would continue 
 entranced there till some one should first blow a bugle- 
 horn that lay on a table near the entrance of the hall, and 
 then with ' the sword of the stone ' cut a garter, also placed 
 there beside it. But none had ever heard where the 
 entrance to this enchanted hall was, till the farmer at 
 Sewingshields, about fifty years since, was sitting knitting 
 on the ruins of the castle, and his clew fell, and ran down- 
 wards through a rush of briars and nettles, as he sup- 
 posed, into a deep subterranean passage. Full in the 
 faith that the entrance into King Arthur's Hall was now 
 discovered, he cleared a vaulted passage, followed, in his 
 darkling way, the thread of his clew. The floor was 
 infested with toads and lizards, and the dark wings of 
 bats, disturbed by his unhallowed intrusion, flitted fear- 
 fully around him. At length his sinking courage was 
 strengthened by a dim, distant light, which, as he ad- 
 vanced, grew gradually brighter, till, all at once, he 
 entered a vast and vaulted hall, in the centre of which a 
 fire without fuel, from a broad crevice in the floor, blazed 
 with a high and lambent flame, that showed all the carved 
 walls and fretted roof, and the monarch and his queen 
 and court reposing around in a theatre of thrones and 
 costly couches. On the floor, beyond the fire, lay the 
 faithful and deep-toned pack of thirty couple of hounds ; 
 and on a table before it the spell-dissolving horn, sword, 
 and garter. The farmer reverently, but firmly, grasped 
 the sword, and as he drew it leisurely from its rusty 
 scabbard, the eyes of the monarch and his courtiers 
 began to open, and they rose till they sat upright. He 
 cut the garter ; and as the sword was being slowly sheathed
 
 206 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 the spell assnmed its ancient power, and they all gradually 
 sunk to rest, but not before the monarch had lifted up 
 his eyes and hands, and exclaimed : 
 
 " ' O, woe betide that evil day 
 
 On which this witless wight was born, 
 Who drew the sword, the garter cut, 
 But never blew the bugle-horn.' 
 
 Terror brought on loss of memory, and the farmer was 
 unable to give any correct account of his adventure, or to 
 find again the entrance to the enchanted hall." 
 
 We are also told : " To the north of Sewingshields, two 
 strata of sandstone crop out to the day ; the highest 
 points of each ledge are called the King and Queen's Crag, 
 from the following legend: King Arthur, seated on the 
 farthest rock, was talking with his queen, who, mean- 
 while, was engaged in arranging her ' back hair.' Some 
 expression of the queen having offended his majesty, he 
 seized a rock which lay near him, and, with an exertion 
 of strength for which the Picts were proverbial, threw it 
 at her, a distance of about a quarter of a mile. The queen, 
 with great dexterity, caught it upon her comb, and thus 
 warded off the blow. The stone fell between them, where 
 it lies to this very day, with the marks of the comb upon 
 it, to attest the truth of the story. It probably weighs 
 about twenty tons." 
 
 A little to the west of Sewingshields, the Black Dike, a 
 ditch and earthwork of unknown antiquity, ran through 
 a gap crossed by the wall. It is supposed to have been 
 the boundary line between the kingdoms of Northumbria 
 and Cumbria, and is said to stretch from the borders of 
 Scotland through Northumberland and Durham into 
 Yorkshire. 
 
 The part of the country around Sewingshields appears 
 to have had a bad reputation in former times. One de- 
 pression on the ridge was so much frequented by the 
 freebooters of the middle ages that it was called Busy 
 Gap, and a "Busygap rogue" was a well-known name of 
 reproach. Camden, writing in 1599, says, " that he dare 
 not proceed into those parts from Carvoran, being afraid 
 of the rank robbers hereabouts." Another ancient writer, 
 speaking of the " Waste " to the north of the wall, says : 
 " It would be impossible for a man to live there even half 
 an hour. Vipers and serpents innumerable, with all other
 
 THE VALLUM ON TEPPER-MOOR. 207 
 
 kinds of wild beasts, infest that place, and, what is most 
 strange, the natives affirm that if any one should pass the 
 wall he would die immediately, unable to endure the 
 tmwholesomeness of the atmosphere. Death also, attacking 
 
 such beasts as go thither, forthwith destroys them 
 
 They say that the souls of men departed are always con- 
 ducted to this place, but in what manner I will explain 
 immediately, having frequently heard it from men of that 
 region relating it most seriously, although I would rather 
 ascribe their asseverations to a certain dreamy faculty 
 which possesses them." 
 
 Bidding adieu to Sewingshields and its traditionary lore, 
 the traveller will enter the military road running from 
 Carlisle to Newcastle, at the point close to an earthen 
 camp called " Brown Dikes." A long tract of compara- 
 tively level country is now traversed, where little of the 
 wall remains ; but the north ditch, vallum, and modern 
 military road run close together, and parallel with each 
 other for about 6 miles, the road for most of the distance 
 being upon the very foundation of the wall. Here, for 
 4 or 5 miles, the vallum will be the principal object of 
 attraction, for its proportions are truly formidable, the 
 ditches being deep and the mounds high. Hodgson, 
 speaking of this part, says : '' Over Tepper-moor, for a 
 long way, all the works of the vallum are remarkably 
 bold and distinct. The ditches of both works dug out of 
 a strong substratum of basalt, and with huge masses of 
 that rock strewn by their side, form one of the boldest 
 and most remarkable features of the whole line of the 
 
 wall One block of basalt, lying on the north 
 
 side of the fosse, now ' split,' probably by the ' winter's 
 frost,' into three pieces, which, from the parallel positions 
 they lie in, have evidently been raised in one mass, measures 
 not less than 165 cubic feet, and weighs more than 13 
 tons. Was it raised by levers and burs on rollers, up an 
 inclined plane ? or by a crane, in a rope or chain ? It has 
 no mortise in it for a luis." 
 
 After having travelled on the road 3 miles from Sewing- 
 shields, some desolate looking heaps of overgrown rubbish 
 are observed on the ground on the right, the remains of a 
 Eoman station, supposed to be " Procolitia," now called 
 Carrowburgh. Some distance farther the road leaves the 
 wall for a few yards ; and a portion of the latter, about 
 100 yards in extent, is observed on the left, in a very pro-
 
 208 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 raising state, and also the remains of a mile castle. The 
 aspect of the country now gradually changes. The wild 
 moorland tract on either side, over which fly a host of 
 plovers, screeching as though resenting the intrusion of 
 the stranger, gives way to enclosures, cultivated fields, 
 and farmsteads clothed with trees ; and the scenery in 
 advance improves at every step, until the whole country 
 becomes most beautiful with well-timbered rising ground 
 in the distance. Presently the traveller reaches Walwick, 
 and is agreeably surprised to find that he has entered a 
 beautiful and well-wooded valley, through which flows 
 the North Tyne. The trees around Chesters, the mansion 
 of Mr. Clayton, are so large and thickly studded as to 
 remind one of the grand homes of the English aristocracy. 
 When the river is reached, where the road crosses the 
 stream by a handsome stone bridge, the inn is seen close 
 by, on the left ; a large, well-managed house, where every 
 comfort can be had ; and on the opposite side of the river 
 is Chollerford Railway station, on the Border Counties 
 Eailway. 
 
 Whilst at Chollerford the tourist should make a slight 
 detour and visit Swinburne and Chipchase Castles, which 
 are only 2 or 3 miles distant, to the north. 
 
 Before crossing the river and proceeding on the journey, 
 the Eoman station of Cilurnum must be seen. It is situ- 
 ated five minutes' walk from the inn, in the Chesters park, 
 on the west side of the stream. Some of the wall s, gateways, 
 and buildings have been laid bare within the last few 
 years, and present features of special interest; among 
 them are a vaulted chamber and remains of baths. Several 
 important inscriptions, sculptures, and other relics found 
 in the station are preserved in the adjoining mansion. 
 
 After proceeding from the inn for half a mile along a 
 footpath, through a plantation by the east side of the river, 
 a sight is presented to the stranger which will probably 
 impress him more with the magnificence of Imperial Eome 
 than any other remains in Great Britain. It having been 
 suspected that here was the foundation of a bridge on the 
 line of the wall, the accumulated earth was cleared away 
 at the bidding of the owner, Mr. Clayton. The result 
 was that hundreds of large blocks of well-shaped free- 
 stone were exposed to view, placed in the exact position 
 they originally occupied, and forming a massive abutment 
 for what must have been a large and beautiful bridge.
 
 THE BRIDGE AT CHOLLERFORD. 209 
 
 The masonry is- superb, the stone being neatly dressed, 
 and fitting closely to each other ; the burying of the abut- 
 ment under silt having preserved it in astonishing fresh- 
 ness. The facing stones are tastefully ornamented with 
 feathered tooling. All have been placed by the aid of the 
 luis, and have been bound together by rods of iron im- 
 bedded in lead, the grooves for the rods, and in some 
 places the lead, remaining. In the northern part there are 
 still five courses of facing stones, giving a height above 
 the foundation course of 6 feet. The face of the abut- 
 ment, from which the roadway of the bridge would spring, 
 is parallel with the stream, and about 22 feet long ; but 
 the sides are bevelled off so as the better to resist the 
 thrust and the eventual recoil of the waters. The extant 
 northern bevelled edge is about 53 feet in length; 
 the southern about 80. The river has retired from the 
 eastern side, with this effect, that the eastern abutment 
 stands now high and dry, whilst the western foundations 
 are submerged and in far less complete a state of preserva- 
 tion. Imbedded in the centre of the abutment is a piece 
 of masonry of the exact form of a pier. It is supposed 
 that this pier once stood in the river (which has always 
 shown a tendency to trend westward), and formed one of 
 the piers of the original bridge. Several stones among 
 the debris will repay minute examination. Amongst them 
 is one about 4 feet in length, resembling an axle-tree. It 
 has orifices as if for receiving handspikes. Its use is not 
 known. There is also a circular shaft, about 9 feet long 
 and 2 feet in diameter, which has several peculiarities. 
 The platform of the bridge was carried over three water piers, 
 two of which, under certain lights and in favourable condi- 
 tion of the river, can be seen in its bed. One lies now buried 
 on the eastern bank. The western abutment has been of 
 the same form and construction as the other, but is now 
 quite submerged. Mr. Clayton, in a paper in the ' Archse- 
 ologia .ZEliana,' says : " Those who have seen the mag- 
 nificent remains of the Pont du Gard (justly the pride 
 of Gallia Narbonensis) lighted by the glorious sun of 
 Languedoc, may think lightly of these meagre relics of the 
 bridge of Cilurnum, under the darker skies of Northum- 
 berland; but it may be safely affirmed that the bridge 
 over the Gardon does not span a lovelier stream than the 
 North Tyne, and that so much as remains of the masonry 
 of the bridge of Cilurnum leads to the conclusion that 
 
 p
 
 210 EOMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 this bridge, as originally constructed, was not inferior in 
 solidity of material and excellence of workmanship to the 
 mighty structure reared by Eoman hands in Gaul." 
 
 When clearing the rubbish from the abutment of the 
 bridge a portion of the wall was laid bare. It is 6 feet 
 4 inches thick, and 8 feet 8 inches high ; a piece 10 or 12 
 feet long being exposed. This terminates in a square castle 
 or tower, standing on the abutment of the bridge, and 
 now about 8 feet high. 
 
 Leaving the bridge, the direction of the wall eastwards 
 may be traced through the adjoining field by slightly ele- 
 vated ground. When over the railway two or three fields 
 have to be crossed, and then the grounds of Brunton, the 
 residence of Major Waddilove, are entered. Here a por- 
 tion of the north fosse is boldly developed, and a few 
 yards of the wall, 7 feet high, and presenting nine courses of 
 facing stones. Leaning against the wall are two Eoman 
 altars, one 5 feet long. In front of the house the military 
 way is entered, and on the top of the ground the north 
 ditch and a small portion of the wall are visible on the 
 right. Presently the ditch crosses to the left-hand side of 
 the road, and becomes very wide and deep. 
 
 Somewhere in this neighbourhood, Cadwallo, a king of 
 the Britons, was defeated, about the year 633, by Oswald, 
 King of Northumberland. Oswald was a convert to 
 Christianity, and established a bishopric on Lindisfarn, or 
 Holy Island. He erected many churches and convents, 
 and after his death was looked upon as a saint. It is said 
 that when the battle was about to commence, Oswald 
 erected the sign of the holy cross, and on his knees prayed 
 to God that He would assist His worshippers in their great 
 distress. The cross being made in haste, and the hole dug 
 in which it was to be fixed, the King himself, full of faith, 
 laid hold of it, and held it with both his hands till it was 
 set fast by throwing in the earth ; and this done, raising 
 his voice, he cried to his army : " Let us all kneel, and 
 jointly beseech the true and living God Almighty, in His 
 mercy, to defend us from the haughty and fierce enemy, 
 for He knows we have undertaken a just war for the safety 
 of our nation." All did as he had commanded, and 
 accordingly, advancing towards the enemy, they obtained 
 the victory. 
 
 The distance from Chollerford to Newcastle is 21 miles, 
 and during almost the whole of the way the road runs on
 
 CHOLLERFORD TO NEWCASTLE. 211 
 
 the very site of the wall in a straight undeviating course 
 over hill and dale ; traces of the north fosse being close to 
 on the left, and the vallum on the right, most of the way. 
 The foundation stones of the wall are often visible under the 
 traveller's feet, but the only places in which it is observed 
 standing above ground are at Heddon-on-the-Wall, 7 miles 
 from Newcastle, where it is in the bottom of a thorn fence 
 for 15 or 20 yards; at Dean House, 2 miles farther east, 
 in the garden close to the main road, are parts of the wall 
 and gateway of a mile castle ; and at Denton Burn, 85 
 miles from Newcastle, is a strip, about 8 yards long and 
 3 or 4 feet high, which is now enclosed by some wooden 
 railing. 
 
 There are slight traces of Eoman stations at Halton 
 Chesters (Hunnum) ; Rutchester (Vindobala) ; and Ben- 
 well (Condercum); and another station would probably 
 exist at Harlow hill. At Halton Chesters, Watling Street 
 is supposed to have crossed the line of the wall. It was 
 the main eastern road running from England to Scotland. 
 
 Although there are few traces of the wall after leaving 
 Chollerford, the vallum and north ditch are often in a very 
 perfect state ; and the walk is very enjoyable good views 
 being obtained over a wide extent of cultivated country. 
 About 6 miles from Newcastle the colliery district is 
 entered ; other collieries have been passed a short distance 
 farther back, but they have been out of sight in the vale 
 on the right, through which flows the Tyne, and where is 
 the railway. The traveller is now passing near the birth- 
 place of the Stephensons, and after dwelling so long on 
 the Eoman antiquities his mind will naturally revert to 
 the wonderful nineteenth century, and the mighty effects 
 likely to be brought about by the agency of steam and 
 railways. 
 
 In the busy streets of Newcastle, and amidst the ship- 
 ping, the collieries, and the engineering and chemical 
 works along the Tyne, he will feel rather out of place 
 when busy with his antiquarian researches. 
 
 Newcastle is supposed to have been the Eoman station 
 of Pons .ZElii, but few traces remain. A bridge is supposed 
 to have crossed the Tyne here. A considerable portion of 
 the old town wall remains, and some of it appears to have 
 been built of Eoman stones, perhaps upon the site of the 
 old Eoman walls. At the bottom of Clayton Street, not 
 far from the castle, and only two minutes' walk from the 
 
 p 2
 
 212 ROMAN WALL SECTION. 
 
 railway station, is a long high strip ; and close to the cen- 
 tral station is another portion, said to be Roman, and 
 which can be seen from the entrance gates of the railway. 
 Wallsend, which stands on the Tynemouth line of rails, 
 is about 4 miles from Newcastle, farther down the north 
 bank of the river, and there the wall is said to have ended. 
 About fifty years ago remains of the wall could be traced 
 the whole of this distance, but now it has vanished, and 
 only the north ditch is indistinctly traced from Byker Hill 
 to Carville Hall, or Cousin's House, at Wallsend. The 
 station is supposed to be Segedunum, and to have been 
 where is now a Methodist chapel, and an old colliery, and 
 the wall is thought to have stretched down to the brink 
 of the river. The coast at Tynemouth is 6 miles distant.
 
 ( 213 ) 
 
 LOCAL NAMES. 
 
 THE place-names of the district treated of in this book 
 are principally derived from the Celtic or Ancient British, 
 the Eoman, Saxon, Danish, Norse or Icelandic, and 
 Norman languages. Though, to the general reader, the 
 nomenclature of a country may seem at first sight to 
 present but few attractions as a subject of study, yet the 
 pursuit is not without a fascination of its own for those 
 whose leisure and inclination lead them to enter upon it ; 
 while its importance in an ethnological point of view can- 
 not be overlooked by the historian. Place-names may be 
 regarded as pages of history embroidered with the borders 
 of romance. Celtic names people our imagination with 
 the stately Druid, and the free-Limbed, fierce, fantastically 
 painted warrior. Eoman names appeal to our constructive 
 faculties, and call before the mind's eye disciplined armies 
 and massive buildings. Saxon names excite our rural 
 tastes, and wrap us in dreams of waving corn-fields, 
 flowery meadows, and forest glades; while Danish and 
 Norwegian names present us with pictures of daring enter- 
 prise and ruthless bloodshed. Instead of indulging in 
 fancies such as these, however, the student must turn to 
 the fountain-heads of history place-names and en- 
 deavour to convert these stagnant pools into rippling 
 streams of etymology. The Celts were a prehistoric race 
 who had settled in Britain at a period long anterior to its 
 invasion by the Komans nearly 2000 years ago. Caesar, in 
 his Commentaries, furnishes us with scattered notices of 
 their habits of life, dress, customs, and modes of warfare. 
 They themselves are silent, except that they have be- 
 queathed to us valuable fragments of history in the names 
 of our rivers, glens, and mountains. A careful study of 
 these, the oldest place-names in Britain, has revealed to us 
 much that must otherwise have remained unknown in the 
 psychological and mental characteristics of the race ; for 
 these names are, as it were, their fossilized thoughts, ideas, 
 and impressions. They were not satisfied with giving
 
 214 LOCAL NAMES. 
 
 to rivers, mountains, and glens, names merely to be identi- 
 fied by, but they embodied in these names the physical 
 characteristics of each mountain and glen, and the 
 character and habits of the streams. The mountains still 
 retain their nomenclatural distinguishing features ; and 
 though the glens by the march of modern agricultural 
 progress may have lost something of the poetry of their 
 names, the streams still retain in their names the rudi- 
 ments of Celtic song. They are sluggish, rapid, or wind- 
 ing, as they were thousands of years ago. What a fresh- 
 ness and fragrance have these Celtic names about them, 
 and what pictures do they present to us of primitive no- 
 madic life ! From our imperfect knowledge of the original 
 elements and structure of the Celtic tongue, as well as 
 from the attrition it has undergone by the lapse of time, 
 the names bequeathed to us by these early settlers may 
 often seem obscure and partially unintelligible, but where 
 they have been successfully broken up and analyzed, they 
 have been found to contain the elements of poetry, history, 
 and striking topographical word-painting. 
 
 Our next name-givers were the Eomans, but they came 
 and left as conquerors, and there scarcely remains a single 
 name-record on the physical features of the country they 
 subdued to attest the truth of history as to their lengthened 
 occupancy. Imperial Borne simply intersected our island 
 with a war-trail of names, which we find in the remains of 
 the marvellous works they left behind them their stations, 
 fortresses, walls, bridges, aqueducts, and roads. 
 
 Then came the bold adventurous Anglo-Saxons to con- 
 quer, colonize, absorb, and name. They seized upon the 
 country and made for themselves a new home ; they enclosed 
 the Nay, and called it by their name ; they did not merely 
 give their homes a name, but they embalmed that sacred 
 name in their hearts, as a shrine of family happiness ; 
 they did not merely enclose fields, but they also introduced 
 the sacred principle of property. Judging from the 
 names of its towns, villages, and single homesteads, 
 Northumberland is pre-eminently the land of Saxon settle- 
 ments. The purely Saxon suffixes, ham, hauyh, ing, law, 
 ley, shaw, ton, and wick alone are found in more than one- 
 half the names furnished by a modern directory of the 
 county, and a closer comparison would probably show that 
 fully two-thirds are of Saxon origin. Taylor remarks that 
 the universal prevalence throughout England of names
 
 LOCAL NAMES. 215 
 
 containing the word h am gives us the clue to the real 
 strength of the Anglo-Saxon character. 
 
 " The grand old homes of England, 
 How beautiful they stand." 
 
 But the time came when the Saxons in turn had to fight 
 for the sanctity of their homes with another fierce and war- 
 like race of invaders, pirates, and plunderers the Danes. 
 And here again we are not only able to follow the track of 
 the invaders, but to mark their permanent settlements in 
 the land. Though the part of the country under notice was 
 repeatedly subject to the incursions of the Danes, being 
 laid waste, we learn, as far west as Carlisle, in the year 
 875, and though Northumberland especially, still re- 
 tains strong Scandinavian traces, both in the physical 
 characteristics of its people and in its dialect, yet com- 
 paratively few place-names exist to bear out and confirm 
 the facts of history. This may probably be accounted for 
 by the fact that the country was thickly peopled before 
 the Danes appeared on the scene, as well as that the two 
 contending races, being originally of the same stock, and 
 speaking kindred languages, would the sooner coalesce and 
 become welded into one people. Wherever a Danish 
 name does occur it seems rather to point to a village 
 settlement than to an isolated homestead, as if they were 
 obliged to keep together in order to hold what they had 
 seized amid a hostile settlement. To the Danes we are in- 
 debted for one hallowed term in our nomenclature round 
 which all hearts can gather Kirk ; and if they were not 
 the inventors of secret writing the Kunes they at least 
 perfected and used them down to the time of the Con- 
 quest, as is proved by the Eunic pillar at Bewcastle. The 
 Scandinavian pirates Old Norse Vikings the Norwegians, 
 came at last like an inundation ; they were not content 
 with living among a hostile race on sufferance, but fought, 
 conquered, and took possession of the soil, and imprinted 
 their own nomenclature on the geographical features of 
 the district which they had seized upon. By the time of 
 the tenth century they had effected various settlements 
 among the Western islands and headlands of Scotland, 
 and pushing southward had established their headquarters 
 in the Isle of Man. One stream seems to have been 
 diverted thence from the main channel eastward, and to 
 have overrun Cumberland and Westmorland, where,
 
 216 LOCAL NAMES. 
 
 judging by the prevailing place-names in that portion of 
 these two counties known as the Lake District, they must 
 have permanently settled down. Curiously enough, as far 
 as we can be guided by the evidence of place-names, they 
 seem not to have overlapped into Northumberland, for 
 there is a sharp philological demarcation at the county 
 boundary. The Norwegian test- words, force, garth, thivaite, 
 &c., which are so abundant in Cumberland, occur only in 
 a very few instances on the Northumberland side of the 
 border. This brings us to the last but most important 
 conquest in our national history, that of the Normans. At 
 this eventful period this part of England appears to have 
 been so completely filled in with place-names, that no space 
 was left to imprint their nomenclature upon the soil. We 
 find a few names referable to Norman sources, but these 
 chiefly designate either the stronghold of the baron or the 
 richly endowed monastery. 
 
 To summarize our notes, it may be observed that Celtic 
 names are mostly to be found in the names of our rivers, 
 glens, and mountains : Eoman, in those of the walls, for- 
 tresses, bridges, and roads ; Anglo-Saxon, in homesteads 
 and enclosures ; Danish and Norwegian, in towns, villages, 
 and forest clearings ; and Norman, in castles and abbeys. 
 Except through the medium of place-names, we have no 
 means of tracing the settlements of these different 
 peoples, especially now that they have become blended 
 into a homogeneous race, and speak a common language 
 which has already made for itself a home in every quarter 
 of the globe. 
 
 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL EOOTS 
 FOUND IN THE NAMES OF PLACES IN NORTHUM- 
 BERLAND AND CUMBERLAND. 
 
 ABBREVIATIONS. C., Celtic ; A.S., Anglo-Saxon ; D., Danish ; 
 N., Norse. 
 
 All, C., white, and Aon, a contraction of Afon, C., water. Irish, 
 Abhainn, pronounced Avan ; Manx, Awin ; and modern English, 
 Avon. The Allen, a tributary of the Tyne; the Aln, as in 
 Alnwick ; and the Ellen, in Cumberland, all signify the white 
 or clear river. 
 
 Beck, D., a stream, a river. The term beck for river is 
 almost of universal application in Cumberland ; in Northumber-
 
 LOCAL NAMES. 217 
 
 land beck is generally supplanted by A.S. burn, as Caldbeck, 
 Haitleyburn. 
 
 Brough, burgh, burg, bury, A.S., a fortified place, a stronghold ; 
 derived from A.S. beorgan, to shelter or hide ; hence to bury. 
 Brough, in Westmorland ; Burgh-on -Sands. 
 
 But, N., a boundary. Garbut Hill ; the But-of-the-Bog. In a 
 fierce contest about a boundary between two lords, a commis- 
 sioner from London settled the meaning of this word. 
 
 By, D., a dwelling, village, or town. Icelandic, byr, an abode. 
 Scotby, Bywell, Byershall. 
 
 Cam, C., crooked or bending. Cambeck, in Cumberland; 
 Borcam, Northumberland. 
 
 Gar or Caer, C., a fortress, Carlisle, Carvoran (the great 
 fortress), Carlatton. 
 
 Carr, D., marshy ground. Thornhope Carr, War Carr, Prest- 
 wick Carr, &c. 
 
 Cath, C., a strife, battle, contest. Catstairs on the Roman 
 Wall ; Catstones, North Tyne ; Catlan Beacon, in Allendale. 
 
 Chester, the Anglicized Latin castra, a station, camp, or 
 fortress. The Roman stations on the Northumberland portion 
 of the Wall are called chesters ; those on the Cumberland 
 portion take the name of castle. Compare Bew castle with Black 
 chesters: 
 
 Crag ; Scotch, craig ; and Irish, carrig, a rock, as in Carrick 
 Fergus, Castle Carrock, Craighead, Croglin (the rocky stream). 
 See Linn. 
 
 Den, A.S., a deep-wooded valley, a dean ; as Denton, 
 Den wick. 
 
 Dodd, N., primarily a member, a limb ; hence applied to a 
 lesser mountain. Humble Dodd, Dodd Rig. 
 
 Drum, C., a ridge ; Irish, druim ; Manx, dreem. Drum- 
 burgh is either the fortified place, or, according to the old 
 spelling, Drumbogh, simply the ridge along the marsh. 
 
 Hun, Don, C., a hill fort. Haydon Bridge, Warden. 
 
 Dwr, C., water ; Gaelic and Erse, dur, water. Enters largely 
 as a component into river names throughout Europe. Gilder- 
 dale. 
 
 Fell, N., a moor, hill, or mountain. The term is used through- 
 out both counties to signify hilly or mountainous ground. 
 Tindale Fell, Cross Fell.
 
 218 LOCAL NAMES. 
 
 Force, N., a waterfall ; Icelandic, forsa, to rush furiously. In 
 the Lake District a waterfall is termed a force, as Scale Force, 
 Nent Force, Ashgill Force, Alston. In Norway the waterfalls 
 are known as fosses. Wordsworth revived the use of this and a 
 few other old expressive words peculiar to the north of England. 
 
 Ford, A.S., a river passage. Slaggyford, Chollerford. Ford 
 as a suffix in towns on the sea-coast is of Norse origin, and 
 signifies an arm of the sea, a frith, a passage; as Deptford, 
 Wexford, &c. 
 
 Garth, N., primarily a fence or hedge, thence an enclosure. 
 A garden is a place enclosed or guarded. Wraygarth. The 
 Anglo-Saxon form is yard, or geard. 
 
 Gate, D. gata, a street or road. Picts-gate or Maidenway. The 
 Anglo-Saxon gcat means a gate. A common saying among the 
 peasantry of Cumberland is, " I've been a weary gate" signifying 
 a long tiresome journey. 
 
 Gill, N., a ravine. Gilsl&ud, Gelderdale, gil, dur, C., water, 
 dale, N. 
 
 Glen, C., a narrow valley ; Welsh, glyn ; Manx, glione. Glen- 
 due, the black or dark valley. 
 
 Graf, N., a grave. Thorngrafton, probably, the dwelling or 
 village by the burial-place of some person of distinction called 
 Thorn. 
 
 Hag, A.S., that which is hedged in; a coppice, a wood; as 
 Moss Hag, Haggwood, Strand's Hagg. Hay and haigh (infra) 
 are different forms, with wider significations, of the same root. 
 
 Ham, A.S., a home, a dwelling, village, town. " In Anglo- 
 Saxon charters this suffix is frequently combined with names of 
 families, never with the names of individuals" (Taylor). Bel- 
 tingham, Addingham. 
 
 Haugh, Northumberland ; holm, Cumberland ; A.S. holm ; a 
 river island ; a green plot of ground environed with water 
 or lying along the winding banks of a river. The holms of 
 Cumberland assume the name of haughs in Northumberland. In 
 the latter county, along the banks of the North and South Tyne 
 and their tributaries, a synonymous term, eal or isle, is very 
 common. Midgeholrne, Ashholme, Kotheryhaugh, Weydon 
 Eals. 
 
 Hay, Haigh, A.S. haga, a hedge, a place enclosed or sur- 
 rounded with a hedge. The hay was generally the chase, park, 
 or place enclosed for hunting. Haydon Bridge. 
 
 Heugh or sceugh, N., a low hill, probably from N., haugr, and 
 therefore identical with the Lake District how; a mound. 
 Brokenheugh, Collarheugh Crag, Haresceugh, Northsceugh.
 
 LOCAL NAMES. 219 
 
 Hoe, N., a sepulchral mound. Icelandic, haug(r), a mound. 
 Compare heugh, sceugh. Prudhoe in Knarsdale ; Presthoe near 
 Poltrossburn. 
 
 Hope, N., a place of refuge, a narrow valley between two hills. 
 Birdhope, Blenkinshope, Snowhope, Hartsop. 
 
 Hurst, a thick wood. Taylor remarks, " The hursts and charts 
 were the denser parts of the forest ; the leys were the open 
 forest glades where the cattle love to lie, and the dens were the 
 deep-wooded valleys, and the fields were little patches of felled 
 trees or land cleared in the midst of the surrounding forest." 
 Hardhurst, Longhurst. 
 
 Ing, A.S., a meadow. Ing is also a Saxon patronymic denoting 
 " the son of." In this latter sense it enters largely into the 
 place - names of Northumberland. The Directory contains 
 seventy-five such names. In Cumberland it occurs only two or 
 three times. Killingworth, Bavington, &c. 
 
 Keld, D. Hide, a fountain ; A.S. kild, a well ; allied to 
 " cool " ; Danish, kulde, chilliness. Keldwell, source of the 
 Glendue; Threlkeld. 
 
 Kemp, A.S., camp, combat ; cempa, a soldier, warrior. Kemp- 
 shaw Rigg, near Cardrew. The primary meaning is an open 
 field or plain. This root is found in all the Teutonic dialects, 
 and signifies a combat. German, kampf, a combatant ; English, 
 champion. 
 
 Kirk, D., a church. Very common in the parts of England 
 settled by the Danes; seldom or never found in the purely 
 Anglo-Saxon districts. Kirkhaugh, Kirkhouse, Kirkbride. 
 
 Knot, A.S., a rocky hill ; as Knotwood, at Castle Carrock. 
 
 Law, A.S. hlcew, hlaw, a grave or barrow ; a tract of gently- 
 rising ground. Blakelaw, Merelaw, Butterlaw. 
 
 Ley, A.S. leah, an open place in a wood, a glade. Frequent 
 in Northumberland place-names. Upwards of forty. Ridley, 
 Headley, Lambley. 
 
 Lough, C., a sheet of water, a tarn, lake, &c. Welsh, llwch ; 
 Gaelic, loch ; Erse, lough. Crag Lough, Coanwood Lough. 
 
 Man or man, C., a district ; as Triermain Castle. 
 
 Nab, A.S., a beak, nose, neb; hence applied to a projecting 
 rock. Weydon Nab, Nab Scar. 
 
 Sent, C., a valley. Nenthead. 
 
 Peel, C., a stronghold. Staward-le-Peel, Peel Craig. " While 
 the Lords of the Marches reared for themselves castles like 
 Langley, the commonalty took refuge in a class of fortified 
 dwellings called peel houses " (Bruce's ' Wallet Book ').
 
 220 LOCAL NAMES. 
 
 Pen, ben, C., a head ; hence, a hill, a mountain. Penpeugh, 
 Benwell, Penrith. 
 
 liaise, cairn of stones, a tumulus. Hespeck Raise ; the Eaise, 
 Alston ; Dunmail Raise. 
 
 Rew, C., a moor. Wardrew, Cumrew. 
 
 Bigg, A.S., the back, the ridge, a long hill. The ridges of low 
 fells in both Cumberland and Northumberland are termed riggs. 
 To the north of Gilsland we have Peat Rigg, Burnt Rigg, 
 White Rigg, Black Rigg. 
 
 Ross, C., a promontory. Rosehill. This bold promontory, on 
 which were the remains of an ancient camp, was ruthlessly 
 reduced by the railway company on the construction of the 
 Newcastle and Carlisle Railway. 
 
 Shaw, A.S. sceaga, a shady place, a wood, a brake. The 
 Shaw's Hotel, Bradshaw (brad, broad), Birkshaw, Stagshaw. 
 
 Shield, A.S. scyld, a shield, shelter, protection. In Cumber- 
 land the shield takes the form of scale, and across the Scotch 
 border it passes into shealing. These different forms of the word 
 are from the same root and are of the same import. Like the 
 shields in Northumberland, the scales of Cumberland are nu- 
 merous ; both were originally shepherd's or herdsmen's huts, 
 erected for the shelter of both men and cattle in the outlying 
 districts. Scaleby, Skelgill, Carrshields, Shilbottle, Winter 
 Shields, Sbield-in-the-Wall, Sewing Shields. 
 
 Stoke, A.S., a place surrounded with stocks or piles, i.e. 
 stockaded. Stocksfleld, Stokeld Burn, Stockbridge, Greystoke. 
 
 Syke, A.S. sich, a furrow, gutter, watercourse. The term is 
 applied to a marshy or boggy watercourse liable to be dried up 
 in summer, and is allied to " soak " and " suck." Several places 
 on the Moors are known as " Candlesieve Sykes," showing they 
 were resorted to for the sieves or rushes, the pith of which was 
 used for rushlights. Wylie Syke. 
 
 Tain or tian, C., running water, a river. Hence the name of 
 several British rivers. Tynes in Northumberland, Tyne in 
 Haddington, Teign in Devon. 
 
 Tarn, N., a small lake ; Icelandic, Horn, from taaren to trickle, 
 allied to " tear." The Northumberland lakelets are all termed 
 loughs. Blea (blue) Tarn, Redtarn, Talkin Tarn, Tindale Tarn, 
 Tarn Wadling, in Cumberland. Crag Lough, Broomlee Lough. 
 
 Ton, A.S. tynan, to hedge ; tun or ton, a hedge, an enclosed 
 place, a dwelling, then a village or town. In Scotland a simple 
 farmstead is still called a " toun." Brampton, Angerton. 
 
 Tre or tri, C., a house or village. Trewick, Triermain.
 
 LOCAL NAMES. 221 
 
 Whdt, C., to beat. A word still common in the dialect. 
 " Give him a whelt." Glenwhelt. 
 
 Wick, A.S. wic, a suffix denoting a station or dwelling ; 
 then a village, a town. As in the case of ford and gate, there 
 is a characteristic difference in the meaning of this term as 
 applied by the Anglo-Saxons and the Norsemen. With the 
 latter the wick was a station for ships, hence a bay or harbour. 
 The names of towns on the sea-coast containing this suffix are 
 of Norwegian or Danish origin. So of gate; with the Danes the 
 gate was the road or passage along a place ; with the Anglo- 
 Saxons, a passage through a place, e. g. the town wall. See 
 also the difference between Norse and Anglo-Saxon ford. 
 
 Worth, A.S., a close, field, or place warded or protected ; of the 
 same import with " ton." Taylor observes, " probably an enclosed 
 homestead for the churls subordinate to the ' tun.' " Naworth, 
 Warkworth. 
 
 Yard, A.S. gard, a hedge, enclosure, or place girded round. 
 This is another term of the same import with garth, ton, and 
 worth ; all conveying the idea of protection. 
 
 RIVER NAMES AND PLACE-NAMES. 
 
 With the help of the foregoing general terms it is ap- 
 prehended that our readers will have little difficulty in 
 understanding the meanings of the greatest portion of the 
 more common place-names, which it would be too tedious to 
 enumerate in these pages. A short list of those of less obvious 
 significance, gleaned from various sources, is subjoined. The 
 pages of Hodgson, Nicholson, Burn, and Hutchinson furnish 
 abundant etymologies of the two counties, but later researches 
 based upon more correct philological principles show many 
 of these to be too strained or fanciful to stand the test of 
 criticism. In the preparation of this list of place-names the 
 later and more reliable authorities, Taylor, Ferguson, and 
 Sullivan, have been consulted. 
 
 EIVEB NAMES. 
 
 Allen, Ellen and Aln, all signify Vhite water, or clear river. 
 
 Croglin, Crag (Linn, a deep pool), a waterfall. The rocky 
 river. 
 
 Eden, of unsettled origin.
 
 222 LOCAL NAMES. 
 
 Esk, C. uisque, water. A common name for rivers in England 
 and Scotland. 
 
 Gelt, C., loud sounding. 
 
 Gilderdale. Gill ; dur, water ; dale, a valley. 
 
 Hartleyburn. Sax. hart, a deer; ley, a glade; burn, a 
 rivulet. 
 
 Irthing, C. ; the twisting, wandering, or erring burn. 
 
 Knar, C., clear. 
 
 Tippal, C. ti, pwl, pool ; spreading out. 
 
 Tyne, C. tain ; rapid or hasty. 
 
 VALLEYS, ENCLOSURES, DWELLINGS, &c. 
 
 Allendale. The valley of the white river. 
 
 Alston, anciently Aldenston. A.S. 
 
 Barhaugh, formerly Berehalgh. A.S. bere, barley. Barley- 
 holm. 
 
 Bewcastle. The Castle of Bueth, who was lord of the district 
 before the time of the Conquest. 
 
 Birdoswald, properly Burdoswald. A.S. burh. The borough 
 or town of Oswald. 
 
 Blenkinsopp. A.S. hope. The hope or valley of the Blenkings. 
 
 Cargo. C. carrig, and how, a hill. 
 
 Carraws, Carraburgh. C. carrig, a rock. 
 
 Coanicood, formerly Collingwood. C. collen, the hazel tree. 
 
 Corbridge stands at the confluence of the Cor with the Tyne. 
 Possibly from C. cwr, steep, precipitous. 
 
 Cramel Linn, pron. Crau-mel-Iin : crau, the softened form of 
 crag ; mool, mel, a fell ; and linn, a waterfall. 
 
 Feather stone. Difference of opinions exists among etymologists 
 respecting the origin of this name. Fader*s-ton, provincially 
 feyther's, i. e. father's town or from Feadar, a proper name, has 
 found most acceptance. The following note in MS. by the late Lord 
 Wallace was found in a copy of Hodgson's ' History of Northum- 
 berland ' : " Two persons are mentioned in the Saxon Chronicles ; 
 one a military leader, by whom all the country now called Alston 
 Moor was held under the name of Feuerstein, which means 
 Firestone. It next appears as Fethirstane. When arms were 
 first taken they took the Feather, and it is probable that this
 
 LOCAL NAMES. 223 
 
 afterwards introduced Feather, which has led to the confusion 
 in the name and its origin." 
 
 Haltwhistle. In all the early authorities the orthography is 
 Hautwysel, Hautwisel, or Hautwyesell. The derivation of this 
 name still remains a puzzle to etymologists. In its modern 
 form it would seem to imply the ' high boundary." Hodgson 
 adopts a Norman derivation haut, high ; wes, watch ; and hill 
 the high watch-hill or beacon. A more probable explanation has 
 been suggested. The earliest mention of the name occurs in a 
 deed of the date 1307. It is there written Altewis. This would 
 refer to a Celtic source alt, high ; uisque, water ; with the 
 later addition by the Saxons of selig, blessed, contracted to sel 
 or sill i. e. the sacred place or hill on the high water. 
 
 Hexham, in ancient documents Hextoldham and Hextoldesham. 
 Hext, A.S. for hehst, highest, as next, for nighest. This would 
 give, the highest, old, ham ; or, the home by the brook Hextol 
 (height of source). 
 
 Eella and Kelsick. Cold Law, or hill, and Cold Syke. 
 
 Kirkaugh receives its name from the situation of the church 
 on the haugh or river-formed land. 
 
 Kirklinton. D. kirk ; A.S. ton ; and Line, the name of the 
 local stream. 
 
 Lanercost. Welsh, llan, a church. Llanerch originally sig- 
 nified a glade in a forest. 
 
 Maidenway. C. maiden, raised, elevated. The raised or high 
 way. Near Keswick one of the mountains is called Maiden 
 Moor. 
 
 Midgeholme. A.S. myge, mygge, a small gnat. 
 
 X'i:orth. Ger. neu, new; A.S. worth, which see. Sullivan 
 remarks that Naworth and Newark have precisely the same 
 meaning. 
 
 Netherby. A.S. nyther, lower, comparative of neath ; D. by. 
 Compare Upperfy, and Middle^ across the Solway. 
 
 Pada burn, from padda, a frog. 
 
 Penpewjh. C. pen, a bill ; pou, a district. 
 
 Ridley. A.S., the ridded lea, i. e. land cleared of wood and 
 etones. 
 
 Stapleton. A.S. stapul, a stake, that which is fixed ; secondary 
 meaning, a place to which merchants u greed to carry their com- 
 modities for sale or barter. A fair or market. Hence market 
 town.
 
 224 LOCAL NAMES. 
 
 Walton, Wallhouses, Walbottle. A.S. botl (an abode), Wai- 
 wick, Wallend, Walby, Wall, Wallbours, Wallshiels, Walltotra, 
 Wallmill, Wallfoot, Wallhead, Wei ton, Benwell, Thirl wall, 
 Oldwall, Wallknoll, and Heddon-on-the-Wall, all owe their 
 names to their position along the course of the Koman Wall. 
 
 J. CLAKK, Haltwhistle. 
 P. HAKKISON, Keswick.
 
 ( 225 ) 
 
 GEOLOGY. 
 
 LIKE steam and electricity, the science of geology was little 
 known before the present century, and, like them also, it 
 has had a wonderful influence in bringing about several 
 great and rapid changes with regard to political, reli- 
 gious, social, and scientific subjects. Although the science 
 is still in its infancy, it has numbered amongst its profes- 
 sors many eminent men, and theory after theory has been 
 advanced and has then rapidly given way to others more 
 consistent with ascertained facts. At one time all fossil de- 
 posits, and past changes in the earth's crust, were referred 
 to our Biblical Deluge. This idea having to be discarded, 
 was succeeded by theories of awful universal cataclysms 
 and catastrophes. Then the formation of valleys and 
 hills came to be explained by the shrinking of different 
 parts of the earth during the time when it was supposed 
 to be cooling from an original molten state. To account 
 for the different strata and the fossils they contained, it was 
 supposed that there had been vast epochs, during which 
 time there were deposited over the whole globe particular 
 rocks containing fossils of living beings peculiarly adapted 
 to the state of the earth at each era. In this way, we were 
 told, the whole surface was alternately covered with coal, 
 lime, chalk, slate, sandstone, &c. At the present day it is 
 universally acknowledged by our greatest geologists, and 
 is considered a fundamental axiom of the science, that 
 different portions of vast continents have been in the past, 
 and are still gradually rising and sinking by the force of 
 internal heat, and in this way only, they say, can they . 
 explain the deposition of the different strata, and the 
 irregularity of the earth's crust. In my Guides to the 
 Lake District and the Isle of Man, I ventured to regard 
 this hypothesis as being as absurd as any of the others ; 
 and after much study I am still convinced that my theory, 
 which maintains the stability of the land and the insta- 
 bility of the sea, is the only true basis upon which to 
 build the science of geology. 
 
 Q
 
 22[6 GEOLOGY. 
 
 The following extracts from my Lake Guide will enable 
 the reader to see in what way I explain that the sea level 
 changes, and brings about the irregularities on the earth's 
 surface, by a never-ceasing movement similar to what is 
 now daily taking place in every part of the globe. 
 
 "It would seem that although the ocean currents 
 might, by scooping out the bed of the sea, and depositing 
 the matter in other parts, alter the relative level of earth 
 and water, they could not alter the original level of the 
 sea, and no mountains or continents could appear. But 
 when we take into account the all-important fact that the 
 earth is a round body, we presently find that we might 
 have mountains and continents as high as those at present 
 existing. Whilst reasoning on this subject we must not 
 forget that relatively the greatest irregularities on the 
 earth's surface are not more than the speck on an orange. 
 
 " For the sake of illustration let us suppose the outer 
 crust of the globe perfectly smooth, and covered with 
 an ocean 1000 feet deep. It is clear that the heat from 
 the sun would cause currents in the water which would 
 scoop out from one part of the bed and deposit in other 
 parts. If the whole of the ocean in the southern hemi- 
 sphere were, from this cause, to become 2000 feet deep, 
 the earthy matter thus removed would be deposited 
 in the northern hemisphere, and the whole of the latter 
 half of the globe would be dry land. The water would 
 first leave the north pole and gradually sink to the 
 equator. If, during this operation, currents also ex- 
 isted in the northern hemisphere, mountains and valleys 
 would be left ; and here and there inland seas might 
 exist, apparently below the sea level. In this way we 
 should have all the inequalities that we find on the surface 
 of the globe ; deep valleys and high mountains in the sea 
 corresponding with those on land. A never-ceasing change 
 going on throughout the globe, the water gradually leav- 
 ing one continent and overflowing another. When land 
 appeared above the water it would have all the irregula- 
 rities of surface caused by currents, tides, and innumerable 
 other agencies. In fact, given a globe, an ocean, heat from 
 the sun, and immeasurable periods of time, almost every- 
 thing revealed by geology is easily and quite naturally 
 explained. 
 
 " It thus appears that the principal irregularities on the 
 surface of the earth may have been caused without the 
 agency of subterranean heat ; but it is necessary, in order
 
 GEOLOGY. 227 
 
 to establish the theory, to show that the contortions 
 of strata do not require for their origin any upheaving 
 force. 
 
 " It is obvious that if the Lake District were now to be 
 sunk under the sea, with mountain precipices and slopes 
 of every imaginable shape, and after having deposited 
 upon it volcanic matter, lime, chalk, sandstone, or any other 
 material, the waters should again subside, after currents 
 had in places washed away and formed precipices in the 
 new deposit, the geologist would observe that the new 
 strata would be infinitely contorted, and lie at every 
 possible angle. Supposing a deposit of sandstone on 
 Skid daw and in the Derwent valley, it would slope down 
 the mountain side at every angle, from one degree to 90. 
 In the valley and near the foot of the mountain it wotild 
 be horizontal. If the whole valley were filled up to the 
 height of the highest part of Skiddaw, it would then also 
 lie over the summit in a horizontal layer. Supposing that 
 the top of the mountain was again exposed to view by 
 part of the deposit being washed away, it would appear as 
 though the mountain had been upheaved and thrust 
 through the sandstone, and the latter would show signs 
 of having been tilted by that apparent movement, although 
 in reality it was tranquilly deposited on the side of the 
 mountain. In this way, by taking into account an infinite 
 variety of changes, may the inclination of strata be ex- 
 plained without requiring the agency of an upheaving 
 force." 
 
 It must not be supposed from the above that I overlook 
 the fact that there are internal fires, the origin of volcanoes 
 and earthquakes, which have in various places, and at 
 different periods of the earth's history, emitted lava and 
 ash that have overspread large tracts of country. What 
 I maintain is that these are mere rivers of fire which here 
 and there shake, or make way through, the crust of the 
 globe, but whose effect is infinitesimal when compared 
 with the changes brought about by the unceasing currents, 
 tides, and waves of the ocean. 
 
 Some persons will jump to the conclusion, that whether 
 the changes are brought about by fire or by water, the 
 result is the same ; but such is not the case. By fire we 
 should have primitive unstratified rocks pushed up from 
 the interior, and the stratified resting upon them ; whereas 
 by the agency of water we know of no primitive unstrati- 
 fied rock : but beneath the oldest rocks known to us we 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 GEOLOGY. 
 
 must expect there exists another series of still older 
 stratified rocks. By this reasoning, if we could pierce 
 through our Silurian slate mountains, we might meet with 
 layers of sand, lime, and coal, and all strata known to us ; 
 and therefore, if this theory be correct, it is of vast im- 
 portance that it should be understood and acknowledged. 
 
 Once having admitted the possibility of a change of sea 
 level, it is astonishing how simplified the study of geology 
 becomes, and with what ease it is explained how, by a 
 never-ceasing process extended over an immeasurable 
 period of time, the different rocks have been deposited in 
 regular strata from the lowest known depths to the tops of 
 the highest mountains, and this, as a rule, without the 
 agency of internal fires. 
 
 The presence of granite will by many be considered to 
 militate against this theory ; but it must be borne in mind 
 that although it has been almost the universal belief of 
 geologists that granite is the most primitive rock on the 
 globe, and that it has been pushed through the superin- 
 cumbent strata by the force of subterranean fires, this 
 theory appears likely soon to be exploded, and to be super- 
 seded by one which accounts for the formation of the 
 granites principally by water and crystallization, and to 
 take from that rock the proud pre-eminence of being the 
 most ancient and the parent of all others. 
 
 Geology being a science of modern origin, and having 
 been studied principally in the British Isles, our first 
 geologists naturally fell into the error of supposing that 
 the order of superposition which was met with in the strata 
 of Great Britain would be applicable to the whole crust of 
 the globe ; and finding granite in places beneath the oldest 
 British strata, the Cambrian and Silurian, they at once 
 jumped to the conclusion that it was at one time the only 
 rock existing on the globe, and now underlies all others. 
 
 A wider experience has shown that this is not the case, 
 and that with time and strata in geology, just as with 
 distances and stars in astronomy, it is utterly impossible 
 for us to arrive at the beginning. The oldest rocks at 
 present known, the Laurentian, are found to be composed 
 principally of limestone, and to contain fossils, so that it 
 was undoubtedly formed in an ocean which teemed with 
 life, and was probably surrounded by continents covered 
 with vegetation and tenanted by innumerable kinds of 
 animals. The quiet and never-ceasing operations of nature
 
 GEOLOGY. 229 
 
 were undoubtedly the same then as now, and the con- 
 tinents, like those existing at the present day, had been 
 formed at the bottom of an ocean by the disintegration of 
 others previously existing. 
 
 Whether man has lived on the globe during these innu- 
 merable ages we may perhaps never ascertain, for as almost 
 all rocks have been formed under the sea, the preservation 
 of the bones of animals is very rare ; but nothing that we 
 know would preclude the possibility of his having existed 
 during those far-off times, since in recent years his re- 
 mains have been found in strata which must have been 
 formed hundreds of thousands of years. 
 
 Another false idea which is still largely believed in by 
 geologists is that the same kind of strata which is found 
 in different parts of the globe was all deposited at the 
 same epoch, and contains fossils of fishes, plants, or 
 animals which became extinct after each particular era. 
 Changes exactly similar to those of the present day have 
 no doubt been taking place on the earth as far back as man 
 will ever be able to penetrate ; and in different tracts of the 
 globe, but mostly under the ocean, are now being deposited 
 every kind of strata with which we are familiar, and, in all 
 probability, in many of them are now being imbedded 
 plants and animals which have been thought to be extinct, 
 and which we are acquainted with merely from our know- 
 ledge of geological fossil specimens. When we meet with 
 a limestone, sandstone, chalk, slate, coal, or other strata, 
 in distant parts of the earth, say Australia, similar to those 
 in England, that is no proof that they are of the same age, 
 even -though they contain the same kind of fossils. It 
 must be admitted that many species of animals, plants, 
 and fishes found in a fossil state, now no longer live on our 
 globe ; bat this must be expected when we see around us 
 so many gradually disappearing from the face of the earth 
 at the present day. Looking at geology in this light, we 
 are compelled to admit that, whether or not the Darwinian 
 theory of the origin of species be correct, the longest cycle 
 in the past history of the earth that we can penetrate 
 brings us no nearer to facts by which that theory can be 
 proved or disproved than are to be met with in the life of 
 the globe at the present day. In like manner our vistas 
 into the past bring us no nearer the beginning of the 
 actual history of the globe than the glance of the astro- 
 nomer into the immensities of space enables him to ap-
 
 230 GEOLOGY. 
 
 proach either with telescope or in imagination the in- 
 numerable worlds that lie beyond his ken. 
 
 We have dwelt thus long on the broad general facts of 
 geology, because we believe that no person can obtain a 
 just appreciation of the geological structure and history of 
 any portion of the earth's crust, without previously freeing 
 his mind from those narrow views which too many enter- 
 tain, who see in every elevation or mountain the result 
 of the upheaving forces and subterranean fires, instead of 
 the denuding effects of water resulting in the formation 
 of the valleys. The following extracts from two eminent 
 practical mining engineers, authors of standard books on 
 the mines of the Alston Moor district, lend support to the 
 remarks I have advanced. Westgarth Forster, speaking of 
 the Newcastle coal-field, says : " The inequality of the 
 surface does not affect the dip or inclination of the coal 
 measures, and when they are interrupted, or cut off, by 
 the intervention of a valley, they will be found on the 
 sides of the opposite hills, at the same levels as if the beds 
 
 had been continuous The conclusion is obvious, 
 
 that the present irregularity of hill and dale has been 
 occasioned by the partial destruction and dispersion of the 
 uppermost rocky masses, which constitute the coal for- 
 mation." 
 
 Mr. William Wallace says : " That the stratum which 
 outcrops on one side of a valley, and is found on the con- 
 trary side, occupying its exact position between other 
 layers of strata, was at some former period a continuous 
 and unbroken sheet, no one who has paid attention to the 
 subject doubts for one moment." Eeferring to the value 
 of theory, he writes : " It is only in the school of Bacon 
 that the mind can be properly disciplined for inquiries 
 into the most difficult problems of geology and mineralogy. 
 Habits of close observation must be combined with the 
 intellectual power of conducting rigorous processes of 
 inductive and deductive reasoning ; and this power is 
 only attained by profound study and reflection ; by a long 
 course of philosophic cultivation and logical habits of 
 thinking. It may be safely affirmed that few working 
 miners possess the requisite time and means for pro- 
 secuting such studies. Hence while the art of mining has 
 attained great perfection, the science of mining scarcely 
 exists, and the opinions of practical men on the subject are 
 based upon an empiricism of the lowest order I am
 
 GEOLOGY. 231 
 
 convinced of the folly of pursuing such inquiries in the 
 mazes of experience, without any theory, or guiding prin* 
 ciple of causation." In the northern part of England 
 treated on in this book, we see exemplified the false ideas 
 entertained by many eminent geologists. The Pennine 
 mountain chain, including Tindale Fell and Crossfell, they 
 denominate the Pennine fault, and take for granted the 
 erroneous theory that it was pushed up by heat above the 
 surrounding country, whereas it is undoubtedly merely 
 the relic of a vast tract which was much higher than the 
 highest point now remaining ; and the present irregulari- 
 ties of hills and valleys are the result of the denuding 
 effect of water, in all probability occasioned principally 
 when the land was beneath the ocean and subject to its 
 currents. 
 
 Crossfell, and perhaps the whole of the Pennine 
 mountain chain, rests conformably on the old red sand- 
 stone and conglomerate lying in the denuded hollows of 
 the lower Silurian or Skiddaw slate rocks, the latter being 
 visible in many of the valleys on the side of the mountain, 
 especially to the west, in the direction of Penrith. The 
 slate rocks are well developed in the Lake Country, and 
 appear again in the Cheviot Hills, in Scotland, but they 
 are not to be found in any part of the district around 
 Carlisle or Gilsland, or the country traversed by the 
 Boman wall. The old red sandstone is found in one or 
 two small patches near the Ullswater Lake and at the 
 base of Crossfell, but nearer than this we have no trace of 
 it in the tract under our consideration. The fact that it 
 lies in the hollows of the slate rock proves that the latter 
 had undergone great denudation before the sandstone 
 conglomerate was deposited. 
 
 The Pennine mountain chain, including the heights of 
 Crossfell and Tindale Fell, the district around Alston Moor 
 and Haltwhistle, and the country about Gilsland watered 
 by the Irthing and the Tipalt, are composed of the 
 strata known as the mountain or carboniferous limestone, 
 which consists of different layers of limestone, sandstone, 
 shale, and coal. In many places on the Pennine chain 
 and around Alston it is covered with the millstone grit, 
 which is composed of sandstone, shale, and two or three 
 thin beds of coal. The sandstone being occasionally used 
 for millstones explains the origin of the denomination of 
 the group. The coal in the mountain limestone is worked
 
 232 GEOLOGY. 
 
 in many places by horizontal shafts, but it is often of 
 inferior quality, locally termed crow coal. In some places, 
 however, deep pits are sunk, and a superior coal obtained. 
 This is especially the case at Fourstones, Haltwhistle, 
 Blenkinsop, and to the north of Tindale Fell, on the west 
 side of Hartley Burn. In the Alston Moor district it is 
 rich in veins of lead ore, and apparently ever since the 
 time of the Eomans it has been one of the principal 
 mining districts in England. The mining operations have 
 enabled the strata around Alston to be minutely studied, 
 and practical and scientific mining engineers, such as 
 Westgarth Forster and William Wallace, have written 
 treatises on the subject. Forster gives a general section 
 of the strata, including two hundred and forty different 
 layers. Of these thirty are coal, with a total thickness of 
 50 feet. Wallace in his sections names sixty-four layers, 
 and gives 1133 feet as sandstone, 1181 feet plate or shale, 
 and 480 feet lime ; but of course in no single spot are all 
 these strata to be met with. Separate names, now well 
 known in the district, are given to the different strata, 
 such as Great Limestone, Melmerby Scar Limestone, Jew 
 Limestone, Tynebottom Limestone, &c. ; and mining 
 engineers, when working in one of these, know of course 
 what to expect below, and thus benefit by the past expe- 
 rience of others. 
 
 What are known by geologists as the true coal measures 
 lie above the millstone grit. They branch inland from 
 Newcastle in a narrow belt stretching as far as Lambley, 
 at the north-eastern base of Tindale Fell. In some places 
 near the east coast they are overspread by the magnesian 
 limestone. 
 
 On the west side of the Pennine chain, the new red 
 sandstone abuts against the carboniferous series, and 
 stretches past Carlisle to the coast. It occupies the vale 
 of the Eden, and is well developed on the banks of that 
 river, and along the Caldew, Petteril, Esk, Cambeck, Gelt, 
 and the'Irthing as far as a point a short distance above 
 Lanercost. Around the Solway Firth it is covered with 
 sand, gravel, and peat. 
 
 In the midst of the strata of the carboniferous series 
 there is said to be a layer of whinstone, and also a dyke 
 of the same rock ; and a great cliff-like ridge of whin runs 
 from the river Tipalt to beyond Sewingshields, with the 
 Koman wall on the top of it for about 10 or 12 miles. It
 
 GEOLOGY. 233 
 
 is generally thoiight to be a basaltic rock, and various 
 have been the conjectures as to its origin. My knowledge 
 of it is very limited, but I have great doubts as to its 
 being a basalt. The term whin is in this district often 
 applied to hard sandstone, and wherever the true whin 
 may be found, I imagine it will not have been pushed up, 
 but be the remains of an ancient uneven surface of that 
 rock, upon which the limestone and other strata have 
 been regularly deposited. If it be of volcanic origin, it 
 has probably been spread over an ancient sea bottom 
 during the time of the deposition of the layers of carboni- 
 ferous lime, coal, and sandstone. Mr. W. Wallace says : 
 " The whin dyke causes no displacement of the strata, 
 and with the exception of this dyke there are no indica- 
 tions that the district under consideration has ever been 
 subjected to volcanic agency of a violent or spasmodic 
 character." In a note in Westgarth Forster's book we 
 read : " The author of the article ' Mine/ in Brewster's , 
 ' Encyclopaedia,' says, in the sections which have been 
 made of the Newcastle coal-field, the term whin is applied 
 to many of the strata ; these strata so named are, however, 
 not whin, but are sandstones of the hardest kind. The 
 misapplication of the name whin (or greenstone) has led 
 mineralogists to wrong conclusions as to the coal forma- 
 tion of that district." In another part of Mr. Forster's 
 book, when treating of a rock supposed to occupy among 
 the carboniferous strata of Derbyshire the same position 
 as the whin of Northumberland, and which is known by 
 the name of toadstone, as it has the appearance of the 
 back of a toad, it is stated in a note that it has never 
 received the name of basalt, though it occasionally 
 assumes its character and hardness. 
 
 Our doubts as to the volcanic origin of the whin also 
 extend to the 90-fathom dyke, which is one of the prin- 
 cipal geological phenomena of the Newcastle coal-field. 
 Mr. Wallace tells us this dyke passes underneath the 
 magnesian limestone without dislocating its beds; and 
 Mr. Forster says : " The beds of the magnesian limestone 
 pass over the 90-fathom dyke, which has occasioned in 
 them no confusion or dislocation, so that there can be 
 little hazard in stating that the beds of the magnesian 
 limestone belong to a more recent formation than those of 
 the coal-field." We extract the following paragraph from 
 Sir Charles I/yell's 'Elements of Geology': "The very
 
 234 GEOLOGY. 
 
 different levels at which the separated parts of the same 
 strata are found on the different sides of the fissure, in 
 some faults, is truly astonishing. One of the most cele- 
 brated in England is that called the '90-fathom dyke,' 
 in the coal-field of Newcastle. This name has been given 
 to it because the same beds are 90 fathoms (540 feet) 
 lower on the northern than they are on the southern side. 
 The fissure has been filled by a body of sand, which is 
 now in the state of sandstone, and is called the dyke, 
 which is sometimes very narrow, but in other places more 
 than 20 yards wide. The walls of the fissure are scored 
 by grooves, such as would have been produced if the 
 broken ends of the rock had been rubbed along the plane 
 of the fault. In the Tynedale and Craven faults, in the 
 north of England, the vertical displacement is still greater, 
 and the fracture has extended in a horizontal direction 
 for a distance of 30 miles or more." 
 
 We must not quit this subject without giving the 
 following extract from Mr. Wallace : " After a careful 
 examination of the district, no one can doubt that the 
 millstone grit which caps the mountains must have 
 existed in an unbroken sheet over the valleys of Alston 
 Moor. There is, however, reason to suppose that upon 
 these must have reposed the coal measures. Certainly, on 
 the north side of the 90-fathom dyke, the Newcastle 
 coal-field is found thrown down and lying opposite to the 
 millstone grit on the upper part of the mountain lime- 
 stone, which renders it conclusive that a portion of the 
 former, at least, was superimposed upon the latter at 
 the time of the formation of this great dyke." 
 
 Few districts in England offer more facilities to the 
 
 teologist for the study of the deposition of minerals than 
 oes that of Alston Moor, where he may pursue his 
 studies in the very workshop of nature. Veins of lead ore 
 are to be met with in almost every part of the wild, heath- 
 clad moorlands between the Tyne, Allen, Wear, and Tees. 
 For ages it has been a busy mining district, and was 
 probably known to the Eomans, who had so many camps 
 in the neighbourhood along the line of the great wall. 
 
 Comparatively few old mines exist, for the sides of adits 
 
 " in a long course of time become pressed near each other, 
 
 so much so that old miners suppose that works made even 
 
 in very hard rock slowly contract their dimensions. That 
 
 mines have been wrought and produced lead ore at a very
 
 GEOLOGY. 235 
 
 remote period is evidenced by the pigs of lead which 
 have from time to time been found at different places in 
 the country. A valuable collection of these antiquities is 
 in the British Museum. From these we gather that, as 
 early as the year 44, pigs of lead were manufactured ; but 
 the earliest evidence bearing on this district dates from 
 the reign of the Eoman Emperor Domitian, A.D. 81. In 
 1734, two pigs of lead were found on Hayshaw Moor, 8 
 miles N.W. of Ripley, in the West Biding of Yorkshire, on 
 which is an inscription as above indicated. These pigs 
 are supposed to have been made from ore raised at Green- 
 how Hill, in Yorkshire, not far from the spot where they 
 were found. It is remarkable that the shape of pigs of 
 lead has varied little in the last 1800 years. The earliest 
 example was found in Somersetshire ; its weight is 163 Ib. 
 (11 stones 9 Ib.), and length 24 inches, and so with all 
 others deposited in the British Museum, they vary between 
 20 and 24 inches in length, and from 9 to 16 stones in 
 weight. How the mineral was extracted at these early 
 periods can only be surmised. No doubt the ore was, at 
 the outset, exclusively obtained by open workings, quarry 
 fashion, on the backs of the veins ; gradually this method 
 would give way to shallow shafts and short adits, and 
 these again would be succeeded by more extended work- 
 ings, until we have the pits of the present day hundreds 
 of fathoms in depth ; adits several miles in length ; and 
 galleries, sumps, rises, and all the other varieties of mining 
 operations now common to important mining fields. The 
 old miners displayed considerable sagacity in opening 
 out the veins, and choosing those which seemed to afford 
 the best prospect of yielding the greatest profit. This the 
 modern miner finds to his disadvantage, when he comes 
 upon the " old man," the local term for ancient workings. 
 The numerous shaft heaps that may be seen on the line of 
 all old worked veins, and on the course of ancient adits, 
 where the distance apart is not more than from 10 to 
 20 or 30 yards, is evidence of the great amount of labour 
 which must have been expended in mining in earlier times 
 before the invention of gunpowder. In examining the 
 narrow adits and cross cuts of ancient times, rarely ex- 
 ceeding 2 feet in width, we see with what skill they have 
 been projected, and with what careful exactness and neat- 
 ness they have been cut through the solid rock by the aid 
 of the pick alone.
 
 236 GEOLOGY. 
 
 No person can visit the mines of Alston Moor without 
 having his mind directed to the question as to the origin 
 of minerals They have been thought by some to have 
 been pushed up from the molten interior of the earth, and 
 others have supposed them to be due to sublimations from 
 beneath, and to be found only in those places where the 
 exhalations effected a free passage upwards ; the causes or 
 conditions being of a deep-seated character far removed 
 from observation. These notions are fast giving way, and 
 will no doubt soon be obsolete. Mr. Wallace, speaking of 
 Alston Moor, says : " So far as this district is concerned 
 there is nothing to support the theory that lead is due to 
 exhalations from beneath, or to matter injected in a fluid 
 state among the consolidated sedimentary rocks." 
 
 It is now beginning to be acknowledged that minerals 
 have been formed from above by crystallization and the 
 percolation of water, similar to stalagmites and stalactites 
 of the limestone caverns of the present day ; and no one 
 can give the matter thorough attention without coming to 
 that conclusion. Whether the particular rocks in which 
 they are enclosed have to do with their deposition is an 
 open question. The same kind of ores, lead for example, 
 we find in almost all kinds of rock; limestone, slate, 
 granite, basalt, sandstone, shale, &c. ; and therefore it 
 would appear as though we must look for their origin to 
 some external source. In the same mine, also, there are 
 often a variety of minerals, and near together in the same 
 rock are veins of different ores. Also we find one district 
 rich in one mineral, and another in another. Some are 
 only in limited areas on the globe, and others seem to be 
 tolerably equally distributed over every continent. Veins 
 are found in every strata, whether on the tops of the 
 highest mountains, or at the greatest depths to which man 
 has ever penetrated. 
 
 All these apparent irregularities may no doubt be satis- 
 factorily accounted for, and reduced to order and natural 
 sequence, if we can once clear our minds of the prejudices 
 resulting from the unnatural explanations of the past, and 
 prepare ourselves to look at the subject on broad principles, 
 and to apply the ordinary operations of nature which we 
 see taking place around us at the present day. We must 
 never overlook the fact that the present land, the moun- 
 tains and valleys, are mere skeletons of what they were in 
 former times. That almost every part of dry land has
 
 GEOLOGY. 237 
 
 been covered by different kinds of strata, perhaps thou- 
 sands of feet higher than at present, and that the whole of 
 the land has also been many times covered by the ocean, 
 the waters of which are found to contain almost every 
 known mineral. Mr. Wallace, neglecting to take these 
 facts into account, has unfortunately built on a false basis 
 what would otherwise no doubt have been a correct theory 
 as to the origin of minerals. He endeavours to prove that 
 the circulation of waters near the surface is most favour- 
 able to ore deposits, and that these are materially in- 
 fluenced by the present configuration of the surface land. 
 Consequently he is at a loss when he finds veins on the 
 very summits of mountains and deep in the bowels of the 
 earth. He says : " In such situations, nearly on the top of 
 the hills, it is not easy to conceive from what other source 
 the baryta can be derived than from the enclosing rock ; 
 and the presence of this and many other substances of an 
 anomalous character is probably due to laws of chemical 
 combination as yet unknown, but the action of which may 
 be still in daily operation." Again : " In some mining 
 districts various kinds of metallic ores are found plenti- 
 fully in veins at a great depth below the sea level. It is 
 stated in the last edition of the ' Encyclopedia Britannica,' 
 on the authority of E. W. Fox, Esq., that Tresavean Mine 
 has gradually attained to the extraordinary depth of 2112 
 feet below the surface, or about 1700 feet below the level 
 of the sea. The Consolidated Mines and several others in 
 Cornwall have also attained a very great depth below the 
 sea level. Professor Phillips observes that there appears 
 to be no limit either to height above or depth below the 
 sea which defines the productiveness of veins, though in 
 some countries the higher, and in others the lower, situa- 
 tions are most favourable. Instances of metallic sub- 
 stances being found at great depths below the sea level 
 militate against the law of causation advocated in the pre- 
 ceding chapters. Certainly a free circulation cannot be 
 effected under conditions of this kind. Sir C. Lyell sup- 
 poses a twofold circulation of terrestrial waters, one 
 caused by solar heat, and the other by heat generated in 
 the interior of the earth. It is to the former that the me- 
 tallic deposits in the veins of Alston Moor are connected 
 in causation. If the circulation from the interior of our 
 planet could really be proved to exist, it might be inquired 
 whether or not it may have affected the deposition of me-
 
 238 GEOLOGY. 
 
 tallic substances in other districts and in rocks of more uni- 
 form hardness. As before observed, the hypothesis of the 
 water's ascending from the interior of our planet appears 
 unphilosophical, and except in the case of volcanic agency 
 has not been satisfactorily proved." 
 
 Cracks, fissures, and caverns must necessarily occur in 
 every kind of rock, but in some more than others, by 
 water and carbonic and other acids acting mechanically and 
 chemically on the strata, by the shrinking of land during 
 consolidation or increased pressure from above, or by 
 sinking into the hollows formed by water beneath, and 
 many other causes too numerous to mention. Allowing 
 that water will percolate into these hollows, charged with 
 different substances brought from the rocks above, or from 
 those immediately around, it must be admitted that they 
 will deposit crystals of different substances which will 
 gradually fill up those hollows, and as the rocks and 
 their components are changed, being swept away and 
 replaced during countless ages, the substances in the 
 water will change, and form different minerals, sometimes 
 a variety in one cavity, or sometimes fill the whole with 
 one and sometimes with another mineral. To account for 
 different mineral veins being in close companionship in 
 the same kind of rock, we have only to suppose that the 
 fissures are formed at different periods, and therefore 
 filled when the water would filter through charged with 
 different materials. That veins have been so filled from 
 above is evident, for they often contain pebbles and other 
 extraneous substances, and Westgarth Forster relates the 
 remarkable circumstance that a piece of wood, rather 
 convex on one side, and having the appearance of a chip 
 or piece broken from a tree, 6 inches in length and about 
 4 in breadth, not in a fossil state, was found in a vein 
 50 fathoms below the surface. It was surrounded with 
 galena (lead). Mr. Forster states that Mr. Wilson, when 
 relating the circumstance, showed him the specimen. 
 
 From the same authority we learn, that in an old mine 
 which had been closed for twenty years, white lead ore 
 was found projecting from the sides of the vein to the 
 length of 2 inches or upwards ; from which it may be 
 inferred that when circumstances are favourable minerals 
 are being formed in the large laboratory of the earth at 
 the present day the same as in the past. Mr. Wallace 
 also remarks : " I see no reason why ores may not at the
 
 GEOLOGY. 239 
 
 present time be in course of deposition wherever the con- 
 ditions are favourable." Whether their growth is merely 
 the result of certain chemical combinations, or whether 
 they possess life like the vegetable kingdom, are questions 
 which will naturally arise in the minds of those who view 
 the beautiful and wonderful tree-like shapes which their 
 crystals often assume. Coleridge truly observes : " The 
 metal at its height of being seems a mute prophecy of the 
 coming vegetation, into a mimic semblance of which it 
 crystallizes." " The relation of vegetables and minerals," 
 Mr. Wallace tells us, " may not consist in a mimic sem- 
 blance only ; it may be that the same kind of particles in 
 different combinations enters into the composition of both. 
 It is certain that in each case the substances of which 
 they are composed are derived from the crude and hetero- 
 geneous masses of inorganic matter constituting the crust 
 of the globe. It would appear, therefore, that their 
 various properties or attributes, which enable us to 
 become cognizant of their existence, are the result of the 
 organization of a few simple substances according to 
 chemical and in the case of vegetables to semi-vital laws 
 regulating the formation and ascent of sap. Under some 
 circumstances a certain analogy may be traced in the 
 deposition and crystallization of metallic matter with the 
 circulation of sap in vegetable growths, and of fluids or 
 blood in animal forms. And although the mechanical 
 circulation of fluids in veins certainly differs very essen- 
 tially from the vis a tergo which impels the sap upwards 
 to the terminal point of every branch, or in animals, from 
 the vital force concerned in assimilation and secretion, 
 which probably not only changes the nature, but also 
 produces the movement in a stream of which the flow is 
 development ; still the circulation of fluids in veins may 
 so far resemble that of sap in vegetables and blood in 
 animals, as to promote certain chemical changes and 
 combinations, to which not only the distribution, but also 
 the origination of metallic substances in veins may be 
 due. Minerals, like vegetables, are also subject to decay, 
 water beneath the surface of the earth assisting in the 
 decomposition of all kinds of rocks. At great depths its 
 action appears to be not only detersive, but also repro- 
 ductive, other substances being often brought by it to 
 supply to some extent the place of those that have been 
 removed." In this way in all likelihood will future
 
 240 GEOLOGY. 
 
 geologists account for the metamorphism of rocks, and 
 attribute to the action of water and chemical combination 
 many effects now considered to be volcanic. Mr. West- 
 garth Forster, speaking of the similitude between the 
 mineral and vegetable kingdoms, says : " The mineral 
 substances produced under the surface of the earth differ, 
 in this circumstance, from the subjects of the vegetable 
 kingdom, to which, in other respects, they have some 
 resemblance. Many venigerous fossils seem to grow 
 nearly in the same manner as vegetables, the clefts, 
 fissures, and veins in the strata, answering to the tubes in 
 plants, and water is the vehicle of nutriment common to 
 both. Fire, of the nature of which we still know so little, 
 may perhaps be an auxiliary, equally necessary to all the 
 three kingdoms of nature. On the other hand, we know 
 with a kind of certainty that the mineral kingdom has 
 existed before the 4 other two, and, in part, furnished them 
 with materials for their existence, although itself deprived 
 of those wonderful and incomprehensible qualities of life, 
 and the production of seeds, which are the distinguishing 
 properties of the animal and vegetable kingdoms." By 
 the aid of chemistry we shall, no doubt, ere long be able 
 to solve the question as to the origin of minerals, and 
 resolve those substances into simpler elements; and if 
 they are the result, not of life, but of mere chemical com- 
 bination, we anticipate that the day may come wheu the 
 chemist will be able to combine those elements so as to 
 copy the operations of nature.
 
 ( 241 ) 
 
 MINEKALOGY. 
 
 " Through dark retreats pursue the winding ore ; 
 Search Nature's depths, and view her boundless store. 
 The secret cause in tuneful numbers sing, 
 How metals first were formed, and whence they spring ; 
 Whether the active sun, with chymic flames, 
 Through porous earth transmits his genial beams, 
 With heat impregnating the womb of night, 
 The offspring shines with its paternal light ; 
 Or whether, urged by subterraneous flames, 
 The earth ferments, and flows on liquid streams ; 
 Purged from their dross, the nobler parts refine, 
 Eeceive new forms, and with fresh beauties shine ; 
 Or whether by Creation first they sprung, 
 When yet unpoised the world's great fabric hung : 
 Metals the basis of the earth were made, 
 The bars on which its fixed foundation's laid. 
 All second causes they disdain to own, 
 And from the Almighty's fiat sprung alone." 
 
 ALTHOUGH the central fire of this earth is hid from view, 
 there can be no doubt that the whole globe was originally 
 a purely incandescent mass, and that it is now, as it were, 
 a sun crusted over and partially extinguished, the cooled 
 surface of which forms the skin or crust which bears 
 testimony of its former condition. This globe, formerly 
 on fire, after countless ages, has cooled down, obeying 
 the laws of the radiation of heat, and constituting this 
 primitive crust, the study of which forms the science of 
 Mineralogy. In no place can the laws which regulate the 
 deposition of ores in veins or the arrangement of the 
 earthy minerals be better studied than in the district of 
 Alston Moor. Looking at the vast deposits here gathered, 
 the question naturally arises : From whence spring the 
 metals and minerals which form these formations ? The 
 only satisfactory answer is, from the interior of the earth, 
 the seat of that intense heat which possesses power and 
 force of expansion sufficient to affect the most distant part 
 
 B
 
 242 MINERALOGY. 
 
 of its surface. These vast accumulations occur in the 
 formation known commonly as the Yoredale series, or 
 mountain limestone of Phillips, which seems to possess some 
 peculiar condition in it which causes the accumulation of 
 metallic ores in this locality, more particularly that of 
 galena, the lead ore of commerce. Geologically, the Alston 
 and Allendale districts consist of alternating beds of lime- 
 stone, grit, shale, sandstone, and one layer of igneous 
 rock, with a few and comparatively worthless seams of 
 coal, the whole attaining a thickness of about 500 feet. 
 This Yoredale series, although more fully developed in 
 Yorkshire, can be best studied in the neighbourhoods of 
 Alston and Weardale. These strata are pierced through 
 by a considerable number of fissures, generally having 
 a direction from the north of east to the south of west. 
 Veins running north and south, usually called cross 
 veins, also exist, but although yielding metalliferous ores 
 to a certain extent, are not so productive as those which 
 have a main direction of north of east to the south of 
 west. In whatever direction, however, the veins run, the 
 productive ones are found solely in the mountain lime- 
 stone. It is in large cavities or holes encrusting the 
 veins of solid ore that the minerals are discovered; and 
 one of the most beautiful sights of nature, to a mineral- 
 ogist, is to be observed on breaking into one of these, 
 where the minerals encrusting the roof and walls throw 
 back the light suddenly let in with a thousand reflected 
 rays. The procuring of minerals of such a beautiful de- 
 scription as those found in this district cannot fail to be of 
 the greatest pleasure to all persons inclined to study the 
 works of nature through nature itself. The fluor-spars, 
 so plentifully found round Alston Moor, are of such bril- 
 liant, delicate, and diverse colours as to really baffle de- 
 scription, and language would fail in attempting to do 
 justice to the beauty of these specimens. From the 
 lightest to the darkest green, from the lightest to the 
 darkest pink and blue, all the varied tints are to be 
 found, whilst many specimens have a base of green, sur- 
 rounded by crystals of blue, or a base of pink by crystals 
 of amber. In some specimens also two colours are ob- 
 servable in the one crystal : this occurs when viewed by 
 transmitted and reflected light ; the transmitted light pro- 
 ducing a green shade, and the reflected a blue. Many of 
 the crystals possessing these two colours contain air
 
 MINERALOGY. 243 
 
 bubbles, and sometimes drops of fluid. It is a mineral 
 calculated to excite the admiration of the most indifferent 
 observer, in consequence of its beauty and variety of 
 colours. Fluor-spar is a combination of lime with fluoric 
 acid, being, consequently, a fluate of lime. Its primary 
 form is that of an octahedron, but in this district it is 
 found in the form of a cube. Its association is principally 
 calcite ; and when we speak of this mineral, also abundant 
 at Alston Moor and Allendale, we are reminded what an 
 important part it plays in the district. Calcite is car- 
 bonate of lime, or a mixture of lime with carbonic acid. 
 Although not possessing the brilliant colours and tints of 
 the fluor-spar, being principally white, ranging to a delicate 
 flesh tint, how it surpasses that specimen in its countless 
 crystallographic forms ! This mineral alone is nearly the 
 study of a lifetime, there being already more than five 
 hundred secondary forms known, and it is possible to de- 
 fine the relations existing between any two of these. Even 
 at the present day new modifications are being found. 
 Two specimens from near Alston Moor have lately been 
 procured by an American mineralogist (William S. Vaux, 
 Esq.), both of which are completely new modifications of 
 the rhombohedron. The faces of the angles are also pecu- 
 liar, being striated, or exhibiting striae transversely across 
 the crystals, as if a file had been drawn across them. It 
 will thus be seen that however countless forms of a par- 
 ticular mineral may occur, there is still room for discovery. 
 This remark applies to nature in all its sections and 
 branches. 
 
 Accompanying most of the lead veins at Alston Moor is 
 the carbonate of barytes, a mineral of the greatest utility 
 in the arts, being employed extensively in chemical works, 
 and in the manufacture of plate-glass, porcelain, &c. In 
 France, to which country it is largely exported, it is used 
 in the manufacture of beet-root sugar. There is yet 
 another earthy mineral which claims a word or two in pass- 
 ing. This is what is known under the name of gypsum, or, 
 when occurring in a compact form, more generally that of 
 alabaster. It is found near Carlisle," and also at Alston, 
 associated with an earthy-red iron ore. It is used in the 
 manufacture of glass and porcelain, but the rougher 
 varieties more universally in agriculture, as a top-dressing 
 for grass lands. Its formation is very remarkable, and 
 may be accounted for in several ways : first, by the depo- 
 
 B 2
 
 244 MINERALOGY. 
 
 sition from concentrated salt water, which may be of an 
 oceanic or lacustrine origin; secondly, by minerals and 
 rocks, whose constituent is lime, being acted upon by 
 compounds of gaseous sulphur, either in a solution or 
 free state ; and, thirdly, by lime in most strata, being sub- 
 jected to the chemical action of iron pyrites, the sulphide of 
 iron. There are many other earthy minerals of the greatest 
 use found in the district, but it would be impossible to 
 enumerate them all severally and particularly here. All 
 that occur, however, will be found in the descriptive list 
 accompanying. 
 
 Leaving those minerals which are of " the earth, earthy," 
 our attention is attracted to a few of the metalliferous 
 products whose main characters are essentially different. 
 Very few minerals or metals are found in a native state, 
 but man has made himself acquainted with those opera- 
 tions necessary to reduce them to the condition which 
 renders most of them in his hands of value to him in one 
 degree or another, this degree depending upon the proper- 
 ties they may possess, and with the expensiveness of the 
 processes necessary to render them available. Perhaps 
 the metal of all others which has caused " hopes and 
 fears " to arise in the breast of the explorer, is the iron 
 pyrites, a mixture of iron and sulphur, as this species in 
 outward appearance to the uninitiated most resembles the 
 precious metal, gold. A very beginner, however, in mine- 
 ralogy will soon detect in its fresh, glistening surfaces the 
 difference from the rarer substance. 
 
 " Pirrites is a kinde of stone, yealow, like to the fire his 
 flame, and in qualitie almost all one with the fire ; for the 
 which I suppose it tooke its name ; it is soone kindled and 
 set on fire. It also sparkleth, and being hardly holden 
 and pressed in any man's hande burneth him sore or he 
 perceiveth it. Whereupon the lapidare hath these two 
 verses : 
 
 ft The Pirrite must with casie hand 
 And marvellous soft enholden be ; 
 For being prest and held to hard 
 Doth burue .thy Flesh or ere thou see." 
 
 The old author of the above, John Maplet, although in 
 error as to this mineral really burning our flesh before we are 
 aware of it, was not altogether wrong, for this metal, being 
 subjected to the action of water or the atmosphere, decom-
 
 MINERALOGY. 245 
 
 poses, during the process of which, a considerable amount 
 of heat is emitted. It occurs plentifully associated with 
 barytes, pearl-spar, and quartz, in most of the metalliferous 
 mines of Gilsland. Although not one of the ores from 
 which iron is extracted, it is of great commercial value, 
 by its producing sulphuric acid when artificially decom- 
 posed. It is also reduced for the procuring of sulphur, 
 the iron that remains being the common well-known 
 paint, red ochre. Galena is, however, the king of metals 
 in this part of the country, both in a commercial and 
 mineralogical light. It is the metal from which the lead 
 ore of commerce is produced, and is a combination of 
 lead with sulphur. There are no less than fifty-two 
 mines working in Alston and the neighbourhood for this 
 metal, nearly all of which are producing the most satis- 
 factory results. It occurs in veins running generally 
 north of east to the south of west. It contains silver in 
 variable quantities, which is obtained from it by melting 
 the lead, and as it begins to cool, "straining out the 
 crystals with an iron strainer, the portion left behind 
 containing nearly all the silver. This is repeated several 
 times, each time the lead becoming richer. It is then 
 cupelled." In former years the silver was not sought for, 
 but as an ore containing only 3 oz. of silver to the ton (or 
 but iooooth part) may now be profitably worked, it is 
 nearly always sought for. The crystallized, and what we 
 may term mineralogical specimens, are found in the lodes 
 of massive ore. Crystals of an enormous size have been 
 discovered, some cubes measuring 7 to 8 inches across. Its 
 associations are principally pearl-spar, calcite, fluor-spar, 
 and witherite. A peculiar variety is termed Slickenside, 
 from the fact of the surface being polished. Lately many 
 hypotheses have been started as to how this has occurred, 
 the former belief having been that the sides were polished 
 by a slipping or rubbing motion similar to the effect that 
 icebergs have produced upon the tops of some of the Cum- 
 berland mountains. It is now, however, more generally 
 believed to be formed by electricity. When touched with a 
 miner's pick, it is said to explode with dangerous violence. 
 The polished surface looks like ordinary blacklead, whilst 
 behind this coating a granular variety of limestone occurs, 
 impregnated with galena. 
 
 The zinc ores are well represented, more particularly 
 Blende, the sulphide of zinc, or, as the miners familiarly
 
 246 MINERALOGY. 
 
 call it, " Black Jack." Its primary form is the rhombic- 
 dodecahedron, but it is more generally found crystallized 
 in tetrahedrons, or modifications of that form. It is black, 
 and occurring often upon the pure white pearl-spar forms 
 a beautiful contrast. It is also found associated with 
 fluor-spar, quartz, and copper pyrites. In many mining 
 districts it is called the " mother of lead," its presence 
 being considered as a good omen ; whilst in others, miners 
 assert that where such blende occurs the deposition of 
 galena is not great. In the Alston and Allendale districts 
 it is generally looked upon as a most favourable sign. 
 
 The foregoing few minerals mentioned are the leading 
 ones to be found in the country surrounding Gilsland ; but 
 there are others which, although perhaps not so important 
 in the commercial world, are, in a strictly mineralogical 
 light, of the greatest scientific importance. The following 
 list contains all the minerals in the Gilsland district, and 
 I am sure that those who devote a little time to the study 
 of the science of mineralogy will not fail to be well 
 repaid for their trouble, if they make the basis of their 
 operations the country to which these few elementary 
 remarks particularly apply. 
 
 [NON-METALLIC MINERALS. 
 
 ORDER- CAKBON. 
 
 COAL. Common coal. Black coal. 
 
 Structure compact, or slaty, often dividing with degree 
 of regularity into columnar or rhombohedral fragments. 
 Lustre, dull to brilliant. Colour, black, opaque. Frac- 
 ture, uneven. 
 
 Hardness, TO to 2'5. Specific gravity, T20 to 1'75. 
 
 Composition : principally consists of oxygenated hydro- 
 carbons, or sometimes simple hydrocarbons, that is, con-
 
 MINERALOGY. 247 
 
 taining no oxygen. Generally known as mineralized vege- 
 table matter, animal contributing somewhat however to 
 its composition. It is found at Alston Moor, generally in 
 small veins. For list of collieries, see p. 263. 
 
 A variety, locally called crow coal, occurs plentifully 
 on the ridge of Haska Fell. It is, however, very inferior 
 to the ordinary, and is used chiefly for supplying the 
 machinery of the mines. 
 
 ORDER SULPHUR. 
 
 SULPHUR. Phillips. SCHWEFEL, Mohs. Synonyme, 
 Brimstone. 
 
 Ehombic. Primary form a four-sided pyramid, with a 
 rhombic base. Imperfect cleavage. Fracture, uneven. 
 Disseminated. Lustre, resinous. Colour, sulphur yellow. 
 
 Hardness, 1*5 to 2'5. Specific gravity, 2 - 07. 
 
 Composition : sulphur, more or less pure. 
 
 It is found in disseminated masses, associated with 
 gypsum, near the mines of Alston Moor. It is frequently 
 met with also in small quantities in the metalliferous 
 veins, especially those containing copper pyrites and 
 galena. Sulphur, when combined with other elements, 
 forms the class of substances known as sulphurets or sul- 
 phides. The sulphur of commerce is principally extracted 
 from the iron and copper pyrites. 
 
 ORDER FLUORIDE. 
 
 FLXJORITE. Fluor-spar. Fluate of Lime. Fluoride of 
 Calcium. Fluss-spath, Naumann. 
 
 Cubical. The primary form is the regular octahedron, 
 but the solid angles in general are replaced by tangent 
 planes, changing the figure into the usual cubical form. 
 Fracture, conchoidal. Colourless, white, blue, green, 
 violet, lilac, amber, yellow, and purple. Transparent, 
 subtranslucent. Brittle. Streak, white. Phosphoresces 
 when heated. 
 
 Hardness, 4'0. Specific gravity, 3'01 to 3'25. 
 
 Breithaupt obtained for a specimen from Alston Moor, 
 3-017.
 
 248 MINERALOGY. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Fluorine 48'7 
 
 Calcium 57*3 
 
 106-0 
 
 Fluor-spar is undoubtedly the most beautiful of all 
 minerals, groups of the various colours ornamenting, 
 without exception, all mineralogical collections. The 
 Alston varieties are most remarkable for their brilliant 
 colours and beauty, more than for their variety of forms 
 and modifications. The crystals frequently contain drops 
 of water, air bubbles, minute crystals of quartz, &c., par- 
 ticularly the small green specimens. Many specimens are 
 of two distinct colours green and blue ; the one to be ob- 
 served when viewed by transmitted light, and the other by 
 reflected. Occurs plentifully of a deep blue, lilac, green, 
 and amber colour in all the lead mines of the Weardale dis- 
 trict, and in nearly all the mines of Alston Moor, including 
 Brownley Hill (pale and deep amber), Nent Head (purple), 
 Guttergill in great abundance (blue), Eodderup Fell 
 (massive), and Crossfell (massive), in great abundance. 
 The lilac and blue varieties are perhaps the commonest 
 found in the district, and the bright green and dark amber 
 the rarest. Curiously elongated cubes associated with the 
 lenticular form of calcite and crystals of galena are met 
 with of a deep violet colour. 
 
 Fluor-spar is used in considerable quantities as a flux 
 in the reducing of copper and other ores, hence, probably, 
 the name, from fluo, to flow. 
 
 Chlorophane is a massive variety of fluor-spar most con- 
 venient for showing phosphorescence by heat. By reducing 
 the mineral to a powder, and placing it upon a shovel until 
 nearly heated to redness, a bright blue glowing colour 
 will appear upon the surface. 
 
 ORDER CAKBONATES. 
 
 ARRAGONITE. Arragonite, Phillips, Hauy. Needle Spar. 
 Igloite. 
 Prismatic. Primary form a right rhombic prism of 11610'.
 
 MINERALOGY. 249 
 
 Cleavage, distinct in one direction. Fracture, conchoidal 
 or uneven. Lustre, vitreous. Transparent to translucent. 
 Colourless, white, often yellowish white to wine yellow. 
 Brittle. Dissolves with effervescence in muriatic acid. 
 
 Hardness, 3'5 to 4'0. Specific gravity, 2'9 to 3'0. 
 
 Composition of a fibrous variety. 
 
 Carbonate of lime 98-00 
 
 strontia .. .. I'Ol 
 
 Hydrate red oxide of iron .. .. 0'14 
 
 Water 0'21 
 
 99-36 
 
 Occurs in beautiful, delicate, transparent crystals in 
 limestone, at the mines surrounding Alston Moor, asso- 
 ciated with galena and quartz. Very fine specimens can 
 also be procured from the spar iron " riders" of the lead 
 veins at Nent Force. A blue azure sky colour is found at 
 Hudgill Burn Mine. 
 
 Satin Spar is a fibrous or lamellar variety, containing 
 4'25 per cent, of carbonate of protoxide of manganese which 
 sometimes communicates to it a rose tinge. It is found in 
 a cliff of decomposing shale, near Alston. Having a 
 satiny lustre (hence the name), and taking a good polish, it 
 is employed in the manufacture of inlaid ornaments. 
 
 Flos-ferri (Flowers of Iron) is a stalactitical and coral- 
 loidal form of arragonite. It is pure white, resembling in 
 appearance coral, the branches or stems being delicately 
 interlaced and twisted in every fantastic direction. It is 
 found in many of the mines in the neighbourhood of 
 Alston. 
 
 CALCITE. Calcite, HrooJee and Miller. Carbonate of Lime, 
 Phillips. Kalkspath, Naumann. From the Latin calx, 
 lime. 
 
 Ehombohedral. Cleavage easy, parallel with the faces 
 of the fundamental rhombohedron. Fracture, conchoidal. 
 Lustre, vitreous. Colourless, white, but often tinged brown, 
 grey, green, yellow, and sometimes black. Streak, white. 
 Brittle. Double refracting. 
 
 Hardness, 2'5 to 3'5. Specific gravity, 2'5 to 27.
 
 250 MINERALOGY. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Carbonic acid 44O 
 
 Lime 56'0 
 
 100-0 
 
 This mineral in a massive form, under the name lime- 
 Btone, is abundantly scattered through the Gilsland district, 
 most of the mountains being constituted of it. 
 
 Occurs in beautifully crystallized specimens at the 
 following mines : Nent Head, associated with blende, iron 
 and copper pyrites, and pearl- spar ; at Brownley Hill, of a 
 yellowish tinge, in hexagonal modified crystals. The 
 variety commonly called nail head or lenticular, is one of 
 the most beautiful, often being made up of aggregations 
 of small crystals of this form highly modified and generally 
 translucent ; at Garrigill, in white modified crystals ; at 
 Ogill Burn, Old Haggs Mine, Blagill, Thorngill, Hudgill 
 Burn, Holyfield, Guttergill, and nearly all the adjacent 
 mines produce it more or less associated with galena and 
 blende. Tyne Bottom Mine (Garrigill) has produced some 
 very fine specimens in large transparent crystals, and 
 others approaching the primitive form of the rhombohe- 
 dron. Most magnificent and remarkable specimens were 
 procured by the author from a mine in the parish of 
 Alston, of a deep transparent honey colour. These were 
 crystallized in elongated radiating transparent crystals, the 
 base being built up of many small crystals of the same 
 shape, all equally transparent, resembling in appearance a 
 set of spires, forming the base, and a larger one protruding 
 from the centre. 
 
 EEIOHITE. Sreithaupt. (Berg und Hiittenmannische 
 Zeitung, xxiv. 311.) 
 
 Under this name Breithaupt has described a pure calcite 
 from the Alston Moor district. The measurements of the 
 angles differ from the usual crystals, being according to 
 Breithaupt's measurements 105 20'. It is white in 
 colour, and the specific gravity 2'666 to 2'677. 
 
 WITHEEITE. Witherite, Phillips. Carbonate of Barytes. 
 Barolite. 
 Prismatic. In modified rhombic prisms. Crystals,
 
 MINERALOGY. 251 
 
 generally compound. Cleavage, imperfect. Fracture, un- 
 even. Translucent. Tasteless and poisonous. Very 
 heavy. 
 
 Hardness, 3'0 to 375. Specific gravity, 4'29 to 4'35. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Baryta 
 Carbonic acid 
 
 100-0 
 
 This mineral is found in the lead veins of many mines 
 traversing the coal formation at Alston Moor, associated 
 with fluor-spar, calcite, and the various minerals charac- 
 teristic of such veins. A variety coated with barytes is 
 termed the sulphato-carbonate of barytes. It is of the 
 greatest importance in the arts, being employed extensively 
 in chemical works, in the manufacture of plate-glass, &c. 
 
 BARYTO-CALCITE. Baryto-calcite, Brooke. 
 Oblique. Primary form, an oblique rhombic prism. 
 Cleavage, distinct. White, yellowish. Brittle. 
 Hardness, 4'0. Specific gravity, 3'6 to 37. 
 Composition : 
 
 Carbonate of baryta .. 65'9 
 lime .. .. 33 - 6 
 Silica trace .. 
 
 99-5 
 
 This mineral, as will be seen, is an isomorphous mixture 
 of the carbonates of baryta and lime. It is found plenti- 
 fully in attached crystals, and massive in veins in moun- 
 tain limestone, at Blagill, near Alston. 
 
 ALSTONITE. Alstonite, Brooke and Miller. Bromlite, 
 Johnston. 
 
 Prismatic. Primary form, a right rhombic prism. Frac- 
 ture, granular and uneven. Cleavage, distinct. Translu- 
 cent. 
 
 Hardness, 4'0 to 4'5. Specific gravity, 3-68 to 370.
 
 252 MINERALOGY. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Carbonate of baryta . . 62'16 
 lime .. 30-29 
 strontia . 6'64 
 
 99-09 
 
 Alstonite and baryto-calcite were formerly supposed to be 
 identical, but such is not the case, the analyses being dif- 
 ferent, whilst the crystals of alstonite are prismatic, and 
 those of baryto-calcite oblique. 
 
 Alstonite is found in small acute six-sided pyramids at 
 Brownley Hill, near Alston Moor, in veins. 
 
 DOLOMITE. Dolomite, Brooke and Miller. Brown Spar. 
 Pearl Spar. 
 
 Khombohedral. Cleavage, perfect. Faces generally 
 curved. Lustre, vitreous, more or less inclining to pearly 
 in different varieties. White, but often yellowish. 
 Brittle. 
 
 Hardness, 3'5 to 4-5. Specific gravity, 2'85 to 2'95. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Carbonate of lime .. .. 56 - 57 
 magnesia .. 43'43 
 
 iron .. trace .. 
 
 100-00 
 
 Found plentifully associated with calcite at the mines of 
 Kent Head, Ogill Burn, Old Haggs, Garrigill, and Coal 
 Cleugh, near Alston Moor. It is common at Alston Moor, 
 also occurring in curved rhombs, the edges of which some- 
 times meet, associated with fluor-spar and galena. The 
 variety Brown tipar occurs near Alston. The variety Pearl 
 Spar occurs at Brownley Hill and Nent Head, associated 
 with copper pyrites. 
 
 ORDER ANHYDKOUS SULPHATES. 
 
 BAKY.TES. Baryte, Brooke and Miller. Heavy Spar. 
 Cawk. 
 Prismatic. Primary form, a right rhombic prism.
 
 MINERALOGY. 253 
 
 Lustre, vitreous. Colourless, white, grey, brown, and yel- 
 low. Brittle. 
 
 Hardness, 3'0 to 3'5. Specific gravity, 4'3 to 4'7. 
 
 Composition: sulphate of barytes, 99'38, with traces 
 of silica, sulphate of strontia, lirne, and iron. 
 
 In nearly all the lead mines round Alston Moor asso- 
 ciated with galena and calcite. A variety is called Cock- 
 comb Barytes when formed by an aggregation of small 
 opaque and greyish- white crystals. 
 
 GYPSUM. Phillips. Gyps, Haidinger. Selenite. 
 Oblique. Lustre, pearly. Flexible when in thin plates. 
 Streak, white. Sectile. 
 
 Hardness, T5 to 2'0. Specific gravity, 2'28 to 2'33. 
 Composition : 
 
 Sulphuric acid 46'31 
 
 Lime 32-90 
 
 Water 20-75 
 
 99-96 
 
 Occurs in clear colourless crystals, with an earthy red 
 iron ore, at Alston Moor. 
 
 ORDER-SILICA AND SILICATES. 
 
 QUARTZ. Quartz, Phillips, Brooke and Miller. Rock 
 Crystal. 
 
 Rhombohedral. Colourless, and white the prevailing 
 colour ; also yellow, brown, pink, and black. Phosphores- 
 cent when two pieces are rubbed together. 
 
 Hardness, 7'0. Specific gravity, 2'5 to 2'8. 
 
 Composition, when pure : 
 
 Silicon 48-04 
 
 Oxygen 51-96 
 
 100-00 
 
 Occurs associated with blende and fluor-spar at nearly all 
 the mines of Weardale, Aliens Head, and Alston Moor.
 
 254 MINERALOGY. 
 
 METALLIC MLNEKALS. 
 
 SIDERITB. Spathose Iron. Carbonate of Iron. Chaly- 
 bite. Brown Spar. 
 
 Khombohedral. Fracture, imperfect conchoidal. Yel- 
 lowish brown, yellowish grey. Lustre, vitreous. 
 
 Hardness, 3'5 to 4'5. Specific gravity, 3'7 to 3'9. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Protoxide of iron .. .. 54 - 57 
 
 manganese .. 1'15 
 
 Lime 318 
 
 Carbonic acid 35-90 
 
 94-80 
 
 Occurs occasionally, generally in a massive state, at 
 Alston, Nent Head, Allendale, Teesdale. 
 
 PYRITES. Iron Pyrites, Phillips. 
 
 Cubical. Fracture, uneven or conchoidal. Brass yellow, 
 inclining to gold yellow. Streak, brownish black, opaque. 
 Emits sparks when struck with steel. 
 
 Hardness, 6'0 to 6'5. Specific gravity, 4'9 to 5-1. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Iron 45-75 
 
 Sulphur 54-25 
 
 100-00 
 
 It is an abundant mineral in the Gilsland district, being 
 found in good specimens, associated with barytes, pearl 
 spar, and quartz, at Ogill Burn, Old Haggs,Garrigill, Coal 
 Cleugh, Eodderup Fells, and also in the mines at Alston. 
 This mineral is extensively mined for the sulphur which is 
 extracted from it. 
 
 MARCASITE. White Iron Pyrites. 
 
 Prismatic. Primary form, a right rhombic prism. 
 Fracture, uneven. Brittle. Lustre, metallic. Greyish 
 brass yellow.
 
 MINERALOGY. 255 
 
 Hardness, 6'0 to 6'5. Specific gravity, 4'65 to 4'88. 
 Composition : 
 
 Iron 45-75 
 
 Sulphur 54-25 
 
 100-00 
 
 Occurs upon crystals of calotte, near Alston Moor. 
 
 OK DEE COBALT. 
 
 ERYTHBINE. Beudant ; Cobalt Bloom. Arseniate of 
 Cobalt. 
 
 Oblique. Colour, peach red ; opaque, dull, earthy. 
 Hardness, 1-5 to 2-5. Specific gravity, 2'95. 
 Composition : 
 
 Arsenious acid .. .. 38 - 43 
 
 Oxide of cobalt .. .. 36'52 
 
 Protoxide of iron .. I'Ol 
 
 Water . 24-10 
 
 100-06 
 
 Is found in a massive state only at the Tyne Bottom 
 Mine, Alston. 
 
 ORDER COPPER. 
 
 MALACHITE. Green Carbonate of Copper, PhiUips. 
 Malachit, Haidinger. 
 
 Oblique. Primary form, an oblique rhombic priam. 
 Fracture, uneven. Emerald green, verdigris green. 
 
 Hardness, 3'5 to 4'0. Specific gravity, 3'6 to 4'0. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Oxide of copper .. .. 72'2 
 Carbonic acid .. .. 18'5 
 Water 9'3 
 
 100-0
 
 256 MINERALOGY. 
 
 This mineral is said to have been found near Alston 
 Moor, but although the author has several specimens from 
 other parts of Cumberland, he has never been able to pro- 
 cure a specimen from this locality. 
 
 OLIVENITE. Eight prismatic Arseniate of Copper, 
 Phillips. 
 
 Prismatic. Primary form, a right rhombic prism. 
 Cleavage, indistinct. Leek, olive, and blackish green. 
 Brittle. 
 
 Hardness, 3 - 0. Specific gravity, 4'2 to 4'6. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Oxide of copper . . . . 54'98 
 Arsenic acid .. .. 4061 
 Water ., 4'41 
 
 100-00 
 
 This mineral is to be found in small distinct crystals, 
 with malachite on quartz, at Tyne Head Mine, near Alston. 
 
 CHALCOSINE. Bedruthite, Brooke and Miller. Vitreous 
 Copper, Phillips. 
 
 Prismatic Fracture, conchoidal to uneven. Very 
 sectile. Blackish, lead grey. Lustre, metallic, dull. Streak, 
 shining. 
 
 Hardness, 2'5 to 3'0. Specific gravity, 5'5 to 5'8. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Copper 79'8 
 
 Sulphur 20-2 
 
 100-0 
 
 Occurs at Tyne Head Mine, although very sparingly. 
 
 CHALCOPYRITE. Towanite, Brooke and Miller. Copper 
 Pyrites, Phillips. 
 
 Pyramidal. Brass yellow, often gold yellow; very 
 liable to tarnish; opaque. Lustre, metallic. Streak, 
 greenish black. 
 
 Hardness, 3'5 to 4-Q. Specific gravity, 41 to 4'3.
 
 MINERALOGY. 257 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Copper 30-15 
 
 Iron 32-37 
 
 Sulphur 35-34 
 
 97-86 
 
 Is found, associated with, other minerals, at Alston. 
 
 ORDER LEAD. 
 
 Native Lead. 
 
 Found in small globules. 
 
 Hardness, T5. Specific gravity, 11'44. 
 
 Lustre, metallic. Colour, lead grey. Malleable and 
 ductile. 
 
 Hitherto only found in minute globules in lava, and in 
 the cavities of a meteoric iron. 
 
 This extremely rare mineral has been discovered, how- 
 ever, in situ, at Alston Moor, the only British locality, " in 
 veins traversing limestone very near the surface, in small 
 detached masses of galena bearing the aspect of torre- 
 f action, and which are coated with oxide of lead. 
 
 " The metallic lead occurs in small globules dispersed 
 over the surface. 
 
 " It is now known that the Eomans worked the lead ore 
 at this locality, and the way they worked was to smelt or 
 roast the ore in situ, i. e. by digging away some of the 
 earth on both sides of the metallic lode or vein, and putting 
 in fuel and fire. In this way the galena must have been 
 more or less roasted, thus accounting for the globules of 
 pure lead." ('Manual of Mineralogy,' by Greg and 
 Lettsom.) 
 
 Phillips, by Brooke and Miller, in their ' Mineralogy,' 
 described native lead as occurring near Bristol, but it was 
 afterwards discovered that the portions found and analyzed 
 were simply portions of rifle bullets. 
 
 MINIUM. Native Oxide of Lead. 
 
 Fracture, earthy ; even flat conchoidal. Opaque. Lustre, 
 feeble. Colour, red. Streak, orange yellow. 
 Hardness, 2'5. Specific gravity, 4'6.
 
 258 MINERALOGY. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Lead 90-60 
 
 Oxygen 9'34 
 
 99-94 
 
 This very rare mineral occurs at Alston. 
 
 CERUSSITE. Cerussite, Brooke and Miller. Carbonate of 
 Lead, Phillips. 
 
 Prismatic. Fracture, conchoidal. Transparent to 
 translucent. Lustre, vitreous. Colourless, white grey, 
 lead grey, and occasionally green, owing to an admixture 
 of carbonate of oxide of copper, black. Streak, white. 
 
 Hardness, 3-0 to 3'5. Specific gravity, 6*4 to 6" 6. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Oxide of lead 820 
 
 Carbonic acid .. .. 16 - 
 
 98-0 
 
 Occurs at Nent Head, and in small quantities at the prin- 
 cipal lead mines of Gilsland district. 
 
 GALENA. Galena, Brooke and Miller, Phillips. Galenet, 
 Von Kobell. Sulphuret of Lead. 
 
 Cubic. The prevailing forms are the cube and a combi- 
 nation of the cube and octahedron. Lustre, metallic. 
 Opaque. Colour and streak, lead grey. Fracture, con- 
 choidal, but difficult to obtain, owing to the readiness with 
 which it cleaves. Often tarnished, especially on the faces 
 of the octahedron. Eather seetile. 
 Hardness, 2-5. Specific gravity, 7'4 to 7'6. 
 Composition : 
 
 Lead 85-13 
 
 Iron 0-50 
 
 Sulphur 13-02 
 
 98-65 
 
 Often the iron is omitted. Silver also enters largely into 
 the composition of galena, from which it is extracted. 
 
 The lead ore of commerce. It occurs in the whole 
 mountain limestone range of Cumberland, and is exten-
 
 MINERALOGY. 259 
 
 sively worked. Crystallized specimens are abundantly 
 met with in the Alston Moor mines, generally in the cubc- 
 octahedron form or truncated octahedron. 
 
 Slickenside, or specular galena, is a smooth variety of 
 galena, occurring in laminae upon the mountain limestone. 
 When struck with a miner's pick it explodes with danger- 
 ous violence. Various hypotheses have been started as to 
 the cause of the surface being smooth and polished. Some 
 believe this has taken place by a rubbing process, but it is 
 now more generally believed to be caused by the action of 
 electricity. 
 
 JOHNSTONITE. Supersulphuret of Lead. 
 Massive. Opaque. Colour, bluish. Lustre, metallic. 
 Texture, fine granular. 
 Hardness, 3'0. Specific gravity, 6'7. 
 Composition, according to Johnston : 
 
 Galena 90-38 
 
 Sulphur 8-71 
 
 99-09 
 
 Is found at Alston Moor, Cumberland. 
 
 OEDEE ZINC. 
 
 CALA.MINE. Calamine, Brooke and Miller. Smithsonite, 
 Haidinger. 
 
 Ehombohedral. Occurs reniform and botryoidal. Green 
 and yellow. Lustre, vitreous. Streak, white. Brittle. 
 
 Hardness, 5'0. Specific gravity, 4'1 to 4'5. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Oxide of zinc .. .. 64 - 81 
 Carbonic acid .. .. 3519 
 
 100-00 
 
 Occurs mammillated and in crusts, white, brown, and 
 occasionally of a fine rich yellow, at Alston Moor ; also at 
 Farnberry Mine, Alston. 
 
 s 2
 
 260 MINERALOGY. 
 
 SMITHSONITE. Silicious Oxide of Zinc, Phillips. 
 
 Prismatic. Commonly with hemihedral terminations. 
 Colourless, white, green, and blue, but not very deep in 
 tint. Lustre, vitreous. Streak, white. Brittle. 
 
 Hardness, 5'0. Specific gravity, 4'1 to 4'2. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Oxide of zinc 67'4 
 
 Silica 25-1 
 
 Water 7-5 
 
 100-0 
 
 Occurs of a white colour, coating blende, at Alston. 
 
 BLENDE. Sulphuret or Sulphide of Zinc. 
 
 Cubic. Fracture, conchoidal. Transparent to opaque. 
 Lustre, adamantine. Colour, reddish brown, brown, 
 yellow, black, green. Brittle. 
 
 Hardness, 3'5 to 4'0. Specific gravity, 3'9 to 4*2. 
 
 Composition : 
 
 Zinc 67-03 
 
 Sulphur 32-97 
 
 100-00 
 
 Usually contains also a small percentage of iron, and 
 sometimes 2 or 3 per cent, of cadmium. 
 
 It is found at Nent Head, Ogill Burn, Old Haggs Mine, 
 Garrigill, Coal Cleugh, and Eodderup Fell. 
 
 It is a very common mineral, occurring usually with 
 galena, copper pyrites, and quartz. It is often termed by 
 the miners "Mother of Lead," being looked upon as a 
 good indication when searching for lead.
 
 MINERALOGY. 
 
 261 
 
 METALLIFEKOUS MINES OF THE GILSLAND 
 DISTKICT, 
 
 SITUATED AT OR AROUND ALSTON MOOR. 
 
 Lead, L.; Silver Lead, S-L.; Copper, C.; Zinc, Zn.; Barytes, B. 
 
 No. 
 
 Names. 
 
 Minerals 
 raised. 
 
 Situation. 
 
 1 
 
 Bentyfield, E. End 
 
 S-L. 
 
 Alston Moor. 
 
 2 
 
 W. End .. .. 
 
 ) 
 
 ?> 
 
 3 
 
 Black Syke 
 
 > 
 
 Alston. 
 
 4 
 
 Blagill 
 
 , 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 Birchy Bank 
 
 
 
 )5 
 
 6 
 
 Brown Gill 
 
 J 
 
 )1 
 
 7 
 
 Brownley Hill 
 
 > 
 
 I 
 
 8 
 
 Bulman Hill 
 
 L. 
 
 Ousby. 
 
 9 
 
 Capel Cleugh 
 
 S-L. 
 
 Alston. 
 
 10 
 
 Carrs and Hanging Shaw 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 11 
 
 Carrs, west of Nent 
 
 )> 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 Cash well 
 
 
 
 ) 
 
 13 
 
 Cowper Dyke Heads 
 
 L. 
 
 ? 
 
 14 
 
 Craig Green, N. Vein 
 
 S-L. 
 
 )5 
 
 15 
 
 Dowke Burn, E. End .. 
 
 V 
 
 )> 
 
 16 
 
 W. End .. .. 
 
 > 
 
 ) 
 
 17 
 
 Dowgang Veins 
 
 
 
 
 
 18 
 19 
 
 Dowpot Syke 
 East Crussfell 
 
 
 > 
 
 Kirkland. 
 
 20 
 
 Fletcheras 
 
 
 
 Alston. 
 
 21 
 
 Farnberry 
 
 )J 
 
 ? 
 
 22 
 
 Flow Edge 
 
 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 Galligill Bents 
 
 )' 
 
 ) 
 
 24 
 
 Galligill Syke 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 Grassfield 
 
 )5 
 
 j> 
 
 26 
 
 Green Hurth 
 
 ?> 
 
 
 
 27 
 28 
 
 Guddamgill 
 E. End .. .. 
 
 
 
 
 Alston Moor. 
 
 29 
 
 Holyfield 
 
 )' 
 
 > 
 
 30 
 
 Hudgill Burn 
 
 
 

 
 262 
 
 MINERALOGY. 
 
 METALLIFEROUS MINES continued. 
 
 No. 
 
 Names. 
 
 Minerals 
 raised. 
 
 Situation. 
 
 31 
 
 Lee House Well and . . . . | 
 
 S.L. 
 
 Alston Moor. 
 
 3-2 
 
 33 
 
 :u 
 :>,:> 
 96 
 .".7 
 38 
 
 40 
 11 
 42 
 43 
 14 
 If) 
 4fj 
 17 
 48 
 49 
 50 
 51 
 52 
 53 
 54 
 55 
 rx.; 
 57 
 58 
 59 
 
 Long Cleugh 
 
 Long Cleugh, 2nd Sun Veiu . . 
 
 Middle Cleugh 
 
 Nattrass (Middle Vein) 
 
 Nentsbury Green 
 
 Nentsbury Pasture 
 
 Park Grove Iron Vein 
 
 Peat Stack Hill 
 
 Priorsdale 
 
 Rampgill 
 
 Rodderup Fell 
 
 Scaleburn 
 
 Slaggy Burn 
 
 Small Cleugh 
 
 Smittergill Head 
 
 Sunnyside Vein 
 
 Thorngill, E. End 
 
 Thorngill Seit 
 
 W. End 
 
 Tyne Bottom 
 
 Windy Brow 
 
 Chesters * 
 
 Settleingstones * 
 
 Stone Croft* 
 
 Chesterwood * 
 
 Langley 
 
 Fallow Field * 
 
 Alston. 
 
 L. Haltwhistle. 
 S-L. Haydon Bridge. 
 L.&B. 
 
 S-L. B. 
 
 S-L. \ 
 
 Hexham. 
 
 * The five mines marked (*) are to the north of the Tyne, and are being 
 worked in the lower limestones and the whin. The range of country on the 
 north side of the Tyne from Gilsland to Hexham is exciting a good deal of 
 mining attention at present, and several tracts are being prosecuted with a good 
 deal of enterprise. It will be very fortunate if this turn out to be a rich 
 mining district, as the mines at Alston have been for some time very poor, and 
 mining speculation has not been encouraged, so that a number of men have 
 been obliged to leave the district. About a century ago from 8000 to 10,000 
 tons were raised, now there are only about 3000 tons.
 
 MINERALOGY. 
 
 263 
 
 COLLIERIES. 
 
 Coanwood Colliery 
 
 Haltwhistle 
 
 Blenkinsop ditto 
 
 Greenhead| 
 
 Hartleyburn Pit 
 
 Haltwhistle 
 
 Midgeholme ditto j 
 
 Nawarth j 
 
 Eoachburn ditto > 
 
 Collieries > 
 
 Bishophill ditto ) 
 
 Brampton ) 
 
 South Tyne Colliery 
 
 Haltwhistle 
 
 Melkridge and Hen- 
 
 }t 
 
 shaw Collieries 
 
 " I 
 
 Eockhouse Colliery 
 
 5) 
 
 Fourstones ditto 
 
 Hexham 
 
 Proprietors of Manors. 
 John Hope Wallace, Esq. 
 J. B. Blenkinsop Coulson, 
 
 Esq. 
 H. L. Allgood, Esq. 
 
 Earl of Carlisle. 
 
 Messrs. 0. & W. Adamson. 
 Sir Edward Blackett, 
 
 Bart. 
 
 Eev. Dixon Brown. 
 Greenwich Hospital. 
 
 BKYCE M. WEIGHT, F.E.HiST. S., &c.
 
 ( 264 ) 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 IT is not our purpose in the present article to give an ex- 
 position of the Science of Botany : no one looks for such a 
 thing in a guide-book. Our object is rather to secure for 
 one of the most charming of recreative pursuits the atten- 
 tion of those who have not as yet devoted themselves to 
 this delightful science, and to clear the path of certain 
 obstacles that loom before the eye of the tyro, formidable 
 and forbidding. 
 
 To the uninitiated no aspect of the study seems so de- 
 terring as that which sets before him the multiplicity of 
 objects which form the subject-matter of the science. A 
 terrible lion in the path is this thought of the infinite 
 number and variety of vegetable forms. Trees, bushes, 
 plants, ferns, mosses, grasses, sea-weeds ! The tyro is 
 appalled with the enumeration, and exclaims, " How is 
 such a vast field to be traversed ? " We can quite sympa- 
 thize with the disheartened inquirer, all the more so that 
 we remember putting the same question to ourselves 
 well, we shall not say how many years ago. Permit us 
 then, good reader, to give you the benefit of our time- 
 earned experience. 
 
 A look out upon the world of which we are a part shows 
 us that it is made up of an infinity of individual things. 
 Hopeless indeed would be the task of knowing, if everything 
 were unique and unrelated to the whole. Our knowledge 
 in such a case could only be of individuals, and meagre 
 indeed would that knowledge be. But nothing is solitary, 
 nothing unrelated ; throughout the whole there run bold 
 and clear lines of connection. These science lays hold of, 
 and tracing them through earth and sea and sky, abridges 
 for us the universe, and presents us with these splendid 
 generalizations which are its own crowning glory. Amid 
 such a multiplicity of vegetable forms, then, the science of 
 botany comes to our aid. It discovers to us that there are 
 certain distinct type-forms running through the whole; 
 that these, comparatively speaking, are not by any means 
 numerous ; and that plants which to the eye seem widely
 
 BOTANY. 265 
 
 unlike, may yet, on closer inspection, be found to have all 
 the essential marks of a common structure. Here then is 
 a science which perhaps more than any other ministers to 
 that persistent desire of the inquiring intellect to find 
 the one in the midst of the many. Still more attractive 
 does the study become when it is seen that even around 
 our own homes at our very door, We might say we have 
 familiar examples of the chief of these type-forms. Our 
 own parish becomes a great botanical garden ; our own 
 familiar wildings an epitome of the flora of the world ! To 
 illustrate. Everyone knows that some plants bear flowers, 
 while others do not. Here then, at the very outset, is a 
 difference which parts the whole vegetable kingdom into 
 two great divisions, and enables even the most unskilled 
 to decide almost at sight to which division the plant before 
 him belongs. Again, he must have noticed that among 
 flowering plants, some, as the rose, have the leaves more 
 or less rounded, with the veins forming a sort of network ; 
 in others, as the lily, the leaves are long and narrow, with 
 the veins running in nearly parallel lines. The distinction 
 is a vital one, and, being significant of others which in- 
 variably accompany it, is extremely valuable, from the 
 ease with which it is recognized. Once more, the mutual 
 relations of the parts that constitute the flower calyx, 
 corolla, stamens, and pistil discover to us the type on 
 which the plant in question has been formed. And here 
 it is that we come upon the richest stores of mental grati- 
 fication, in discovering the very models upon which Nature 
 has proceeded in forming, with endless variety of size, 
 colour, and proportion, the thronging multitudes of the 
 vegetable kingdom. It is only thus that the study will 
 disclose to the observant eye the world of wonders that 
 lives and blooms around, beggaring all art, and defying all 
 imitation. 
 
 But we have led our readers to believe that they may 
 study the flora of the world at their own doors, or in such 
 a charming retreat as the glens and shaws of Gilsland. 
 How is it done? Everyone knows and loves the daisy. 
 After the exquisite way in which Burns and Wordsworth 
 have sung of it, it is almost sacrilege to take it to pieces 
 for a botanical lesson. Examine it tenderly, then. The 
 flower will be found to be, not one, but a whole head of 
 flowers enclosed within a common circlet of tiny green 
 leaves. It belongs to an order called from their structure 
 Composite, an order which is estimated to contain no
 
 266 BOTANY. 
 
 fewer than 10,000 species, or about -^th of the total num- 
 ber of species of plants in the world. Wherever the foot of 
 man has trod, members of the order have been found in 
 the Land of the Eising Sun no less than in the flower prairies 
 of the West ; on the dreary plains of Lapland as well as on 
 the rank borders of the Congo. The same common struc- 
 ture belongs to all; the family likeness is well marked, 
 and it is no ordinary acquisition which thus enables us to 
 place in one grand collection, bound together by a common 
 tie, and distinguished only by specific differences, such a 
 large section of the entire body of plants. Pull a sprig of 
 wallflower. The petals, or flower-leaves, will be found to 
 be four in number, arranged in a cross-like fashion. This 
 well-marked structure again serves to denominate the 
 order, and we thus get the name of Cruciferse (cross- 
 bearers). When we make the acquaintance of any one 
 member of the family, we have the happiness of being 
 introduced to about 2500 others from all parts of the 
 world. And so is it the case with the other great orders. 
 We have their representatives springing around us in 
 every woodland walk. Few indeed are the families one 
 or more members of which are not to be found on every 
 square mile of English ground. Thus it is that we gather 
 up the many in the one, and thus it is that the science 
 furnishes us with the pegs whereon memory may hang 
 the vast and varied products of observation and reflection. 
 Few subjects in connection with plant-life are more 
 curious and interesting to the intelligent botanist than 
 that of distribution. The slightest observation shows that 
 some plants are found everywhere, while others are re- 
 stricted in their range. How do they come to be where 
 they are ? And why are others absent ? The explanation 
 is partly climatic, partly geological. Some plants grow 
 in nearly all temperatures and soil, others require a definite 
 amount of heat and moisture, and a soil of a particular 
 composition. While, however, this may be stated as the 
 general principle regulating the distribution of vegetable 
 life, it must ever be borne in mind that there are special 
 circumstances which frequently modify its application. 
 Man himself is a disturbing element in the natural opera- 
 tion of the laws of growth and decay, and instances could 
 easily be given where the most skilled geo-botanist would 
 find it hard indeed to account for the presence or absence 
 of a species in circumstances where everything pointed to 
 a conclusion exactly the reverse of the facts. But flowers
 
 BOTANY. 267 
 
 are often found growing far from what is known to be 
 their original habitat. How are their seeds disseminated ? 
 The agents employed are various. Food-plants and plants 
 employed in the arts and manufactures owe their distri- 
 bution chiefly to the agency of man ; the winds and the 
 waters are ever bearing their minute freights over land 
 and sea. Animals, too, have a share in the work of dis- 
 tribution ; and, to aid the winds and the waters, some 
 seeds have a balloon-like appendage to waft them afar over 
 the earth, or are supplied with air cells to float them over 
 the surface of the rivers and seas. Notwithstanding all 
 we know of the dissemination of plant-seeds, there are 
 certain phenomena which fairly puzzle the student of 
 distribution. A piece of heath-clad common is taken in 
 and limed : before long it is a rich pasture of clover and 
 grass. None of the known agents at work in the mean- 
 while is sufficient to account for the change, nor, indeed, 
 all of them together. Or a field, one sheet of yellow with 
 the flowers of wild mustard, is ploughed and laid down in 
 grass. It may be twenty years before it is again turned 
 over, but no sooner is this done than there is the mustard 
 again, as widespread and as luxuriant as ever. We are not 
 to conclude then that because certain plants are not found 
 in a locality they are not present in the soil. On the 
 contrary, from what is known of the quiescent and tena- 
 cious vitality of wild seeds, it seems much nearer the 
 truth to believe that the seeds are there, whether brought 
 by oceanic currents ages ago, or by more recent means of 
 which we know nothing, and that they are only waiting 
 the stimulating influence of more favourable conditions of 
 soil, heat, and moisture to make them germinate. 
 
 From certain indications in our experience, we more 
 than suspect that not a few who would fain become 
 botanists are actually frightened from making a commence- 
 ment by the ponderous nomenclature of the science. And 
 no wonder : it seems little short of barbarity to speak of 
 the delicate denizens of the woods and dells by such 
 uncouth names as^Scolopendrium and Jungermannia. It 
 is not at all a matter of necessity ; most of our wildings 
 have native names, and very suggestive they often are 
 too ; and while we readily grant that it is best to know 
 both, we should recommend amateurs to abjure the use of 
 the botanical name as savouring of pedantry. Our own 
 English names are well worth notice. A whole volume of 
 poetry, folk-lore, religion, and history, is locked up in
 
 268 BOTANY. 
 
 them, and an additional charm of no ordinary kind is 
 thrown round the pursuit when accompanied by an intelli- 
 gent appreciation of the significance of names. In such 
 examples as greenweed, yellowwort, and globeflower, we see 
 our ancestors adopting the very readiest mode of naming ; 
 in daisy, and snowflake, and sundew, we have the play of 
 elegant fancy ; in Our Lady's mantle and St. John's wort 
 their religious feelings find a place ; while the shield and 
 buckler ferns, and spearwort speak of times when the clang 
 of mail was heard on many a listed field. Strong believers 
 in pharmacy, they marked the medicinal virtues of lung- 
 wort and woundwort by their names ; so, too, with the 
 foe of that most English of diseases the spleen. Their 
 admiration would express itself in the queen of the 
 meadow, or a more chastened flow of feeling in heart's- 
 ease ; or a conviction of a still subtler influence residing in 
 the purple loosestrife. The harmonious colouring of 
 nature, too, is well worth ourclosest attention, and a good 
 deal might be said by way of commending it to the notice 
 of our readers, but we write not so much for those who 
 pursue botany as a study, as for those who feel that the 
 wheels of life are clogging and must have a little rest, 
 and that that rest must not be inactivity, but a change of 
 pursuit. Food and exercise are never so beneficial as 
 when the mind is pleasantly employed, so that the visitors 
 to Gilsland who would enjoy all the physical advantages 
 of a ramble must employ the mind. It has been held, and 
 we believe there is a good deal of truth in it, that the love 
 of flowers may be taken as a criterion of the health of the 
 mind. Without doubt the love of flowers charms away 
 much of the care and weariness of life, and weans the 
 mind from ths deadening jar of daily pursuits. 
 
 " I love the flowers, the many flowers, 
 
 That iu our lanes and meadows grow. 
 Were you to ask, 'twould be a task 
 To tell you how I love them so. 
 
 " I love the flowers, the woodland flowers, 
 
 For they to me are golden keys, 
 Which ope the rusty gates of life, 
 And lead to sunny memories." 
 
 PETEB BORW. 
 
 As the physical features of the district have been de- 
 scribed in the historical and geological portions of this work, 
 it is unnecessary in connection with botany to go over
 
 BOTANY. 269 
 
 the same ground. The district for many miles around 
 Gilslaud may be described as a land of hill and dale, 
 streams and tarns, wide-spreading wastes, and heathery 
 fells, scraggy shaws, and umbrageous woods; Eoman 
 ruins and feudal remains ; pleasant mansions and historical 
 castles ; and embosomed in all this wild and beautiful 
 scenery is a rich and varied flora, rendering it specially 
 attractive to the botanist. All that remains for ITS to do is 
 to localize for our readers some of the most graceful and 
 winning of our woodland beauties, and so to link in the 
 remembrance of many, we trust, the "sunny memories" 
 of rambles about Gilsland with the sweet and innocent 
 lives of the wild flowers that blush, alas ! too often unseen, 
 among its shady dells. The golden saxifrage will be found 
 luxuriating near a glossy green carpet of marchantia, 
 watered by the spray of the Cromel Linn, while the beau- 
 tiful white stars of the cross-leaved bedstraw will be 
 seen peeping from the clefts of its rocky banks. The 
 Baron House Bog, which has long been known as a rich 
 botanical station, is now being drained, and many of the 
 swamp plants that from time out of mind have had their 
 home in its peaty bogs are rapidly disappearing; but the 
 yellow loosestrife, mud-carex, and cranberry, seem loth 
 to leave their old haunts, and may yet be found. The 
 Northumberland lakes and the wide wastes amid which 
 they are situated, at an elevation of from 700 to 800 feet 
 above the level of the sea, are well known as rich bota- 
 nizing grounds. The yellow water-lily, white water-lily, 
 marsh- wort, water-starwort, skullcap, intermediate bladder- 
 wort, plantain, shoreweed, perfoliate pondweed, red pond- 
 weed, red mace, &c., may all be collected from the loughs, 
 while on the wastes may be picked up the stone-bramble, 
 crowberry, twayblade, small scabious, marsh bog-orchis, 
 marsh cudweed, marsh andromeda, &c. Whether or not 
 the Eomans brought us any colonists we cannot say, but the 
 whole course of the Wall, from Gilsland to Sewingshields, 
 will be found most interesting botanizing ground. The 
 spearmint, sage, chives, chamomile, &c., may all be col- 
 lected. The woods of the district are all fine grounds for 
 collecting wild flowers, and if we have not given them 
 habitats in their shady recesses, it is simply because we 
 wish tourists to cultivate habits of research and observa- 
 tion. The South Tyne, traversing the eastern range of 
 the district for upwards of 30 miles, and rising from an 
 elevation of 100 feet at Hexham to the heights of Cross-
 
 270 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 fell, gives, with its numerous tributaries, wide ranges 
 for botanizing. The lofty ridge of the Pennine range, 
 from Tindale Fell to Crossfell, will be found a fertile field 
 for Alpine plants, such as cloudberry, fine-leaved heath, 
 and bog asphodel. 
 
 WILD FLOWEES. 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat. 
 
 RANUNCULACE^E. 
 
 Caltha palustris . 
 Anemone nemorosa . 
 
 Marsh marigold . 
 Wood anemone 
 
 Wet places. 
 Woods. 
 
 Trolli 
 Ranui 
 
 us Europseus . 
 iculus aquatilis . 
 hederaceus 
 ficaria . 
 
 Globeflower . 
 Buttercup .... 
 Ivy-leaved crowfoot . 
 Celandine . 
 
 Rowfoot. 
 Ditches. 
 Watery wastes. 
 Coal Cleugh. 
 
 
 flammula . 
 lingua . 
 auricomus 
 acris . 
 
 bulbosus . 
 
 Lesser spearwort . 
 Spearwort .... 
 Wood crowfoot 
 Upright meadow crow- 
 foot . . 
 
 Walltown Crags. 
 Hedge banks. 
 
 Meadows. 
 Common. 
 
 Bulbous crowfoot . 
 
 
 arvensis . Corn 
 
 Cultivated fields. 
 
 Nymphsea alba 
 Nuphar lutea . 
 
 Papaver dubium 
 
 Thelaspi alpestre . 
 Capsella bursa pas- 
 
 toris 
 
 Draba incana . 
 
 NYMPHIACE^. 
 
 Wbite water-lily . 
 Yellow . . 
 
 PAPAVERACEvE. 
 
 Long smooth-headed 
 poppy .... 
 Corn poppy 
 
 CRUCIFER.E. 
 
 Alpine penny-cress . 
 
 Sbepherd's-purse . 
 Twisted-podded whit- 
 low-grass 
 Common whitlow grass 
 
 Broomley Lough. 
 Crag Lough. 
 
 Cultivated fields. 
 
 South Tyne. 
 Common. 
 
 Crossfell. 
 Limestones Scars.
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 271 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat. 
 
 Cardamine amara 
 
 ,, pratensis . 
 
 hirsuta 
 Turritus glabra . 
 
 Barbarea vulgaris 
 Nasturtium officinale 
 Erysimum cheiran- 
 
 thoides . 
 Baphanus raphanis- 
 
 trum 
 
 CRUCIFER.E continued. 
 
 , Bitter lady's smock . Stream sides. 
 , Common meadow 
 
 lady's smock 
 Hairy lady's smock . 
 Long-podded tower 
 
 mustard .... 
 
 Bitter winter cress 
 
 Damp ground. 
 
 Anick Grange. 
 Stream sides. 
 
 Common water-cress . Common. 
 Garlic treacle mustard Cultivated fields. 
 
 Wild radish 
 
 RESEDACE^E. 
 
 
 Eeseda luteola 
 
 Yellow weed . 
 
 Road sides. 
 
 VIOL AC E^3. 
 
 
 Viola palustris 
 odorata . 
 lutea 
 
 Marsh violet . 
 Sweet violet . 
 Yellow pansy . 
 
 Damp ground. 
 Tyneland. 
 Allendale. 
 
 DROSERACE.E. 
 
 
 Drosera rotundifolia . 
 anglica . . 
 
 Sundew .... 
 Great sundew 
 
 Swampy heaths. 
 Muckle Moss. 
 
 CARYOPHYLLACE^. 
 
 Saponaria officinalis . 
 Silene inflata . 
 Lychnis floscuculi 
 Stellaria nemorum . 
 holostea 
 
 Common soapwort 
 Bladder campion . 
 Cuckoo flower 
 Wood stitchwort . 
 Greater stitchwort 
 
 Hexham Abbey. 
 South Tyne. 
 Meadows. 
 Simon-burn. 
 Hedge banks. 
 
 POLYGALACE^E. 
 
 
 Polygala vulgaris. 
 
 Milkwort .... 
 
 Temon. 
 
 LINAGES. 
 
 
 Linum catharticum . 
 
 Purging flax . . . 
 
 Common in pasti 
 
 Malva moschata . 
 
 MALVACEAE. 
 | Marsh mallow . . | Tynedale.
 
 272 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat. 
 
 
 HYPERICACE^. 
 
 
 Hypericum perfora- 
 
 
 
 tum 
 
 St. John's wort 
 
 North Tyne. 
 
 Hypericum hirsutum . 
 
 Hairy St. John's wort 
 
 Woods. 
 
 
 GERANIACE^E. 
 
 
 Geranium 'sylvaticum 
 
 Wood crane's bill . 
 
 Haydon Bridge. 
 
 pratense . 
 
 Blue meadow crane's 
 
 
 
 bill 
 
 Meadows. 
 
 pusillum . 
 
 Small-flowered crane's 
 
 
 
 bill 
 
 Hedge banks. 
 
 columbinum 
 
 Long-stalked crane's 
 
 
 
 bill 
 
 Anick Grange. 
 
 ,, lucidum . 
 
 Shining crane's bill . 
 
 Irthing. 
 
 Robertianum 
 
 Herb Robert . . . 
 
 Naworth. 
 
 sanguineum 
 
 Bloody crane's bill . 
 
 Edmond Castle. 
 
 
 LEGUMINOS.E. 
 
 
 Ulex nanus 
 
 Dwarf whin . 
 
 Featherstone. 
 
 Genista tinctoria . 
 
 Woad-waxen . 
 
 Nun wick. 
 
 Ononis arveusis . 
 
 Rest-harrow . 
 
 Herdley Haugh. 
 
 Anthyllis vulneraria . 
 
 Kidney-vetch, or lady's 
 
 
 
 finger .... 
 
 Common. 
 
 Trifolium repens . 
 
 White trefoil . . . 
 
 Grassy grounds. 
 
 pratense . 
 
 Purple . . . 
 
 
 
 medium 
 
 Zigzag . . . 
 
 Waste thickets. 
 
 procumbens 
 
 Hop ... 
 
 Sandy soil. 
 
 Lotus corniculatus 
 
 Bird's-foot trefoil . 
 
 Common. 
 
 Vicia sylvatica 
 
 Wood vetch . 
 
 Ramshaw. 
 
 cracca . 
 
 Tufted ... 
 
 Meadows. 
 
 
 OXALIDACE^E. 
 
 
 Oxalis acetosella . 
 
 Wood sorrel 
 
 | Woods. 
 
 
 ROSACES. 
 
 
 Pmnus spinosa . 
 
 The sloe . . . . 
 
 Horse Close banks. 
 
 padus 
 
 Bird cherry 
 
 Featherstone Woods. 
 
 cerasus . 
 
 Wild cherry . 
 
 Softly Woods. 
 
 Pyrus aucuparia . 
 
 Mountain ash . 
 
 Naworth. 
 
 Spirsea ulmaria . 
 
 Meadow sweet 
 
 Woods. 
 
 Geum urbanum . 
 
 Herb bennet . 
 
 ;) 
 
 rivale . 
 
 Water avens . 
 
 Damp woods.
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 273 
 
 Botanical Xame. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat. 
 
 
 EOSACE^E continued. 
 
 
 Agrimonia eupatoria . 
 
 Agrimony .... 
 
 Staward Peel. 
 
 Potentilla argentea . 
 
 Hoary cinquefoil . 
 
 Beaufront. 
 
 tormentilla 
 
 Tormentil .... 
 
 Black Sortie. 
 
 fragariastrum 
 
 Strawberry - leaved 
 
 
 
 cinquefoil 
 
 Grassy banks. 
 
 Comarum palustre 
 
 Marsh cinquefoil . 
 
 Swampy heaths. 
 
 Fragaria vesca 
 
 Wood strawberry . 
 
 Hedge banks. 
 
 Rubus chamsemorus . 
 
 Cloudberry 
 
 Thornhope Carrs. 
 
 , saxatilis . 
 
 Stone bramble 
 
 Gilsland. 
 
 , Idseus . 
 
 Raspberry .... 
 
 Featherstone Woods. 
 
 , suberectus 
 
 Upright bramble . 
 
 Staward Peel. 
 
 , cordifolius 
 
 Hazel-leaved bramble 
 
 Hedgerows. 
 
 , leucostachys . 
 
 Long-clustered 
 
 
 
 bramble .... 
 
 Fourstones. 
 
 , fruticosus . 
 
 Common bramble. 
 
 Allendale. 
 
 , Koehleri . 
 
 Koehler's bramble 
 
 i) 
 
 Ro a spinosissima 
 
 Burnet-leaved rose . 
 
 Ashgill. 
 
 , Sabina . 
 
 Sabine's rose . 
 
 Dilston. 
 
 , tomentosa . 
 
 Downy-leaved rose . 
 
 East Allendale. 
 
 , inodora . 
 
 Slightly-scented briar 
 
 Hedge banks. 
 
 , canina' . 
 
 Dog rose .... 
 
 Chesterholme. 
 
 Sanguisorba officinalis 
 
 Great burnet . 
 
 Frequent. 
 
 Alchemilla arvensis . 
 
 Lady's mantle . 
 
 Meadows. 
 
 Pyrus malus . 
 
 Crabtree .... 
 
 Blenkinsop. 
 
 
 ONAGRACE^. 
 
 
 Epilobiupi angusti- 
 
 
 
 folium .... 
 
 Willow herb . 
 
 Knarsdale. 
 
 Epilobium hirsutum . 
 
 Great hairy willow 
 
 
 
 
 Lowlands. ' 
 
 palustre . 
 
 Marsh willow herb . 
 
 Swampy places. 
 
 Circaea lutetiana . 
 
 Enchanter's night- 
 
 
 
 shade .... 
 
 North Tyne. 
 
 
 HALORAGACE.E. 
 
 
 Myriophyllum verti- 
 
 
 
 cillatum .... 
 
 Water milfoil . 
 
 Bellingham. 
 
 Callitriche verna . 
 
 Water starwort 
 
 Ponds. 
 
 pedunculata 
 
 Peduncled starwort . 
 
 Ditches. 
 
 CUCURBITACE^E. 
 
 Bryonia clioica . . | Red-berried bryony . | Hexham.
 
 274 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat. 
 
 GROSSULARIACE^;. 
 
 Ribes rubrum . . . | Bed currant . . . | Warden. 
 
 CRASSULACEvE. 
 
 Sedum telephium. 
 
 Orpine . . . 
 
 Simon-burn. 
 
 villosum . 
 anglicum . 
 
 album . 
 acre 
 
 Hairy stonecrop . 
 White English stone- 
 crop 
 White stonecrop . 
 Biting 
 
 Haltwhistle. 
 Kirklinton. 
 
 Walls, Hexham. 
 Rocks. 
 
 Saxifraga stellaris 
 aizoides 
 granulata 
 
 Parnassia palustris 
 
 SAXIFRAGACE^E. 
 
 Starry saxifrage . 
 Yellow . . 
 White . . 
 Grass of Parnassus 
 
 ARALIACE^E. 
 
 Adoxa moschatellina . | Tuberous moschatell . 
 
 UMBELLIFER^E. 
 
 Garrigill. 
 Irthing, Gilsland. 
 Ashgill. 
 Haltwhistle. 
 
 Bishop's Linn. - 
 
 Hydrocotyle vulgaris. 
 Sanicula Europsea 
 Conium maculatum . 
 Cicuta virosa . 
 Helosciadium nodi- 
 florum .... 
 Helosciadium inun- 
 datum .... 
 Bunium flexuosum 
 Pimpinella saxifraga. 
 magna . 
 
 Marsh pennywort 
 Wood sanicle . 
 Hemlock .... 
 Water hemlock . 
 
 Marsh wort 
 
 Least marsh wort. 
 Common earth nut 
 Burnet saxifrage . 
 Greater Burnet saxi- 
 frage . 
 
 Marshy places. 
 Woods. 
 Waste ground. 
 Nun wick. 
 
 Ditches. 
 
 Swamps. 
 Dry pastures. 
 Tynedale. 
 
 North Tyne. 
 
 Angelica sylvestris . 
 Peucedanum ostru- 
 thium .... 
 Heracleum spondy- 
 lium . 
 
 Wild angelica . 
 Masterwort 
 Cow narsnin . 
 
 Moist woods. 
 Pastures. 
 Havdon Bride-e.
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 275 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat. 
 
 UMBELLIFER.E continued. 
 
 Scandix pectenveneris 
 Antliriscus cerefolium 
 ,, sylvestris. 
 Cherophyllum temu- 
 lum 
 
 Venus' comb . 
 Garden beaked parsley 
 Wild beaked parsley . 
 
 Rough chervil 
 CAPRIFOLIACE^E. 
 
 Cornfields. 
 Hexham. 
 Hedges. 
 
 Thickets. 
 
 
 Sambucus nigra . 
 ebulus . 
 Viburnum opulus . 
 lantana 
 Lonicera pericly- 
 menum .... 
 
 Common elder 
 Dwarf elder . 
 Common guelder rose . 
 Wayfaring tree 
 
 Common honeysuckle 
 
 Woods. 
 Burnstones Bridge. 
 Thickets. 
 Chipchase Castle. 
 
 Woods. 
 
 RUBIACE.E. 
 
 Galium verum 
 palustre . 
 mollugo . 
 aparine . 
 boreale 
 Asperula odorata . 
 
 Yellow bedstraw . 
 White . . 
 Hedge . . 
 Cleavers .... 
 Cross-leaved bedstraw 
 Sweet woodruff . 
 
 Grassy banks. 
 Gilsland. 
 Staward Peel. 
 Slaggyford. 
 Wardrew. 
 W r oods. 
 
 VALERIANACE^E. 
 
 Valeriana officinalis . Great wild valerian . 
 
 Stream sides. 
 
 DIPSACACE.E. 
 
 Scabiosa succisa . 
 columbaria . 
 
 Devilsbit scabious 
 Small 
 
 Grassy places. 
 Wastes. 
 
 COMPOSITE. 
 
 Apargia hispida . 
 autumnalis . 
 Hieracium pilosella . 
 pallidiun . 
 prenanthoides 
 
 umbellatum 
 
 Lapsana communis . 
 Arctium lappa 
 
 Rough hawkbit . 
 Autumnal hawkbit . 
 Mouse-ear hawkweed . 
 Hawkweed 
 Rough-bordered 
 hawkweed . 
 Narrow-leaved hawk- 
 weed 
 
 Common. 
 Welhope. 
 Scars. 
 Gilsland. 
 
 Ridley Hall. 
 
 Woods. 
 Hedge banks. 
 Staward Peel. 
 T 2 
 
 Nipple wort . 
 Burdock ....
 
 276 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat. 
 
 c 
 
 Carduus lanceolatus . 
 palustris. 
 heterophyllus 
 Centaurea nigra . 
 scabiosa . 
 Bidens cernua. 
 Gnaphalium uligino- 
 sum . . . 
 
 OMPOSITJE continued 
 
 Spear plume thistle . 
 Marsh 
 Plume thistle . 
 Black knapweed . 
 Greater 
 Bur marigold . 
 
 Marsh cudweed . 
 
 Highland 
 Coltsfoot .... 
 Butter burr 
 Blue fleabane . 
 Common ragwort . 
 Wood groundsel . 
 
 Corn marigold 
 White ox-eye . 
 
 Common feverfew 
 Corn 
 
 Chamomile 
 Common yarrow . 
 
 CAMP'ANULACE^. 
 
 Harebell .... 
 Clustered bell-flower . 
 Sheepsbit .... 
 
 ERICACEAE. 
 
 Cross-leaved heath . 
 Fine-leaved 
 Heather .... 
 Marsh andromeda 
 Red bearberry 
 Bilberry .... 
 Red whortleberry 
 Great bilberry 
 Cranberry .... 
 
 '. 
 
 Kilhope Scars. 
 Damp fields. 
 Chesterholme. 
 Kilhope. 
 Hexham. 
 Crowhall Mill. 
 
 Hareshaw Moor. 
 
 Allendale. 
 West Allendale. 
 Bellister Path. 
 Rare. 
 Ashgill. 
 Garrigill. 
 
 Haltwhistle. 
 Allendale. 
 
 South Tyne. 
 Hexham. 
 
 Roman Wall. 
 Ashgill. , 
 
 Lanes and heaths. 
 Bellister Wood. 
 Haltwhistle. 
 
 Kilhope. 
 Black Burn. 
 Tindale Fell. 
 Muckle Moss. 
 Dipton Dene. 
 Softly Wood. 
 Kilhope Law. 
 Walltown Crags. 
 Baron House Bog. 
 
 Gnaphalium sylvati- 
 cum 
 
 Tussilago farfara . 
 Petasites vulgaris 
 Erigeron acris. 
 Senecio jacobea 
 ,, sylvaticus 
 Chrysanthemum sege- 
 tum 
 
 Chrysanthemum leu- 
 canthemum . 
 Pryethrum parthe- 
 nium .... 
 Pryethrum inodorum . 
 Matricaria chamo- 
 milla .... 
 Achillea millefolium . 
 
 *' T^Vv^rviA^ 
 
 Campanula rotundi- 
 folia .... 
 
 Campanula glomerata 
 Jasione montana . 
 
 Erica tetralix . 
 ,, cinerea . 
 Calluna vulgaris . 
 Andromeda polifolia . 
 Arbutus II va Ursi 
 Vaccinium myrtillus . 
 Vitis Idaea 
 uliginosum 
 oxycoccos .
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 277 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat. 
 
 Gentiana varna . 
 Chlora perfoliata . 
 Menyanthes trifoliata 
 
 GENTIANACE.E. 
 
 Spring gentian 
 Perfoliate yellow-wort 
 Buckbean . 
 
 Hills. 
 
 Chesterwood. 
 Peat bogs. 
 
 Convolvulus arvensis . 
 
 CONVOLVULACE^. 
 
 I Small bindweed . . I Hexham. 
 
 Verbascum thapsus . 
 Veronica arvensis. 
 Eupbrasia officinalis . 
 Ehinantbus crista- 
 
 galli 
 
 Digitalis purpurea 
 Linaria vulgaris . 
 Scropbularia vernalis . 
 
 Lathrsea squamaria 
 
 SCROPHULARIACE^E. 
 
 Shepherd's club . . Hall Bank Head. 
 Wall speedwell . . South Tyne. 
 Eye-bright ... Pastures and heaths. 
 
 Yellow rattle . 
 
 Purple foxglove . 
 
 Yellow toadflax . 
 
 figwort . . 
 
 OROBANCHACE.E. 
 Toothwort .... 
 
 LABIATE. 
 
 Garrigill. 
 Pynkinscleugh. 
 Haydon Bridge. 
 Otterburn. 
 
 Hazel woods. 
 
 Salvia verbenaca . . 
 
 Sao'e 
 
 Walltown Crags. 
 
 Mentha viridis 
 
 Spearmint .... 
 
 Mint Hill. 
 
 hirsuta . 
 
 Hairy mint 
 
 River sides. 
 
 arvensis . 
 
 Corn mint .... 
 
 Cornfields. 
 
 Thymus serpyllum 
 
 Wild thyme . . . 
 
 Heathy banks. 
 
 Origanum vulgare 
 
 Marjoram .... 
 
 North Tyne. 
 
 Ajuga reptans 
 
 Blue bugle 
 
 Peatherstone. 
 
 Lamium album . 
 
 White dead-nettle 
 
 Waste ground. 
 
 purpureum 
 
 Red dead-nettle . 
 
 j> 
 
 Galeopsis ladanum 
 
 Bed hemp-nettle . 
 
 Haydon Bridge. 
 
 Stachys palustris . 
 
 Marsh woundwort 
 
 Allendale. 
 
 ,, ambigua . 
 
 Ambiguous woundwort 
 
 Lipwood. 
 
 Glechoma hederacea 
 
 Ground ivy 
 
 Hedge banks. 
 
 Nepeta cataria 
 
 Cat mint .... 
 
 Hexham. 
 
 Marrubium vulgare 
 
 White horehound 
 
 Tyne, Hexham. 
 
 Prunella vulgaris. 
 
 Selfheel .... 
 
 Grassy places. 
 
 Scutellaria galeri 
 
 
 
 culuta .... 
 
 Skullcap .... 
 
 Crag Lough.
 
 278 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat. 
 
 
 BORAGINACE^E. 
 
 
 Myosotis palustris 
 csespitosa . 
 sylvatica . 
 arvensis 
 versicolor . 
 
 Borago officinalis 
 
 Forget-me-not. 
 Water scorpion grass. 
 Wood 
 Field 
 Yellow and blue 
 scorpion grass . 
 Borage .... 
 
 Common. 
 Watery places. 
 Woods. 
 Hedge banks. 
 
 J 
 
 Knarsdale. 
 
 ] 
 
 LENTIBULARIACE^; 
 
 , 
 
 Utricular intermedia. 
 
 Intermediate bladder- 
 wort 
 
 Crag Lough. 
 
 minor . 
 
 Lesser bladderwort . 
 
 Plenmeller Fell. 
 
 
 PRIMULACEJE. 
 
 
 Primula vulgaris . 
 veris . 
 Trientalis Europsea . 
 Lysimachia vulgaris . 
 nemorum 
 
 Primrose . 
 Cowslip 
 European chickweed 
 Yellow loosestrife 
 Yellow pimpernel 
 
 Featherstone. 
 Blenkinshope. 
 Roman Wall. 
 Poltross Burn. 
 Ashgill. 
 
 
 PLUMBAGINACE.E. 
 
 
 Armeria maritima 
 
 Seapink .... 
 
 Herdly Haugh. 
 
 
 PLANTAGINACE^E. 
 
 
 Plantago major . . 
 media . 
 maritima . 
 Littorella lacustris 
 
 Plantain .... 
 Hoary plantain . 
 Sea-side plantain . 
 Plantain shoreweed . 
 
 Road sides. 
 
 >> 
 Unthank Moor. 
 Greenly Lough. 
 
 
 POLYGONACE^E. 
 
 
 Polygonium bistorta . 
 viviparum 
 Rumex crispus 
 ,, aquaticus. 
 ,, acetosa 
 acetosella . 
 
 Snakeweed 
 Alpine bistort. 
 Curled dock . . . 
 Water ... 
 Common sorrel 
 Sheep's . . . 
 
 Banks of Tyne. 
 Gilderdale. 
 Stream sides. 
 Allen Heads. 
 Grassy ground. 
 Sandy heaths. 
 
 Empetrum nigrum 
 
 EMPETRACEJE. 
 
 | Crowberry . 
 
 Heaths.
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 279 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat 
 
 EUPHOKBIACE.E. 
 Mercurialis perennis . | Dog's mercury . . | Woods. 
 
 UETICACE^E. 
 Humulus lapulus. . | Hop | Low Ash Holme. 
 
 Myrica gale . 
 Salix pentanebra . 
 
 ambigua 
 
 AMENTIFER^E. 
 
 Bog myrtle 
 Sweet bay-leaved 
 willow .... 
 Ambiguous willow . 
 
 Beacon Hill Wood. 
 
 Allendale. 
 Hexham. 
 
 CONIFERS. 
 
 Taxus baccata . . I Yew . . . . ; I Allen Cliffs. 
 Juniperus communis . | Juniper . | Park Bents. 
 
 ORCHIDACE^. 
 
 Neottia Nidus avis . 
 
 Bird's-nest. 
 
 Wardrew. 
 
 Listeria cordata . 
 
 Heart-leaved tway- 
 
 
 
 blade .... 
 
 Sewingshields. 
 
 . 
 Epipactis latifolia 
 
 Broad-leaved helle- 
 
 
 
 borine .... 
 
 Langley Castle. 
 
 ,, palustris . 
 
 Marsh helleborine 
 
 South Tyne. 
 
 Orchis pyramidalis . Pyramidal orchis . 
 
 Haltwhistle. 
 
 mascula . . Early purple . . 
 
 Woods. 
 
 latifolia . 
 
 Marsh 
 
 Meadows. 
 
 maculata . 
 
 Spotted . 
 
 Heaths. 
 
 Habenaria albida 
 
 Small white . 
 
 Heathy pastures. 
 
 ,, bifolia 
 
 Butterfly . . 
 
 Horse Close. 
 
 Malaxispaludosa . . Marsh bog . 
 
 Muckle Moss. 
 
 IRIDACEJE. 
 
 
 Iris Pseudacorus . . 1 Yellow water-iris. 
 
 Blenkinsop Cast] 
 
 Narcissus pseudo- 
 narcissus 
 Galanthus nivalis 
 
 AMAKYLLIDACE^E. 
 
 Daffodil . . . 
 Snowdrop . 
 
 Nether Hall. 
 Bishop's Linn.
 
 280 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat. 
 
 Allium schenoprasum 
 
 ursinum . 
 Gagea lute a . 
 Hyacinthus non- 
 
 scriptus .... 
 
 Paris quadrifolia 
 
 LILIACE.E. 
 Chives .... 
 Ramsons . 
 Yellow gagea . 
 
 Wild hyacinth 
 
 TRILLIACE.E. 
 
 Herb paris. 
 
 Walltown Crags. 
 Woods. 
 Whinitly Burn. 
 
 Bellister Woods. 
 
 | Woods. 
 
 HYDROCHAKIDACE^B. 
 
 *Anacharis alsinas- 
 
 
 
 trum 
 
 Water thyme 
 
 Talkin Tarn. 
 
 
 FLUVIALES. 
 
 
 Potamageton per- 
 
 
 
 foliatus .... 
 
 Perfoliate pondweed . 
 
 Crag Lough 
 
 Potamageton lucens . 
 
 Shining 
 
 
 
 heterophyllus 
 
 Various leaved 
 
 Walltown. 
 
 rufescens 
 
 Red 
 
 Greenly Lough. 
 
 
 ARACE.ZE. 
 
 
 Lemna minor . 
 
 Lesser duckweed . 
 
 Ponds and ditches. 
 
 Typha latifolia . . 
 
 Reed mace 
 
 Crag Lough. 
 
 
 JTJNCACE.E. 
 
 
 Juncus effesus . 
 
 Softrush .... 
 
 Cromel Linn. 
 
 lamprocarpus . 
 
 Fruited jointed rush . 
 
 Lipwood Moss. 
 
 squarrosus 
 
 Heathrush. . . . 
 
 Damp moors. 
 
 Luzula pilosa . 
 
 Hairy woodrush . 
 
 Woods. 
 
 Narthecium ossifra- 
 
 
 
 gum . 
 
 Bog asphodel . . 
 
 Moors. 
 
 Juncus filiformis . 
 
 Threadrush 
 
 Tindale Tarn. 
 
 Luzula sylvatica . 
 
 Great hairy woodrush 
 
 Woods. 
 
 spicata 
 
 Spiked mountain rush 
 
 Bew castle. 
 
 * Probably introduced from America. Male flower unknown in England. As this 
 alien water pest bas considerably detracted from the beauty of this fine sheet of water, 
 and excited a good deal of interest a few years ago by stopping for a time the annual 
 boat-races, we give a description of the plant that its appearance in any sheet of water 
 may be at once detected. " Stem long, branching ; whorls of leaves many, close 
 together ; flower, very small, but with a very long slender tube, often 2 or 3 inches 
 long; sepal tinged with green and pink, externally, incurved, hooded." A local 
 gentleman, well versed in botany, kindly writes, " How it got into the Tarn I cannot 
 say, for I saw it there many years before it was publicly noticed. I have seen it in 
 many places. It is like mint, and grows by slips." It has been established nine or ten 
 years in Farding's Lake, near Marsden, and also in the Aln.
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 281 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat. 
 
 
 
 CYPERACE^E. 
 
 
 Scripus sylvaticus 
 palustris 
 
 
 Wood clubrush 
 Spike 
 
 Bellingham. 
 Otterburn. 
 
 Carex puuciflora 
 flaya 
 Ifevigata 
 limosa . 
 pendula 
 
 
 Flowered sedge 
 Yellow 
 Beaked 
 Mud 
 Pendulous 
 
 Twice Brewed. 
 Kilhope Law. 
 Bellingham. 
 Baron House Bog. 
 Park Crags.^ 
 
 
 
 EQUISETACE^. 
 
 
 Equisetum arvense 
 variegatun 
 sylvaticum 
 hyemale 
 
 i 
 
 Corn horsetail. 
 Variegated horsetail . 
 Wood 
 Kough 
 
 Cornfields. 
 Irthing Wardrew. 
 
 Tippalt." 
 
 FERNS. 
 
 All the hills and dales, the woods and picturesque ruins, 
 of this highly interesting and romantic district, are the 
 natural haunts and habitat of ferns, which add attraction 
 and beauty to every spot where they are found. The 
 study of these graceful plants has become popular and 
 fashionable, and not without just cause, for it has an ex- 
 panding and refining influence on the mind, and is one of 
 the few out-of-door pursuits peculiarly adapted to the 
 gentler sex. There are few lovelier sights, or choicer com- 
 panions for a ramble, than that of a blooming maiden, 
 suitably attired, and with trowel and collecting case, busily 
 botanizing in the most lovely corners of the land. 
 
 Those who are ignorant of ferns may, without previous 
 study, quickly begin to recognize them. They are plants 
 that have no richly coloured flowers, but leaves of graceful 
 elegance, which have the under surface covered with 
 regularly arranged dustlike patches of minute seeds ; and 
 once having begun to note carefully these seed patches, the 
 student has entered the royal road to the knowledge of 
 the different species of ferns. 
 
 The tract of country embraced in this book is rich in 
 the different species, and nearly all of them may be found
 
 282 BOTANY. 
 
 within a limited area: spleenwort and the royal fern 
 excepted. 
 
 The lady fern, that feminine Narcissus of the woods and 
 glens, is widely distributed over all the district, and for 
 its exquisite grace and form is unequalled by any other 
 British species. It is found in the shady bowers of 
 Unthank, the cosy nooks of Blenkinsop, the charming 
 glens of Featherstone, the rich expanses of Naworth, the 
 woody dells of Edmond Castle ; and it grows on every 
 bank of the Irthing. 
 
 " Where the copsewood is the greenest, 
 Where the fountain glistens sheenest, 
 Where the morning dew lies longest. 
 There the lady fern grows strongest." 
 
 SCOTT. 
 
 The common polypody, though of humble look, possesses 
 much of interest and beauty. It is evergreen in many 
 situations, and its rich orange-coloured spores catch the 
 eye like a gleam of golden sunshine. It is in almost every 
 hedge, on decaying oaks, and moss-covered walls ; giving 
 a charm to every spot where it is found. 
 
 The beautiful beech fern nestles in great luxuriance 
 beneath the waterfall in Glen Dhu, and few cascades will 
 be visited without meeting with it. 
 
 The parsley fern is found on many of the hills in the 
 northern counties, but as it generally grows in miniature 
 caverns formed by the scattered masses of rocks high on 
 the hill sides, it is rarely met with except by the hardy 
 and persevering collector. It also finds a home on many 
 of the heights crowned by the ruins of the great Eoman 
 wall. 
 
 The shieldferns are plentiful, and few stirpass them in 
 beauty. They will be found in hedges and the shady clefts 
 of rocks. 
 
 The rigid buckler fern delights in the weathered lime- 
 stone rock ; the common buckler fern seems to court the 
 society of man, and creeps into the sheltered nooks near 
 cultivation ; while the mountain buckler fern is fond of 
 the solitary den, or the rifted mountain. 
 
 The holly fern is, as we might expect, scarce, for it 
 courts the withering blast on the barest peaks. 
 
 Alternate spleenwort is a rare fern in the north, but a
 
 BOTANY. 283 
 
 specimen was found on the Kyloe Bock, near Bel ford, a 
 few years ago. 
 
 Euta muraria delights in the crumbling mortar of bridges 
 and ruins, and is found on the Eoman wall, as well as on 
 many of the o]d castles. 
 
 Green spleenwort luxuriates in the fissured rock of the 
 wild dell, and is so tiny that it is only beautiful to the 
 cultivated mind and the eye of taste. It is to be found 
 near Wardrew, Gilsland. A search for it in the Croglin 
 Water will repay the tourist collector,, who will also, while 
 in the locality, do well to ascend the Croglin heights, and 
 thus obtain one of the best views in the north of England. 
 The Trichomanes spleenwort, an exquisite little beauty, 
 may be found on any kind of rock, as it creeps in the 
 crevices of bridges, ruins, and churches. Sea spleenwort 
 luxuriates in the dark caverns of sea cliffs. 
 
 The hart's tongue is very ornamental the variety cris- 
 pum particularly so and being decidedly different from 
 any other British species it is easily recognized. 
 
 The scaly fern is a charming " wee thing," and clings 
 with pertinacity to an old ruin or a crumbling rock. It is 
 a very close fissure indeed that its wiry roots cannot 
 penetrate. 
 
 The common hard fern often ornaments craggy pre- 
 cipices on the hills, but its favourite ground is damp clay 
 or spongy gravel. 
 
 The bracken is a favourite with all, poets included, and 
 in the summer and autumn it gives a rich and varied 
 colouring to most of our wildest heathlands. In the 
 natural woods of the district it often attains to a height 
 of 6 or 8 feet, festooning the hazel, birch, and rowan, and 
 giving great beauty to our woodlands. 
 
 Both varieties of the British bladder fern possess ele- 
 gance, and are found in most rocks, and the crumbling 
 relics of the Eoman wall. 
 
 Osmunda regalis is the most stately of all our British 
 ferns, and is generally found in marshy grounds and 
 sheltered situations. 
 
 Moonworts are tiny ferns which give an interest, if not 
 ornament, to the gelt. The dens in Naworth will, in all 
 probability, yield a rich harvest of them. 
 
 The adder's tongue is found in many of the moist 
 meadows of the north, and has, on examination, a kind of 
 out-of-the-way prettiness.
 
 284 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 The crisp-edged hay-scented fern has an elegant droop- 
 ing habit, and is valuable as a pot plant from its ever- 
 green character. It is found on many of the weathered 
 rocks on the beautiful banks of the Irthing. 
 
 Our object in this brief commentary has not been so 
 much to draw attention to these beautiful plants or to give 
 the localities, as to indicate in a very summary way the 
 kind of spots where the different kinds are likely to be 
 found. We do not believe in going direct to a given place 
 to find a fern, but in exploring the likeliest places in a 
 locality and finding for ourselves. We have rambled 
 through every glen in the district in search of ferns, re- 
 creation, and health, and can confidently, from experience, 
 advise every visitor to Gilsland to take a glen and fell 
 tonic along with the spa water, and, if perseverance be 
 brought to bear, we will guarantee as the result a happy 
 and healthy mind, as well as a healthy and vigorous 
 frame. 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat. 
 
 Polypodium vulgare . . 
 phegopteris 
 
 dryopteris . . 
 Allosorus crispus . . . 
 
 Polystichum aculeatum . 
 angulare . . 
 lobatum . . 
 lonchitis . . 
 Llstrea oreopteris . . . 
 Felixmas . . . 
 
 Common polypody fern 
 Beech fern, or mountain 
 polypody 
 Oak. fern, or smooth three- 
 branched polypody . . 
 Rockbrake, or mountain 
 parsley fern .... 
 Common prickly shleldfern 
 Soft 
 Common 
 Alpine shield, or holly fern 
 Mountain buckler fern . . 
 Common buckler, or male 
 
 Witches' Glen.Featherstone 
 Glen Dhu, Knarsdale. 
 Gilsland. 
 
 Sewingshields. 
 Scar, near Alston. 
 Unthank Hall Woods. 
 Black Cleugh. 
 Glen Dhu Waterfall. 
 Black Burn, Tindale Fell. 
 
 Whinitly Wood. 
 
 rigida 
 
 
 
 dilatata .... 
 recurva .... 
 
 Athyrium Felix foemina . 
 de pauperatum 
 
 Broad . . 
 Hay-scented, or triangular 
 buckler fern .... 
 Common lady fern . . 
 
 Grindon, Bardon Mill. 
 Banks of the Irthing. 
 Morley Wood. 
 
 Asplenium gerraanicum . 
 Ruta muraria . 
 
 Alternate spleenwort fern . 
 Eue-leaved spleenwort, or 
 wall rue 
 
 Kyloe Rock; rare. 
 
 viride . . . 
 Trichomanes . 
 
 Green spleenwort fern . 
 Common maidenhair spleen- 
 wort fern .... 
 
 Cratnel Linn. 
 
 \ adiantum nigrum 
 
 Black maidenhair spleen- 
 wort fern 
 
 
 ceterach . . 
 
 i, TnRrinnm . . 
 
 Scaly spleenwort fern . . 
 Sea spleenwort fern. . . 
 
 Denton HalL 
 St. Bee's Head, and White- 
 haven.
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 285 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Habitat 
 
 Scolopendrium vulgare. 
 
 : Common hart's tongue fern 
 
 Whinitly Wood. 
 
 crispum 
 
 fern 
 
 
 
 Gelt, Castle Carrock. 
 
 lobatum 
 
 it 
 
 
 
 Gelt Burn. 
 
 Blecknum spicant 
 
 \ Common hard fern 
 
 
 
 Wood Hall Hills. 
 
 Pteris aquilina . 
 
 ' Common brake fern 
 
 
 
 Woods and fells. 
 
 Cystopteris fragilis 
 
 Brittle bladder fern . 
 
 
 
 Knar Burn Bridge. 
 
 dentata 
 
 
 
 
 Moss Kennel. 
 
 Osmunda regalia 
 
 I Royal flowering fern 
 
 
 
 Wigton, Dubmill, and 
 
 
 
 Wreay. 
 
 Botrychium lunaria. 
 
 Common moonwort fern . 
 
 Gelt Burn, Brampton. 
 
 Ophioglossum vulgatum 
 
 1 Common adder's tongue fern 
 
 Rose Hill and Bolton. 
 
 INDIGENOUS GEASSES. 
 
 Many of the grasses growing by the waysides and in the 
 woods, pastures, and meadows of the north of England are 
 eminently graceful and beautiful, and are only neglected 
 because they are common. Surely the class of plants that 
 compose the bright gay mantle of our hills, valleys, and 
 woodlands should interest us above all others. The 
 vesture is nature's handiwork and of nature's colouring, 
 and however brilliant, is never glaring, but always re- 
 freshing and attractive. Some of the grasses when in 
 flower have a simple grace and beauty peculiarly their 
 own, and when we have seen bouquets of foreign varieties 
 decorating drawing-rooms we have often been surprised 
 that some attempt had not been made to popularize the 
 study and collection of our own native beauties. The 
 creeping bent grass, water hair grass, and tufted hair 
 grass are very beautiful, and make pretty decorative 
 bouquets, especially the gracefully spiked panicle of the 
 tufted hair grass, which is often of a silvery grey colour. 
 The reed meadow grass if collected immediately before it is 
 in full flower retains its rich purple colour for months, and 
 its massive plumes when nicely arranged make handsome 
 bouquets. The common quaking grass, from its pleasing 
 associations, is often collected. The cotton grass, so 
 abundant over all the peaty moors in the district, is very 
 pretty when carefully gathered. On Hartley Burn Moor it 
 is very abundant. Some of the grasses are very fragrant, 
 especially when dried. It would be out of place here to 
 write about the nature and value of the different grasses. 
 This list must not be accepted as exhaustive, but simply 
 a beginning, as an incentive to tourists and naturalists.
 
 286 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 Botanical Name. 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Height. 
 
 Time of 
 Flowering. 
 
 Anthoxanthum odoratum . 
 Phleum pratense .... 
 
 Alopecurus pratensis . . . 
 geniculatus . 
 Agrostis vulgaris .... 
 stolonifera . 
 Aira aquatica 
 cajspitosa .... 
 
 Sweet-scented spring grass . 
 Common cat's-tail, or 
 Timothy grass .... 
 Meadow fox-tail grass . 
 Jointed fox-tail grass . . 
 Fine bent grass .... 
 Creeping bent grass . . 
 Water hair grass .... 
 Tufted hair grass .... 
 Zigzag mountain hair grass . 
 
 a in. 
 1 
 
 3 
 2 
 1 2 
 1 1 
 I 4 
 1 
 3 
 10 
 
 May. 
 August 
 
 July, Ocf. 
 July, Aug. 
 
 June to Aug. 
 June, July. 
 June to Aug. 
 
 caryophyllea . . . 
 Holcus lanatus .... 
 
 Silvery hair grass. . 
 Meadow soft or Yorkshire 
 
 8 
 2 
 
 June. 
 
 
 Creeping soft grass . 
 
 1 3 
 
 
 avenaceus .... 
 Sesleria caerulea .... 
 
 Cat-like soft grass 
 Blue moor grass .... 
 Reed meadow grass . 
 
 4 6 
 1 
 5 
 
 June to Aug. 
 May. 
 July, Aug. 
 
 
 Flote meadow grass . 
 
 3 
 
 July to Sept. 
 
 
 Flat-stalked meadow grass . 
 
 1 2 
 
 June, July. 
 
 
 Rough-stalked 
 
 I 8 
 
 June to Sept. 
 
 
 Smooth-stalked . 
 
 1 2 
 
 May, June. 
 
 
 Annual meadow 
 
 9 
 
 April to Oct. 
 
 
 Common quaking grass 
 
 1 4 
 
 May, June. 
 
 Dactyl'is glomerata . 
 Cynosurus cristatus . 
 
 Rough cock's-foot grass 
 Crested dog's-tail grass 
 Sheep's fescue grass 
 
 2 2 
 1 9 
 10 
 
 July to Sept. 
 July, Aug. 
 June. 
 
 duriuscula . . 
 gigantea 
 pratensis 
 elatior 
 Bromus mollis 
 A vena pubescens 
 flavescena 
 Arundo colorata 
 Triticum repens 
 Eriophorum pubescens 
 
 Hard 
 Giant 
 Meadow 
 Tall 
 Soft brome grass . 
 Downy oat grass . 
 Yellow 
 Canary reed grass. 
 Creeping wheat grass 
 Cotton grass . . 
 
 2 
 3 6 
 2 
 4 
 2 
 1 6 
 1 8 
 4 6 
 2 to 5 ft. 
 1 
 2 
 
 June, July. 
 July to Sept. 
 June to Aug. 
 
 June to Sept. 
 June. 
 June to Aug. 
 June. 
 June to Sept. 
 May to July. 
 
 
 
 
 
 LYCOPODIUM (CLUB-MOSSES). 
 
 Those ancient giants now so dwarfed are intermediate 
 plants between the ferns and true mosses. The common 
 club-moss or stag's horn is widely distributed over the 
 hills in the district, and is a particularly handsome 
 plant. We have found it on Plenmellor Fell several yards 
 in length. It is said to make a beautiful object when 
 cultivated, and suspended from the side wall of a green- 
 house. The savin-leaved club-moss is a pretty plant, and 
 may be found at Crag Lough. 
 
 The liverworts will be found spreading their coats of
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 287 
 
 green over the rocks in nearly every cascade in the locality. 
 The jungermannia are a most interesting genus, and are 
 distributed widely over the district. 
 
 M 
 
 
 
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 lilllalllig
 
 288 BOTANY. 
 
 MOSSES. 
 
 " One tiny tuft of moss alone, 
 Mantling with freshest green a stone, 
 Fixed his delighted gaze." 
 
 Mosses, insignificant as they appear to be, have a 
 high claim on our attention and admiration, because 
 they play an important part in natural history as one of 
 the primal agents in beautifying the bald spots of the 
 landscape, and in clothing the sterile nakedness of nature. 
 The first vegetation that appears on the bare rock, to pre- 
 pare by its accretive growth and decay for plants of a 
 higher order, is the moss, and it has been computed, by a 
 high authority in moscology, that mosses form the fourth 
 part of the vegetable covering of Great Britain. And are 
 we not greatly indebted to mosses for the comfort of our own 
 firesides, and the wealth we enjoy, and position we occupy 
 as a nation ? for our coal fields are only a vast aggregation 
 of submerged, compressed, and mineralized club-mosses, 
 tree ferns, horsetails, &c. ; and is it not possible, nay highly 
 probable, that the morasses formed by the growth and 
 decay of mosses, which we now consider so worthless, 
 may be engulphed, compressed, and mineralized in order 
 to store fuel for future ages ? Linnaeus, in his Flora of 
 Lapland, gives the following interesting particulars as to 
 the use of moss in the nursery economy of the Laps : 
 " The Lapland matrons are well acquainted with the 
 moss. They dry and lay it in their children's cradles to 
 supply the place of bed, bolster, and every covering, and 
 being changed night and morning it keeps the infant 
 remarkably clean, dry, and warm, and makes a most deli- 
 cate nest for the new-born babes." But we have not space 
 to treat of their economy in nature, but must rest content 
 with briefly directing attention to their elegant structure 
 and beauty. 
 
 " The tiny moss, whose silken verdure clothes 
 The time-worn rock, and whose bright capsules rise 
 Like fiery urns on stalks of golden sheen, 
 Demand our admiration and our praise 
 As much as cedar kissing the blue sky." 
 
 The district of Gilsland is rich in mosses, and a quiet 
 saunter up any of the shady glens will gratify the most 
 enthusiastic votary. This, too, is the border land of his- 
 torical mosses (or boggy lands formed by the growth and 
 decay of sphagnums, &c.), so notorious in traditionary
 
 BOTANY. 289 
 
 song, story, and history, over which the roving Scotchmen 
 "trooped" to harry their southern neighbours, and from 
 the mosses over which they rode they received the appro- 
 priate name of mosstroopers. 
 
 " A stark moss-trooping Scot was he 
 As e'er couched Border lance by knee, 
 Through Solway sands and Tarras moss 
 Blindfold he knew the paths to cross ; 
 Steady of heart and stout of hand 
 As ever drove prey from Cumberland." SCOTT. 
 
 The habitat of mosses is wherever there is a naked 
 spot to clothe, be it on the barren moor, dripping rock, 
 sterile sand, or spreading tree, and to add to their beauty 
 and picturesque effect they are of all hues and shades of 
 colour. Those who have not bestowed close attention on 
 these minute cryptogamous plants will on examining them 
 closely be greatly surprised at their simple elegance and 
 beauty. They are not merely textureless carpets of the 
 lowest organisms, but plants of elegant structure, graceful 
 foliage, and rich colouring. In the rage for new designs 
 we have often been surprised that the elegant forms of 
 mosses have not been caught up by manufacturers. On 
 a river bank in early spring, when the meadows are 
 brown, what is more refreshing to the eye than the bright 
 green cushions of Bryum crudum, fringed as they often 
 are with cushioned selvedges of purple Bryum alpinum. 
 The sphagnums given will all be found in the boggy places 
 on the wastes of the locality, their spongy foliage and 
 white colour contrasting prettily with the dark-coloured 
 heath around them. 
 
 A wide field is open for investigation in this fascinating 
 pursuit, and as the tufts are easily carried, and moisture 
 soon makes them reassume all their original form, no 
 class of plants can be investigated with greater facility. 
 Farmers reading this article will, we fancy, exclaim, bother 
 the mosses ! they destroy the half of our grass lands. We 
 would remind them that mosses are nursed in the lap of 
 poverty, and only take possession of the soil after it has 
 been too much impoverished to grow anything else. En- 
 rich the soil and mosses will disappear. Instead of de- 
 scribing particular mosses and the localities where they 
 are to be found, we have briefly, under habitat, described 
 the materials on which they generally grow, in order to 
 excite and cultivate attention. A ramble is never so 
 healthy and pleasing as when it is one entirely of discovery.
 
 290 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
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 BOTANY. 291 
 
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 293 
 
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 294 
 
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 BOTANY. 295 
 
 MUSHKOOMS AND POISONOUS FUNGI. 
 
 We make no apology for introducing such a well-known 
 esculent as the mushroom into a guide-book. Excur- 
 sionists are always fond of gathering them, and as they 
 can be eaten either fresh or stewed they add an agreeable 
 variety to their table. The only edible mushrooms are 
 those grown in open pastures, Agaricus campestris, and the 
 fairy-ring mushroom, Agaricus arcades. The true edible 
 mushroom when in the first or middle stage of growth 
 is easily distinguished by its fine pink or flesh-coloured 
 gills and pleasant smell, and has been used from time im- 
 memorial in China, India, and Africa, and long held in 
 high esteem in this country. It springs up in old open 
 pastures, and should only be gathered in such places, 
 while the poisonous generally grow in woods, or on their 
 margin. Mushrooms at all times should be used with 
 caution, for when grown in certain places they have bad 
 effects. Thorough mastication is at all times necessary, 
 but when accidents do happen an emetic should be imme- 
 diately administered, and then either vinegar or lemon- 
 juice given. If any doubts exist, soak in vinegar before 
 using. Authorities are agreed that if a silver spoon, a 
 silver coin, or onion be dipped into a vessel of seething 
 mushrooms, it will be stained a dark colour if they are 
 poisonous, and remain quite unstained if they are good. 
 The beautiful colouring of some of the poisonous fungi is 
 very striking rose-coloured pink, scarlet, orange, olive, 
 red, with an endless variety of shades and tints, but space 
 prevents us doing more than drawing attention to these 
 gorgeous coloured objects. Lichens are common every- 
 where, and will be found adhering to rocks, trunks of 
 trees, and the most barren soil. They are curious objects, 
 and well worth the study of tourists. All the fungi tribe 
 are nature's scavengers. 
 
 " The Eoman wall, with lichens hoar, 
 Time-battered, grim and stern ; 
 And knarled oaks thick bearded o'er 
 With lichen, moss, and fern."
 
 296 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 Season 
 of Fruiting. 
 
 3.1 
 
 
 s- 
 
 1 
 
 CO 
 
 S3 
 
 a 3 
 
 1 
 
 v 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
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 3 
 
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 I 
 
 '8 'III 'Jill * ' 
 
 ROOMS. 
 
 Pastures and woods 
 Meadows and pastures 
 In fir woods ; beautifu 
 In woods, &c. . 
 In woods on trees . 
 
 Common in woods . 
 On rotten wood and sti 
 
 Sandy pastures, &c. 
 On cereal plants, oats, be 
 On roses, too common 
 
 
 
 
 w 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Common 
 
 - 
 
 
 i 
 
 PH 
 
 Common mnshrooir 
 Fairy-ring mushroc 
 Fly amaniti 
 Toned mushroom 
 
 Cuped pesiza 
 Elegant pesiza . 
 
 Rose rust . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 d 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 .S . 
 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 . g % ^ .9 
 
 
 Agaricus campestri 
 orcades 
 muscariuf 
 tonarius 
 Polyporus squamos 
 velutinu 
 
 Boletus Grevillei 
 Pesiza cupuluris 
 pulchella 
 Lycoperdon gemma 
 Uredo segetum . 
 rosae . . . 

 
 ( 297 ) 
 
 MOTHS, BUTTERFLIES, AND BIEDS. 
 
 BUTTEEFLIES. 
 
 The transformations of a butterfly from the egg to the 
 beautiful creature on the wing is so marvellous that it 
 attracts the attention of men of the most refined minds. 
 Butterflies flitting from flower to flower are such lovely 
 objects in nature that they not only attract admiration, 
 but they often tempt the most mature and sedate to give 
 chase with all the abandon of youth. In our rambles we 
 have often been tempted to capture these gaudy insects, 
 and being comparatively unversed in their nomenclature, 
 and without a local list, we have had great difficulty in 
 puzzling out their names. The following incomplete list, 
 gathered from various local authorities, will, we trust, to 
 some extent supply this desideratum, and prove a nucleus 
 to one more complete. We will only add, that butterfly 
 hunting, while inspiriting to the young, may with advan- 
 tage be indulged in as a recreative amusement by alL A 
 list of the moths found in the district has also been given. 
 
 MOTHS. 
 
 Entomological Name. 
 
 Acherontia antropos 
 Antkrocera filipendulse 
 Smerenthus ocellatus . . 
 
 populi 
 
 Sphinx convolvuli 
 Macroglossa stellatarum 
 Sesia fuciformia 
 Trochilium apiforme . . 
 Spichia bembeciformis . . 
 Trochilitun tipuliforme 
 . vespiforme 
 
 Common Name. 
 
 Death's-head moth. 
 Six-spot Burnet moth. 
 Eyed hawk-moth. 
 Poplar hawk-moth. 
 Hawk moth. 
 Humming-bird moth. 
 Broad-bordered hawk-moth. 
 Hornet moth. 
 Lunar hornet-moth. 
 Currant clearwing moth. 
 Gnat clearwing moth.
 
 298 
 
 BUTTERFLIES. 
 
 ' 
 

 
 BIRDS. 
 
 299 
 
 BIKDS. 
 
 We have only space to give our readers a mere list 
 of the birds observed in the district treated of in this 
 Guide. 
 
 In a catalogue, compiled by Mr. John Hancock, of the 
 Tyneside Naturalists' Field Club, there are no less than 
 265 different species mentioned as having been observed 
 in Northumberland and Durham, being more than two- 
 thirds of the whole British species. This ornithic richness 
 is chiefly owing to the diversity of physical features, which 
 is admirably suited to the feathered tribe. Our list is a 
 long way short of 265, but very casual visitors, of which 
 there is a large number, and sea-coast birds, have been 
 omitted as not coming within our range. 
 
 Classification we have ignored, merely giving the com- 
 mon name, and dividing them into residents and visitors. 
 
 RESIDENTS. 
 
 Merlin. 
 
 Linnet. 
 
 Red grouse. 
 
 Sparrowhawk. 
 
 Mountain linnet. 
 
 Blackcock. 
 
 Kestrel. 
 
 Lesser redpole. 
 
 Partridge. 
 
 Brown owl. 
 
 Common bunting. 
 
 Pheasant. 
 
 Barn owl. 
 
 Yellowhammer. 
 
 Golden plover. 
 
 Long-eared owl. 
 
 Skylark. 
 
 Peewit. 
 
 Kingfisher. 
 
 Titlark. 
 
 Curlew. 
 
 Creeper. 
 
 Pied wagtail. 
 
 Common snipe. 
 
 Carrion crow. 
 
 Water ouzel. 
 
 Waterhen. 
 
 Rook. 
 
 Blackbird. 
 
 Coot. 
 
 Jackdaw. 
 
 Song thrush. 
 
 Heron. 
 
 Magpie. 
 
 Redbreast. 
 
 Black-headed gull. 
 
 Jay. 
 
 Wren. 
 
 Black-backed gull. 
 
 Starling. 
 
 Great titmouse. 
 
 Wild duck. 
 
 House sparrow. 
 
 Blue titmouse. 
 
 Teal. 
 
 Greenfinch. 
 
 Wood pigeon. 
 
 Little grebe. 
 
 Chaffinch. 
 
 
 
 VISITOBS. 
 
 Buzzard. 
 
 Willow wren. 
 
 Stone curlew 
 
 Cuckoo. 
 
 Swallow. 
 
 Woodcock. 
 
 Ring ouzel. 
 
 Sand martin. 
 
 Common sandpiper. 
 
 Fieldfare. 
 
 Swift. 
 
 Corncrake. 
 
 Redwing. 
 
 Nightjar. 
 
 Wild goose. 
 
 Redstart. 
 
 
 
 J. M. C.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ALLENDALE TOWN, 152, 158. 
 Allen River, 141, 158, 160. 
 Alston, 152, 195 
 Andrew-de-Harcla, 14, 49. 
 Armathwaite, 51. 
 Ashgill Force, 156. 
 Askerton Castle, 105. 
 Ayle Burn, 158. 
 
 BAXKS HEAD, 87, 88, 199. 
 
 Barcombe, 140. 
 
 Bardon Mill, 135, 138, 141, 159, 
 
 160. 
 
 Beardie Grey, 127. 
 Beaumont, 192. 
 Bede, 10, 168. 
 Bellister Castle, 119, 122. 
 Belted Will, 98. 
 Beltingham, 160. 
 Benwell, 211. 
 Bewcastle, 104, 106, 204. 
 Birdoswald, 80, 86, 199. 
 Bishop Ridley, 141. 
 Black Burn, 116. 
 
 Dike, 206. 
 
 Blenkinsop Castle, 119, 129. 
 Borcovicus, 135, 203. 
 Boustead Hill, 191. 
 Bowness, 173, 186. 
 Brampton, 52. 
 Broom Lee Lough, 135. 
 Brown Dikes, 207 
 Burgh-by-Sands, 189, 191. 
 Busygap, 206. 
 Byker Hill, 212. 
 
 CADWALLO, 210. 
 Caldew, 3. 
 Cambeck, 197. 
 
 Carlisle, 1, 193. 
 
 Castle, 25. 
 
 Cathedral, 19. 
 
 Carrowburgh, 207. 
 Carville Hall, 212. 
 Carvoran, 118, 134, 177, 201. 
 Castlesteads, 197. 
 Catton Road, 159. 
 Cauldron Snout, 157. 
 Cawfield Mile Castle, 136, 201. 
 Chesterholm, 135, 138. 
 Chesters, 201, 208. 
 Chineley Burn, 139. 
 Chinese Wall, 184, 202. 
 Chipchase Castle, 208. 
 Chollerford, 199, 208. 
 Christenbury Crag, 113, 114. 
 Cilurnum, 208. 
 Coal Cleugh, 158. 
 Common House, 133, 136. 
 Coome Crags, 80, 84, 86, 199. 
 Craggle Hill, 198. 
 Crag Lough, 135. 
 Cramel Linn Fall, 72. 
 Croglin, 52. 
 
 DALSTON HALL, 31. 
 Dean House, 211. 
 Denton Burn, 211. 
 
 Fell, 116, 133. 
 
 Hall, 103. 
 
 Devil's Wall, 183. 
 Dilston Castle, 167. 
 Drawdykes Castle, 194. 
 Drumburgh, 185, 188. 
 Dykesfield, 191. 
 
 EAST ALLEN, 159. 
 Easton, 191. 
 Eden, 3, 47.
 
 302 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Edward I., 13, 25, 29, 91, 189. 
 Ellenborough, 204. 
 
 FEATHEKSTONE CASTLE, 119, 123. 
 Fisher's Cross, 185. 
 
 GARRIGILL, 154, 195. 
 Gelt, 54, 56. 
 Gilsland, 59, 200. 
 
 Church, 63. 
 
 Chalybeate Well, 70. 
 
 Sulphur Well, 65. 
 
 Glen Dhu, 132. 
 
 Glen Whelt, 118, 133. 
 
 Graham's Dyke, 183. 
 
 Great Chesters, 136, 177, 201. 
 
 Greenhead, 126, 129, 130, 133, 
 
 200. 
 
 Green Lee Lough, 134, 136. 
 Gretna Green, 40. 
 Grinsdale, 193. 
 
 HALTON CHESTERS, 211. 
 Haltwhistle, 119, 135. 
 
 Burn, 136. 
 
 Hare Hill, 198. 
 Harlow Hill, 211. 
 Harribee Hill, 9. 
 Hartley Burn, 116, 133. 
 Hartside, 154. 
 Haydon Bridge, 138, 145. 
 Heddon-on-the-Wall, 211. 
 Hellbeck, 55. 
 Hexham, 159, 161. 
 
 Church, 163. 
 
 Priory, 166. 
 
 Moot Hall, 167. 
 
 High Force, 156. 
 Highhead Castle, 15, 31. 
 Holme Cultram Abbey, 33. 
 Housesteads, 133, 135, 138, 178, 
 
 203. 
 Hyssop Holm Well, 193, 194. 
 
 IRTHING, 54, 59, 65, 68, 72, 82, 
 84, 199. 
 
 KING ARTHUR'S HALL, 205. 
 Kinmont Willie, 17. 
 
 Kirk Andrews, 45, 192, 193. 
 Kirksteads, 193. 
 
 LAMBLEY, 116, 132. 
 Lanercost Priory, 86. 
 Langley Castle, 151. 
 Linstock Castle, 32, 195. 
 Lonning Head, 195. 
 Lord Lucy, 14. 
 Lyulph, 12. 
 
 MAIDEN WAY, 201. 
 
 Mare and Foal, 134. 
 
 Martin, John, 146. 
 
 Mary, Queen of Scots, 16, 26. 
 
 Michael Scot, 37. 
 
 Mohope Burn, 158. 
 
 Mumps Hall, 75. 
 
 NA WORTH CASTLE, 86, 102. 
 
 Ned Coulson, 150. 
 
 Nent Force, 153. 
 
 Nenthead, 153, 154. 
 
 Netherby, 43. 
 
 Newcastle, 211. 
 
 Newtown of Irthington, 197. 
 
 Nine Banks, 159. 
 
 Nine Nicks of Thirlwall, 136, 
 
 201. 
 
 North Tyne, 208, 209. 
 Northumberland Lakes, 133. 
 Notitia, Imperii, the, 9, 175. 
 Notterish Hill, 129. 
 Nunnery, 51. 
 
 OLD CARLISLE, 10. 
 Orchard House, 61. 
 Oswald, 210. 
 Over Denton, 64. 
 
 PEEL CRAG, 202. 
 Petrifying Well, 78. 
 Petteril, 3. 
 Plankey Mill, 161. 
 Poltross Burn, 63, 79, 200. 
 Popping Stone, the, 68. 
 Port Carlisle, 185. 
 Procolitia, 207.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 303 
 
 RADCLIFFES, THE, 168. 
 Ridley Hall, 141, 160. 
 Roman Milestone, 139. 
 Roman Wall, 79, 136, 172. 
 Rose Castle, 29. 
 Runic Cross, 12, 107. 
 Rutchester, 211. 
 
 ST. CONSTANTINE'S CAVES, 47. 
 
 St. Cuthbert, 10, 163. 
 
 St. Wilfrid, 161. 
 
 Saxon Crypt, 166. 
 
 Scaleby Castle, 196. 
 
 Scotch Dyke, 45. 
 
 See of Carlisle, 29, 31. 
 
 Sewingshields, 204. 
 
 Silloth, 186. 
 
 Sir Walter Scott, 68, 75. 
 
 Skinburness, 37. 
 
 Sockey's Leap, 114. 
 
 Sol way Moss, 46. 
 
 South Tyne, 141, 154. 
 
 Stanwix, 193, 194. 
 
 Staward-le-Peel, 160. 
 
 Stephenson, Robert, 211. 
 
 Swinburne Castle, 208. 
 
 TALKIN TARN, 54. 
 
 Tarraby, 194. 
 
 Temple Heap, 74. 
 
 Thirlwall Castle, 117, 119, 130, 
 
 200. 
 Tiudale Fell, 116. 
 
 Tipalt, 200. 
 Tipper Moor, 207. 
 Triermain Castle, 104, 105. 
 Tutman Hole, 153. 
 Twice Brewed, 133, 134. 
 Tynemouth, 175, 212. 
 
 UNTHANK, 145. 
 
 Upper Denton Church, 75. 
 
 VALLUM, THE, 179. 
 
 WADE, GENERAL, 19. 
 Walton, 197. 
 Waltown, 138. 
 Wallsend, 173, 212. 
 Walwick, 208. 
 Wardrew House, 61. 
 Watling Street, 211. 
 West Allen, 158. 
 Wetheral Priory, 46. 
 
 Village, 50. 
 
 White Flat, 197. 
 Whitfield Hall, 159. 
 Whitley Castle, 158. 
 Willimontswyke Castle, 158. 
 Willowford, 199. 
 Winshields, 202. 
 Witch's Cot, 126. 
 Wolstey Castle, 36, 38. 
 Written Crag, 56, 197. 
 Wylie Syke, 74. 
 
 LONDON: PRINTED BY EDWARD STANFORD, 55, CHARING CROSS, S.W.
 
 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 
 
 TOURISTS 
 
 TRAVELLERS, 
 
 VISITORS 
 
 SEA-SIDE, 
 
 And others exposed to the Scorching Kays of the Sun, and heated particles of Dust, 
 will find 
 
 ROWLAND'S KALYDOR 
 
 A most refreshing preparation for the Complexion, dispelling the cloud of languor and 
 relaxation, allaying all heat and irritability, and immediately aifording the pleasing 
 sensation attending restored elasticity and healthful state of the Skin. 
 
 Freckles, Tan Spots, Pimples, Flushes, and Discoloration, fly before its application, 
 and give place to a healthy clearness, with a glow of beauty and of bloom. In cases of 
 sunburn, or stings of insects, its virtues have long been acknowledged. 
 
 Price 4s. 6d. and 8s. 6d. per Bottle. 
 
 The heat of Summer also frequently communicates a dryness to the Hair, and a 
 tendency to fall off, which may be obviated by the use of 
 
 ROWLAND'S MACASSAR OIL, 
 
 A delightfully fragrant and transparent preparation, and as an invigorator and beautifier 
 of the Hair beyond all precedent. 
 Price 3s. 6d., 7s., 10s. 6d. (equal to four small), and 21s. per Bottle. 
 
 Are indispensable to PERSONAL ATTRACTION', and to health and longevity by the 
 proper mastication of food. 
 
 ROWLAND'S ODONTO, 
 
 Or PEARL DENTIFRICE, a White Powder compounded of the choicest and most 
 fragrant exotics. It bestows on the Teeth PEARL-LIKE WHITENESS, frees them 
 from tartar, and imparts to the Gums a healthy firmness, and to the Breath a pleasing 
 fragrance. Price 2s. 9d. per Box. 
 
 Sold by all Chemists and Perfumers. Ask for "ROWLAND'S" Articles, and 
 avoid all others, under the same or similar names, as Spurious Imitations,
 
 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 
 
 . H. 
 
 MANUFACTURING & DISPENSING CHEMIST, 
 
 |5JjutnrUb anb other Jioungt Hftumtfittfurtr, 
 THE CRESCENT, & 22, CHARLOTTE STREET, CARLISLE. 
 
 No CONNECTION WITH ANT OTHEU ESTABLISHMENT BEARING THE SAME NAME. 
 
 Genuine Patent Medicines. 
 
 Elastic Stockings, Socks, Knee Caps, Band- 
 ages, Trusses, Bathing Caps, Oiled Silk, 
 
 Gutta-Percha Tissue, Spougio Pilini, &c. 
 
 Maw and Mather's Feeding Bottles, Breast 
 
 Glasses, Nipple Shells, &c., &c. 
 
 Pattinson's 
 Tic and Toothache Powders 
 
 Are an effectual remedy for Tic, Toothache, 
 Nervousness, Pains in Head, Back, and 
 
 Side, Loss of Appetite, &c. 
 Sold in Packets at 18. l$d. and 2*. 9d. 
 
 Pattinsen's Neroline Balsam, 
 
 For Improving the Complexion, for Chapped 
 Hands, Lips, Roughness or Soreness of the 
 Skin, arising from exposure to the weather, 
 
 the use of hard water, &c. 
 
 It. is equally efficacious for Sunburns and 
 
 Freckles. In Bottles at is. each, with 
 
 Directions. 
 
 Pattinson's 
 Carlisle Baking Powder 
 
 Is Superior to all other Baking Powders, 
 For Making all kinds of Household Bread, 
 Tea Cakes, and Pastry, with Half the usual 
 Quantity of Butter and Eggs. Free from 
 
 aluni and perfectly wholesome. 
 
 Sold in Packets, Id., "id., and 4id. ; also M. 
 
 and Is. Boxes. 
 
 Pattinson's Ginger Beer Powder 
 
 Makes Delicious Ginger Beer in two hours. 
 
 No Boiling or Straining Required. 
 One 4d. Packet sufficient for Two Gallons. 
 
 M. H. PATT1NSON, 
 
 THE CRESCENT, & 22, CHARLOTTE STREET, 
 CARLISLE. 
 
 No-conmction wiih any other establishment 
 bearing the same name. 
 
 Eeaufoy's London Malt Vinegar, 
 Young's Sunlight Kerosine Oil, Patent 
 Paraffin Oil, Finest French Colza Oil, all 
 kinds of Machine Oils, Paints, Colours, 
 
 tec., &c. 
 
 Best Paraffin, Composite, and Carriage Can- 
 dles, Night Lights, Scented Soaps in Tablets 
 and Bars, Calvert's Carbolic Soap, Wright's 
 
 Coal Tar Soap, Dog Soaps, &c. 
 
 Calvert'g Carbolic Disinfecting Powder, 
 
 Carbolic Acid, Condy's Fluid, and all 
 
 Approved Disinfectants. 
 
 Toilet Requisites. 
 
 Best London Tooth, Nail, and Hair Brushes, 
 Sponges, Puffs and Boxes, Atkinson's Per- 
 fumes, Erasmus Wilson's Hair Wash, Dr. 
 I.ocock's Lotion, Allen's, Rossetor's, and 
 Mexican Hair Restorers, Rowland's Macas- 
 sar Oil, Kalydor, and Odonto, Godfrey's 
 Extract of Elder Flowers, Jewsbury and 
 Brown's Tooth Paste, Comman's Areca-Nut 
 Tooth Paste, and all Approved Toilet 
 Preparations. 
 
 Pattinson's Pick-Me-TJp 
 
 Is an Effectual Remedy for Bilious and 
 Liver Complaints, Female and General 
 Debility, Nervousness, Indigestion, Tic- 
 Doloreux, Pains in the Head, Back, and 
 Side, Loss of Appetite, Impurities in the 
 Blood, Eruptions on the Skin, and various 
 other symptoms at all times troublesome, 
 
 and not unfrequently dangerous. 
 
 Sold in Bottles at 2s. 3d. and 4S. 6d., with 
 
 Directions. 
 
 M. H. PATTLNSON, 
 
 THE CRESCENT, & 11, CHARLOTTE STREET, 
 CARLISLE. 
 
 No connection with any other establishmeijt 
 bearing the same name.
 
 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 
 
 EOWAKD'S AEMS HOTEL, BRAMPTON. 
 
 M. & M. HUDSPITH, PROPRIETORS. 
 
 This commodious Hotel is replete with every comfort for Tourists and Commercial 
 
 Gentlemen. Good Fishing in the immediate neighbourhood. 
 
 Carriages and other Conveyances on Hire. 
 
 WHITE LION HOTEL, BRAMPTON. 
 
 THOMAS BELL, PROPRIETOR. 
 
 The character of this old-established Hotel is still kept up by strict attention to the 
 
 comforts and convenience of its patrons. 
 Horses, Carriages, and other Conveyances on Hire. 
 
 ROBERT HASTWELL, 
 
 graptr, gliiJter, Jatter, mrfr Sxlfe-fjltaer, 
 
 MARKET PLACE, HALTWHISTLE. '" 
 
 JOSEPH WAUGH, BOOT AND SHOE MAKER. 
 
 WEST GATE, HALTWHISTLE. 
 
 A large and well-selected Stock of Ready-made Ladies' and Gentlemen's Boots. 
 Repairs neatly and promptly executed. 
 
 W. NORMAN & SONS, 
 
 Stationers, Booksellers (New and Second-hand), Dealers in Paper-hangings, Photo- 
 graphers, Jewellers, Optical Instruments (a good Achromatic Telescope, 7s. 6ct), &c., &c., 
 Musical Instruments, and Pure Tea Dealers. 
 
 JAMES BELL, CHEMIST, &c., 
 
 Established 1859. Prescriptions accurately dispensed. Patent Medicines, Perfumery ; 
 Hair, Nail, and Tooth Brushes ; Combs, c. Also a large assortment of Fancy (roods, 
 suitable for Wedding and Birthday Presents, &c., consisting of Gold and Silver Earrings, 
 Pendants, Brooches ; Gold Gem, Wedding, and Keeper Rings, Jet Goods, &c, &c. 
 
 LITTLE'S PORTRAITS 
 
 Are acknowledged to be the Best Finished in the North 
 of England. 
 
 Old and Faded Portraits of deceased Friends Copied and Enlarged to any size. 
 
 Children taken instantaneously. 
 Every description of Outdoor Work undertaken on the Shortest Notice. Distance 
 
 immaterial. 
 Tourists can be supplied with choice Views of Carlisle and Neighbourhood. 
 
 23, Henry Street, Warwick Road, Carlisle. 
 
 tl
 
 CAELISLE GUIDE ADVERTISEK. 
 
 QUEEN'S HOTEL, 
 
 SILLOTH, CUMBERLAND, 
 
 ON THE SHORE OIF 1 THE SOI/WA.Y. 
 
 THIS HOTEL embraces a large and convenient Coffee-room and Ordinary, with the most 
 approved facilities for Private and General Convenience, at Charges exceedingly mode- 
 rate. The Sitting-rooms and Dormitories are furnished in a superior style, and com- 
 mand a most extensive View of the Solway Firth and the beautiful Scenery on the 
 Scottish Coast. The Climate is mild and dry, and the Temperature ranges with the 
 most salubrious in the kingdom, as will be seen by reference to the weekly returns 
 furnished to the Times newspaper by the Meteorological Society in London, the variation 
 being exceedingly limited. Silloth is therefore peculiarly valuable to the Invalid. 
 
 A LARGE BILLIARD-ROOM, WITH MODERN TABLE. 
 
 POST HOESES, CAEELAGES, GIGS, &c., on the SHOETEST NOTICE. 
 
 W. 
 
 , PROPRIETOR. 
 
 Contiguous to % IJotjI art pot, Cola, S^ofoer, anb plunge flatus. 
 
 appointment to all 3f)ir 
 (Sobernnunt ffius. 
 
 HOGARTH & HAYES, 
 
 SUCCESSORS TO A. WEEN, 
 
 BLACK LEAD PENCIL 
 
 MANUFACTURERS. 
 Observe the Address: 
 
 SoutheyEill Pencil Works, 
 KESWICK, 
 
 Situated adjoining the grounds of 
 the late poet SODTHET, to the right 
 of Greta Bridge, on the way to 
 Crosthwaite Church. 
 
 Visitors can have their own names 
 impressed on Pencils with Gold or 
 Silver Letters. 
 
 Cards for admission to be obtained 
 at any of the Hotels or Lodging- 
 houses.
 
 CAELISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 
 
 LOWTHER STREET DRESS WAREHOUSE. 
 
 GEORGE KNOWLES, 
 
 85, LOWTHER STREET (nearly opposite Post Office), 
 CARLISLE. 
 
 WILLIAM BROWN, 
 CARLISLE AM) NORTH OF ENGLAND STEAM 
 
 DYE WORKS, 
 17, DEVONSHIRE WALK, AND 84A, ENGLISH STREET, 
 
 JAMES ATKINSON, 
 
 TAILOE AND WOOLLEN DEAPEE, 
 
 MILLINEEY, MANTLE, 
 
 T\\ 'O!) T?i TR-JIt Al 12^ 7? TW /?" 
 
 Mm&^>s>W(M,^&^^$ 
 
 AND 
 
 GENERAL DRAPERY ESTABLISHMENT, 
 
 TOWN HALL, 
 
 CARLISLE.
 
 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 
 
 THE ENGLISH LAKES. GEASMEEE. 
 
 THE ROTH AY HOTEL, 
 
 FORMERLY "Moss HEAD HOUSE," BUILT EXPRESSLY FOE THE LATE 
 EARL CADOGAN, 1871-2, AND NOW 
 
 A FIRST-CLASS HOTEL, 
 
 With very superior accommodation and attractions for Visitors. It is situated in the 
 
 centre of the lovely Vale of Grasmere, near to the church, the resting place of the poets 
 
 Wordsworth and H. Coleridge, and only a few minutes' walk from the Lake. 
 
 THE PRIVATE PLEASURE GROUNDS, 
 
 Bound upon three sides by the famous trout-stream, the River Rothay, are very attrac- 
 
 tive, and unequalled in the district for extent and beauty, and are well adapted for 
 
 Croquet, Archery, and Bowls, the requirements for which are furnished by the Hotel. 
 
 AN EXCELLENT BILLIARD ROOM 
 
 is also provided. 
 
 COACHES in connection with the Railways and Steamers pass many times daily, 
 and Visitors will find the Rothay Hotel most central for making Daily Excursions to 
 all parts of the district. 
 
 POSTING IN EVERY BRANCH. 
 
 BOATS ON THE LAKE. FISHING FROM THE PRIVATE GROUNDS. 
 
 R. HUDSON, Proprietor. 
 
 N.B. GRAPES, &c., GROWN UPON THE PREMISES.
 
 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 
 
 GEORGE POTTER, 
 
 WATCHMAKER, JEWELLEE, AND SILVERSMITH, 
 25J, ENGLISH STREET, CARLISLE. 
 
 Every description of Jewellery, including a large assortment of Granite, Scotch PebHe, 
 Agate, Malachite, &c., Mounted in Silver. 
 
 Field Glasses, Opera Glasses, Spectacles, Folders, Eye Glasses, &c. 
 Careful attention to Repairs of every description appertaining to the Trade. 
 
 JENKINSON'S PRACTICAL GUIDES. 
 
 Guide to the Isle of Man. 
 
 With Map. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, 5s. 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 Introduction Population Table of Distances Heights of Mountains 
 Charges for Porters and Conveyances How to Spend a Flying Visit 
 to the Isle of Man Voyage round the Island Hotel Tariffs Coaches, 
 &c. Douglas, Castletown, Peel, and Ramsey Sections A Walk round 
 the Island Index, &c. Also, Chapters on Local Names Mineralogy 
 Civil History Ecclesiastical History Geology Botany Zoology 
 Agriculture Commerce Sea and Trout Fishing. 
 
 Also, a SMALLEE EDITION, with Map. Fcap. 8vo. 2s. 
 
 Guide to the English Lake District, 
 
 Fourth Edition. Fcap. Svo. With Nine Maps 
 
 and Three Views. Cloth, 6s. 
 
 Contents : Introduction How to Spend a Flying Visit to the Lakes 
 A Fourteen Days' Pedestrian Tour Charges for Conveyances, Ponies, 
 and Guides Heights of Mountains, Lakes, Tarns, and Passes Local 
 Names Meteorology, Geology, and Botany. 
 
 WlNDERMEKE, LANGDALE, GBASMEBE, CONISTON, KESWICK, BtJTTER- 
 
 MERE, WASTWATER, and ULLSWATER SECTIONS, containing full Infor- 
 mation and Instruction respecting Walks, Drives, Boating, Ascents, 
 Excursions, &c. 
 
 *** The SECTIONS separately: KESWICK WINDERMEEE and LANG- 
 DALE CONISTON, BUTTERMERE, and WASTWATER GRASMEHE and 
 ULLSWATER. With Maps, price Is. 6d. each. 
 
 Also, an EIGHTEENPENNY EDITION, with Map. 
 
 London: EDWARD STANFORD, 55, Charing Cross.
 
 CAELISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 
 
 F. W. HAYWARD, 
 
 CROWN AND MITRE AND COFFEE-HOUSE HOTEL 
 
 {ESTABLISHED 1750), 
 
 & ?R T T <? ?P S* 
 rfQ itl *u A, O Jus x . 
 
 AN OMNIBUS WILL MEET EACH TRAIN. 
 
 THOMAS BOWMAN'S 
 
 BERLIN AND FANCY REPOSITORY, 
 
 61, ENGLISH STREET, CAELISLE. 
 
 The Newest Designs in French, German, and. other 
 Needlework Patterns, &c., &c. 
 
 Ladies' Bags, Purses, Combs, Brushes, Jewellery, Cutlery, Cabinet Goods, Bagatelle 
 Boards, Games, Puzzles, Toys, Beads, &c., &c. 
 
 Orders most promptly attended to. 
 MAGHC LAJXTERIVS Q]V HIRE. 
 
 WILLIAM OKAM, 
 
 FAMILY GROCER, BACON CURER, AND GENERAL PROVISION DEALER, 
 34, LOWTHEE STEEET, CAELISLE. 
 
 W. OR AM, In thanking the Nobility, Clergy, Gentry, and general Public for their past 
 patronage, begs to call their attention to his choice selection of TEAS and FRUITS, 
 which, through his long experience in India and China, he can recommend with the 
 greatest confidence. All orders committed to his care will receive the strictest attention. 
 
 REGISTER OFFICE FOR SERVANTS. 
 Purveyor since 1863 to Her Majesty's Judges. 
 
 WM. GLENDINING & SON, 
 
 SMITHS, BELL-HANGEES, AND IEONMONGEES, 
 
 LOWTHEE STKEET, CAELISLE. 
 
 Makers of the " GLENDINING'' OVENS and RANGES, 
 CLOSE KITCHENERS, &c. 
 
 Show Rooms for Register Grates, Fenders, Fire-irons, and Furnishing Ironmongery. 
 Electric, Pneumatic, and Crank Bells, fixed on the most approved principles. 
 
 ESTIMATES GIVEN.
 
 CAKLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 
 
 GEORGE TWIDDLE, 
 
 HAT AND GAP MANUFACTURER, FURRIER, &c, 
 
 DRESS HATS IN ALL THE NEWEST STYLES. 
 
 SOFT -A.3STID STIFF FELT 
 
 IN BRITISH AND CONTINENTAL MANUFACTURE. 
 
 LADIES', MISSES', AND CHILDREN'S FELT HATS. 
 
 LINCOLN & BENNETT'S DRESS HATS. 
 
 LIVEHY HATS. 
 
 LADIES' AND GENTLEMEN'S UMBRELLAS, 
 
 IN SILK AND ALPACA. 
 
 HATS REPAIRED. UMBRELLAS REPAIRED. 
 
 DUKING- THE SEASON, PUBS IS GKEAT VAKTETT. 
 
 FURS ALTERED AND REPAIRED. 
 
 THE SIGN OF THE GOLDEN HAT, 
 
 43, ENGLISH STREET, CARLISLE, 
 
 fat Cmrformatair lupt at this stablis^mrat.
 
 10 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 
 
 THOMAS BATY & SONS, 
 
 AND GENERAL HOUSE FURNISHERS, 
 
 STREET, 
 
 CARLISLE. 
 
 WHOLESALE AND FAMILY WINE AND 
 SPIRIT MERCHANTS, 
 
 DIRECT SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THEIR 
 
 PALIDO SHEERY, at 28s, per Dozen, 
 
 IMPORTED DIRECT BY THEMSELVES ; 
 FIT FOR ANT TABLE, AND SUITABLE EITHER AS 
 
 A DINNER OB AFTER-DINNER WINE.
 
 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 11 
 
 GEORGE LOWTHER CARRICK, 
 
 WHOLESALE AND FAMILY 
 
 ( 
 
 [in atw %itit 
 
 BRAMPTON AND HALTWHISTLE. 
 
 WILLIAM SCOTT, 
 
 SADDLER AND HARNESS MAKER, 
 CARLISLE, 
 
 Invites attention to his Stock of Trunks, Portmanteaus, Railway 
 Wrappers, Ladies' and Gentlemen's Travelling Bags, Waterproof 
 Coats, Leggings, Luggage and Coat Straps, &c., &c. 
 
 LOWTHER STREET (opposite the County Mews). 
 
 HENRY GRAHAM, 
 
 CAERIAGE AND CAB PROPKIETOR, 
 
 COUNTY MEWS AND CITY 
 
 POSTING ESTABLISHMENT, 
 
 LOWTHER STREET, CARLISLE. 
 
 HEARSES, MOURNING COACHES, BROUGHAMS, AND 
 OPEN CARRIAGES. 
 
 SADDLE HORSES, NEAT GIGS, DOG CARTS, 
 BASKET CARS, AND PHAETONS. 
 
 SHOEING FORGE ON THE PREMISES.
 
 12 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVEETISEE. 
 
 EALPH ALLISON & SONS, 
 
 PIANOFORTE MAKERS, 
 
 108 & 109, WAKDOUK STBEET, W. 
 
 (STEAM WORKS: WERRINGTON STREET, S.W.) 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 THE EOTAL 
 
 LONDON MODEL PIANOFOKTE; 
 
 ROSEWOOD, 34 GUINEAS ; WALNUT, 39 GUINEAS. 
 
 3 feet 10 inches high; 4 feet 1 inch wide; 2 feet 6 inches deep. 
 
 SEVEN OCTAVES-A to A. 
 
 Warranted to be made of the Soundest Material and the Best Workmanship. 
 
 TRADE MARK. 
 
 Purchasers are respectfully requested to 
 
 observe that a GENUINE Allison 
 
 Piano must bear the name of 
 
 RALPH ALLISON & SONS, 
 
 as they succeeded the late firm of Allison 
 
 and Allison, which failed in 
 
 the year 1848. 
 
 . PRIZE MEDAL, PARIS EXHIBITION, 1867, 
 
 BB 
 
 These Instruments always in Stock at the Music WAREHOUSE of 
 
 0. THURNAM & SONS, \ 
 
 4, DEVONSHIRE STREET, CARLISLE.
 
 CAELISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 
 
 13 
 
 Jfamilrr pnm mttr furmsbhtg 
 
 (ESTABLISHED A.I>. 1838.) 
 
 WILLIAM WRIGHT, 
 
 36, ENGLISH STREET, CARLISLE. 
 
 Linen and Cotton Sheetings, Towellings, Damask, Table Linens, Blankets, Quilts, 
 Counterpanes, Flannels, Calicoes, Carpets, Chintzes, Dimitys and Creatons, Lace, Leno, 
 and Muslin Curtains, Furnishing Damasks, Woollen Cloths, Tweeds, &c., Dress Stuffs, 
 Hosiery and Haberdashery. ^ 
 
 SEWING MACHINES 
 
 Of every description, from 40si 
 The Largest Assortment in the North of England. 
 
 Elias Howe. Simpson, Singer, Weir, Lady, Lock-man, 
 
 pra 
 Th 
 
 as owe. mpson, nger, , , , lta 
 
 via, Wheeler and Wilson? Grover and Baker, Princess of Wales Agenor^ Kmxjx 
 omas, Little Wanzer. Shakespeare, Swiftsure, WUlcox and Gibbs, Cyclops, Vi 
 
 
 Machine 
 
 Parts. Sewing Machines Cleaned and Repaired.
 
 14 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 
 
 LITTLE & BALLANTYNE, 
 
 THE QUEEN'S SEEDSMEN, 
 CARLISLE. 
 
 ESTABLISHED 5O YEARS. 
 
 THE laying down of laud to Permanent Pasture in the most perfect 
 form at the least expense has occupied our attention for fifty years, 
 and we can point with satisfaction to very many counties in Great 
 Britain and our Colonies as a proof that our efforts have been 
 eminently successful. 
 
 Evidence of Quality. 
 
 From G. A. GREY, Esq., Estate Office, Wooltr, Northumberland. " I am glad to be 
 able to say that the Clover and Grass Seeds I had from you last season have done well 
 as from the samples they promised to do on Lord Durham's Home Farm, and on 
 Lord Carlisle's, where they were used with a view to permanent pasture." 
 
 THE KNOWEFIELD PURPLE-TOP SWEDE TURNIP. 
 
 Undoubtedly the best Swede in cultivation. Sent out by us four 
 years ago, and annually supplied by us for the Queen's Home Farm. 
 
 Evidence of Quality. 
 
 From Mr. J. NISBET, Manager to Lord Hampton, Droitwick. " I am pleased to say 
 that both the Swedes and common Turnips have turned out excellent, the ' Knowefleld ' 
 Swede is the best for feeding purposes I have ever grown." 
 
 GARDEN, FLOWER, FARM, AND TREE SEEDS, 
 
 Of every description of the best quality. 
 
 Evidence of Quality. 
 
 From Mr. SHAND, Gardener to the Right Hun. Karl of Lonsdale, Lowther Cattle, 
 Penrith. " The very excellent quality of Garden and Flower Seeds you have supplied 
 us has given unequalled satisfaction in every respect." 
 
 THE KNOWEFIELD NURSERIES, 
 
 Extending over 100 acres (see p. 4), are worthy of a visit. There 
 will be found in large quantities fine specimens of Park, Avenue, and 
 Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, Forest and Hedge Trees, Fruit Trees, 
 Roses, Greenhouse and Stove Plants, &c. During July and August 
 'over 50,000 Roses will be found in bloom. Inspection invited. 
 
 Evidence of Quality. 
 
 From Mr. HAMMOND, Gardener to Sir Wilfrid Laivson, Bart.. Brayton Hall, Aspa- 
 tria. " The well-rooted and hardy condition of the Forest Trees, Hoses, and Ornamental 
 Shrubs sent from your Nurseries to this place has given every satisfaction." 
 
 LITTLE &; BAJL-JL-AIVTYIVE:, 
 
 SEED GROWERS, SEED MERCHANTS, AND NURSERYMEN, 
 CARLISLE. 
 
 CATALOGUES POST-FREE ON APPLICATION.
 
 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 15 
 
 JOHN BLAMIRE, 
 
 TEA AND COFFEE DEALER,, 
 
 8 and 11, MARKET PLACE, CARLISLE. 
 
 J. B., hi calling the attention of the Public residing in the Northern 
 Counties to the superiority of the Stock he keeps of the above, would 
 especially ask a trial of his Teas and Coffees. He believes them at any 
 rate not to be excelled, quality and price considered, and respectfully 
 asks that large consumers, who have been in the habit of supplying 
 themselves from the Metropolitan Market (under the impression that 
 they cannot purchase as advantageously in the neighbourhood), will 
 kindly favour him with a trial. 
 
 Orders of the value of Two Pounds and upwards sent Carriage Paid 
 to any Railway Station ; and samples, if desired, sent on application, by- 
 post or othiTwise. 
 
 AGENT FOR ALLEN'S MELTON MOWBRAY PIES. 
 
 CARLISLE TpjLET CLUB. 
 
 HAIK-CUTTING- AND SHAMPOOING SALOONS. 
 J. HUNTINGDON 
 
 (From E. PASS, Edinburgh), 
 
 12 DEVONSHIRE STREET, CARLISLE. 
 
 N.B. Special attention paid to cleanliness. 
 
 HENRY LEITHEAD 
 
 (Successor to JAMES BIRNEY), 
 
 CALEDONIAN HOTEL, 
 
 BOTCHEKGATE, 
 
 CARLISLE. 
 
 Wines and Spirits of the best quality. Good and well-aired Beds. Excellent Stabling, 
 and Lock-up Coach Houses.
 
 16 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 
 
 EPITOME 
 
 OF 
 
 LOCKHART'S 
 
 LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. 
 
 BY 
 HENEY IEWIN JENKINSON, 
 
 AUTHOR or "THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT;" 
 
 AND " THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE ISLE OF MAN." 
 
 OPINIONS OP THE PEESS, 
 
 " This abridgment appears to be carefully prepared, and to consist mainly of matters 
 worthy 'of being written in a book.' It will be found throughout entertaining and 
 reliable." Morning Post. 
 
 " Mr. Jenkinson's ' Epitome ' is executed with fidelity and good taste. We have com- 
 pared it throughout with the biography, and have been struck by the judgment of the 
 compiler, who rarely, if ever, omits a point illustrative of the character of Scott. A 
 better abridgment could not be produced." Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 " To all who have not leisure to read the voluminous, and let us add the luminous 
 work of Lockhart, on the life of his great father-in-law, Scott, we most cordially 
 commend these amusing and instructive pages. Nothing can be more effective as a 
 brief and interesting account of the life of the greatest novelist, if not poet, of Scotland." 
 
 Evening Standard. 
 
 " Mr. Jenkinson has performed his work in the most unexceptionable manner, and has 
 brought the life and career of the great novelist and poet within reasonable limits." 
 
 Court Journal. 
 
 " Mr. Jenkinson has produced a charming book, and the popularity which It cannot 
 fail to secure will amply reward him for the labour he has certainly bestowed upon it." 
 
 Public Opinion. 
 
 " We have read Mr. Jenkinson's work with interest and gladness, for time, we are 
 afraid, would fail us in reading Lockhart again." Nonconformist. 
 
 " Mr. Jenkinson appears to have done his work conscientiously and carefully, and 
 with considerable success. It is to be hoped that numbers hitherto deterred by lack of 
 time or means, may take this opportunity of studying the interesting, instructive, and 
 pathetic life-story of the author of ' Waverley.' " Scotsman. 
 
 " Mr. Jenkinson has performed his arduous labour faithfully and loyally, and, on 
 comparison with the original, we must own that the proportions of the work have been 
 most skilfully adjusted. The life of ' The Great Unknown ' is certainly one well worthy 
 of attention, and this ' Epitome ' deserves many readers, for it conveys an excellent idea of 
 the salient points in the career of Scott, and will, we hope, lead to a more general 
 acquaintance with the original work, a hope which we are sure will be most cordially 
 echoed by the conscientious compiler of this valuable and welcome ' Epitome.' " 
 
 Cambridge Independent Frets.
 
 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 17 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS continued. 
 
 " Mr. Jenkinson has carried out his project with considerable skill and great con- 
 scientiousness. The result is a book as attractive as one of the great magician's own 
 novels. Every admirer of Scott who does not possess a copy of, or has not time to read, 
 Lockhart's original work in ten volumes, should not be without Mr. Jenkinson's 
 ' Epitome.' " Glasgow Herald. 
 
 " This abridgment seems carefully compiled and is neatly printed." Inverness Courier. 
 
 " Mr. Jenkinson has succeeded by Judicious condensation in producing a thoroughly 
 readable and most instructive book such a book as no admirer of Scott should ba with 
 out." Whitehaven News. 
 
 " Mr. Jenkinson, who is known as the author of an admirable guide to the English 
 Lakes, has undertaken a more ambitious task in an Epitome of Lockhart's Lite of 
 Scott. His narrative preserves much of the charm of the larger work. It is concise and 
 accurate, and nothing seems omitted which ought to have been stated." Leeds 
 Mercury. 
 
 " Mr. Jenkinson has presented us with a careful, and, as we can vouch, from a close 
 examination, a faithful abridgment of Lockhart's life. The ' Epitome ' will be highly 
 prized by the numerous readers of Scott who may be anxious to make a close acquaint- 
 ance with the life of the great novelist, a life that on the whole was a manly, pure, and 
 noble one. Recent lives of Scott (Gilfillan's, for instance) have all had features more or 
 less objectionable, and therefore we feel grateful to Mr. Jenkinson for this excellent con- 
 densation of the great work of Lockhart. Its compilation has evidently been a labour 
 of love. We predict for it a large and sustained circulation." Stirling Observer. 
 
 " The admirers of Scott are very much indebted to Mr. Jpnkinson for this ' Epitome ' of 
 Lockhart's voluminous life of the great novelist. Lockhart's work is a carefully- 
 touched full-length portrait. The ' Epitome ' is a miniature, but still an excellent likeness, 
 in which all the essential features of truthful biograph3' are faithfully reproduced. To 
 those who have read Lockhart's Life any remark is needless. For those who have not 
 Mr. Jenkinson provides an exquisite literary treat. We fancy the work will have a 
 great sale. It supplies a felt want. The epitomizer has done his duty exceedingly 
 well." Dundee Advertiser. 
 
 " We can say with pleasure that Mr. Jenkinson has performed his task creditably and 
 satisfactorily. . . To all those who seek to enlarge their experience, and at the same time 
 to enjoy one of the most singular and one of the saddest records of a great life that the 
 history of literature presents, we candidly recommend this volume." Northern Whig, 
 Belfast. 
 
 " To read the biography of Scott is, or should be, part of the education of every 
 English-speaking youth, as it is part of the recreation of every English-speaking man. 
 Lockhart's is one of the best biographies ever written, notwithstanding an occasional 
 outburst of prejudice or partiality ; but, unfortunately, it is constructed on a colossal 
 scale ; a scale not incommensurate with the subject, but beyond the time and oppor- 
 tunity of most readers. There are numerous briefer memoirs (as, for instance, F. T. 
 Palgrave's), but none of them possess the abiding interest and vitality of Lockhart's, 
 and therefore we think Mr. Jenkinson has done a good service in preparing the very 
 skilful abridgment now before us. He has omitted no detail of importance, he has pre- 
 served much of the spirit of the original, and within a brief compass has accumulatprt 
 all the leading facts necessary for a right interpretation of the life and character of Scott. 
 In his modest preface he tells us that his constant endeavour has been to write an in- 
 teresting narrative, which may attract readers who have little leisure time at their 
 disposal, and who have hitherto known Scott only through his works. In this be bas 
 succeeded. A good idea has been ably and conscientiously carried out." Scottish 
 Guardian. 
 
 Edinburgh: 
 ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK.
 
 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISES. 
 
 TTESWICK HOTEL, KESWICK, Cumberland, stands in 
 
 "^ its <.wn Grounds of Ten Acres, and is connected with the Railway Station by a 
 covered way. Visitors have the right of Fishing in the River Greta. 
 
 Proprietors, MISS FRANK aud MISS COLES. 
 
 COCKERMOUTH, KESWICK, & PENRITH 
 
 RAILWAY. 
 
 Parties slaying at Gilsland, and those re?iding in the neighbourhood 
 of the Newcastle and Carlisle Eailway, can quickly reach Keswick, 
 which is situated on the Cockormoutli, Keswick, and Penritli Railway, 
 in the midst of lovely lake and mountain scenery, and is a convenient 
 centre from which to visit the wildest and the most beautiful parts of 
 the English Lake District. 
 
 For train connections with those of the L. and N. W. Eailway Com- 
 pany from Carlisle, see Monthly Time Bills. 
 
 P. THOMPSON, Secretary and Manager.
 
 CARLISLE GUIDE ADVERTISER. 19 
 
 SHAWS HOTEL, 
 
 GILSLAND. 
 
 The above Hotel is replete with every requirement and 
 comfort, and is capable of accommodating 200 Visitors. 
 
 BILLIARDS, BOWLS, CEOQUET, Etc. 
 
 forms p*r glag. 
 
 FIRST CLASS, including attendance, &c. 8s. 
 
 SECOND CLASS, 6s. 
 
 THIRD CLASS, 4s. 
 
 Private Sitting Rooms from 3s. Gd. to 5s. per day extra. 
 
 WINES AND LIQUORS OF THE FINEST QUALITIES. 
 
 HOT AND COLD SULPHUR BATHS. HOT, COLD, AND 
 SHOWER SPRING BATHS. 
 
 J. G. has great pleasure in intimating that he has made arrange- 
 ments with the North-Eastern Railway Company to grant Return 
 Tickets available for One Month. An Omnibus meets every Train. 
 
 (Open mtir Cias* Carriages, g*at fit-lit MajjoiwtK &. 
 JAMES GELDERD, Proprietor.
 
 20 CAELISLE GUIDE ADVERTISEE. 
 
 SHAWS HOTEL, GILSLA] 
 EXCURSIONS FROM GILS 
 
 First Day. WETHERAL and CORBY, 
 
 En route, visit the Written Eocks, on the river Geli 
 plentiful material for the ingenuity of the antiquarian. 
 
 Second Day. NAWORTH and LANERCOST, 
 
 En route, call at BIKDOSWALD, and view the Eor 
 Station, returning through UPPER DENTON, in the Churc^ 
 is to be seen the grave of MEG DOBBS. Her residence, " j 
 where DANDIE DINMONT fouud MEG MEREILES (vide 'Gt 
 is also to be seen. 
 
 Third Day. BEWCASTLE, &c., by Co 
 In visiting BEWCASTLE (the theme of many a Bordd 
 Triermain Tower, up the Vale of King Water, to Askertorijj 
 on to Bewcastle Church. In the churchyard stands a bjj 
 Pillar, well worth seeing ; and also the Castle near. 
 
 Fourth Day. THE LAKES, &c., by Cr. 
 By THIRLWALL, drive on to the Northumberland Lak| 
 Shooting Box of Sir Edward Blackett. By permission, | 
 be favoured with the use of a boat, and a pleasant sail c| 
 be had. Eeturn by way of the Eoman Wall, the Camp| 
 thence through Haltwhistle, passing Bellister and Blenl 
 
 Fifth Day. CARLISLE, by Rail 
 Call at the TOURIST ENQUIRY OFFICE, 58, Castle StreS 
 mation about all the principal places worth seeing may|| 
 
 Sixth Day. HEXHAM. 
 
 Visit Hexham by rail, and examine well the fine oldjj 
 famous for its many historical reminiscences. Its Abbeyff 
 Court Houses, the many old buildings connected witljf 
 town, that have battled with time over eight hunjj? 
 worthy of more than a passing view. 
 
 Excursions for Parties of Six or upwards, to Naworth and M 
 each ; to Bewcastle and the Northumberland Lakes, Sm 
 Wetheral and Corby, 5s. each. Special arramj^ 
 for larger Parties. 
 
 JAMES GELDERD, Propri
 
 A 000132829 3