# The History of the Roman Wall/Part 3

THE
FIRST STATION.
SEGEDUNUM;
or the
Wall's End.
When part of a building remains, we can sometimes comprehend the whole; but where nothing is left, conjecture is hazardous. This is our present case. No buildings are left in this Station, or any other, to guide the judgment. The spot, now a green pasture, about four acres, three miles and a half below Newcastle, gently declines to the river Tyne; is uneven, as having been covered with buildings. At the top of this green pasture, and parallel with the water, runs Severus's Ditch; so that the Station lies between both.
From the beginning of Severus's Ditch, to the water, the Wall, now gone, must have made a right angle, perhaps eighty yards or more, to the Tyne, so that this cross Wall, would also make a right angle with the river. Here stood the Castle. The North corner of the Wall must have been where now stands a cottage, and have entered the water at what they call a trunk, or high timber bridge.
I could not learn from tradition, that time had made any alteration in the tides. As securing this end of the Wall must have been a point of some magnitude, I have no doubt but the Romans took the advantage of low water, to form their butment as deep as circumstances would allow.
Here we see a town full of streets and houses, immured in stone walls; where every man, though a soldier, might, when not upon duty, follow his occupation.
The Bank and Ditch are nearly complete; the last is ten yards wide. Proceeding two hundred yards, it passes a house, late Cousens', now belonging to John Baddle, Esq. Then Slate's house, to a stile in the valley. Now we rise a hill, with the Wall under the very path we tread. The Ditch twelve yards wide. Along a close called Old Walker's Hill. Byker's Hill. A hedge now runs in the Ditch, a part of which, this year, for the first time, is levelled, and converted into a bed of potatoes, which the proprietors will allow gratis, during three years, to any one who will level, and improve the ground. This is the taste of the neighbourhood for the grandest piece of antiquity in the whole Island.
The Ditch now leaves a windmill close on the right, crosses the road from Newcastle to Shields, about thirty yards North of the toll gate. Goes down the steep hill called Ewsburn, and up to another windmill. Over Shield-field, where, by the name, I suppose a mile-castle has stood, and where the whole is invisible.
We now enter Newcastle, leaving a small part of the town on the right, or North side; but inclosing the principal, and perhaps the whole, when the works were erected. Its passage through these premises is unseen; but it must have been up and down steep hills, till we arrive at Pandon Gate.
During this space of three miles and a half, Severus's Ditch is plainer, nearly all the way, than could be expected in so populous a country. Not the least remains of the Wall, Castles, or Turrets, are to be seen.
At the Wall's end the first cohort had their station.
THE
SECOND STATION.
PONS ÆLII;
now
Newcastle.
Here I must follow my predecessors, who all through this populous town groped their way in the dark. Busy life ruins antiquity. The faithful Warburton will lead me along this crowded place, where nothing of the Roman is seen; after which I shall be able to walk, alone, and perhaps correct my leader.
Though we are arrived at Pandongate, I apprehend we are not arrived at the Station, but a gate in the town wall, where a turret of the Roman Wall once stood. Pandon, in the time of the Romans, and for ages after, was a distinct village, and given to Newcastle by Edward the First.
Warburton proves that Severus's Wall lies a little to the North of St. Nicholas's church; that the Wall, which passes through the church porch, was the Eastern wall of the Station itself, and that of Severus was the Northern; thus having found two walls of this great square, the other two will follow. He justly allows the medium of a station to be an area of one hundred and thirty-six yards square; which, in this case, will reach near the present castle. This points out the Station.
"There are," says my hostess, where I applied for a dinner, "some gentlemen to dine here: should you have any objection to dine with them?"
"Not the least, Madam. I am open to all kinds of company."
My landlord afterwards applied: "Perhaps, Sir, you would chuse to dine in this room alone, upon a dish of fish, and a beef steak?"
"No. I have agreed with my landlady to dine with some gentlemen."
I waited longer than the promise; saw dinner taken in; but no notice taken of me. Disappointment is irksome. "Why am I not," said I to the waiter, "summoned to dinner?" "I will inform you."—The notice came.
I found seven gentlemen fully employed, and a niche left for an eighth.
I was treated with a distant respect; and a small degree of awe governed the whole board.
Dinner over; they requested me to return thanks. Which done;— "You seem, gentlemen, to take me for a clergyman; but, I assure you, I am in a far preferable state; for I am a freeman, which a great part of the Clergy are not. I have nothing to expect from any man but common civility, which I wish to return with interest; but he who is under promises, expectations, or even wishes, his sentiments perhaps may not be his own, and he cannot be deemed free."
Their countenances brightened.
"I have," says one of the gentlemen, "seven relations in the Church."
"Then, Sir, if you are an independent man, are not you the happiest of eight?"
It seemed, their apprehensions of my black dress, from which they were glad to be freed, had nearly deprived me of a dinner.
One of the gentlemen gave, "The King's friends!" To this, though I am no votary for healths, I made no objection; for a friend will not lead a man wrong. But afterwards entering upon indelicate healths, which neither suited the prayer they had requested, nor my pursuits, I withdrew.
The Wall passes near the West gate, and proceeds on our right towards the turnpike. Not many yards before we reach the gate, it crosses the road, and passes through an inclosure, twenty yards on our left; and not through the Quarry house, which is close to the turnpike road on our right.
The works of Agricola and Hadrian, forty yards more to the left, make their appearance for the first time; but in a faint degree. These works run twenty yards South of Elswick windmill, a little short of the first mile-stone; and Severus's Wall is the very turnpike road on which we tread; it is the great, beautiful, and the famous Roman military way, first formed, I believe, by Agricola, improved by Severus, and brought into its present state by George the Second; and though it does not attend the whole line of the Wall, it communicates between Newcastle and Carlisle. I shall continue to walk for many miles upon the Wall as part of the turnpike road, with small variations, and Severus's Ditch at my right elbow.
We leave, on the right, Fenham Lodge, the seat of William Orde, Esq.; and on the left, that of Robinson Bowes, Esq.
All our Historians have failed in two points; they have not given us the dimensions of the mile-castles, which always joined the Wall, and were from twenty-two to twenty-four yards square; nor distinguished the works of Agricola from those of Hadrian; but have confused both, under the name of the latter.
There were four different works in this grand barrier, performed by three personages, and at different periods. I will measure them from South to North, describe them distinctly, and appropriate each part to its proprietor; for, although every part is dreadfully mutilated, yet, by selecting the best of each, we easily form a whole; from what is we can nearly tell what was. We must take our dimensions from the original surface of the ground.
Let us suppose a ditch, like that at the foot of a quickset hedge, three or four feet deep, and as wide. A bank rising from it, ten feet high, and thirty wide in the base. This, with the ditch, will give us a rise of thirteen feet at least. The other side of this bank sinks into a ditch ten feet deep, and fifteen wide, which gives the North side of this bank a declivity of twenty feet. A small part of the soil thrown out on the North side of this fifteen feet ditch, forms a bank three feet high, and six wide, which gives an elevation from the bottom of the ditch, of thirteen feet. Thus our two ditches, and two mounds, sufficient to keep out every rogue, but he who was determined not to be kept out, were the work of Agricola.
The works of Hadrian invariably join those of Agricola. They always correspond together, as beautiful parallel lines. Close to the North side of the little bank I last described, Hadrian sunk a ditch twenty-four feet wide, and twelve below the surface of the ground; which, added to Agricola's three feet bank, forms a declivity of fifteen feet on the South, and on the North, twelve. Then follows a plain of level ground, twenty-four yards over, and a bank exactly the same as Agricola's, ten feet high, and thirty in the base; and then he finishes, as his predecessor began, with a small ditch of three or four feet.
Thus the two works exactly coincide; and must, when complete, have been most grand and beautiful. Agricola's works cover about fifty-two feet, and Hadrian's about eighty-one; but this will admit of some variation.
The annexed Plate shews,
1. Agricola's Work, with the number of feet.
2. Agricola's and Hadrian's united.
3. Severus's Wall and Ditch, in profile.
Severus's works run nearly parallel; the other two lie on the North, never far distant; but may be said always to keep them in view, running a course that best suited the judgment of the maker. The nearest distance is about twenty yards, and greatest near a mile, the medium forty or fifty yards.
They consist of a stone wall eight feet thick, twelve high, and four, the battlements; with a ditch to the North, as near as convenient, thirty-six feet wide and fifteen deep. To the Wall were added, at unequal distances, a number of Stations, or Cities, said to be eighteen, which is not perfectly true; eighty-one castles, and three hundred and thirty castelets, or turrets, which I believe is true; all joining the Wall.
Exclusive of this Wall and ditch, these Stations, castles, and turrets, Severus constituted a variety of roads yet called Roman Roads, twenty-four feet wide, and eighteen inches high in the centre, which led from turret to turret, from one castle to another, and still larger, and more distant roads from the Wall, which led from one Station to another; besides the grand military way before mentioned, which covered all the works, and no doubt was first formed by Agricola, improved by Hadrian, and, after lying dormant fifteen hundred years, was made complete in 1752.
I saw many of these smaller roads, all overgrown with turf; and, when on the side of a hill, they are supported on the lower side with edging stones.
Thus Agricola formed a small ditch, then a bank and ditch, both large, and then finished with a small bank.
Hadrian joined to this small bank a large ditch, then a plain, a large mound, and then finished with a small ditch.
Severus followed nearly in the same line, with a wall, a variety of stations, castles, turrets, a large ditch, and many roads. By much the most laborious task. This forms the whole works of our three renowned Chiefs.
THE
THIRD STATION.
CONDERCUM;
now
Benwell Hill.
I HAVE now travelled five miles and a half from the Wall's end; two from Newcastle; and arrived by the military way upon a very considerable eminence, suitable for a Roman Station. Severus's ditch is close on my right, and I upon the foundation of the Wall, as part of the turnpike road; its bare stones under my feet are frequently distinguishable from those used for mending the road.
But the Station totally disappears, except a roughness on the ground, which shews what has been; while Agricola and Hadrian's works lie on my left, between me and the village, which contains two hundred and one houses, and nine hundred and fifty-one people.
The Station was very large. The corners, rather canted off, had four entrances answering to the four Cardinal Points. The country and prospects are delightful, and the land good.
I now pass, on my left, another house of Mr. Orde's.
At Denton Dean, situated at the bottom of Benwell Hill, the great road veers a few yards to the right, that is, into Severus's ditch, and gives us for the first time a sight of that most venerable piece of antiquity, The Wall, which is six yards South of the road, and twenty short of the brook I am going to pass. The fragment is thirty-six feet long, has three course of facing stones on one side, and four on the other, and is exactly nine feet thick. An apple-tree grows upon the top, as shewn in the Plate annexed.
The eye can easily trace the line over the water, and unite it to the opposite bank.
Before, we leave this village of twenty houses, the Wall again becomes the road, and the ditch is at my right elbow.
At the three-mile stone from Newcastle, I leave on my right the seat of Matthew Montague, Esq.
Hadrian's work is now fifty yards on my left.
At the fourth-mile stone, I arrive at Chapel-house, then to Castle Steads, where there has no doubt been a mile castle; the situation, as well as the name, corroborates the remark. Fifty yards on my left, down a green pasture, run, in bold figures, the united works of Agricola and Hadrian, dressed in about half their antient grandeur; and, having this clue, we can trace them over the inclosures for many miles.
A little short of the fifth-mile stone is Wallbottle.
At the stone, Hadrian is thirty yards on my left, I upon the Wall.
Newburn Dean is nearly at the sixth-mile stone. Here, climbing a bank, to gain a better view of my valuable companions, I stumbled, and, to save myself, caught at a hawthorn hedge, when, like a Knight of Ulster, I bore the bloody hand.
Pass Throcklow. My two friends Agricola and Hadrian are forty yards on my left.
At the seventh-mile stone is Hadden-on-the-Wall. The road here, as is usual at a village, takes a small turn to the right; it goes up the bank, and leaves Severus's ditch close to my left, and his Wall a yard high; but in a confused heap. There must have been here a mile castle. One hundred yards passed; and I again tread the Wall, with the ditch on my right.
Near the eighth-mile stone is the seat of Calverley Bewick, Esq. Here Hadrian assumes a little more consequence, and now we finish our third Station.
THE
FOURTH STATION.
VINDOBALA;
now
Rutchester.
SEVERUS's Wall seems to pass through this Station. What remains is a close, joining the road, of five acres, now in grass, and eminently situated; carries the strong marks of former buildings, and still stronger of its ramparts. The platform of this grand Station is complete.
I have all along inquired for turrets; but might as well have inquired among the stars. I was given to understand, that part of one was remaining here. The master told me, "I might find it at the back of his buildings."
Upon examining something like a cow-house, I perceived a small part was Roman work, which might have been part of the butment of the castle, but could not be a turret, for they always stood in front.
   I saw old Sir at dinner sit, Who ne'er said, "Stranger, take a bit," Yet might, although a Poet said it, Have sav'd his beef, and rais'd his credit.
This old City and suburbs were extensive, and lie in the junction of four roads.
Down in the valley, at the ninth-mile stone, I come to a cottage worth twenty shillings a year.—"Pray what is the name of your place?" "High Seats." "What, because of its low situation? You have found a place in history, only from a dignified name."
Here the General, and the Emperor, wear so strong a feature, that all their works may be traced sixty yards on my left.
I am now arrived at Harlow Hill, ten miles and a half from Newcastle, remarkably high. I again bear to the right, and tread, through the town-street on Severus's ditch, the Wall passing through the houses on my left.
On the highest part stood a mile castle, now a garden, surrounded by its own rampart, very plain. I was shewn a large ash-tree, which grew upon the very Wall, recently blown up by the root, and now rears up like a round pancake, eight feet high, and has drawn after it a ton of stones from the Wall, still clinging and interwoven with the root. A brother tree stands near it, waiting for another blast.
The road is charming. The traveller views it two miles each way. It appears like a white ribbon upon a green ground.
Soliciting a bed, I was ushered into a parlour, where sat three gentlemen. I did not conceive I had a right to intrude, so took my place at the greatest distance. A suspicious silence immediately surrounded their little table. As I never made a secret of myself, or the plan I was pursuing, I endeavoured to introduce a communication, for truth makes a wonderful impression upon the mind; when, after an hour or two's chat, one of them remarked, "You are the most agreeable companion I have met with; but, I do assure you, when you first entered, I took you for a spy employed by Government."
They cordially gave me an invitation to their houses; but time would not allow.
It does not appear that dishonesty is totally expunged from the Wall; for though my gloves were deposited where they ought to have been safe, yet I found that some person had made free with them.
The inhabitants remarked, "that their elevated station exposed them to violent storms of wind and rain; and that if any snow was left upon the earth, it might be found there."
At the eleventh mile stone is the village of Wall-houses: there are five. Severus, distinct as before; and Hadrian, thirty yards on the left, but faint. Here must have been a Mile castle. Now a young grove fills Severus's ditch, which will tend to preserve it.
At the twelve mile stone, Agricola is bold, and Severus perfect.
At the thirteenth, High-wall house,
And at the fourteenth stone, we pass by Sir Edward Blacket's, who is the proprietor of all the works of the General and the two Emperors; and who has converted a little farmhouse into a little castle; so that our favourite banks and ditches have not lost their warlike appearance.
Hadrian, fifty yards on my left, is very conspicuous; I, upon Severus's Wall, and his ditch on my right.
At the fifteenth mile stone, we pass Halton Shields, a village of twelve houses. I rapped at some doors, tried the latch at others, and hollowed at all; but I believe not a soul was left within, the fine hay-day had emptied the village.
I now enter a common, where the two partners appear in bold, and broken lines.
Severus, through the long line of the Wall, seems to chuse the high ground, perhaps the better to observe the approach of an enemy; and Agricola the low, for the benefit of water to supply his ditches; but I was surprized, at the close of this Station, to observe this rule was reversed; for Agricola passes over a steep on my left, and the other seems obliged to take the low ground on which I tread. Perhaps Agricola durst not attempt the swamp; which Severus was obliged to do, as the other had left him no alternative.
THE
FIFTH STATION.
HUNNUM;
now
Halton Chesters.
From whence Halton Hall derives its name, the antient seat of the Carnabys.
I am eighteen miles from the Wall's end, fifteen and a half from Newcastle, and seven from the last Station. I passed through the centre of this Station without knowing it, till an intelligent gentleman set me right. It is near the foot of the hill I just now mentioned; is flat, which is uncommon for a Station; seems less rough than some other Stations, owing perhaps to its being more cultivated, for it was now covered with standing corn. Severus's Wall passes through the centre of this Station,
The moment I saw it, Severus appeared to have been cramped in his design, that he was obliged to take the low ground, because his predecessor had before taken the high; and, as he could not go behind him, was obliged to proceed over the verge of the swamp.
Rising a long and gentle hill, I was shewn, what was once a Mile castle, now a piece of wheat in the open field.
One hundred yards more brings us to Port Gate; that is, two roads cross each other at right angles, both Roman. One is the Watling Street, which, I have no doubt, was made first; the other, the line of the Wall upon which I tread. This being formed after the other, a kind of gate-way, or thoroughfare, was left in the Wall, to facilitate a passage: hence the name.
See in the annexed Plate, a profile of the Roman Wall and Vallum near this Gate, as it appeared in Warburton's time, 1722.
I now travel over a large common, still upon the Wall, with its trench nearly complete. But what was my surprize when I beheld, thirty yards on my left, the united works of Agricola and Hadrian, almost perfect! I climbed over a stone wall to examine the wonder; measured the whole in every direction; surveyed them with surprize, with delight, was fascinated, and unable to proceed; forgot I was upon a wild common, a stranger, and the evening approaching. I had the grandest works under my eye, of the greatest men of the age in which they lived, and of the most eminent nation then existing; all which had suffered but little during the long course of sixteen hundred years. Even hunger and fatigue were lost in the grandeur before me. If a man writes a book upon a turnpike road, he cannnot be expected to move quick; but, lost in astonishment, I was not able to move at all.
Upon this common, which is very high ground, I more than once observed some of the facing stones of Severus's Wall under my feet, just as the Romans placed them, which proves that the road is raised so high, as to bury some part of the Wall; this simple sight I could not observe without surprize and pleasure.
At St. Oswald's the road turns a little to the left, for a few yards, and leaves the Wall to the right; hut very soon crosses it again.
Had I been some months sooner, I should have been favoured with a noble treat; but now that treat was miserably soured.
At the twentieth-mile stone, I should have seen a piece of Severus's Wall seven feet and a half high, and two hundred and twenty-four yards long: a sight not to be found in the whole line. But the proprietor, Henry Tulip, Esq. is now taking it down, to erect a farm-house with the materials. Ninety-five yards are already destroyed, and the stones, fit for building removed. Then we come to thirteen yards which are standing, and overgrown on the top with brambles.
A piece of the Wall, as it still appears at this place, is shewn in the annexed Plate.
The next forty yards were just demolished; and the stones, of all sizes, from one pound to two hundred weight, lying in one continued heap, none removed.
The next forty yards are standing, seven feet high.
Then follows the last division, consisting of thirty-six yards, which is sacrificed by the mattock, the largest stones selected, and the small left. The facing-stones remain on both sides. This grand exhibition must be seen no more. How little we value what is daily under the eye!
Here was a fine opportunity for measuring. The foundation was one foot below the surface of the ground, and consisted of two courses of stone, each six inches thick, extending to the width of six feet and a half. The second course set off three inches on each side, which reduced the foundation to six feet, and the third, three inches of a side more, reducing the Wall to five feet and a half, its real thickness here.
The Plate here subjoined gives a profile of the remains of the Wall as it now appears at this place. The foundation of which is laid in the native earth, the rest is cemented with mortar.
The soil being afterwards thrown up on each side of the Wall two feet high, caused the foundation to be three feet deep.
I desired the servant with whom I conversed, "to give my compliments to Mr. Tulip, and request him to desist, or he would wound the whole body of Antiquaries. As he was putting an end to the most noble monument of Antiquity in the whole Island, they would feel every stroke. If the Wall was of no estimation, he must have a mean opinion of me, who would travel six hundred miles to see it; and if it was, he could never merit my thanks for destroying it."
"Should he reply, 'The property is mine, and I have a right to direct it as I please;' it is an argument I can regret, but not refute."
I am now descending a hill of some magnitude, called Wall Fell, and am within half a mile of the river of North Tyne. Could I follow the line of the Wall, it would lead me to what was once the Roman Bridge over that river; the foundation of which, I was given to understand, I might see, if I would wade; but as I could not do one, nor wished to do the other, I submitted to the turnpike road, and the present bridge, which perhaps is half a mile above that of the Romans, and which obliged me to quit the line of the Wall for two miles.
And here I must be allowed to call in question the wisdom of the moderns, who have erected a bridge at twice the expence; for the water is here twice as wide, two hundred and fifty feet; and, by quitting the Roman line, caused the traveller to march two miles instead of one. But private interest is known to prevent public good.
The eye can easily carry the works of the three great men over the water, across the valley; and up one inclosure of perhaps two hundred yards, five or six acres; and in the next close, we see it terminate in our Fifth Station, full of hills and hollows, from which it has acquired the modern name of Chester Holes.
THE
SIXTH STATION.
CILURNUM;
now
Walwick Chesters.
I AM not far from the twenty-second-mile stone, between Newcastle and Carlisle. The inclosure where this City stood seems, like the other Stations, to be five or six acres; but is in reality an oblong of 400 feet by 570, nearly eight acres. It is in grass, very uneven, owing to former use, and rather elevated, though near the bottom of high ground. But the Romans were obliged to fix here, or they could not guard the river.
The annexed plan of this Station, with part of the plan of Severus's Wall and Hadrian's Vallum, shews how they were connected at the Station; and, their mutual relation to one another must have been one entire united defence or fortification.
The Banks, Wall, and Trenches, having crossed the water of North Tyne, and passed this Station, keep together, and proceed by the spacious seat of Nathaniel Clayton, Esq. who holds the honour of being proprietor of the works of two Emperors, and the Bonaparte of the day.
Rising the hill to Walwick, the village is delightful, and the prospect most charming. At the corner of a garden-wall, I saw a beautiful pedestal, pannelled, moulded, and fluted, in perfection, two feet by eighteen inches; no doubt a Roman relick, degraded to a shabby prop, as a thing of no value.
We pass the seat of Henry Tulip, Esq.
The works of Agricola and Hadrian still continue on my left; but Severus crosses the turnpike road in the village, and appears on my right, a Wall three feet high, but in a rude state, and without facing-stones; for we can easily conceive a wall, levelled with the ground, and seven or eight feet thick, will bear its own rubbish a yard high.
The Emperor and General on my left, in striking characters, are cut through the rock; and the great military way fills up the space between Severus and them.
I am now at the twenty-third-mile stone; the morning delightful, and the parallel lines before me magnificent.
At the twenty-fourth-mile stone, I still have Severus's trench, and what remains of the Wall, on my right, and Hadrian's works on my left, with the military way on which I tread, only twelve yards wide, between, which fills up the space. Thus am I hemmed in by dignity, upon the best of roads, upon elevated ground, with extensive prospects, in a country thinly inhabited, surrounded with commons, or with inclosures of fifty or a hundred acres each, but without trees or hedges, and where the face of the earth seems shaved to the quick. Yet in this solitary place, where foot seldom treads, I enjoy the company of three valuable friends, Agricola, Hadrian, and Severus.
At Towertay, Severus's Wall appears in more dignity, with two or three courses of facing-stones; but generally, in this part of my rout, with only the rude stones lying upon the foundation.
THE
SEVENTH STATION.
PROCOLITIA;
now
Carrawburgh.
THIS Seventh City upon the Wall lies upon an open and elevated spot. A farm-house stands exactly upon the works of Hadrian and Agricola. The Station joins the house, is six or seven acres, in grass, exceedingly hilly, declaring the former actions of busy life, and is yet secured by its original ramparts.
The Wall here makes a bend, as if with design to inclose this spot. It seems, by the roughness of the ground, to have had a suburb to the West, where a well, or rather a Roman Bath, has been found seven feet square, quoined with stone.
I was treated here with great civility, when they found I was neither Exciseman, Spy, nor Methodist Preacher.
A Roman stone, which graced the old Castle, graces the internal wall of the present house; a man's chubbyface, ten inches square, without inscription, but is ornamented with drapery. Here the bold ruins of all the works appear.
At the twenty-fifth mile stone, Hadrian is forty yards on my left, and Severus close to my right, not very conspicuous.
Upon the hill rising to Carrow, the foundation of Severus's Wall is seen, with a boundary hedge growing upon it; and in one place three or four courses of facing-stones appear for about fifteen yards. The other two, thirty yards on my left.
Pass by Carrow, a single house, on the summit of an eminence, where must have been a Mile castle; it lies between Hadrian and Severus's works.
At the twenty-sixth mile stone, the General and the Emperor are seen in formidable beauty; while Severus is rather sinking, yet noble. Upon the hill, twenty-six miles and a half, all the mounds and trenches appear in strong lines.
At the twenty-seventh mile stone, the two appear in bold and noble characters. But now I must quit this beautiful road, and the more beautiful scenes of cultivation, and enter upon the rude of Nature, and the wreck of Antiquity; for this grand military way bears to the left, and the Wall to the right.
I am now thirty miles and a half from the Wall's end, and twenty-seven from Newcastle; have been close to the Wall all the way, except at passing the Tyne; and, for about twenty miles of the above space, have trod upon the very Wall, as constituting part of the great military way, though unobserved by the common passenger, with Severus's trench at my right elbow, generally in a bold style. The works of Agricola and Hadrian mostly visible on my left; but always carried through inclosures.
The two works now must separate, and be a mile, or near it, asunder for the next ten miles; for Agricola and Hadrian humbly pursue the lower grounds, while Severus climbs the rocky mountains.
I follow the Wall. It now appears six feet high; but divested of facing-stones, and in a rude heap. Here I find the platform of a Castle, whose wall is six courses high, and about four feet long.
Travelling three hundred yards, I come to the foundation of another building joining the Wall; but levelled, in the form of a bow, the Wall supposed the string. It could not be a Mile castle; perhaps a place of arms.
Half a mile before I come to Shewenshields are the remains of a Castle, twenty-two yards by thirty; an entrance on the East, South, and West, with a foss on three sides, remarkably bold, and on the fourth the Wall. It has had four Turrets, one at each corner. Here I observe Agricola and Hadrian creeping modestly along the valley below.
Severus runs along, from one to three feet high, all confusion, mounting every craggy precipice it can find, and, from the prodigious declivity on the North, needs no ditch; while Agricola and Hadrian beautifully proceed over a small eminence below, five hundred yards South, where their works, or rather Agricola's joins a large fort sixty yards square, once a Castle.
Here Severus's Wall runs crooked, and catches the precipices wherever it can. About a mile after we quit the great road, we arrive at a gap in the mountain, an inlet to the famous Moss Troopers; who here broke through the Wall in bodies, for plunder and blood. The Mosses are the meadows on the North below; which, though rather in an uncultivated state, are passable.
A small Castle stood in the meadow, near the foot of the hill, to prevent the Picts, and afterwards the Moss Troopers, by guarding the pass, the remains of which appear. Tradition says, it was built by King Ethel, which must be an abridgment of Ethelrick, Ethelfrid, or Ethelred, for they were all Saxon Kings of Northumberland. It was not likely to be the first or last, for they reigned but four years each. It must then have been Ethelfrid, who reigned twenty-three years, was a spirited prince, and fought with the North Britons. We may date the erection of this Castle between the year 593 and 617. But, whoever was the architect, he knew but little of Castle-building. It ought to have been placed upon one of the limbs of the pass.
I am now upon a place called Shewenshields, about twenty-eight miles from Newcastle, once a Mile castle, now a dreary farm of 2070 acres, occupied by Mr. Matthew Magnay, who paid me every attention. It includes the Mosses on the North of the Wall, and the rocks on the South, and is better adapted to the teeth than the plough.
Mr. Magnay took me to a small gutter in the rock upon his farm, which bears the name Cats Cover, (as small as would admit a cat). Here the Scots bored under the Wall so as to admit the body of a man; for, if one could get through, a thousand might follow; for there was nobody either to watch, or oppose them. The Britons must have been very supine; for two days labour of three men would have made this narrow pass so secure, that the more they bored, the deeper they would have penetrated into the rocky mountain.
The elevation of Shewenshields house is remarkable; it commands an amazing view, part of which is the Chiviot Hills. Mr. Magnay asked me, "if I would sit in King Ethel's chair?" to which I assented. He took me to the top of a precipice fifty feet high, close behind the Wall; from the bottom of which rose a perpendicular rock, rather in the form of a chimney, much higher than we stood, and six feet from the precipice; it had a set off, which resembled the seat and back of a chair; but neither Ethel, nor any one else, ever sat in it.
The Wall is here six or seven feet high, but in confusion; keeps a zig-zag line merely to follow the precipice. I requested my friend Magnay to conduct me to the famous Busy Gap, about twenty-nine miles from Newcastle; so called from the frequency of the Picts and Scots breaking through this gap, and surprizing the Romans and Britons, and afterwards of the Moss Troopers. This I also found to be a break in the mountain over which the Wall ran, now filled up by a common-field gate, two yards and a half wide. It lies one mile beyond Shewenshields.
The human mind is apt to rise into the wonderful. Most tales are stretched a little beyond what they ought to bear. How often have we "never seen such a thing in our lives!" "Every thing in the world" often rings in our ears. Something like this is the case of the Moss Troopers. "They could pass over bogs which nobody else could. They burrowed into rocks and holes which none could find out, and places where none durst approach."
The simple truth is, they had no rocks or holes to burrow in, or bogs to pass, which another could not. No doubt they were able-bodied men, as all thieves ought to be, or they would not be fit for their calling. Their manner was, to assemble in a body, break the Wall in the weakest, or most convenient place, fight, run, burn your house, or drive away your cattle, as occasion offered. The advantage would always lie on the strongest side.
As I passed through Penrith, I paid my respects to John Hutton, Esq. (perhaps my relation). In our discourse he remarked, "That one of his ancestors, a stout man, returning from Carlisle, met six Scots men driving twenty head of cattle, which they had stolen. Being armed himself, and they having only bludgeons, he drew his sword, fell furiously upon them, wounded some, made the whole body disperse, and recovered the the prey, which he drove back to the owners."
A more dreary country than this in which I now am, can scarcely be conceived. I do not wonder it shocked Camden. The country itself would frighten him, without the Troopers.
As the evening was approaching, and nature called loudly for support and rest, neither of which could be found among the rocks; I was obliged to retreat into the military road, to the only public house, at three miles distance, known by no other name than that of Twice Brewed.
"Can you favour me with a bed?"
"I cannot tell till the company comes."
"What, is it club-night?"
"Yes, a club of carriers."
A pudding was then turned out, about as big as a peck measure; and a piece of beef out of the copper, perhaps equal to half a calf.
"You must be so kind as to indulge me with a bed. I will be satisfied with any thing."
"I cannot, except you will sleep with this man" (pointing to a poor sick traveller who had fallen ill upon the road).
"That will be inconvenient."
"Will you consent to sleep with this boy?" (about ten,) "Yes."
Having compleated our bargain, and supped, fifteen carriers approached, each with a one-horse cart, and sat down to the pudding and beef, which I soon perceived were not too large. I was the only one admitted; and watched them with attention, being highly diverted. Every piece went down as if there was no barricade in the throat. One of those pieces was more than I have seen eaten at a meal by a moderate person. They convinced me that eating was the "chief end of man." The tankard too, like a bowl lading water out of the well, was often emptied, often filled.
My landlady, however, swerved from her agreement; for she found me a whole bed to my wish.
THE
EIGHTH STATION.
BORCOVICUS;
now
House Steads.
I AM now thirty miles from Newcastle. Becoming a gainer at Twice Brewed by a broken promise, which is seldom the case, I retreated next morning over a Moss to my favourite pursuit, which brought me to House-Steads, the grandest Station in the whole line. In some Stations the Antiquary feeds upon shells, but here upon kernels. Here lie the remains of antient splendour in bold characters.
The line, as usual, proceeds over the crags, which leave a precipice fifty feet high on the North. At the bottom are three pools. The Wall is six or seven feet high; but miserably broken, and continues in the same style six or seven miles, a heap of rubbish. In some parts only three feet high, and occasionally shews five or six courses of facingstones.
The Station is, of course, much elevated; declines to the South; the ramparts are plain. A very large Suburb seems to have been added to this populous City, now reduced to one solitary house; the whole about fifteen acres. The curious observer, I believe, may count twenty streets. The population, perhaps, could not be less than two or three thousand souls.
From the melancholy relicks on the spot, it must have been graced with some elegant buildings.
A Temple, no doubt, was one. I saw the square base of a large pillar, with a circular shaft proceeding from it, fourteen inches diameter; curiously moulded. Another, of a different form, with a square shaft eighteen inches diameter; noble remains of fifteen hundred years! which loudly declare the days of antient splendour. The Castle stood at the corner, North-West, within the Station; was itself moated round, as were also the Station and the Suburbs, separately.
Joining the Wall, within, are the remains of a court of Justice, about twelve yards long, and six wide. In the West corner was the Judge's seat, six feet diameter, and quoined with stone, ten courses of which remain. It is not easy to survey these important ruins without a sigh: a place once of the greatest activity, but now a solitary desert; instead of the human voice, is heard nothing but the winds.
In the farm house, down in the valley, the jamb which supports the mantle tree is one solid stone, four feet high, two broad, and one thick, compleat as in the day the workman left it, as in the Plate here annexed; which may be also found in Warburton's History of the Wall, Plate III. p. 60; and in Gough's improved edition of Camden's Britannia, vol. III. Plate xvii. p. 245.
There are also many curious figures, all Roman, in this Station.
I had now the severe task of creeping up rocks, and climbing stone walls, not well adapted to a man who has lost the activity of youth.
As the works of the two celebrated Chiefs continued in view, and being invited by a single house in the valley, of some magnitude, called Bradley Halls where I might gain knowledge; I descended the hill, to tread upon that venerable ground; a distance Warburton calls 600 yards, perhaps good measure. I found them all very distinguishable, though in mowing grass, and in a perfect swamp.
The annexed Plate shews a profile of the Mountains at Bradley Hall, on the top of which runs Severus's Wall, and Hadrian's Vallum at the bottom.
Entering the Hall, the family, whose name I am sorry I have forgotten, seemed to strive which should treat me with the most kindness. It consisted of a father and mother, two sons, near six feet each, and two beautiful Sacharissa's, who, though aiding the churn, will not, like Waller's lovely rose, bloom and wither in a desart, but find their way into the busy world.
On the rough rock, opposite Crag Lough, the Wall is three feet high; but deprived of all the facing-stones, and bends to avoid the pool. The ditch is in perfection.
At another spot upon this Crag, the Wall is eleven courses high on one side, and from three to five on the other; and, for sixty yards, is eight feet high.
I now consider myself in the middle of the kingdom, between the German Ocean, and the Irish Sea; consequently upon the most elevated ground between both, and distant, in a strait line, by land, about fifty miles from each. We must allow, from the convexity of the Globe, a rise of one hundred and fifty yards; and the mountain on which I stand will perhaps give a rise of forty more. It follows, I am elevated one hundred and ninety yards above the Sea. The prospects are not grand, but extensive, and rather awful. Upon the Great Crag, are three courses of facingstones.
The judicious Warburton "believes, that the works of Hadrian lie at a considerable distance South of this Station, and that they make a small turn at the brook to come at it." But can a thing be brought near to what does not exist?
Hadrian was dead long before the appearance of this Station.
THE
NINTH STATION.
VINDOLANA;
now
Little Chesters.
I THINK myself bound to place Little Chesters among the Stations, that I may follow my predecessors, and not break their numerical order. Although Roman, and garrisoned by Romans, it does not appear to belong to the works of Severus. It stands near two miles South of the Wall.
Agricola erected Castles adjoining his works; but this stands nearly a mile South of his, therefore it could add no security.
It probably was used as a prison, and this is corroborated by a remark of our writers, "That there was discovered under a heap of rubbish a square room below the ground, strongly vaulted, and paved with large square stones, set in lime; and under this another room, whose roof was supported by rows of square pillars." These two rooms could answer no end but that of a prison.
There are four Stations, of the eighteen, smaller than the rest, which are detached from the Wall, and lie considerably to the South:
Little Chesters;
Carvoran;
Cambeck Fort; and
Watch Cross.
As Little Chesters is the first that occurs, it is necessary to speak of all the four.
Hadrian and Severus could have nothing to do with these. They were most probably the work of Agricola. That he made the banks and ditches I have described in his name, is not doubted. That he erected some Castles, is as clear; but, for many ages, all his ramparts, mounds, trenches, and Castles, have gone under the name of Hadrian's.
If he erected Castles and mounds, there must have been roads to communicate with them. It is reasonable then to conclude, that he was the author of all the roads appertaining to his Works.
A Roman road went from Walwick Chesters, directly to Little Chesters, and left Carrowburgh and Housesteads much on the right. It then then proceeded from Little Chesters to Carvoran, leaving Great Chesters on the right, and directed its course to Cambeck Fort, leaving Burdoswald to the right, and then took its course to Watch Cross. All these four Stations lie to the South, totally distinct from Severus's Wall, or Stations; Agricola must have formed them for the accommodation of his works.
The road I have described is about eighteen miles; besides many smaller roads, which were connected with his grand undertaking. It may be considered as a string, and Severus's Wall the bow. It ends in the great military way, and joins Severus's Wall, about four miles before we come to Carlisle, in all about twenty-eight miles.
Severus, afterwards, constructed a great number of roads, now to be seen, which branched from this towards the North, and communicated with his Wall, Stations, &c.
The Wall, at Wall-green, takes a small turn, and continues about three feet high, broken as usual; and Severus's Ditch is in high preservation, as we rise the hill to the next Station.
THE
TENTH STATION.
ÆSICA;
now
Great Chesters.
THIS Station is elevated as usual, and thirty-five-miles from Newcastle; is about five acres, very uneven. No buildings remain, except a modern farm house, all the doors of which I found open, and none to guard the premises but a child, from whom I could gain no intelligence. There was no danger of a thief; for, in this solitary place, he must come a great way to take a little.
The trenches and ramparts are bold, particularly on the waste, where they are very large. The appearance of the place, and the idea of past transactions, strike the soul with awe. It appears by the ground, that the buildings have swelled into a Suburb. The marks of a Temple, and Court of Justice, are visible. The Wall, in confusion, is here about three feet high. The swelling banks shew where the Castle stood, and particularly mark the butments.
The General and the Emperor, with mild features, are seen half a mile below, gliding along the valley.
Drawing near Cockmount Hill, four hundred yards forwards, and in a high situation, I am frequently favoured with a few courses of facing-stones, Agricola and Hadrian, still half a mile South, in the valley; the reason is, Severus attempts a precipice, if he can. Here the Wall ascends the rocks.
There is a Tumulus in the meadow, near the works of the two great men. Now we come to a Well, made famous because one of the Saxon Kings was baptized here, perhaps without a feast.
We arrive at Wall-town, if a single house deserves the name. On each side the door stands a Roman Altar, used for washing hands, kettles, dishes, &c. and has at last the honour of supporting the dish-clout. I saw one old-female, who treated me shily, and heard a younger, who durst not see me; and both, I have reason to think, wished me gone: but, perhaps, I had the most reason to be frightened.
The Wall ascends the rocks. Here Camden was terrified again, at the imaginary houses of the Moss Troopers, and relinquished his examination of the Wall. The name is Walton Crag. I found the ascent so difficult that I sometimes was obliged to crawl on all fours.
Here the Wall having facing-stones on each side, allowed me to take the measure; I found its thickness barely nine feet. In one place, for about two yards, and that upon a sharp declivity, there are eight courses of facing-stones.
THE
ELEVENTH STATION.
MAGNA;
now
Carvoran.
THIS small Station, thirty-eight miles from Newcastle, seems to belong rather to the works of Agricola, than to those of Severus; or perhaps it belongs to neither, being about three hundred yards South of the nearest.
The situation of the ground is a valley between two hills. Through this valley, and through the Wall, runs the river Tippal, which opening demanded a security to the pass, as well against the Britons as the Scots.
Opposite therefore to Carvoran was erected in after-ages, on the North side of Severus's Wall, Thirlwell Castle (Thorough Wall) from the Scots breaking through. The situation of Thirlwell Castle is well chosen, upon an elevated round knob of earth. It is the property of the Earl of Carlisle, and far gone in decay.
Here I met with all the civility, even friends could bestow. A little beyond is the mark of a Mile castle, ten yards square.
I have now done with desolate mountains, precipices, and climbing stone walls; which have continued more than ten miles.
Half a mile short of Mumps Hall is a hollow in the mountain called Stone Gap, where the Scots broke through. I am now in that part of the Wall which Nature had the least defended; for the river Tippal, mentioned above, falls into the North Tyne. This last running forty miles Eastward, and parallel with the Wall, on the South side, became a kind of guard which prevented the Northern plunderers from penetrating into the country. And, about three miles West of this place, the little surly river Irthing crosses the Wall, and flows into the Eden; which, running Westward to Carlisle about eighteen miles, became an out-guard to the other part of the Wall. The intermediate space of three miles between the North Tyne, aided by the Tippal on the left, and the Irthing feeding the Eden on the right, became a fine opening for plunder.
I now cross a small rivulet called Poltross, which gives me an entrance into Cumberland, being forty-four miles from the Wall's end, forty and a half from Newcastle, about sixteen and a half from Carlisle, and twenty-nine and a half from Boulness.
The Wall, close to my left, runs along a meadow, is about a yard high, in confusion, has a hedge growing upon it, till it reaches the East bank of the Irthing, where it stops. The West bank is a precipice, which Warburton calls forty yards perpendicular: perhaps he is right. The Wall undoubtedly went to the foot of this hill, and must end there; for the side is too steep, I think, to admit a Wall; but its broken end is visible on the top.
I had this river to cross, and this mountain to ascend; but did not know how to perform either. I effected a passage over the river by the assistance of stones as large as myself, sometimes in, and sometimes out; but with difficulty reached the summit of the precipice by a zig-zag line, through the brambles, with a few scratches.
At the top I had a view of the Wall where it was broken off to the foundation. It measured seven feet exactly.
THE
TWELFTH STATION.
AMBOGLANNA;
now
Burdoswald.
TRADITION says it derived its name from Oswald, King of Northumberland, who was surprized by his enemies while fishing in a neighbouring pool. It could not be Oswald, who lost his life in battle with Penda, the Mercian King, at Oswestry. If there is any truth in the tradition, it must have been Oswald, who was raised to the throne of Northumberland by a faction, about the year 800, and was deposed after a reign of twenty-eight days.
When I entered the house of Mr. Bowman, who is the proprietor, and occupier, of these once imperial premises, I was received with that coldness which indicates an unwelcome guest, bordering upon a dismission; for an ink-bottle and book are suspicious emblems. But, as information was the grand point in view, I could not, for trifles, give up my design; an expert angler will play with his fish till he can catch him.
With patience, with my small stock of rhetoric, and, above all, the simplicity of my pursuit, which was a powerful argument, we became exceedingly friendly; so that the family were not only unwilling to let me go, but obliged me to promise a visit on my return. They gave me their best; they wished it better. I had been, it seems, taken for a person employed by Government to examine private property, for the advancement of taxation.
I assured them, that my journey rose from the idle whim of an Antiquary; that I had employed myself and that my right hand must pay my left.
The Station at Burdoswald, forty-three miles from Newcastle, and fifteen from Carlisle, contains five or six acres, joins the Wall, like other Stations, on the North. All the Roman buildings are down; but the marks of many appear. The ground will tell us what has been laid upon it. Some have been the turrets of the Castle. One a prison. Another, twelve yards by five, was designed for the guard. The whole Station is surrounded by a foss. All the entrances are plain. The whole in a high situation.
The Wall here is six feet thick. Mr. Bowman's fold, &c. stand on the very works. I left these worthy people with some concern.
Upon the common, called Midgham foot, a little beyond the favourite premises of Burdoswald, the Wall had been recently taken down, and lies in heaps, as if the country could not produce one soul to protect Antiquity. Agricola and Hadrian lie one hundred yards on my left.
I thought I observed the foundation of a turret, but am not certain; I saw, however, forty yards of facing-stones, from five to seven courses high. In another place on the common, called the Banks, I saw eight. All the mounds, the Wall, and the ditches, are seen all the way along this common; the Wall four feet high.
At Bank head, the foundation of the Wall only is seen; the trench is in perfection; a foot-path runs along the bottom.
I entered a farm-house for intelligence; I was treated with great shyness, till they understood my pursuit. It appeared, they had taken me for a surveyor of land, preparatory to inclosing the commons.
At Hare hill, which, by the bye, stands in a valley, the Wall is ten feet high, and five yards long; but the front stones are gone. I viewed this relick with admiration; I saw no part higher; it was within two feet of the battlements. Near this place the Wall is five feet high, with the foundation of a Castle twenty yards square.
Now I find a small part, with three tier of facing-stones, ten yards long, and four feet high, with a new wall added by a gentleman to the old, which will preserve it.
A little farther, the banks and ditch are perfect; and Severus's Wall is built upon the soil thrown out of his own ditch, as is perceptible in many other places.
Over the valley, for the, space of two hundred yards, the Wall is four feet high, and a boundary hedge grows upon its top.
Proceeding from Haden, a new Wall is erected upon the spot where the old one stood, with some of its materials; and the remainder are scattered.
I now traverse another common, half a mile over, where all the works are just discernible. Then passing half a mile more, part over watery ground, and the sun down, my limbs told me, I had done enough for the day, and a guide directing me where I might sleep, I applied to the sign of the Cow and Boot, at High Walton, for a bed.
"Sir, we cannot take you in."
"You must be kind enough to assist me, for there is no other place in which I can sleep. Dispose of me how you please, but do not turn me out."
Silence was the answer, which I considered a favourable one. There were, besides the father and mother, six children, chiefly females, and grown up. One of them, a young woman, I was sorry to see, was approaching the grave.
Although a public-house, they had no ale, cyder, porter, beer, or liquors, of any kind, or food, except milk, which was excellent; but they treated me with something preferable, Civility.
When I rose the next morning, and asked my worthy landlady, what I had to pay? I found she would be satisfied with only a few pence! Ignorant of the polite art of duping, I found she knew but little of the world.
I laid down two shillings. In surprize, she returned one, and offered to give change for the other. I insisted upon her taking both. Still unwilling, I was obliged to promise to make her a harder bargain at my return.
When a man serves me with his best in time of need, he merits my money and my thanks.
THE
THIRTEENTH STATION.
PETRIANA;
now
Cambeck Fort.
FIFTY miles from Newcastle, and eight from Carlisle; a modern name, derived from the river Cambeck. The works are wholly gone; for a gentleman, who, like other "wise men from the East," had acquired a fortune in India, recently purchased the estate on which this Castle stood, for thirteen thousand pounds, stocked up the foundation, and erected a noble house on the spot. Other Stations preserve the ruins, but this only the name; and is the first which has been sacrificed to modern taste.
It also bears the name of Castle Steads, perhaps the most proper. This small fort stands at so great a distance from all the works, that I can scarcely admit it among the Stations. It could be of no more use to Severus's Wall, than various other fortifications scattered over the country on both sides of the Wall. It might be of rather more use to Agricola. It is the third reputed Station which stands out of the line; and was, I have no doubt, erected by him, and most probably accepted by Severus, and occupied by him as a Station; otherwise, we cannot account for the great vacancy between Burdoswald and Watch Cross, which is more than nine miles; or rather between Burdoswald and Stanwix, Which is fourteen miles, and would have been too great a distance between the Stations, a distance no where found. So that between the above two, which line with the Wall, we find two that do not, Cambeck Fort, of which we now treat, and Watch Cross, which follows.
The ground plot was visible before the purchase, and is all that was left of the Station. Along the Wall, Severus's ditch with the Works of Agricola and Hadrian may be traced; but the higher we rise in cultivation the more we sink in antiquity. The plough will bury its last remains.
The works now pass Newton, and Old Walton, much in a feeble style, except Severus's trench, which, through the inclosures, makes, and perhaps ever will make, a bold figure.
Wall-Head, a single house, in a low situation! Here the people viewed me with a suspicious eye when I entered the house, and, I have reason to think, rather wished me out. A book in my hand, and ink-bottle at my breast, "What could I be but a surveyor of land, employed by the landlord, preparatory to a rise of rent!"
But, when I could dispel the gloom, and raise a smile, I became a most welcome guest; was received with additional joy, in proportion to the depth they had been let down; was obliged to drink tea, and promise a return of the visit. Thus the civil treatment rose from the removal of an expected injury.
THE
FOURTEENTH STATION.
ABALLABA;
now
Watch Cross.
IT is sometimes called Scaleby Castle. This is still a less Station, and the least in the line; fifty-three miles from Newcastle, and five from Carlisle; lies more than a mile South of all the works; and for what use placed here by Agricola is uncertain, except to guard a road. This is the fourth Station of the eighteen, which is detached from the Wall.
A Roman road preceeds from Walwick Chesters, already mentioned; takes a course like the string of a bow for twenty-six miles, and then joins the Wall near Wallby. A branch of this road runs up to Thirlwall Castle. It also communicates with Little Chesters, and Carvoran, both detached Stations. The same road extends to two other out Stations; for, by passing through Crakes town, and Burtham, it reaches Cambec Fort; and then, through Newton and Irthingtan, it reaches Watch Cross, proceeds on to Low Crosby, and Wallby, as above.
It is said, the kingdom at the time I am speaking of was full of timber; and that the Romans occasionally cleared it away, to make their roads, and to facilitate a passage for large bodies of men, provisions, &c. which could not, in many places, have been conveyed without.
When they had formed the roads, it became equally necessary to guard them. Hence these four Southern Stations. As a farther security to this long and naked part of the Wall, in after-ages, was erected Scaleby Castle, which, like Thirlwell, lies at a small distance North of Severus; this, perhaps, three hundred yards, and Thirlwell, one, which became a tolerable defence.
While the Wall was new, it was well guarded, which insured peace. The principal officers under Severus and his successors frequently procured grants of land, upon which they erected castles of defence; and, as a gentleman who knew the whole line, remarked to me, they chose the most fertile spots in the country, Scaleby was one of those grants. The Tilliots owned it about the time of King John; then the Pickerings, the Musgraves, the Gilpins; and it is now the property of William Richardson, Esq. of Wallby; but, like the fortifications of the Wall, is in ruins.
I now pass Bleatern, where the Wall is said "to run through mossy ground, and they were obliged to erect it upon piles of wood." But I saw no piles of wood, or mossy ground, though I sought for both, neither an occasion for piles.
Bleatern stands upon elevated ground, able to support a wall without the help of wood; besides, had there been mossy ground, Severus's ditch, in high condition here, would have drained the land for the Wall. I found, however, as much attention paid me, within the house, as I wished.
All the way from Bleatern to Wallby, more than a mile, the common high-way, (not the turnpike road,) is on the Wall itself; with the ditch on my right.
I asked a gentleman, who was amusing himself in his garden by the road, some questions relative to my pursuit; who answered with great civility,
"Will you step in, Sir, and take a glass?"
What man, like me, burnt up by a mid-day sun, could refuse? Besides, I was in a country where I could not purchase. The solicitation repeated, I accepted the kind offer. He took me into his elevated summer-house.
"I do not reside here, but come occasionally to amuse myself with the prospect (which was fine); have brought a bone of lamb, and wish you to partake."
After a slight apology, I made a hearty dinner, and drank what I chose; in my situation a small draught could not suffice.
From his window, he explained the whole country, attended me on the way, and pointed out every object of use.
"May I, Sir, request the name of the gentleman, who has treated me with the most generous hospitality?".
"The Rev. Michael Wheelwright, of Carlisle."
I now pass a mill, where I was shewn, in a field, the line of the Wall, with the stones hacked up. The field was in tillage. Here the fight is gone for ever.
Pass Drawdikes, the seat of the Aglionbys, where many inscriptions have been found.
Before I arrive at Stanwix, and in the road to Tarraby, I pass through a field where Severus's Wall is the identical footway, with his faint ditch by its side.
THE
FIFTEENTH STATION.
CONGAVALA;
now
Stanwix.
DRAWING towards the evening, and this village, I asked an old woman, "if she knew where I could lodge?"
"Yes, I will take you to a house where the people are clean, honest, and civil."
Upon asking for a bed?
"No; Do you think I will turn out my constant customers for you!"
I applied to a second, and received a second "No."
I was directed to a third; saw only the landlady, a fine figure, well dressed, had been a beauty, and yet shewed as much of that valuable commodity as could be expected from forty-five.
"Madam, can you favour me with a bed?"
She surveyed me with a small degree of surprize—"No!"
I took a seat.
"I will pay whatever you desire."
"I could spare one; but it will not suit me."
"I have tried to procure one, but am unable. Pray, Madam, indulge me, it is drawing towards nine.—Do not suffer me to lie in the street."
"You are a stranger to me!"
"So I am to every one else. If I must not sleep till I am known, I must walk one hundred and fifty miles for a bed."
"What! are you on foot?"
"Yes; but, if I am, I have not the appearance of a common tramper; neither would a horse be of use, except he could mount precipices, and climb over stone walls. Pray, Madam, favour me."
"I am a single woman; and, to take in a stranger, may give rise to reflection."
"Did you ever hear of a woman losing her character by a man of seventy-eight!" (I thought I perceived, pass through her mind, a small ray of pity.)
"I do not keep a public-house."
"I ask pardon, Madam; I applied, because I saw a sign over the door."
"It has been a public-house; and the sign was forgot to be taken down."—I retreated.
We met a short time after, when a slight civility passed between us.
A week elapsed, when, dining at a public table in Carlisle, I mentioned this singular adventure. The whole company, in a moment, recognized the person I alluded to, and told me, "She had long been connected with the Duke of ——; had issue by him of some standing, who were training for genteel life, whom he allowed her to visit once a year. That whenever he came into those parts, he chose to see her, and that she bore an amiable character." I therefore think she acted perfectly right in refusing admittance.
I afterwards procured a bed, fell a prey to the dancing gentry of the night, and the next morning, turned and shook my shirt, being unwilling to carry off any thing but my own.
The place where this Station was, is easily found; but no marks remain, not even that roughness in the ground which distinguishes every other.
Agricola and Hadrian totally disappear; and all that can be seen of Severus is his ditch, which is nearly obliterated, about two hundred yards long, part of which is a bye lane, and part by the hedge, in the inclosure, fourteen yards wide, and four feet deep: both point to the Station, and down the precipice, fifty feet high, to the river.
I observed a stone in the street, converted into a horse-block, three steps high, with the figure of a man, in a recess, eighteen inches in height, in a Roman dress, and in great preservation. I wonder the boys had not pelted him out of the world. I inquired its history of some elderly people; but all I could learn was, "It stood there before my time." I believe it to be a Roman Chief.
The Wall then proceeds from this elevated Station down the precipice, where it crosses the river Eden, to Carlisle; and makes a remarkable bend to the right, evidently to cross at the narrowest part, and to include the city, which was a place of consequence in the time of the Britons. There are but two places of magnitude in the whole line of the Wall, Newcastle, and Carlisle, and it makes a turn to grasp in both.
Stanwix is but about four hundred yards East of this city; and that space consists of meadow and water; perhaps, in a flood, all water.
The Wall points very near the North foot of the Castle-hill, keeping the Eden on the right, all the way to the sea.
While in the desolate, the rocky, the mountainous regions, I enjoyed the pleasing curiosities of the Wall, the banks, the Stations, &c.; but, now I am travelling in the beautiful and cultivated parts, I am travelling without my friends. I search, but cannot find them.
Camden, and Warburton, "thought the river formerly ran near the Castle, at Carlisle, and had changed its course since the time of the Romans;" but give no reason. From a survey of the ground, I think it has not.
At Kirkanders, I saw a precipice, along which the Wall had run, and where it did not need a trench. One hundred yards within the Wall, I saw, running through a corn-field, the faint remains of Agricola, and Hadrian's works. Some little may also be seen near Wormanby, and at Beaumont.
THE
SIXTEENTH STATION.
AXELODUNUM;
now
Burgh.
ALTHOUGH Severus, wherever he could, chose high ground for his Station, and his Wall; yet here he was obliged to chuse, for the first, a low meadow, about two hundred yards East of the church, called The Old Castle; the foundations of which are visible; the whole about the usual size, one hundred and thirty-six yards square. I am now five miles West of Carlisle, and eight from Boulness.
I was taken into a garden where a stone with a Roman inscription was shewn me; but none of us could read it.
In the belfry of the church, they shewed me a door about five feet high, but very wide, made of iron bars, resembling a jail window, once the prison door of the Castle.
I overtook a farmer driving his team. "Sir," says he, "are you a Doctor?" (a Quack, no doubt, with my budget stuffed with laxatives.)
"No, I am not; but I can prescribe at a venture, as the Faculty often do. What question do you wish to have solved?"
"I have a brother dangerously ill."
"What is his complaint?"
"We cannot tell; but he has kept his bed eighteen weeks, and taken nothing but a little wine."
"Then, I fear, your brother is not long for this world,"
How easily I might have picked up a fee! I was sorry for him. He felt for a brother!
Stones have been frequently ploughed up at Burgh with the mortar adhering to them, which shews the annihilated state of the Wall; nay I believe every farmer, through the whole line from sea to sea, can point out the spot where it ran in his own ground.
Edward the First, resolving to reduce Scotland, assembled an army, and encamped upon the sands, a mile from the town, on my right; but was seized with a flux, and carried off. Upon the spot of his departure, Henry Howard, Duke of Norfolk, proprietor of the land, erected a monument, twenty-eight feet high, in 1685, declaring the event, in Latin.
Time, and the weather, have reduced this monument; and the fragments now lie round the spot. Lord Lonsdale is proprietor of the estate, by exchange of property with the Duke, and, I was informed, had promised to erect another; which the country wait for, or would erect it themselves. Edward's bowels are said to have been interred in the church.
After quitting Burgh, which is a long, flat place, and deemed the largest village in Cumberland, we enter a flat marsh, three or four miles square, the road in the centre; the marsh is sometimes overflowed with the sea, is full of cattle, and deep ditches, to carry off the tide. I cannot suppose, that either the Wall or the mounds ran along this marsh.
As Severus certainly proceeded on our right through Burgh, and as certainly crosses the road from left to right, as we rise the hill, at the extremity of the marsh, entering Drumburgh; it proves that the Wall crossed the way at Burgh, and proceeded a considerable way on our left, out of the reach of both marsh and tide.
Jaded with labour, nature calling for sustenance, and melted with a July sun, I asked a person, upon this marsh, "what public-house I could apply to at Drumburgh?"
"There is none," he replied.
"Then, like other beggars, I must try the Christian charity, of some kind inhabitant; for there is no supporting life without food, and rest; and money itself is of no use, when the thing we want cannot be purchased."
He offered me his horse, and gave me a pressing invitation to his house; but it lay too wide.
I entered the Castle, made a slight apology to a woman engaged at the fire, in dishabille, whom I supposed was the mistress, and the only person there.—I sat down.—She returned no answer.—I held a momentary conversation by way of filling up the time, and winning the stake in view. She not only refused a reply, but would not even look at me.—I considered myself an unwelcome guest, and entertained the idea of departing.—She retreated without either word or look, and I gave up all for lost.
In two or three minutes she returned in a better dress, loosely put on, with a large tumbler of brandy and water. Former shyness was dissipated in a moment; Female delicacy, I perceived, had been wounded, by what she thought an unbecoming dress, exposed to the eye of a stranger.
The whole family instantly became friendly with me. I was pressed to dinner, to spend the day, and take a bed; all which I declined; for I considered time the most valuable article I possessed.
THE
SEVENTEENTH STATION.
GABRASENLUM;
now
Drumburgh.
I AM now nine miles from Carlisle, and four from Boulness, the termination of the Wall. The Castle stands upon a rising ground, at the extremity of the marsh; and was erected by the Dacres, two hundred years ago, with the materials of the old Castle, and upon the old foundation. Their arms are placed in the front. It is no more than a large, handsome farm-house.
My kind friend took me, with a candle, into the lower regions; where I saw "darkness visible," which brought to mind the horrors of a dungeon.
Though the dim light could not carry the eye to the extremity of the thickness of the Wall, yet I could perceive it was three or four yards thick, and seemed to be formed for eternity.
The site of the Station, now an orchard, garden, &c. is, with the ramparts, perfectly plain. My friend too, directed my eye to the course of Severus's Wall, which came from the South of the marsh, crossed the turnpike road at the Station, and would proceed on my right, where I perceived Severus's trench fourteen yards wide, and four deep.
At the bottom of the lane, three miles farther, where I open to the sea, the Wall crosses the road, and continues to run one hundred yards on my left. Here I saw the Wall recently stocked up, and the stones laid on heaps for future use.
At this lane's end, the noble works of Agricola and Hadrian are supposed to have terminated; which is probable.
One mile prior to the extremity of our journey, and at the distance of one close on our left, appears in majesty, for the last time, Severus's Wall, being five or six hundred yards long, and three feet high; but, as in the mountains, all confusion. A fence grows upon it, which becomes its security from an arrest either by time, or the wicked hands of man. In two places it is six feet high, eight broad, and three thick; but has no facing-stones.
The cruel farmer gloried, "that his sacrilegious fingers had destroyed such and such a part of the Wall."
"I hoped," in reply, "the next stone he disturbed might break his mattock; and begged not one of them might be touched till my return."
He made a promise to my wish, perhaps as binding as that of a lover.
I saw Gretna Green, that source of repentance; but, being myself half a century above par, and not having with me an amorous lass of eighteen with as many thousands, I had no occasion for the blacksmith.
My landlord and his wife, where I slept at S——, had been handsome. She told me, "that hers was a Gretna Green wedding, which cost a few guineas; and that she was descended from a good family." But it was easy to see, that poverty, a pot of ale, and the sorrow of fifteen years, were the result.
The Rev. John P——, however, does not always act the farce for a few guineas. Interest prompts him to carry a stamp of every dimension; and he sometimes procures a note of a hundred from the happy bridegroom, which stands a chance for payment should the lady's papa come to a reconciliation.
THE
EIGHTEENTH STATION.
TUNNOCELUM;
now
Boulness.
Nothing is left of this station but the spot which marks it, upon a rock on the verge of Solway Frith, thirteen miles West of Carlisle.
Severus must have done almost infinite service to the world, by erecting the Wall. Half the churches, houses, barns, partition-walls, and roads, nay, even down to a very horse-block, were raised out of this Wall. Here the church and village of Boulness had their origin.
Whether the extremity of the Station was made perfectly secure, by carrying it far enough into the water, is doubtful; for the Scots frequently came over the Frith, at low tide, in bodies; murdered, burnt, carried off their booty; and drove away their cattle.
In 1216, they stayed rather too long before their return, owing to a thirst of gain; when their whole body, with all the property, was swept away by the tide.
Our historians say, "The river was choaked up with the multitude." They never saw the extent of the Frith, or they would not have ventured the expression.
Horses, carts, &c. frequently pass over at low water. As I walked by these sands to Boulness, they seemed dry, a small gutter or two excepted.
Weary, and melted, I dined at a public-house; but was surprized when I returned, three hours after, to see a vast expanse of sea at my feet, with vessels of magnitude sailing upon its surface.
Scotland, on the opposite shore, looked beautiful.
I now approach Carlisle, where I first entered, having crossed the kingdom twice, under a burning sun, and, without a drop of rain, in, seven days and six hours.