Itinerarium curiosum (centuria II) : $b or, an account of the antiquities, and remarkable curiosities in nature or art, observed in travels through Great Britain. To which is added, the Itinerary of Richard of Cirencester, monk of Westminster. With an account of that author and his workStukeley, William
History
Itinerarium curiosum (centuria II) : $b or, an account of the antiquities, and remarkable curiosities in nature or art, observed in travels through Great Britain. To which is added, the Itinerary of Richard of Cirencester, monk of Westminster. With an account of that author and his work
Stukeley, William
Great Britain -- Antiquities -- Early works to 1800; Great Britain -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800
Between Preston and this place we had the vast hills that part
Yorkshire and Lancashire, all the way on our right. This is all sandy
country to within three miles of Lancaster; then rock begins: the other
has rock under it, but red and sandy; this is white. Where the castle
and church stand is a high and steep hill, length east and west: this
was the Roman _castrum_. I found a great piece of the wall at the
north-east, in the garden of Clement Townsend; and so to Mr. Harrison’s
summer-house, which stands upon it: it is made of the white stone of
the country, and very hard mortar, and still very thick, though the
facing on both sides is peeled off for the sake of the squared stone,
which they used in building. A year or two ago a great parcel of it was
destroyed with much labour. This reached quite to the bridge-lane, and
hung over the street at the head of the precipice in a dreadful manner:
from the summer-house it went round the verge of the close north of
the church, and took in the whole circuit of the hill. The ditch on
the outside of it is now to be seen. I suppose it originally inclosed
the whole top of the hill where the church and castle stand, which is
steep on all sides, and half inclosed by the river Lune; so that it was
an excellent guard to this part of the sea-coast, and commands a very
great prospect both by sea and land. Here was this great convenience
too in the situation, that on the south side of the castle walls, under
the tower, is a spring. All the space of ground north of the church
is full of foundations of stone buildings, Roman, I believe; and much
stone has been taken up there. To the west of the church is part of
a partition wall left, of that time. This is a navigable river. The
castle built since on this spot has been very strong; it suffered in
the civil wars. The prospect hence takes in all the western sea, and
sometimes reaches the isle of Man. The Cumberland and Westmorland hills
are of such a nature as I never saw before: I took them for clouds at
first, not only from their height, but figure; consisting not of long
ridges, but pens, or sugar-loaves, suddenly breaking off. Eastward is
Ingleborough, a very strange hill, having a flat place at top, like a
table: they say there are some works upon it, and some stones placed
like a bower: Camden takes notice of it as rising gradually eastward.
Upon some of these hills it was that George Fox ascended to converse
with the Holy Ghost, as he pretended; which he revealed to Nailor, and
so began the sect of the Quakers, about sixty years ago.
There is a friery in the town, and the church of it was standing within
memory. When they pulled down the Roman wall, they found many great
toads alive in the thickness of it, and where in all appearance there
could be no passage for them from without. The town of Lancaster lies
upon the eastern declivity, before the castle.
CONCANGIOS. +Water-crook.+
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