Northumberland Yesterday and To-dayTerry, Jean F. (Jean Finlay)
History
Northumberland Yesterday and To-day
Terry, Jean F. (Jean Finlay)
Northumberland (England) -- Guidebooks; Northumberland (England) -- History
A short distance further on is Stagshawbank, famed for its fairs,
the glory of which, however, has greatly departed since the days
when Dandie Dinmont had such adventures on returning from
“Staneshiebank.” It stands just where the Wall crosses the Watling
Street, which enters Northumberland at Ebchester, and crossing the
moors to Whittonstall, leads down the long descent to Riding Mill;
there turning westward to Corbridge, it comes straight on to
Stagshawbank, leading thence northwestward past the Wall through
Redesdale to the Borders, which it reaches at Ad Fines Camp, or
Chew Green, where the solitudes of the Cheviots and the silence of
the deserted camp are soon to be startled by the rifle-shots of
Territorials at practice. West of Stagshawbank the earthen ramparts
are to be seen in great perfection.
As the Wall nears Chollerford, one may see, a little to the
northward, the little chapel of St. Oswald, which, as we have seen
in a former chapter, marks the site of the battle of Heavenfield.
Just before reaching this point, there is a quarry to the south of
the Wall from which the Romans obtained much building-stone, and
one of them has left his name carved on one of the stones left
lying there, thus—(P)ETRA FLAVI(I) CARANTINI—_The stone of Flavius
Carantinus_.
At Plane Trees Field and at Brunton there are larger pieces of the
Wall standing than we have yet seen. The Wall now parts company
with the highroad, which swerves a little to the north in order to
cross the Tyne by Chollerford Bridge, while the course of the Wall
is straight ahead, for the present bridge is not the one built and
used by the Romans. That is in a line with the Wall, and therefore
south of the present one; and as we have already noticed, its piers
can be seen near the river banks when the river is low. A diagram
of its position is given in Dr. Bruce’s _Handbook_.
The Wall now leads up to the gateway of Cilurnum, which we have
already visited; and after leaving the park, it goes on up the hill
to Walwick. Here it is rejoined by the road, which now for some
little distance proceeds actually on the line of the Wall, the
stones of which can sometimes be seen in the roadway. The tower a
little further on, on the hill called Tower Tye, or Taye, was not
built by the Romans, although Roman stones were used in its
erection; it is only about two hundred years old.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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