The Antiquarian Magazine & Bibliographer; Vol. 4, July-Dec 1884Various
History
The Antiquarian Magazine & Bibliographer; Vol. 4, July-Dec 1884
Various
Archaeology -- Periodicals; Great Britain -- Antiquities -- Periodicals
On Friday the party set out upon a visit to Bamborough Castle and the
adjoining Church. The former rises from the sea on a bluff and bold
headland in a princely way, quite worthy of its ancient history, from
the days when it was erected by the first Saxon King of Northumbria in
the middle of the sixth century; and it is worthy of note that
Anglo-Saxon chroniclers style it the royal mansion. Though not so
magnificent in its interior, and covering less ground, it is scarcely,
if at all, inferior to Alnwick, while its weird situation by the sea
imparts to it a character all its own. Some persons compare it to Dover,
but the comparison will scarcely hold good, except as to its keep. The
castle owes much of its celebrity and of its comparatively perfect
condition to Nathaniel Lord Crewe, the munificent benefactor of Oxford,
who purchased the fabric, and left it in the hands of trustees to be
devoted to charitable purposes, both local and general. It contains a
fine library and gallery, schools for the middle classes, and appliances
of all kinds for the relief of shipwrecked persons. The fabric of the
castle was explained at considerable length by Mr. G. T. Clark, F.S.A.,
each successive portion being separately discussed, and the whole
chronologically illustrated. After the keep had been examined attention
was drawn to the outer bailey and other outworks of the castle, which,
though of inferior masonry to the central portion, are curious in their
structure, and possibly even earlier in date. The members of the
congress afterwards visited the parish church of Bamborough, which is
dedicated to St. Aidan, and made a pilgrimage to the grave of Grace
Darling, whose heroism of nearly half a century ago in rescuing the
passengers of the _Forfarshire_ steamer is still remembered. In the
evening the various sections resumed the reading of papers promised
according to the programme. Mr. Charles J. Bates read the first half of
an exhaustive paper on “The Peel Castles of Northumberland.” These were
illustrated by photographs of the castles, their keeps, gateways,
windows, buttresses, ramparts, battlements, and in many cases their
heraldic bearings also, being shown by the help of magic lantern slides.
The Rev. G. F. Brown also read an interesting paper on the fragments of
sculptured stones which are to be seen at Monkwearmouth and Jarrow.
Those members of the Congress who did not go to Bamborough Castle spent
the day in examining the contents of the museum at the castle, the
treasures of the Literary and Philosophical Society, the Free Public
Library, &c.; but what attracted them most was the local museum, partly
permanent and partly on loan, which had been set out for their benefit
in the rooms above the Black Gate at the castle. Here the Mayors and
Corporations of Morpeth, Newcastle, and Carlisle exhibited their
regalia, and besides these there was displayed a collection of stone and
bronze implements, lent by Canon Greenwell, a collection of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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