Hadrian’s Magic Stones
by A. N. Patchett
“I have seen the tract of it over the high pitches and steep descents of hills, wonderfully rising and falling. It has many towers and fortresses about a mile distant from one another which they call ‘castle-steeds’, and more within little fenced towns termed in those days Chesters, the plots or ground-works whereof are to be seen in some places four square, also turrets standing between these.”
So wrote William Camden, the famous headmaster of Westminster School in the time of Elizabeth I. He was followed by one historian after another. I am neither historian nor archaeologist, but simply a traveller with a desire to enjoy the windswept uplands and wooded valleys with the added interest of an outstanding monument of history—a desire to lie on my back, listen to the peewits’ call and wonder what it must have felt like to be a Roman officer getting his first view of House-steads from Stane Street nearly 2,000 years ago, following his 2,000 mile journey from the Mediterranean.
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My first view of Housesteads was from a huge modern layby; there were few motor cars there, but there was one from Canada and one from South Africa. I made haste, map in hand, through a little gate, down a track and up again to a museum to the left of the fort. The museum contains just enough relics—unlike so many others which contain far too many. The exhibits are of great interest and a little time spent here adds much to one’s enthusiasm. There is a plan of the whole wall from Wallsend-on-Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway, a distance of 73#half# miles. It shows every fort, milecastle and turret as well as military ways and outposts, crossings and gateways through the Wall. You will learn that the Wall between Newcastle and Wallsend was added as an afterthought —hence Wallsend, where a four acre fort was built. The Wall which only took five years to build, was planned to be ten Roman feet wide, but after the first 20 miles from Newcastle the foundations only of this width were laid between Choller-ford and the River Irthing at Willowford, the Wall itself between these two points being only eight Roman feet wide. A Roman foot — 11.7 inches. At first the Cumberland section was built of turf due to the absence of limestone; what the Wall lacked in stone was made up for in turf, for it was no less than 20 feet wide. Eventually the turf was replaced by stone and for good measure the width was then nine feet.
The Wall with its Legions lasted 300 years. During this time it suffered several attacks from the Scots, but 300 years is a long span and there must have been years of inactivity when idle hands turned to gambling, drinking and the like; indeed there is plenty of evidence of this. Long periods of this kind of life inevitably end in one way only: Gibbon will tell you all about that.
Housesteads Fort was incorrectly called Borcovicium for many years. It is Housesteads please, or if you wish to be thought an authority on Romano-British history, Vercovicium. The fort is built according to a master plan with slight amendments here and there. The North Granary should not be missed, neither should the latrine. The latter displays, to my mind, the most interesting sanitary work imaginable. To the immediate north east of the latrine is a very large tank made of huge sheets of stone, once lined with lead. There is no need to wonder what has happened to the lead. It is difficult to see how a good water supply was obtained, though it has been established that the Romans used pumps. The inclination of the stone channel to ensure a constant flow of water for sponging purposes and finally to wash the soil away is ingenious to say the least. It seems incredible that 1,500 years should elapse before the common use of water for this purpose should catch on again.
As I walked up the Via Principalis from the south gate to the north, I saw, to the left, the Commandant’s quarters which had their private bathroom. At the top of the Via Principalis is the North Gate—walk through it without looking and you drop down a cliff. The blue print in Rome showed a North Gate and so a north gate there had to be. It is said that a steeply inclined road once led up to the gate from without; there are remains of this, perhaps built later to justify the gate.
Following the north wall of the fort in a westerly direction you arrive at the wall itself, six to eight feet high, and walking on its broad top you pass through that famous well-photographed plantation. Ahead, almost without a break, the Wall follows the edge of an escarpment, rising and falling to the first Housesteads milecastle. Here again it seems that the blue-print from Rome was slavishly followed because the milecastle’s north gate looks out over the edge of a precipice. It was built by A. Platorius Nepos, Hadrian’s Lieutenant.
Further on one is soon climbing Cuddy’s Crag, either on the Wall itself or on the path at its south side. Halfway up the crag you turn round and see the most famous view of all. It is one of the best sections and culminates with the Housesteads Plantation perched on top of the bluff. Beyond the Plantation the crests of Sewingshields form the background. From the top of Cuddy’s (St. Cuthbert’s) Crag you can rest awhile with views in all directions including the Northumberland lakes of Greenlee Lough, Bromlee Lough and also Grindon Lough. The Wall then descends and ascends to Hotbank Crag. At the highest point here the Wall is unrecognisable from an ordinary stone wall; in fact, as I approached, a sturdy ‘Roman’ was carefully placing a large stone, which was squared up on five sides, on top of the wall. Taking the opportunity of yet another rest after a breathless climb, I stopped to have a chat with the waller. He explained that he was no Roman but nevertheless was doing some maintenance just as the wallers did nearly 2,000 years ago. Leaning over the Wall at this point the view over the ‘northern wastes’ is surely identical with that which must have depressed our Roman officer from the Bay of Naples. How could the present day waller be sure he was no Roman? No native of an area so steeped in Roman history could be sure. However, he told me that if I carried on for a few hundred yards I would come to the original Wall again and see one of the prettiest picture-postcard views in England . . . and so I did.
The Wall hereabouts is eight feet wide and sails down the slope to Hotbank Farm and Milking Gap. Beyond this the Whin Sill escarpment rises steeply and at the foot of the well-wooded slope lay Crag Lough with two swans. It is the most attractive of the Northumberland Lakes and the best time to see it is in the morning sunshine. Just beyond the Crag Lough plantation the Wall is seen again but it descends so steeply that the courses are laid horizontally instead of following the contours. Up again, I came to Milecastle No. 39; incidentally the milecastles are one Roman mile apart, 1614/1760ths of an English mile. There are two equidistant turrets in between each, referred to as A and B. Thus, leaving Milecastle No. 39 in a westerly direction you come first to turret No. 39A and then to No. 39B.
The Wall appears again twice before Milecastle 40 is reached. A good stretch is that which gives the fine view eastward of Peel Crags, with Crag Lough on the left of the picture a mile away. I had a surprise on leaving this section of the Wall for, after passing through a stile, a large car-park with stainless amenities confronted me. What would Aulus Platorius Nepos have thought about this? It is almost on the site of Turret No. 39B and the views are such that no photographer can resist them. This car park is smack in the middle of the longest and best preserved section and it is approached from the main highway by a road to the North near the “Twice Brewed”. If you take this road to the North, turn right after leaving the car park and follow it westward and you will come to a ‘T’ junction. Take the road to the right and presently you will see a Roman aqueduct at Edge Green. This carries water from Greenlee Lough by devious routes, because it follows the 700 ft. contour, on its way to Great Chesters Fort. The various tiny roads at Edge Green obliterate part of the aqueduct but a little distance away the channel which carried the water can be clearly seen.
Back to the car park and turning west I followed the grass-covered jumble of stones and shortly came to Milecastle 40 and another good section of Wall which runs along the top of Whinshields Crags, 1,230 ft. above sea level. On and on it goes, crossing a little road, to arrive at Cawfields Milecastle which is one of the best preserved; after this there is a vast quarry which brings us back with a jerk to the 20th century. You then cross Haltwhistle Burn which drains the two loughs, Greenlee and Brownlee—the water from Crag Lough sneaks through Milking Gap and back towards the east. Having crossed the burn, climb up the hill and you arrive at Great Chesters Fort (Aesica). It is not as impressive as Housesteads, but if you are bent on following the Wall westwards you take Great Chesters in your stride to the Nine Nicks of Thirlwall (now only seven) and so to Greenhead and Gilsland.
At Gilsland one is spoilt for choice, there is a section of Wall in the Old Vicarage garden, approached by a stile and there you see a giant sycamore in the middle of the foundations; the Old Vicarage is now called ‘Roman Way Guest House’. Almost opposite the stile is the start of a long and attractive stretch of Wall, broken only in a few places. At first it skirts the top of a very steep and high bank of the River Irthing. In one place it appears to have fallen into the river, due to washing away of the steep bank. There are two turrets along this section, one of which is at the entrance to Willow-ford Farm where you pay your sixpence to follow the six feet high Wall down to and through the lush meadow to Willow-ford Bridge Abutment, now well back from the river. Across the river is a cliff about 100 feet high; over the centuries the river has evidently washed away the bank so much that the slope that once existed is now virtually a cliff, It is possible to wade across the river and scramble up the other side by devious routes to Harrow’s Scar Milecastle which overlooks the bridge abutment and the Wall in its way eastward to Gilsland. The easier way is to walk back to the Old Vicarage where you may well have left your motor car. Motor back to the main road through Gilsland, turn left and make for Birdoswald and its two stretches of Wall, one on the roadside and one through the fields eastward to Harrow’s Scar Milecastle. Admission to the fort is gained through a farm built within the fort itself. Walk through the South Gate out of the fort and you get a breathtaking view of the River Irthing and its steeply wooded slopes. Here I suggest you have your picnic lunch and relax in the sunshine if you have timed your excursion properly. After lunch walk through the East Gate, the best preserved, and follow the Wall (up to eight feet high) to Harrow’s Scar Milecastle. There, far below, stands the Willowford Bridge Abutment.
Westward there are still many interesting features such as Banks East Turret, sections of the Turf Wall and the very scant remains of the forts at Castlesteads, Carlisle and beyond. But so many fascinating features demanded attention east of Housesteads that I motored as fast as I could to Benwell, a suburb of Newcastle-on-Tyne, resisting all temptations to stop and look at the fortlet at Gilsland and the forts at Car-voran and Vindolanda.
Once at Benwell I could start out west with all extant remains in front of me, and what a start! Sandwiched in between two modest houses lie the remains of an exquisite little Roman Temple and its address is 48A Broomridge Avenue, Newcastle, 5. The ‘A’ is mine because you enter the well kept plot of sacred ground from the garden of No. 48; there is no charge for admission. It is only 18 ft. by 10#half# ft. and it is called the Temple of Antenociticus; I cannot think of a more surprising find. What suburb of any other English industrial city can boast of such a wonderful little gem of history?
Making my way back to the main road via Westholme Gardens and Weidner Road, I stopped the one and only person I saw. She was coming out of a garden gate and judging by her manner I decided that the lady was no stranger. Enquiring as to the whereabouts of other Roman remains I was told: “Well, there’s Denhill Park Vallum Crossing just off the main road and then there’s a Roman fountain across the West Road, but you’ll have to swim for it because it is under the water in the reservoir. You cannot go wrong, once back on the West Road you’ll see a large modern building called ‘Condercum House’. Immediately beyond it is Denhill Park, a small estate of fairly modern houses. You go down the left hand crescent: at the bottom is the staggering sight of a Vallum Crossing”. Reluctantly taking leave of my charming informant and wondering for a moment whether I was really interested in Vallum Crossings, I was soon thrilled at what I saw at the bottom of Denhill Park Estate. The Vallum, as distinct from the ditch on the north side of the Wall, is really a ditch ten feet deep, twenty feet wide with a flat bottom eight feet wide. It is not a defence, as is the ditch, because it is on the south side of the Wall, but a boundary between the military and the civil areas. Crossings occurred at the forts of which Condercum is the first from Newcastle westward, they consisted of a causeway carrying a road and a large gateway. The Condercum fort is partly destroyed and buried under modern buildings, yet the Crossing here is the only good example of its kind along the whole length of the Wall. You can see it all through the railings, but you can get the key at No. 65 Denhill Park should a very close inspection be desired.
Once back on the main road I carried on down to the big roundabout and just before the dual carriageway starts is the very first section of Wall. It was looking a trifle desolate when I saw it, standing in a small plot of ground on the south side of the road. The grass was long and on one side there was a huge hoarding extolling the virtues of a certain brand of beer— on another were a motor engineer’s premises and on the third side a track leading into the little park. I thought the so-called guardians might take better care of this unique little section, which to me was far more thrilling to see than the overwhelming display of relics in glass cases at Corbridge Roman Station, which was the ‘Head Office’, some miles south of the Wall.
To the west and nearly at the top of the hill stands Denton Hall Turret with its east and west flanking sections of Wall adjacent to the side walk. It is the first visible turret and promises great things to come. Just a little further on is West Denton and its stretch of Wall. This and Denton Hall Turret stand in trim plots of grass.
Now comes the search for the remains of Milecastle No. 9 which is reputed to be just past the end of the dual carriageway. A very helpful young man answered the door at Chapel House, came out in the drenching rain and sat in the car with us to study the map. There were piles of stones in the farm garden adjoining the main road but the owners, he said, were reconstructing a rockery and, although there were a few Wall stones present, there was no milecastle. The farm house and buildings obviously contained many wall stones in the fabric. We looked in a potato field opposite, again without success. Even if there had been a stone or two in the hedge bottom somewhere down the road, we decided to give them a miss and find Milecastle No. 10.
Over the mineral line crossing we went and at the top of the hill where the main road bends slightly south at Dene House we expected to see it. Again we found no trace, but just before we decided to leave I looked over a garden wall where it juts out and saw it. I could not have been more excited if Pompeii in all its glory had appeared over that wall. There were some massive stones, some chamfered, and others bore the mark of masons employed by Hadrian’s lieutenant, (#hlink#see Y.R.C.J. Vol. VI, No. 21. page 204, line 27). After having seen many stones worked and faced up by them, you begin to recognise their work immediately on sight. Here then, tucked away in the corner of a quiet garden were the scant remains of the once mighty Milecastle No. 10.
The West road then crosses the little wooded valley of Dew-ley Burn and passes through Throckley; soon after leaving it, on the left hand side of the road is the Wall, five hundred yards of it several feet high, for you to gaze upon, to photograph, to examine or simply to walk at its side until you reach Towne Gate at Heddon-on-the-Wall. After leaving Heddon, there is little to attract the attention of the ordinary traveller except to notice mile after mile of ditch on the north side of the road which rests on the foundations of the Wall itself. On the south side of the road the Vallum is clearly seen for several miles also. It is interesting to note that just past Halton is Portgate where the well-known Dere Street once passed through the Wall; hence the name. Here the road, and Wall beneath it, is at a fairly high altitude but soon, some 20 miles from Newcastle, the ground falls away and a wide open prospect of the Tyne valley and the heights beyond Chesters come into full view. The modern road now turns slightly north and it has hardly done so, when a very fine stretch of Wall appears in a field to the left. It is the first to be seen since leaving Heddon. Access is through a stile below Planetrees Farm to a neatly kept enclosure.
Continuing down the steep road the North Tyne is seen, but before crossing the famous Chollerford Bridge and calling at the ‘George’, one must deviate a few hundred yards to the left on the Hexham road. Just past the wood is a high stile leading into a pasture; once over the stile you walk up the path and presently on your left is Brunton Turret (No. 26 B) and the fine stretch of Wall on each flank. The turret is eight feet high on the north side. Looking down in a westerly direction you can just discern Chesters Fort through the trees across the river. Before going on to Chesters you must go back to the cross roads, turn left, and before actually crossing the bridge go through a gate on the left and along a very long fenced path which runs between the old railway track and the river. It is a very rewarding detour because it leads to the famous Bridge Abutment, the largest and most substantial piece of Roman stonework I have seen in England. Photographs do not do it justice. The huge and magnificently chamfered stones which crown the base have to be seen to be believed. The abutment was built round a tower about 20 ft. square and of course ended the Wall east of the river. Despite views to the contrary I think it has been firmly established that wood was used actually to span the river to the west abutment; the remains of which lie in the river bed, as the Tyne has moved its course over to the west during the past 1,500 years. At low water the remains of the west abutment can be seen and waded to, but the pebbles are slippery and there are some deepish pools even when the river is low; it is better to return to Chollerford Bridge, there is always the ‘George Inn’ as compensation.
You take the West road and before long there is a turning to the left: the entrance to Chesters Fort and a short section of the Wall. Chesters is situated in beautiful parkland sloping down to the river, it is under the care of the Ministry of Works. Unlike Housesteads, Chesters’ outer walls are far from intact and the various parts of the fort which remain are in detached groups. Unlike Housesteads too, about three eighths of the fort extended to the north of the Wall and there were therefore six gateways. There are so many fascinating aspects of Chesters that it is impossible to deal with them all on a short visit. Unless one is already aware of the ways of life of the men who garrisoned the fort, the whole place can be an almost meaningless mass of ruins.
To me the fascinating thing about Chesters is the abundance of well preserved bathing facilities. There is the central heating system by means of hot air ducts so modern and fashionable today. Whoever thinks that Sauna baths originated in Finland must think again, even though pretty blondes with birch twigs were undoubtedly absent from Chesters, or were they? When we talk of Roman Baths, most of us just think of getting washed; my advice is to visit Chesters and get up to date. The bather first entered the dressing room, easily recognised by the seven arched niches where they hung their togas. After stripping he went first to the tepidarium (warm room) and then the calidarium (hot room) where he did a great deal of sweating. This was followed by a hot bath (alveus) beyond which was the unctorium (a room where the bather was rubbed in oil). The course was completed by a visit to the cold room (frigidarium) to close the pores before the refreshed giant went out into the chill northern climate on his way to an enormous lunch of corn products, a little gravy and a bottle of wine. The Romans ate little meat nor did they want much; it was only the legions from Germany who really missed their meat. Charcoal was used to provide the heat without smoke.
The Carlisle road led to the Mithraean Temple, down a signposted path to the left a few miles beyond Chesters; it is interesting but lacks the exquisite simplicity of Benwell. A little further on where the road dips down and turns slightly south you will find a small well-made gate on the right. Here the Ditch, Wall and Vallum suddenly appear on the right, because of the sudden slight bend in the road, which for several miles has been on top of the Wall foundations with the Ditch on the north and the Vallum on the south of it. Leave the road then and follow the Wall foundations up the slope and soon you will reach Sewingshields Farm. Follow the Wall westwards from here in its spectacular course along the top of the very high ground and presently you reach Housesteads again. You can complete the course by finishing the last stretch of Wall along its broad top and step off it on to the outer perimeter wall of Housesteads fort itself.
If by now you are not tired of the Wall and its Forts, Mile-castles and Turrets, you never will be. You will visit it again and again, each time finding something new and taking the opportunity of having another peep at the Temple at Ben-well or at Housesteads Plantation from Cuddy’s Crag.