Black's Picturesque Tourist and Road and Railway Guide Book Through England and Wales

398

ALNWICK-BELFORD-HOWICK-BAMBROUGH CASTLE.

The town of Warkworth is on the south side of the river Coquet. The church of St Lawrence is elegant and spacious, has a spire 100 feet high, and is to some extent of considerable antiquity. Pop. of par. 1851, 4439.

Six and a half miles from Alnwick, on the coast, are the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, erected in 1815 by Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster. It was destroyed during the wars of the Roses. Nothing at present remains of it but its outworks, which are in the form of a crescent. Its area contains about nine acres. The village of Dunston is celebrated as the supposed birth-place of Duns Scotus, "the most subtle doctor," and opponent of Aquinas, "the angelic doctor."

Between four and five miles to the right of Alnwick, and about a mile from the sea, is Howick House, the seat of Earl Grey.

BELFORD is a neat town, standing on a gradual slope, about two miles from the sea. It has a church and several chapels, and in the vicinity are the ruins of an ancient chapel, surrounded by oak trees. Pup. 1851, 1226.

About five miles from Belford is Bambrough Castle, standing upon a basalt rock, which rises 150 feet above the level of the sea. In natural strength there is not a situation in the whole county equal to that of Bambrough. A castle is said to have been erected here by Ida, King of Bernicia, so early as A.D. 559, and named by him Bebban-brough, in honour of his queen, Bebba. In every succeeding age, down to the reign of Edward IV., it figured conspicuously in the contests which agitated the country; but it has never altogether recovered the injury which it received in a siege after the battle of Hexham. By a grant of the Crown, in the time of James I., it came into the family of the Forsters, and was forfeited by Thomas Forster in 1715; but his maternal uncle, Nathaniel Lord Crewe, Bishop of Durham, purchased the estate, and bequeathed it to charitable purposes. The trustees under his will reside here in turn. Archdeacon Sharp, about the year 1757, expended large sums of money in repairing the castle, and rendering it habitable. The whole of the extensive accommodations of the castle, (which includes within its exterior walls no less a space than eight acres,) except the library and the residence of the trustee, are devoted to objects of active benevolence. Here is a market for flour and groceries, which are sold to the poor at prime cost, and an infirmary, where advice and medicine are given gratis. Here are also large schools, endowed for the gratuitous education of the children of the poor, and twenty poor girls are, from their ninth year till they are fit for service, lodged, clothed, and educated. Besides the good done to the neighbourhood, this admirable charity has proved of incalculable benefit to those who have suffered from shipwreck. Life-boats and all kinds of implements useful in saving crews and vessels in distress, are always in readiness. Apartments are fitted up for shipwrecked sailors, and a constant patrol is kept up every stormy night for eight miles along this tempestuous coast. The castle contains an extensive and valuable library, the bequest of Dr. Sharp, which is open to any person residing within ten miles. In the court-room there are various portraits, and among them those of the

founder, Lord Crewe, and his Lady. In this room are four large pieces of tapestry, brought from Ripon Abbey. In 1770, while clearing the cellar, a draw-well was discovered, 145 feet deep, and cut through solid rock. The great tower of the castle commands an extensive sea and land prospect. Opposite to Bambrough are the Farn Isles, abounding with sea-fowl of various kinds. It was here that Grace Darling was instrumental in saving the people wrecked in the Rothesay Castle steamer.

BERWICK-UPON-TWEED is situated upon a gentle declivity close by the German Ocean, on the north side of the mouth of the river Tweed. It is a well-built town. and is surrounded by walls in a regular style of fortification. It contains several churches and chapels, schools, banks, &c. 2 M.P. Pop. 1851, 15,094. It is governed by a mayor, aldermen, &c. The trade of the port is considerable, and it has railway communication with all parts of the kingdom. Berwick occupies a prominent place in the history of the Border wars, and has been often taken and retaken both by the Scots and English. It was finally ceded to the English in 1482, and, since then, has remained subject to the laws of England, though forming, politically, a distinct territory. Its castle, so celebrated in the early history of these kingdoms, is now a shapeless ruin.

Near Berwick is Lindisfarne, or the Holy Island, once the seat of a bishopric, and containing the ruins of an ancient monastery.

CXXXV. FROM NEWCASTLE TO COLDSTREAM THROUGH WOOLER, 60 Miles.

400 NEWCASTLE TO COLDSTREAM THROUGH WOOLER, &c.-Continued.

COLDSTREAM, occupying a level and elevated situation on the north bank of the Tweed, crossed here by a handsome bridge. The population of the town was, in 1851, 2238. In consequence of its proximity to England, Coldstream, like Gretna Green, is celebrated for its irregular marriages. General Monk resided in Coldstream during the winter of 1659-60, before he marched into England to restore Charles II., and here he raised a regiment now well known as the Coldstream Guards. On the bank of the Tweed, to the west of the town, is Lees, the beautiful seat of Sir John Marjoribanks, Bart., and on the north-west is Hirsel, the seat of the Earl of Home. About a mile and a half to the east of the town are the ruins of Lennel Church, which was the name of the parish before Coldstream existed. Near it is Lennel House (Earl of Haddington), in which the venerable Patrick Brydone, author of "Travels in Sicily and Malta," spent the latter years of his long life. Following the course of the river, we come to Tilmouth, where the Till, a narrow, sullen, deep, dark,

There are two roads from Coldstream to Berwick, one along the north bank and one along the south bank of the Tweed. The latter is the more interesting, and is generally preferred.

and slow stream, flows into the Tweed. On its banks stands Twizel Castle (Sir Francis Blake, Bart.) Beneath the Castle the ancient bridge is still standing by which the English crossed the Till before the battle of Flodden.* The glen is romantic and delightful, with steep banks on each side, covered with copsewood. On the opposite bank of the Tweed is Milne-Graden (David Milne, Esq.), once the seat of the Kerrs of Graden, and, at an earlier period, the residence of the chief of a border clan, known by the name of Graden. A few miles eastward is Ladykirk, nine miles from Berwick. Near this is Ladykirk, the seat of D. Robertson, Esq. The church of this parish is an ancient Gothic building, said to have been erected by James IV., in consequence of a vow made to the Virgin, when he found himself in great danger while fording the Tweed in this neighbourhood. By this ford the English and Scottish armies made most of their mutual invasions. In the adjacent field, called Holywell Haugh, Edward I. met the Scottish nobility, to settle the dispute between Bruce and Balliol, relative to the Scotch crown. On the opposite bank of the Tweed stands the celebrated castle of Norham. The description of this ancient fortress, in the poem of Marmion, is too well known to require quotation here. The extent of its ruins, as well as its historical importance, shows it to have been a place of magnificence as well as strength. In 1164, it was almost rebuilt by Hugh Pudsey, Bishop of Durham, who added a huge keep or donjon. After 1174 it seems to have been chiefly garrisoned by the King, and considered as a royal fortress. It was the residence of Edward I. when umpire on the claims of Bruce and Balliol to the Scottish throne. It was repeatedly taken and retaken during the wars between England and Scotland. The ruins of the castle are at present considerable as well as picturesque. They consist of a large shattered tower, with many vaults and fragments of other edifices enclosed within an outward wall of great circuit.