Another Drive About

I took another drive today. This time I went to Bewcastle and Lanercost Priory. Bewcastle is a ruin set on a motte within the ditches of a Roman fort. The Roman fort was first built in the 120's AD and abandoned when the Antonine Wall was built in Scotland in the 140's AD. The fort was recommisioned in the 160's AD when the Roman frontier was pulled back to the Hadrian's Wall area. Bewcastle is north of the Wall near the present day English/Scottish border. It is a strange design for a Roman fort as it is not a classic playing card style similar to Vindolanda. Instead, the fort makes use of natural plateau which is hexagonal in shape. The platform can be seen as can the ditches but there is no Roman remains on display. The fort platform is now used by a farm, a church, and the ruin of Bewcastle. At the church most of an Anglo-Saxon carved stone cross stands. The first picture is of the cross and is the relief where three persons are represented and Anglo-Saxon writing (more like runes) is evident. The cross dates from the late 600's AD. The other two pictures are the remains of Bewcastle. I had to share with sheep who had taken up within the gatehouse so I could not get a good shot of some of the best remains.



I ended my short day at Lanercost Priory. The Priory dates from the early 1100's AD and was a part of the Augustinian order. The Priory is south of Hadrian's Wall by about a 1/2 mile and I noticed that the boundary wall for the church yard makes heavy use of what looks like Wall stone. It is not hard to imagine the builders of the Priory and its attendant buildings and yard boundary walls robbed Hadrian's Wall for stone that was already cut. The nave of the Priory is still an active church but the rest of the Priory is displayed through English Heritage. There is much remaining but I had not gone to the ATM before my drive and didn't feel like using a credit card to pay the entry fee. I'll be back I think and get some pictures of the extensive remains. The last picture is of the Priory from the west looking east and the cars are parked in front of the church (nave of the older Priory church). The buildings to the right are a part of the priory grounds but were built after the 1530-40's AD when the churches of England were taken by the King and either demolished or in this case converted into a grand residence.