HEXAM.
Hexham has a fine appearance every way; stands on a hill in a pleasant woody vale by the river Tyne; once a bishop’s see: the church dedicate to St. Andrew by the great Wilfred, who was the occasion of bringing my native country of Mercia to embrace christianity: he founded the priory of St. Leonard’s, between Stamford and Uffington, the first of the kingdom of Mercia: part of the church of his building remains, though turned into a barn: he built St. Peter’s church in Stamford, the first church there.
By Mr. Gale’s persuasion I wrote the whole primordia of Stamford, which I have by me. At Tickencote, hard by, is the most venerable church antiquity extant, the intire oratory of prince Peada, who founded Peterborough abbey. But return we to Hexam.
The cathedral is a large, lofty structure; but the body or west end, and the two towers, are intirely demolished: it was collegiate: a great building, called the College. Between it and the church are cloisters, now a garden. In the choir two knightly monuments of stone cross-legged; by the arms on their shields, Vernon and Umfrevile; they either went a warfare into the Holy Land, or vowed it: a tomb of one of the Northumbrian kings: two oratories over sepultures unknown: a tomb of a woman with a veil over her eyes.
Here has been much old-fashioned painting, upon wainscot and stucco, of bishops, saints, kings and queens; but, to the loss of history, defaced. This town was undoubtedly Roman. We judged the castrum was where the castellated building now stands, east of the market-place; which is the brow of a hill, and has a good prospect. The market-place, which is a square, lies between this and the cathedral.
On the site of the cathedral once stood a Roman temple. Digging for a foundation of a buttress to be built on the west side of the steeple, they opened a vault, which descends under the church to a subterraneous oratory, like that under the cupola of St. Peter’s at Rome, called limina apostolorum. Here I suppose were kept the reliques of saints. This place is built out of the ruins of the temple. Over the inward entrance to the vault is laid flat a fine Roman inscription; the report of which led us down thither, though the passage to it was as bad as that of Poole’s hole, Derbyshire. We found it a noble large stone of the emperors Pertinax and Aurelius: we could not transcribe the whole, because part of it is still within the wall. Over the next door lower down, a large stone is set perpendicular, and half of it cut away, in nature of an arch: the mouldings likewise chopped off; the whole so defaced, that nothing to any purpose could be made out of it, all the words being imperfect. Upon the walls of the crypt we saw many Roman fragments of mouldings, and carved work, with bits of fluted and cabled pilasters.
In searching about the oratory we found a very fine altar almost intire, laid sideways into the very foundation. We dug away the earth and bones underneath, and discovered thereby a new Legatus Augusti Q. Calpurnius Concessinius; and a new troop of horse in Britain, of which he was the captain, the equites Cæsareani Corionototarum.
The ground-plot of this town is much like that of Caster in Lincolnshire; four streets going diagonally from the angles of the market-place. Some silver and other Roman coins were found not long since near the church. This church is a very venerable and noble Saxon structure, and may serve for a specimen of the manner of raising those fabrics at that time of day. The workmen were but lately then brought from Rome, by the great Benedict bishop of Weremouth, who may truly be called the Arundel of that time: he was a nobleman of Northumberland, minister to king Oswy: he travelled to Rome twice, some say five times; and brought home a fine collection of books, of which the venerable Bede made so good use: he also brought hither architects and artificers in building, carving, painting on glass, and the like; so injurious are the notions of some modern antiquaries, who think we had no stone buildings before the Norman kings.
Our Wilfred was likewise a great genius: he travelled first to Rome in Benedict’s retinue: he was a great promoter of building cathedrals and religious houses: besides this of Hexam, he rebuilt that of York, before raised by Paulinus: he built a cathedral in the old Roman city of Cambodunum, Almondbury, in Yorkshire: he built Rippon cathedral: he had a great hand in founding the cathedrals of Peterborough, Ely, Litchfield, Leicester, and Chichester. He died in a good old age, 12 Oct. anno Dom. 709, in his little monastery at Oundle, Northamptonshire: the room still remains, and the church in ruins, but later than his time.
The Corionototarum, in the inscription, is probably the Coriolopocarium in anonymus Ravennas; as Mr. Gale conjectures: and I add, probably it was the neighbouring Corbridge.
The Roman castle was situate near the present Corbridge westward, and on the northern banks of the river: it is called Corchester. They tell us with some sort of wonder, that it is the richest and best hereabouts for ploughing: they discern not that it is owing to the animal salts left in a place that had been long inhabited. Corbridge is built out of its ruins, which are scattered about there in every house. Before the doors we saw many mills, pieces of shafts of pillars, capitals, bases, many pieces of basso relievo, and carvings: a fine large picture of Victory, holding a great parma, which belonged to the horse: two carvings of lions tearing bulls; their heads knocked off: several bits of inscriptions. The foot of the cross in the market-place is an intire Roman altar, of a large size; the inscription worn out: on one side, the head of a goat; a pitcher on the other. In the outer wall of the chancel is a fragment of the fourth cohort of the second legion. In the church-yard is the remarkable altar, in Greek character, to the Tyrian Hercules: another imperfect one set up for a grave-stone.
In Mr. Tod’s house a fragment of a most noble inscription of the emperor M. Aurelius, cut in very large and handsome letters: the date of the tribunicia potestas lost. I have endeavoured to do justice to these elegant sculptures; whereas they are generally by others so very ill done, as to be disgraceful both to Romans, and to Britons, and to antiquity in general.
Over the door of a house, is a poor carving of a Northumbrian king, with a sceptre in his hand, of the same style as their coins. There is a fine bridge here over the river. From hence we travelled all along upon the Roman road, on the northern banks of the Tyne, to Newcastle. We saw Prudhoe castle on the other side of the river, standing on an eminence; and a green mount, keep or tumulus, by the church of Ryton. In the choir upon the ground lies the sepulchral monument of the founder, probably; a lion at his feet; in his hands a square piece like a book, with an eagle upon it.
At Newburn, as we passed, I saw a stone over a stable-door, next to the sign of the boat; a tablet of the Roman fashion, ansated, cut in, but the inscription worn out, as being exposed to the weather over the river side.
The Roman wall leaves the common road about a mile east of Newburn, and passes northward to recover the northern edge of the high ground; the counter-guard ditch, called Hadrian’s, accompanying it pari passu. I saw some more carved stones at Newburn, not worth reciting.
We leave Benwell on our right hand, a Roman station. The road two or three miles west of Newcastle is very broad and strait, and enters the west gate directly.
At East Denton, three miles west of Newcastle, is an inscription, in a stable-wall, of the eighth cohort of the second legion.