The Antiquarian Magazine & Bibliographer; Vol. 4, July-Dec 1884

by Various

METROPOLITAN.

Royal Archæological Institute.—The forty-first annual meeting, or congress, of the Royal Archæological Institute was opened on Tuesday, August 5, at Newcastle-on-Tyne, this being the second occasion on which the Institute has held its annual gathering in that city. Newcastle was almost rebuilt half a century ago by one of its sons, Richard Grainger, so that it now presents but few attractions to lovers of the past, with the exception of sundry old wynds or “chares” on the steep sides of the Tyne, which still remain, and two or three churches, and the old Norman castle which once was “new,” and from that circumstance gave its name to the ancient city of Munc-ceaster, or the ancient city of the Monks, which it superseded. The part of this castle which is still standing has been of late years put into good condition, thanks to the energies of sundry local antiquarians and archæologists, and is now fitted up as a museum. One of the rooms, too, served as the headquarters of the congress. At twelve o’clock the members of the institute, headed by the Duke of Northumberland and Lord Percy, were received in the Town-hall by the Mayor (Mr. F. Newton), the Sheriff (Mr. T. Nelson, F.S.A.), and the other members of the corporation. The Mayor’s address was brief and to the purpose. After welcoming the Archæological Institute on behalf of the town, and paying a well-timed tribute to the noble president of the present meeting and his son, he recapitulated the history of Newcastle from the era when it was the Pons Ælii of Imperial Rome, through the Saxon and Danish days to the time of the Conquest, soon after which it became a Norman stronghold. He then traced its career through the Scottish wars and in the days of the Great Rebellion, and said that in the Scottish Rebellions of 1715 and 1745 it was the headquarters of military operations in the north. Of late years it had devoted itself, as a town, to the arts of peace; and it is justly proud of the place which it holds in modern progress and commerce. But its devotion to commerce did not lead its inhabitants to forget or to undervalue its connection with the past. The Sheriff added a few words in the double capacity of a Newcastle man and a member of the Society of Antiquaries.

The Duke of Northumberland, as president of the meeting, delivered a short address, in which he drew a picture of the history of the border coasts of Northumberland at various dates, its connection with the records of early Christianity in the north of England, the frays and border forays by which it was so marked in the days of the Plantagenets and Tudors, and even down to the Stuart era, and the strange way in which old local customs had survived within it down to a very recent date. Among the objects of archæological interest to which the members of the Institute would have their attention drawn during their stay in Newcastle, his Grace observed, were the Roman wall, built by the Emperor Hadrian, the Norman keep in Newcastle, and the holy edifices at Lindisfarne, Tynemouth, and Jarrow—the last the birthplace of the first of English historians, the Venerable Bede. In the antiquities of the north of England could be traced the history of the country from the period of the ancient Britons down through the Roman occupation to the time of the conflicts of Saxons, Danes, and Normans. For the elucidation of these subjects much credit was due to the Newcastle Society of Antiquaries, and also to Dr. Bruce, the historian of the Roman wall, and Mr. John Clayton and gentlemen who have devoted their lives to the study of the archæology of the North.

A vote of thanks to the Duke of Northumberland was moved by Lord Aberdare, and seconded by the Bishop of Newcastle, who drew the attention of his hearers to the great benefits which the England of to-day owed to their Norman and their Saxon ancestors, reminding them that the study of the past, if followed up in a kindly and appreciative spirit, must teach the present and the future generations many important lessons of gratitude. The Duke of Northumberland, in a few short sentences, acknowledged the compliment, and the meeting was at an end.

The company were subsequently received in the lecture-room of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle by the members of the local Society of Antiquarians, whose president, the Earl of Ravensworth, addressed to them a brief speech, greeting their arrival, and promising them a wide field of interesting research on either side of the Tyne. Whether they went along the Roman wall westwards, to Holy Island and Lindisfarne northwards, or southwards to Durham, or eastward to Tynemouth—in every direction they would see traces of late Rome during Christianity. He ended by saying that he admired the study of archæology, for it made an old man young again, and made a young man old by increasing his field of observation and experience. In the afternoon the members of the two societies met together at the Black Gate of the Castle, from whence they proceeded, under the guidance of Mr. W. H. Longstaffe, to inspect the remains of the castle, the new cathedral (St. Nicholas Church), the remains of the old city walls, the Trinity House, the Old Exchange, in which the Company of Merchant Venturers had its home; and, finally, the churches of All Saints’, St. John’s, and St. Andrew’s. The leading features of the castle were commented upon by Dr. Bruce and Mr. Longstaffe, who placed its date at about 1172-7, and held that it was absurd to ascribe it to the previous century or to a son of the Conqueror. Dr. Bruce pointed out the king’s chamber, with its curious Norman chimney-piece, the whole of the chamber being cut out of the solid wall; the queen’s chamber, a corresponding apartment on the other side of the building; the donjon or dungeon keep in the basement, and the Norman chapel, with its rows of round-headed arches, with curious and costly mouldings. At All Saints’ Church the visitors were shown the fine brass of Roger Thornton—one of the finest in the Kingdom; and in the mayor’s room at the Old Exchange a series of mural paintings, representing scenes and sketches from old Newcastle.

In the evening the antiquarian and historical sections respectively of this Congress were opened at the rooms of the Literary and Philosophical Institute by Dr. Bruce, the historian of the Roman wall, and the Rev. Canon Creighton, who has just been appointed to a chair of history at Cambridge. The lecture of the former gentleman treated mainly of the subjects with which his pen is so familiar, and especially with the early introduction of Christianity into Northern England, quite apart from the emissaries of Rome and St. Augustine; whilst Canon Creighton drew an interesting picture of the history of Northumberland, Cumberland, and the adjacent counties, as the border district between England and Scotland, and therefore in many ways the sufferer from the wars between those two countries, and from the frays which continued to be carried on between their inhabitants long after the two countries had been united under one Crown.

On Wednesday, by invitation of the Duke of Northumberland, the members paid a visit to the Castle of Alnwick. Mr. G. Clark, the great authority on castellated architecture, explained every portion of the outer works and of the extensive fabric in succession. He showed reasons for believing that even in Saxon times the high ground on which the Castle stands was the site of a “burgh” then, and that it was afterwards seized upon and strengthened by the Normans. Much of the lower portion of the walls, as they still stand, is Norman, though portions of it, such as the barbican and some of the towers which crown the walls, are the work of the De Vescis and the Percys. He showed the value of its strong position, supported as it was by a host of smaller fortresses by which it was surrounded, and illustrated the way in which, even if a part were captured, the rest of the Castle could hold out and annoy its assailants. The interior of the Castle, which is modern, and fitted and furnished in the Italian style, was much admired. The furniture, ornamentation, and fine gallery of paintings were made the subject of comment by Dr. Bruce, who acted as cicerone over the interior, as Mr. Clark had done over the exterior of the building. At three o’clock all the visitors lunched in the banqueting-hall of the Castle.

On their way to Alnwick, the company visited Warkworth Castle, on the Coquet, a magnificent building, but still little more than a ruin. It is very much like Alnwick, though the points of difference between them are very great and numerous. Standing on a projecting headland and swept on three sides by the Coquet, it occupies a very strong and indeed formidable position, and must have at one time dominated over the whole surrounding country, whilst it guarded the mouth of the river against the incursions of the Danish and Scandinavian pirates. Here, too, Mr. Clark acted as interpreter, and he explained in succession every separate feature of the castle, including its central keep and the adjoining chapel, of which only a few traces remain. At the conclusion of Mr. Clark’s lecture most of the party walked up the meadows along the banks of the Coquet and crossed the river in boats to inspect the old hermitage cut in the side of the solid cliff, which forms the subject of more than one poem, and lives in Goldsmith and in Percy’s Reliques. The hermitage consists of two rough-hewn chambers, one of which was used by the anchorite as a chapel, and the other served him as a bedchamber. Between them is a small window of the Gothic type, which it was thought was used by him as a confessional, as he sat within. It was not possible for all the members of the congress to inspect this interesting spot, as the river had to be crossed, and the ferry boat was not constructed to carry more than a dozen passengers.

After luncheon some of the party went to Alnwick Abbey, in the valley of the Alne, about a mile off, where some interesting tombs have lately been discovered, and the plan of some monastic buildings laid bare; others drove to Hulne Abbey to see the grounds and park; and the return journey to Newcastle was made by special train.

In the evening papers were read in the architectural and archæological sections as follows: Mr. J. Bain on “The Ancient Percys of Scotland;” the Rev. J. Hirst on “The Ancient Mining Operations in Britain;” Dr. Hodgkin, “A Translation of Hübner’s Eine Römische Annexion”; and Canon Raine, of Durham, read a paper on “The Ecclesiology and Architecture, Secular and Religious, of Northumberland,” in which he condemned the mischievous practice of what was termed “restoration.” The so-called restoration of a church now too often meant the destruction of all that gave it its value as an ancient piece of architecture. This paper was followed by a discussion, in which Messrs. Longstaffe, Walford, and others took part, and in which Sir Edmund Beckett’s rebuilding of the west front of St. Albans Abbey was condemned in strong terms.