Itinerarium curiosum (centuria II)

by William Stukeley

PENRITH.

At the conflux of the rivers Louther and Eimont there is a remarkable curiosity, that illustrates the method of the religious solemnities of the old Britons, as much as any I have seen. Upon the edge of the Louther, where the bridge now passes it, is a delicate little plain, of an oblong form, bounded on the other side by a natural declivity: this is used to this day for a country rendezvous, either for sports or military exercises, shooting with bows, &c. On this plain stands the antiquity commonly called King Arthur’s Round Table, and supposed to be used for tilts and tournaments: it is a circle inclosed with a ditch, and that with a vallum. At first sight we may see that it was intended for sports, but not on horseback, because much too little: the vallum on the outside lies sloping inward with a very gradual declivity, on purpose for spectators to stand around it; and it would hold at least 10,000 people. The outside of the vallum is pretty steep: it was high originally, as may be seen now in some parts; but it is worn down, as being by the side of the common road; and the inhabitants carry it away to mend the highways withal. There are two entrances into the area, north and south, or nearly so: one end is inclosed into a neighbouring pasture: the area had a circle within, somewhat higher in elevation than the other. The outer verge of the vallum is a circle of 300 foot: the composition of it is intirely coggles and gravel, dug out of the ditch. Upon part of the plain are marks of the tents of the Scots army, that accompanied King Charles II. in his way to Worcester: they encamped here for some time, and drew a small line across part of the southern circle: this was done within memory.

Just 400 foot from the verge of the south entrance is another circle, 300 foot in diameter, made contrarywise to the former: the vallum is small, and the ditch whence it was taken is outermost. Thus these two circles and the interval make 1000 foot in length; and there is just room enough without them, next the river and next the bank, for a circus or foot-race, according to the old manner of the Grecian, which were always celebrated by the sides of rivers.

Centum ego quadrijugos agitabo ad flumina currus, &c. Virg. and probably British chariots had here their courses. On the southern end it is manifest they contrived it just to leave room enough for the turn; and it required good skill to drive a chariot so as not to fall there, or into the river. It must be understood, that the bridge at present, and another of wood formerly a little below it, have impaired the banks by the more southern circle. This is the most delightful place that can be imagined for recreation: the rapid river Louther runs all along the side of it; the Eimot joins it a little way off, in view: beyond is a charming view of a vast wood, and of Brougham castle; beyond that, the ancient Roman city, and the Roman road going along under the high hill whereon is the beacon. But these are things later in time than our antiquity.

Though upon first sight of the place I knew its purport, yet I was more fully convinced thereof when I went to see Mayborough, as called, which is a little higher up the hill, on an eminence higher than any near it, and full west from this place, or circus: it is a vast concavity, of the same diameter as the circles just mentioned, viz. 300 foot: it is made with an artificial vallum of loose stones, without any ditch, carried with great labour from some other place, and here orderly piled up, so as to make a rampart as high and as broad as that at Abury: in some places the turf, with which it was covered originally, is peeled off: it slopes inward with a gentle descent on account of spectators; outwardly it is as steep as the nature of the materials would suffer, and now covered over with great timber-trees: the entrance is wide, and opens full east, and to the circus. Within this fine plain, which is now ploughed up, have been two circles of huge stones; four remaining of the inner circle till a year or two ago, that they were blown to pieces with gunpowder: they were of a hard black kind of stone, like that of the altar at Stonehenge: one now stands, ten foot high, seventeen in circumference, of a good shapely kind; another lies along: this inner circle was fifty foot in diameter. One stone, at least, of the outer circle remains, by the edge of the corn; and some more lie at the entrance within side, others without, and fragments all about. Just by the entrance, along the road runs a spring, full eastward.

This I suppose to be a great British temple, where the country met on solemn days to sacrifice. After the religious duties were over, they went down to the circus to celebrate their games: and I could not but admire the fine genius of these people in chusing places for their sports; for upon the verge of the acclivity, along the circus, an infinite number of people might stand to see the whole without the least inconvenience, besides those in the plain between the two circles; and these two circles admirably well executed the intent of the meta’s, but much better than those in the Roman circus’s. In ploughing at Mayborough they dug up a brass Celt. On the other side of the Eimot, upon a high ground overlooking all, is a very fine round tumulus, of a large size, and set about with a circle of stones: this in all probability was the funeral monument of the king that founded the temple and circus. Somebody has lately been digging away part of the barrow, and carried off some of the stones, and demolished others.

There is another Celtic monument in the fields beyond the Louther, and south-east of Countess pillar, upon a fine dry spot of ground near the moors: this is in sight of the temple. It consists of many burial-places, marked out with stones set at equal distances. One points eastward, and is what I take to be an arch-druid’s; being above 100 foot long, not a raised tumulus, but a pyramidal form designed by two sides of stones like an avenue. A little way above the head of this is another longish burial, and on a sort of barrow: it points differently from the former. Farther on is the arc of a circle, consisting of four large stones equidistant, opening south: I believe this to be part of another: one of the stones is of the same nature as those at Shap. Further on is one side of another long burial, like the first. There are many more such-like hereabouts, but ruinous; for the stones are carried away for building the adjacent moor-houses and walls. In the pasture on the eastern bank of the Louther, in the way to Clifton, are several cairns, or carracks, as the Scotch call them, made of dry stones heaped together; also many other monuments of stones, three, four, five, set upright together. They are generally by the country people said to be done by Michael Scot, a noted conjuror in their opinion, who was a monk of Holm abbey in Cumberland: they have a notion too that one Turquin, a giant, lived at Brougham castle; and there is a tower there, called Pagan tower; and Sir Lancelot de Lake lived at Mayborough, and slew him. Near Clifton is a famous spring, where the people go annually on May-day to drink, by a custom beyond all remembrance: they hold it an earnest of good luck the ensuing year, to be there and drink of the water before sun-rise. This, no doubt, has been continued from the British times, and is a remain of the great quarterly festival of the vernal equinox. So at Sidbury, on Palm Sunday.

Old Penrith is Petrianis, on the river Peterel: it signifies the warth over the river Petria; so that Penrith, its successor, is but a corruption of Petterith.

GALAVA.

The Roman city lies on the east side of the Louther, just by Brougham castle, whose walls, and those of the park, are for part built of the stones from the old city, being manifestly of a Roman cut. The trace of the place is very easily discovered, where the ditch went between the Roman road and the river. I saw many fragments of altars and inscriptions at the hall nearer the bridge, all exposed, in the court-yard, to weather, and injuries of every sort. In the wall by the Roman road beyond Brougham castle, and near the countess of Pembroke’s pillar, is a pretty busto, part of a funeral monument; the bulla of the mantle most conspicuous, though much injured. Farther on, in the same dry wall, nearer the corner, is another basso relievo, but so defaced, that I could not make any thing of it. The Roman road coming from Carlisle, very apparent as they tell me, passes above or north of the town of Penrith, under the beacon-hill; then passes the river just under the castle; then went by the south side of the city, where its pavement is now firm and good; then where Countess pillar now stands: here it is visible as far as the horizon in a very strait lane, going full east to Appleby. Vast quantities of Roman stone, taken up in the city, have been burnt into lime. Coins, Mosaic floors, and every sort of antiquity, are daily found: they cannot strike a stroke into the ground but inscriptions, pillars, and some sort or other of ancient remains, appear. The site of the city is an elevated piece of ground by the river side; a woody country about it: a vast hill, or fell, of an immense height, goes all along the partition of this county from Durham, in sight here; and by the side of it, three remarkable lesser hills, or pikes, as they call them deservedly; being extremely sharp and conical, and very regularly so.