Berwick-Upon-Tweed

Berwick-upon-Tweed sits at the most northerly tip of Northumberland, just 3 miles from the Scottish Border. A coastal town with four sandy beaches and beautiful riverside walks, Berwick is perfectly situated for a relaxing break and a haven for walkers and cyclists.

This peaceful town is a far cry from Berwick's turbulent past; Berwick’s great Elizabethan walls were built to keep invading Scots from entering the town. Apparently, artist L.S. Lowry was a regular visitor to Berwick but I saw no matchstick people on my visit! 

There is no doubt that Berwick can claim the distinction of being the Border Town, as it has changed hands between England and Scotland thirteen times. Its history is inextricably tied up with the struggle for the Anglo-Scottish frontier. Berwick, with an English name meaning ‘Corn Farm or trading place’ began as a small settlement in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, in which it remained until the Battle of Carham of 1018 when it was taken by the Scots. From then on Berwick became a hotly disputed territory. In 1174 Berwick was retaken by England in a ransom following the failure of a raid into Northumberland by the Scottish king, William the Lion. 

The town returned to the northern side of the border in the reign of Richard I (1189-1199), who sold it to obtain money for the Crusades. At the beginning of the following century Berwick returned once more to England, after Richard’s brother, King John sacked the town, but Berwick continued to change hands until 1482 when the town finally became part of England within which it still (technically) remains. 

A Town Hall has stood on this site since at least the 16th century. Begun in 1750, this building stands majestically at the south end of Marygate. Until the 1830s, the Guild of Freemen governed civic affairs in Berwick from this building. 

The Town Hall was the hub of the town's municipal life and is still used for Town Council Meetings. There is a public function room that was used as a courtroom, and the gaol which is located on the building's second floor and remains virtually unchanged since it was last used in 1849.

A quaint cobbled street

Archway over a cobbled road leading into the town, through the Elizabethan wall.

Berwick-upon-Tweed `Old Bridge`

The iconic Royal Border Bridge, built by Robert Stevenson and one of the finest bridges of its kind in the world, apparently!

Royal Tweed Bridge

Berwick's town walls are among its most famous piece of architecture and still stand strong today, hundreds of years after they were built. Berwick actually has two sets of walls, the first set (of which only fragments now remain), commenced by Edward I, was two miles long. The later Elizabethan Walls (which are still complete) are a mile and a-quarter in length. The ramparts completely surround the town, with four gates through which entry to the town is enabled.

Berwick's Elizabethan Walls are the only example of bastioned town walls in Britain and one of the best preserved examples in Europe. When built in 1558 - designed to keep out the marauding Scots who regularly laid claim to the town - it was the most expensive undertaking of England's Golden Age. It is only 2.5 miles from the border! 

The walls were built to an Italian design and contained bastions which were designed to allow gunfire covering every part of the wall. Outside the curtain wall and bastions, there were wide water-filled ditches to deter potential invaders. 

The Church of the Holy Trinity is a Church of England parish church in the center of Berwick-upon-Tweed and is a rare example of a church built in the Commonwealth era. 

In 1641, King Charles I gave money to replace the dilapidated old church in Berwick. In the following year, however, the Civil War began. Despite this, more money was collected and stone for building the church was taken from the old Berwick Castle. In 1650 John Young of Blackfriars, a London mason, was contracted to build the new church, and by 1652 the church was complete. This makes it one of the very few churches to have been built during the Commonwealth of England; other examples include Ninekirks, Holy Trinity, Staunton Harold and St Matthias Old Church in Poplar, London. 

The design of the church is based on that of St Katharine Cree in London. It has a side aisle on each side of the nave, and the arcades are of the Tuscan order. The church was built with no chancel, altar, organ, tower or bells. However the church interior was surrounded by galleries on all four walls. 

In 1660, two years after the Restoration of the Monarchy, John Cosin, Bishop of Durham, consecrated the church. He demanded that a chancel should be built at the east end to accommodate a communion table. However, this was not done until 1855 when the present chancel was built and many original Gothic windows were redesigned in the Classical style. The 1855 west window is particularly fine and includes 16th- and 17th-century Flemish roundels formerly in the private chapel of the Duke of Buckingham at Canons Park, Middlesex. 

Well it is warm sitting here!. Seen in the car park near our vehicle.

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Along parts of Hadrian's Wall

One of our main aims for this holiday was to see some of Hadrian's Wall, and so two days were spent doing just that! Traveling along the A39, we visited, and enjoyed a fair stretch of it. Unfortunately, many of the images were taken during the brightest part of the day and are rather de-saturated. At least some record shots!

In A.D. 122 the Emperor Hadrian ordered his soldiers to build a wall between Roman Britain and Scotland. The wall ran from Wallsend in the east to Bowness on the Solway Firth. You can still walk along parts of Hadrian's Wall today. In A.D. 140, the Romans added another wall further north. It's called the Antonine Wall.

The area called Steel Rigg is along some of the most scenic sections of Hadrian’s Wall. 

Part of the Roman Fort at Birdoswald, with (BELOW), some beautiful scenery nearby. 

A few facts about Birdoswald: 

Birdoswald was once an area of bog and forest. The Romans had to clear and drain the land before building work could begin. 

The defences of Birdoswald are extremely well preserved and the site is one of the best places to see the very first Hadrian’s Wall, which was built of turf. 

The military unit that left the most enduring legacy at Birdoswald were the Dacians, who travelled with the Roman army from modern-day Romania. They carved symbols from their homeland into the fort walls and worshipped local deities as well as Roman gods. 

Several burial urns were recently excavated from a Roman cemetery at Birdoswald. Studies have revealed the cremated remains of women and children as well as male soldiers. 

Walltown Crags 

The wall along Walltown Crags. Quite a feat to build on the top of these crags, I would think, also showing how advanced the Romans really were. 

Vindolanda is one of Europe's most important Roman archaeological sites. It is situated on the Stanegate Road, one mile south of Hadrian’s Wall and is managed and owned by The Vindolanda Charitable Trust. 

The site itself comprises nine forts built on top of each other. Soldiers from all over the Roman Empire, including Belgium, Germany and France were garrisoned here. The visible stone fort dates to the third century and the impressive remains include the fort walls, the headquarters building, the Commanding Officer’s house, granaries and barracks. Extensive remains of the extramural settlement lie just west of the fort with buildings lining a main street. These include houses, shops, a tavern and a bath house. 

The top find from the site, and also on display in the museum are the Vindolanda writing tablets – voted Britain’s ‘Top Treasure’. The small wooden postcard sized documents recorded the daily life of people who used to live here including letters from soldiers asking for socks and underwear, a birthday party invitation to the Commanding Officer’s wife, requests for payment, lists of goods supplied and troop deployments. 

While we stood watching, this ring was unearthed. 

Housesteads Roman Fort (below) was a large infantry fort constructed along the line of Hadrian’s Wall. It was garrisoned by a regiment recruited from Belgium and remained occupied for around 300 years. 

A fort was built in stone at the Housesteads Roman Fort site around AD 124 overlying the original Broad Wall foundation and Turret 36B. The fort was repaired and rebuilt several times, its northern defences being particularly prone to collapse. 

By the end of Hadrian’s reign (AD 138), the great Wall was complete, and Housesteads was one of 15 forts and part of a total garrison of nearly 10,000 men along its length. The surviving plan of the main buildings and barracks dates largely to this time. 

Within four years of Hadrian’s death, however, his successor, Antoninus Pius (r.138–61), began the construction of a second wall (the Antonine Wall), across the Forth–Clyde isthmus in central Scotland. It is often thought that Hadrian’s Wall was then abandoned, but recent excavations from Housesteads found no evidence for this. 

Although most of the Tungrians are indeed known to have occupied Castlecary Fort on the Antonine Wall, it seems that part of the garrison may have remained here. An altar to Jupiter and the god Cocidius from Housesteads, dedicated by soldiers of the Second Augustan Legion said to be on ‘garrison duty’, may date to this period. 

Sycamore Gap - it's become an iconic image associated with Hadrian's Wall. The familiar gaps along Hadrian’s Wall in the Whin Sill are essentially channels, naturally chipped away by vast amounts of meltwater flowing beneath the ice sheets that once covered the area. 

Nowadays, the tree has become something of a star. Most notably as the scene-stealer in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner, TV series Vera starring Brenda Blethyn and Robson Green’s More Tales from Northumberland. 

If it's there, someone has to climb it! 

More Housesteads. 

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