I continued my Roman experience at Corbridge - Roman town a little way from the Wall itself. There are extensive remains of granaries, strong room, undercover market, water tanks and shops on both sides of a High Street which have been excavated but there is more still buried. The museum has splendid artefacts and timeline of the development and eventual decline of the town.
 |
| Corbridge |
 |
| Water tank & granary |
 |
Strong room for army wages which were
brought to the military annually |
 |
Eyeguard from a hood
covering cavalry horse’s head |
 |
| Gaming board & counters |
 |
Memorial to a much loved
four year old daughter shown
holding her favourite ball |
Next day I went back to Chesters as there were Roman displays.
All good fun.
 |
| Defensive wall |
 |
| Wedge advance |
 |
| Spear throwing practice |
 |
| “Tortoise” defensive position |
 |
| Fighting to capture the standard |
On Sunday I had another metal detecting day above Weardale, fabulous scenery and one or two coins found, a friendly welcome from some of the same men I had seen the previous week and a slight improvement in my comprehension skills. Definite result!
I have never thought much about the name Bishop Auckland or known anything at all about Princes Bishops until now. William I attempted several times to promote a Saxon to organise his north eastern lands but the locals always resented this and murdered the unfortunates by one means or another as traitors. Eventually William II appointed a Norman to the job and gave him the power to raise his own army, levy his own taxes and mint his own coinage. He was also the Bishop and was the first of the line then called the Prince Bishops who held these powers for centuries.
The Auckland Project (at Bishop Auckland) is in the throes of repairing the Castle and adding a totally new wing to its museum, building a Gallery for Spanish Art, restoring the 17th century walled gardens with a new glass roofed restaurant, has already built a new tower in the Square and opened a Gallery of Mining Art. There are also to be more public facilities in the extensive Bishop’s hunting park where there is a rather impressive deer house. I am promising myself to come back here next summer when much of this should, with luck, be finished.
 |
| Deer house |
