Day 12 - Newcastle on Tyne - 19 September 2024

We had booked into the Malmaison (bad home in french) and it is a great hotel. The staff is brilliant and last night, we had dinner in their restaurant. It is so good.

The Malmaison

Newcastle on Tyne is in the centre of the Roman inhabitation. We wanted to see what they accomplished, how they lived and to try to understand their life.  Around 124 AD, the Romans started work on Hadrian's wall. The Romans had taken over England and were planning their defenses against the Scots. They decided to build a wall which, of course, required battlements and soldiers to guard the wall.  Chester Fort was one of the larger establishments and is not far from Newcastle.

To get to Chester Fort, we left the city of Newcastle and headed down narrow lanes which the English like to call an A Road. Thankfully there were no tractors, and we arrived safely.

It is astonishing to see what the Romans accomplished with stone. They built so much.  Of course, they had their hot baths and the commander had an incredible place.  The whole place was a small town with a high Street and side streets. There was drainage and even water tanks.

The soldiers slept in separate buildings with three to a room. Their horses were just outside.  Their bath house had a heated floor (as in Rome) and generally, the place seemed to be very comfortable.

All supplies had to be brought across the river and so they built a bridge. However, the river moved and today, it is in a completely different location.  We spent a long time walking through the ruins.  I asked the guide why the place was in ruins. She explained that after the Romans left, people just took the stones for their own places.  The roman soldiers had cut the stones to shape and so the farmers could just use them without the need to reshape any stone.

There is a museum at the site with remnants of Roman architecture and building. An archeologist would have a field day there.  It was interesting but we could not appreciate what had been found.

Ancient things

We spent a long time walking along the roads and reading the information. The place has been prepared really well and the staff were great.

General view of Chester Fort

This is actually a warehouse

Ancient lockers at the bath house

This is a section of Hadrian's Wall

The work that went into Chesters Fort is amazing.  Everything was carefully considered and carefully calculated.  There was even drainage throughout the place. it was spectacular to see.

Then we went to the small town of Hexham to see the Hexham Abbey.  The crypt is 1,350 years old and it is an amazing building.  The volunteers at the Abbey are very helpful and clearly love what they do.  Ther congregation also seems to be very active as well as there are notices of meetings and courses. It was great to see.

The Abbey used stones from the Roman forts, and they are clearly visible in the crypt.  The Abbey also has a Frith stool which is considered to be the safest place in the church and people are protected (even from the law) whilst they are in that stool.  The Frith stool has been in the same place since 1908!

They have just replaced the organ with a new instrument built in Ilinois. It is so big, and it would be wonderful to hear it.  

The Frith Stool

The new organ

This crypt is 1,350 years old

Stones from the Roman forts

Hexham Abbey

Then we headed to more ruins at Corbridge Roman Town.  Corbridge was a town rather than a fort.  The town had a main street (High Street) and commercial buildings.  There was a granary, baths (of course) and the houses were actually very comfortable.  They had at least one well for the water.

The High Street

A well

We were quite impressed with what they achieved.  That was a big day and we walked a long way. Back to town for a relax.