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start of Westmorland |
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Page 148:-
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VERTERAE. Burgh. Burgh
under Stanemore. ABALLABA. Apelby.
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Verterae
Brough
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[VER]TERAE, an antient town mentioned by Antoninus and the
Notitia, which last adds that in the decline of the Roman
empire here was a Roman praefect stationed with a Numerus
Directorum. The town at present reduced to a mean
village, fortified with a small rampart, has changed its
name to Burgh, by our people called Burgh under
Stanemore. Under the later emperors, to remark once for
all, small castles proper for war and well supplied, began
to be called Burghs [A;] by a new name, which,
after the removal of the empire into the east, the Germans
and other nations seemed to have borrowed from the Greek
πυ�ς [†], whence the
Burgundiones has their name from inhabiting Burg, the common
term at that time for dwellings thick scattered on borders.
I find no further mention of this place except that in the
beginning of the Norman government the English [n] here
formed a conspiracy against William the Norman. I would
venture to affirm this Burgh to be VERTERAE for this single
reason, that the distance between it and Lavatrae one
way, and Brovonacum the other, reduced to Italian
miles, exactly corresponds with numbers in Antoninus, and
the Roman military way with a visible ridge runs this way to
BROVONACUM through ABALLABA, mentioned in the Notitia, which
still retains its name with so little variation as to
discover itself most clearly, and remove every doubt. For we
call it by shortness from Aballaba Apelby. This place
is considered only for antiquity and situation, as in the
Roman times it was a station of Aurelian Moors, situate in a
very pleasant country, and almost surrounded by the river
Eden, but so thin of inhabitants, and meanly built, that
were it not that for its antiquity it deserves to be
accounted the principal town in the county, and to have the
assizes held in its castle, which is the county gaol, it
would be little better than a village. For all its beauty
consists in one broad street running up a gentle hill from
south to north. On the top of the hill is the castle, almost
entirely surrounded by the river. At the bottom the church,
and a school founded by Robert Langton and Milo Spencer,
Doctors of Law, the head master whereof is the very learned
Reginald Bainbrigge, who kindly copied for me several
antient inscriptions in these parts, and removed several
into his garden here. William of Newburgh [o], not without
reason, calls this place and Burgh royal fortresses,
when he relates the surprize of them by William king of
Scots, a little before he was taken prisoner at Alnwick.
King John generously gave them to John de Vipont for
his services in re-taking them.
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Buley castle. Kirkby
Thore.
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Kirkby Thore
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The river hence pursues its course by Buley, a castle
of the bishop of Carlisle, and Kirkby Thore, below
which are to be seen considerable ruins of an antient town,
and Roman coins are frequently dug up, and not long ago this
inscription:
DEO BELATVCAD-
RO LIB VOTV
M FECIT
IOLVS.
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Wheallop c. GALLATUM.
Maidenway.
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Gallatum
Maiden Way
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Age has almost obliterated its name, it being now called
Whellep castle. If the prince of antiquity [p] would
allow me I should say it was the GALLAGUM of Ptolemy, and
GALLATUM of Antoninus, agreeable to the distance of miles,
and not contradicted by the name. The British term
gall at the beginning of a word was changed by the
Saxons into Wall, as GALENA into Wallingford,
and Gall-Sever, Severus' Wall, &c. It was
certainly considerable when the pitched road called
Maidenway ran strait from hence to Caer Vorran
by the Picts' wall, where moorish mountains rear their heads
for nearly 20 miles. On this way I should conclude the
stations and mansions recited by Antoninus in his IXth
British iter lay if nobody had pointed out the places. Nor
is this to be wondered at when they have been for so many
ages the food of time.
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Crawdundale-warth.
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Near this place, at Crawdun dale-warth, are to be
seen ditches, ramparts, and hills thrown up, and among them
this Roman inscription copied for me by the aforementioed
Reginald Bainbrig, schoolmaster of Appleby, and cut on a
rough rock, the beginning effaced by time [q]:
.... V[A]RRONIUS
... ECTVS LEG. XXV. V.
.. [A]EL. LVCANUS
.. P. LEG. II. [A]VG. C
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[A] to A.
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which I read ... Varronius praefectus legionis vicesimae
Valentis Victricis ... Elius Lucanus praefectus legionis
secundae Augustae castra metati sunt, or to some such
effect. For the Legion Vicesima Valens Victrix, which was
stationed at DEVA, or West Chester, and the Legio secunda
Augusta stationed at ISCA, or Caerleon in Wales, being
called to service here against the enemy, seem to have been
quartered and have had their castra stativa here for some
time, in memory of which their officers cut this inscription
on to the rock. I cannot easily fix the date: but for this
purpose these larger letters seem to have been cut on a
neighbouring rock CN. OCT. COT. COSS. though we find no such
names together among the consuls in the Fasti Cunsulares. I
have observed, however, from the time of Severus to Gordian,
and afterwards, the letter A in all the inscriptions of that
age wants the transverse stroke, and is formed thus [A]
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Howgil. BROVOMIACUM.
Brougham.
Shape.
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Brovoniacum
Brougham
Eden, River
Lowther, River
Eamont, River
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Hence the Eden proceeds not far from Howgill, a
castle of the Sandfords, but the military way runs
strait on W. by Whinfield [e], a large shady park to
BROVONIACUM, 20 Italian and 17 English miles from VERTERAE,
as placed by Antoninus, who called it likewise
Brocovum, as does the Notitia Broconiacum,
adding that the Numerus Defensorum was stationed
here. Though time has destroyed its buildings and glory, the
name remains almost unaltered. For we still call it
Brougham. Here the river Eymot rising out of a
large lake, and for some time dividing this county from
Cumberland, receives the river Loder, near whose
source at Shape, antiently Heye, a small
monastery, built by Thomas son of Gospatric, son of Orme, is
a fountain, which, like the Euripus ebbs and flows several
times a day, and several huge stones of a pyramidal form,
some of them nine feet high, and four thick, standing in a
row for near a mile at an equal distance, which seem to have
been erected in memory of some transaction there, which by
length of time is lost. On the
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148.*
Veg. IV. c.10.
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148.†
Orosius.
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[n]
The Northern English. Holland.
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[o]
II. 32. munitiones regales.
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[p]
Antiquitatis Praetor.
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[q]
Or thrust out by the root of a tree there growing. H.
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[r]
Whin signifies in the north of England he (sic) same
as Burr in the south. Furze. G.
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Loder
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gazetteer links
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-- Appleby Castle
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-- "Apelby" -- Appleby-in-Westmorland
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-- "Verterae" -- Brough
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-- "Eymot, River" -- Eamont, River
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-- "Eden, River" -- Eden, River
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-- Karl Lofts
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-- "Loder, River" -- Lowther, River
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-- "Maiden Way" -- Maiden Way
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-- "Verterae" -- (roman fort, Brough)
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-- Brocavum
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-- "Whellep Castle" -- (roman fort, Burwens)
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-- (roman site, Crowdundle)
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-- (school, Appleby-in-Westmorland)
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-- "Shape monastery" -- Shap Abbey
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-- Tiding Well
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