slain when besieging Alnwick, were interred at Tynemouth. In 1298,
Edward I. visited Tynemouth, and offered a clasp of gold at the shrine
of St. Oswald; and, in 1303, his queen resided there while he proceeded
into Scotland. In 1381, some monks of St. Albans, who had been engaged
in Wat Tyler's insurrection, fled to Tynemouth for refuge on the death
of their leader. On the suppression of Tynemouth priory, by Henry VIII.,
in 1539, the monks were possessed of twenty-seven manors in the county
of Northumberland, with various advowsons, impropriations, and other
property, both in that county and in Durham. Their annual revenue was
valued by Speed at L511 4s. 11/2d.; and by Dugdale at L397 10s. 51/2d.
The church of Tynemouth priory continued to be used for divine service
till about 1659, when, in consequence of its dilapidated state, the
foundation of a new church was laid, near to North Shields, on the
Newcastle-road. In the reign of Charles II., the lead was stripped off
the roof of the old church, by Colonel Edward Villiers, then governor of
Tynemouth castle, who also pulled down part of the priory, in order to
obtain stones for the erection of a lighthouse and other buildings.
By a grant from Charles II., dated 30th June, 1677, Colonel Villiers, in
consideration of building the lighthouse and providing a light, was
authorised to demand one shilling from each British, and sixpence from
each foreign, vessel entering the Tyne. Since the time of Colonel
Villiers, the lighthouse has undergone considerable alterations, and it
has also been greatly elevated. Its correct geographical situation
is--north latitude, 55 deg. 0' 55"; west longitude, 1 deg. 24' 31". The light,
which is a revolving one, is displayed from sunset to sunrise, and may
be seen, in clear weather, at the distance of five or six leagues. The
light appears in its greatest lustre, like a star of the first
magnitude, once a minute; its brilliancy then begins to decline, and at
length it becomes totally obscured.
[Illustration: CULLERCOATS.]
CULLERCOATS.
In the Engraving is given a view of Cullercoats, as seen from the
southward. On the sand, in the foreground, is a coble, a light kind of
boat, generally employed by the fishermen on the coast of
Northumberland; near the coble, to the right, is a _dand_ or buoy, used
by the fishermen to mark the place where they have cast their lines or
nets. It is formed of an inflated bag of tanned skin, through which a
light pole passes, and to which pole the ends forming the openings of
the bag are tightly tied with cord. The lower end of the pole is
sometimes rendered heavy by lead, so that the _dand_ may float upright,
and it has also a loop, or a ring, to which the rope connecting it with
the nets or lines is fastened; and a piece of _bunting_, or coloured
cloth, is attached, as a small flag, to the upper end, in order that it
may be more perceptible at a distance.
The village of Cullercoats, which lies about a mile to the northward of
Tynemouth, is mostly inhabited by fishermen. The duties performed by the
wives and daughters of the Cullercoats fishermen are very laborious.
They search for the bait--sometimes digging sand-worms in the muddy sand
at the mouth of the Coble-dean, at the head of North Shields; gathering
muscles on the Scalp, near Clifford's Fort; or seeking limpets and
dog-crabs among the rocks near Tynemouth;--and they also assist in
baiting the hooks. They carry the fish which are caught in North Shields
in large wicker baskets, called _creels_, and they also sit in the
market there to sell them. When fish are scarce, they not unfrequently
carry a load on their shoulders, weighing between three or four stone,
to Newcastle, which is about ten miles distant from Cullercoats, in the
hope of meeting with a better market. The fish principally caught by the
fishermen of Cullercoats are codlings, cod, ling, (_Gadus molva_),
halibut, usually called turbot in Northumberland, haddocks, and
whitings. Herrings are also taken in the season; and the colesay (_Gadus
carbonarius_), is occasionally caught, but it is a fish which is hardly
worth the bait, as it is scarcely saleable at any price. The most
valuable sea-fish caught by the fishermen of Cullercoats, is the _bret_,
or turbot of the London market. But this fish, when caught by them, is
mostly sold to the bret smacks, by which it is conveyed to London.
Gentlemen residing at Cullercoats or Tynemouth during the bathing
season, may often obtain excellent sport in fishing for whitings, in
fine weather, off the north-eastern end of the Herd Sand. The best time
is in the evening, towards high-water; and the best bait is sprats cut
into small pieces; it is no extraordinary feat for a party of three,
with half a dozen lines, to take twelve or fifteen dozen of whitings in
three hours, on a summer's evening.
For the amateur sea-fisher, in the neighbourhood of Tynemouth, there is
no bait generally so good when fishing within six or eight miles of the
shore, as the small dog-crab, called in the neighbourhood of Shields a
_pillan_. It is known from the common dog-crab by the facility with
which its shell may be stripped off; for instance, in breaking the shell
round one of its claws, the broken portion may be withdrawn from the
member as a glove from the hand; and the shell of the back may also be
stripped off in the same manner. From this facility of _peeling_, it is
probable that the crab derives its local name of _pillan_. Pillan,
however, are not plentiful; and when such are not to be got, then
sand-worms, muscles, and common dog-crabs are the most likely bait.
Codlings and rock-codlings are plentiful a little to the eastward of
Tynemouth; but, haddocks and cod, the staple of the Cullercoats
fishermen, are not often caught in any great quantity within seven miles
of the shore. The young of the colesay, called a _hallan_, a beautiful
little fish, is frequently caught with a rod, from the rocks in the
neighbourhood of Tynemouth. The weaver, (_Trachinus draco_,) or
stinging-fish as it is called at Shields, is often caught when fishing
off Tynemouth Bar; and strangers, who are unacquainted with the
formidable character of this little fish, are sometimes pricked by it
when taking it off the hook. The men who are employed in the salmon
fishery, at the end of the Herd Sand, have sometimes their bare feet
stung by it when hauling their nets. The average length of this fish, as
caught at the mouth of the Tyne, is about five inches; though some are
occasionally caught there three or four inches longer. The dangerous
spines are those of the first dorsal fin; and the best remedy for the
wound is to rub it well with sweet oil.
Cullercoats is a kind of land-mark for vessels leaving Shields Harbour;
for as soon as the man at the helm can see the village opening behind
Tynemouth Cliff, the ship is over the bar.
[Illustration: DUNSTANBOROUGH CASTLE.
_FROM THE EASTWARD._]
DUNSTANBROUGH CASTLE,
FROM THE EASTWARD.
Dunstanbrough Castle, in the county of Northumberland, is situated about
seven miles north-east of Alnwick, and about two miles north by east of
Howick, the seat of Earl Grey. Of the keep there are no vestiges
remaining; and it is even questionable if it was ever completed. Thomas,
Earl of Lancaster, who is generally considered to have been the founder
of the present castle, only obtained the king's licence to crenelate, or
fortify, his house at Dunstanbrough in 1316: and as he was beheaded at
Pontefract in 1321, and in the intermediate years had been much engaged,
in the south, in rebellion against Edward II., it is not unlikely that
the keep might be unfinished at his decease, and never afterwards
finished. Of Dunstanbrough Castle history records little that is
interesting. In 1464 it was held, after the battle of Hexham, for Henry
VI., by Sir Peter de Bressy, and a party of Frenchmen; but was taken,
after a vigorous defence, by Ralph Lord Ogle, Edmund and Richard de
Craster, John Manners, and Gilbert de Errington, all Northumbrians, and
partisans of Edward IV. From this period the castle, which was
dismantled by the victors, is never mentioned in the history of the
county as the scene of any memorable event. It was in the possession of
the crown in the 10th of Elizabeth, but was granted by James I. to Sir
William Grey, afterwards Lord Grey of Wark. It is now the property of
the Earl of Tankerville, whose ancestor, Charles Lord Ossulston, became
possessed of it in 1701, through his marriage with the daughter and
heiress of Lord Grey, Earl of Tankerville, son of Lord Grey of Wark.
In the present engraving a view is presented of the principal remaining
tower of Dunstanbrough Castle, as seen from the sea at the distance of
about a mile; and whoever has seen it at that distance in a blustering
day, towards the latter end of October, will immediately acknowledge the
fidelity of the artist's delineation. Though the Abbess of Whitby and
her nuns, in their fabled voyage to Holy Island, passed the place in
summer, and in fine weather, yet they seem to have been near enough to
be sensible of the danger of too close an approach to its "wave-worn
steep;" for Sir Walter Scott, in _Marmion_, Canto II., relates that,--
"They crossed themselves, to hear
The whitening breakers sound so near,
Where, boiling through the rocks, they roar
On Dunstanborough's caverned shore."
The contemplation of Dunstanbrough Castle, like that of many similar
edifices, the ruins of which still frown upon the promontories and
headlands of our coast, cannot but awaken feelings little favourable to
what are frequently called the "good old times." If we may compare what
our ancestors have left with what the present generation is exerting
itself to accomplish, antiquity has little to boast of. Our forefathers
crowned the cliffs of the land with strongholds, bristling with lofty
towers and warlike battlements, nominally for their own defence from the
incursions of foreign foes, but too often diverted into engines of
tyranny and oppression to their fellow-citizens. The shipwrecked mariner
of those days had often more to dread than to hope for in the approach
to such beacons as Dunstanbrough; and if unhappily thrown upon the mercy
of its owners, they were only too ready to seize upon what the waves had
spared, and deem that in permitting him to depart unharmed, they had
done all that could be expected from them. In our days, we no longer
erect castles on our coasts; we rather stud them with lighthouses, and
thus mark out the track of safety, not only for the ships of our own
nation, but confer equal benefits upon those of every other maritime
power. We no longer pour down upon the distressed seamen with armed
bands, whose only aim is plunder; but we rush to the beach, and with
life-boats constructed in the best manner, and manned by the bravest and
most skilful of our countrymen, we hasten to succour and to save those
whom the elements are threatening to destroy. Of a truth, the ruins of
these fortresses of old might instil a spirit of thankfulness in the
minds of many of those who profess to admire the days which are gone,
and render them grateful that their lot has been cast in happier
times.
[Illustration: DUNSTANBOROUGH CASTLE.]
DUNSTANBROUGH CASTLE.
MOONLIGHT.
In the vignette engraving of Dunstanbrough by moonlight, the incident of
a wreck coming ashore among the rocks at the foot of the castle is
introduced with striking effect. The masts of the vessel are seen
dashing against the rocks. To the left are fishermen assisting such of
the crew as have escaped to ascend the cliff; while to the right are
seen people with torches from the adjacent country hastening towards the
scene of destruction. The moon appears as if "wading"[8] through the
clouds, and the old tower--itself the wreck of time--appropriately
occupies the centre of the view.
"On the brink of the cliff, to the sea," says a writer, describing
Dunstanbrough Castle, "appear the remains of a very strong wall; indeed
it is probable the whole area was originally so enclosed. The heavy seas
which break upon the rocks of the north-west point have torn them much,
and it appears as if the area had been originally of greater extent than
at present, many separate columns of rock standing near the cliffs,
which, some ages ago, may have been joined to the mainland....
Immediately below this tower" [that which is seen in the engraving] "is
a gully or passage, of perpendicular sides, formed in the rocks, about
sixty yards in length, and forty feet deep, where the sea makes a
dreadful inset, breaking into foam with a tremendous noise: the spray
occasioned thereby is driven within the Castle walls. This place is
called by the country people the _Rumble Churn_[9]." It is to this chasm
that Sir Walter Scott alludes when he speaks of "Dunstanbrough's
caverned shore," in the popular poem of _Marmion_.
In the neighbourhood of Dunstanbrough there is a legendary tale yet
current, though no longer at its ancient value, of a knight who, many
centuries ago, discovered a place of enchantment in the vaults of the
castle, but who, failing to break the spell, through inattention to
certain mysterious instructions given to him, was doomed to seek for
ever amid the ruins for the entrance to the enchanted apartment. Mr. G.
Lewis, in the _Tales of Wonder_, has versified this story under the
title of "Sir Guy, the Seeker," adding to it certain embellishments of
his own, and among other matters, introducing a description of the
Rumble Churn.
The principal parts of Dunstanbrough Castle at present standing are the
outer walls to the south and west, with the tower overlooking the sea,
and a gateway towards the south, defended by two circular towers. The
area inclosed by the walls and the cliff is about nine acres. It is
under cultivation; and in the additions to _Camden_, it is said to have
produced in one year two hundred and forty bushels of corn, besides
several loads of hay.
Howick House, the seat of Earl Grey, is situated in the vicinity of
Dunstanbrough. It is a noble mansion, built in 1787 from designs by
Paine; and is surrounded by a beautiful park, watered by two streams
which unite in the grounds. Near the eastern side of the park are the
remains of a Roman encampment, where numerous coins and antiquities have
been found. The family of Grey is ancient in Northumberland; and first
obtained the peerage in the reign of Edward IV. It is observable that
the Greys of this district bear the same heraldic distinction as the
Grey family in Scotland, and are both probably descended from the same
stock,--one of the martial followers of the Norman conqueror.
Alnwick Castle, about seven miles from Dunstanbrough, is the residence
of the Duke of Northumberland: it is an immense pile covering nearly
five acres of ground; and built upon an elevated spot on the southern
side of the river Aln.
[8] The moon is said to "wade" when she seems as if toilfully making her
way through a succession of clouds, which flit rapidly past her.
[9] _History of Northumberland_, vol. i. _p._ 594. Edit. 1810.
[Illustration: BAMBOROUGH.
_FROM THE SOUTH-EAST._]
BAMBROUGH CASTLE.
FROM THE SOUTH-EAST.
Sir Walter Scott, in his description of the voyage of the abbess of
Whitby and her nuns to Holy Island, in the second canto of Marmion, thus
speaks of them as noticing Bambrough Castle:
"Thy tower, proud Bambrough, marked they there,
King Ida's castle, huge and square,
From its tall rock look grimly down,
And on the swelling ocean frown."
The view which Balmer, with his usual effect, has given of Bambrough
Castle from the south-east, is that which the reverend mother and her
five fair nuns might be supposed to contemplate on entering the channel
between the Great Farn Island and the mainland, and when about half a
mile from the shore. The stranded vessel, however, must not be supposed
to be of the age of Henry VIII., when the abbess made her voyage; for she
is evidently a light collier of the present day, whose captain,
probably, in running for Skate Roads in a strong south-east gale, had
stood too close in shore in passing through the Fareway, and laid her
snugly up on Bambrough Sands. The Holy Island fishing-boats that are
seen--for no fishermen dwell at the village of Bambrough--would seem to
indicate that their owners expect a job in assisting to get her off.
These hardy and industrious men follow an occupation in which the
hazards and dangers are but poorly recompensed by their gains; and the
sums they occasionally obtain from the owners of colliers and other
coasting vessels, form rich prizes in the humble lottery of their life.
Having in our remarks on "Bambrough, from the north-west," described the
principal features of this sea-girt fortress, we cannot better employ
the present page than in a notice of the fishery which is carried on in
its vicinity. The boats principally used for this purpose are called
cobles, and their fishing ground is from eight to sixteen miles from the
shore. In winter, however, they do not venture so far out as in summer,
but usually shoot their lines between six and ten miles from the shore.
There are usually three men to a coble. When the wind is not favourable
and they cannot set their sail, they use their oars; the two men seated
nearest the head of the boat row each a single large oar, while the man
on the thwart nearest the stern rows a pair of smaller size. The fish
are not caught, as on some parts of the south-western coast of England,
by hand-lines, which are suspended over the side of the boat, and pulled
up when the fisherman feels that he has a bite. The mode of proceeding
is to make fast a number of lines together, and shoot them across the
tide; and after they have lain extended at the bottom of the sea for
several hours--usually during the time of a tide's ebbing or flowing,
that is about six hours--they are hauled in. While the lines are shot,
one man keeps a look-out, and the other two usually wrap themselves in
the sail, and go to sleep in the bottom of the coble. Each man has three
lines, and each line is from 200 to 240 fathoms long. The hooks, of
which there are from 240 to 300 to each line, are tied, or _whipped_, as
the fishermen term it, to lengths of twisted horse-hair called _snoods_;
each snood is about two feet and a half long, and they are fastened to
the line at about five feet apart. Each man's lines, when baited, are
regularly coiled upon an oval piece of wicker work, something like the
bottom of a clothes-basket, called by the Yorkshire fishermen a _skep_,
at Hartlepool, in the county of Durham, the same thing is called a
_rip_. In this mode of fishing the hooks are all baited, generally by
the fishermen's wives and children, before the coble proceeds to sea.
The lines when shot are all fastened together; and when each is 240
fathoms long, the length of the whole is nearly two miles and a half.
There is an anchor and a buoy at the first end of the line, and the same
at the end of each man's set of lines. There are thus four anchors and
four buoys to each coble's entire line. The buoys at the extremities of
the line are usually formed of tanned dog-skin, inflated in the manner
of a bladder, and having a slight pole, like the handle of a mop,
passing through them, to the top of which a small flag is attached to
render them more conspicuous. The intermediate buoys are generally made
of cork. The anchors for sinking and holding the lines are mostly large
stones; as an iron anchor, with arms like a ship's, is liable to get
fast among the rocks at the bottom of the sea, and be lost in
consequence of the buoy rope being too weak to force it loose.
[Illustration: BAMBOROUGH.
_FROM THE NORTH WEST._]
BAMBROUGH CASTLE.
Bambrough, which is now a small village, was a place of considerable
importance during the Saxon period. King Ida, who ascended the throne of
Bernicia in 559, first built a castle there, which he is said to have
named Bebban-burgh in honour of his queen Bebba. It has been conjectured
by Wallis in his History of Northumberland, that the Keep or great
tower, is of Roman origin; but Grose, with greater probability,
considers it to have been built by the Normans. In 1095 Robert Mowbray,
Earl of Northumberland, having rebelled against William Rufus, retired
to Bambrough Castle, whither he was followed by Henry, the King's
brother, and closely besieged. After the siege had continued some time,
Mowbray left the castle in the charge of his kinsman Morel, who
continued to defend it with great bravery. The Earl being afterwards
seized at Tynemouth, where he had taken sanctuary, Henry caused him to
be brought to Bambrough, and there showing him before the walls of the
castle, he threatened to put out his eyes if it were not immediately
delivered up--a proceeding which caused Morel to surrender the place
forthwith.
From the reign of William Rufus till about the middle of the fifteenth
century, Bambrough Castle, as if it were a place too important to be in
the hands of a subject, appears to have continued in the possession of
the crown, by whom a governor was appointed. In the frequent contests
between the houses of York and Lancaster, it sustained great damage; and
as it was not repaired either by Henry VII. or his successor, it ceased
about the beginning of the sixteenth century to be a fortress of
importance. In 1575 Sir John Foster, warden of the Middle Marches was
governor of Bambrough Castle; and one of his descendants received a
grant of the old building from James I. It continued in the possession
of this family till the commencement of the reign of George I., when it
was forfeited through the treason of Thomas Foster, Esq., M.P. for
Northumberland, better known as General Foster, who in 1715 took up arms
in favour of the Pretender.
The Manor and Castle of Bambrough were afterwards purchased of the
crown, by Nathaniel, Lord Crewe, Bishop of Durham, who was married to
Foster's aunt. Lord Crewe, at his decease in 1720, left the above
property, with other valuable estates, to trustees to be applied to
charitable uses. In compliance with the intentions of the testator, a
noble charity is established at Bambrough for the succour of shipwrecked
seamen, the education of children, and the relief of indigent persons.
In 1757 part of the Keep being ready to fall down, the Rev. Thomas
Sharp, Archdeacon of Northumberland, and one of Lord Crewe's trustees,
caused it to be repaired, "merely because it had been a sea-mark for
ages, and as such beneficial to the public." The Rev. Thomas Sharp being
succeeded in the trusteeship, as well as in the archdeaconry, by his
son, the Rev. John Sharp, D.D., the latter, who was also perpetual
curate of Bambrough, continued to make further repairs; and he also
caused an immense quantity of sand, which he had accumulated in the
castle-yard, to be cleared away. To this gentleman, who was a brother of
the amiable Granville Sharp, the present arrangements of the charity are
chiefly owing. At the castle, blocks and tackles, anchors, cables,
warps, and other articles are kept for the use of stranded vessels. In
stormy weather, two men patrol the coast for eight miles, day and night,
in order to look out for vessels in distress, and during a fog a bell is
rung at intervals from the castle, and a gun fired every quarter of an
hour, as a warning to such ships as may be near the coast. Flour and
groceries are sold to poor families at a reduced rate, and twenty poor
girls are boarded and educated within the castle.
[Illustration: HOLY ISLAND CASTLE.
St. Cuthberts.]
CASTLE OF HOLY ISLAND, AND LINDISFARN ABBEY
In the present engraving the view is taken from the eastward on entering
the harbour. To the right is the castle; beyond which, towards the
centre of the view, are seen the ruins of the abbey. The setting sun
sheds a warm, yet mellow light, over land and sea; and as evening is
approaching, and the breeze freshening with the flood tide--for it is
evident from the inward swell that the tide is flowing--the fishermen
are seen making for the shore. The boats bound merrily before the wind,
and
"----the waves, that murmur in their glee,
All hurrying in a joyful band,
Come dancing from the sea."
The painter when he made his sketch must have thoroughly felt the beauty
of the scene, and been touched with the influence of the hour:--
"O Hesperus, thou bringest all good things!"
and inspirest poets to sing, and artists to paint the charms of eve's
sweet hour in words and colours that never die--for once felt and
communicated, they become impressed on the heart and soul of man, and
live and bloom there for ever.