|
page xxxiii:-
neighbourhood; and as a detail of very many particulars will
be inserted in the account which accompanies the Plans,
shall just subjoin the reason why a great number of such
relicks may be expected, and do really exist in these parts;
and indeed, amidst the veneration excited by such objects,
we are apt enough to be curious with respect to the cause
that produced them: however, as such an account can only be
a very brief recital of general transactions, I hope I shall
be excused, if, not attempting any thing particularly
calculated for the learned Antiquarian, I recite a few
things that may possibly not be unacceptable to a beginner
in the study of past ages.
We find Cumberland mentioned as being a distinct kingdom so
late as the year 946; and long after that, it had Kings of
its own who were almost independent. The tomb of its last
King Dunmail is yet to be seen on the confines of
Lancashire, on the road that leads from the Vale of St
John's, at a place which is called Dunmail-Rays. It appears
from the materials of this tomb, which is nothing but a
large heap of stones, that the ancient rude, and (if I may
be allowed the expression) druidical rites of sepulture,
were still in vogue; or at least, that those of christianity
had not yet taken place. The prodigious tract of country
over which the first Bishops of Lendisfarn presided, and the
annual circuits which they made for the purposes of
conversion, add to the truth of this observation. History
indeed, always says, that Cumberland was brought into
subjection by the Saxons later than any other part of
England; and this will account for the many British relicks
to be found there. The Britons might, it is true, be
Christians before the arrival of the Saxons, but the
monument of King Dunmail shews that they had not, even long
after that, adopted the practice in general of what we call
Christian Burial: from thence we may infer with respect to
other things, and indeed easily bring manifold authorities
to support the various circumstances arising from such an
inference, independent of that solitude, and that wildness,
which, as they obstruct commerce, prevent innovation. I
shall but instance one: Everard, Abbot of Holm-Cultreyn, who
lived in the reign of Henry II. tells us, that the name of
Thorsby is from a temple which the Pagans had there;
and that a place near it called Carthew, (at present
Cardew) signifies the Fen of God. I might mention
also, that the village Kirkby-Thor in Westmoreland
reminds one of the same barbarous God that
Thorsby does; and they both, along with many more,
indicate a long and tenacious remembrance of former
prejudices. Nor do such places seem to have been afterwards,
probably from their situation, favourable to regular
institutions of a religious kind: the church of
Bewcastle (which was indeed exposed to enemies in a
particular manner) had in the days of Edward I. an income of
L.19 per annum, in those of Henry VIII. of
L.2. and in the time of war, Nothing.
With respect to Roman antiquities I need only observe, that
two thirds of the stationary forces which they maintained in
Britain were, according to the best historians, employed on
the Borders; where the Romans themselves relate, that their
soldiers carried on a business literally the same as
moss-trooping with the barbarians. Their double rampart was
afterwards built; and then the Barbarians passed the Solway
in their carrochs, finding there an unprotected coast, and
an opportunity of renewing their ravages; this obliged the
defenders to double their vigilance, and increase the number
of their posts in that quarter. We find mention of the great
Stilicho himself having his camp at Elne-Foot, on that same
coast, for the purpose of watching the motions of so
restless an enemy; and the vestiges of such a camp, together
with inscriptions on stones found in certain parts of it,
are yet to be seen. The Romans have, in consequence of such
circumstances, left many marks of the attention which they
paid to the Western boundary of their empire; the remains of
their encampments, their roads, their rampire, and their
religion, are many, and some of their fortresses are not yet
altogether in ruins.
I know of nothing in particular with respect to the Saxons
in these parts: the names of towns in Saxon terminations are
pretty much the same as in other counties of England; only
that of Barrow is, perhaps owing to the nature of the
country, more frequent than elsewhere. The conical tumuli
are also very common; but as I know not
|
Lakes Guides menu.
