3.18.2016

CHESTERS ROMAN FORT

We will arrive late this afternoon in Edinburgh, but on the way, we'll stop to explore Chesters Roman Fort built during the construction of Hadrian's Wall. Our time-frame this morning is about 124 CE.   Early on, Hadrian's wall was simply that--a wall.  It marked the northern limit of the Roman Empire, and also served as a defensive fortification.  It doesn't divide England from Scotland--it varies in distance from the actual border, but was designed to separate the Romans from the Barbarians in the north.  I'm learning there are some tensions between Scotland and England that, no doubt, date back millenia...


Chesters Roman Fort seems large to me, but we are only seeing a small portion.  Much of it has been carted away as stones for other buildings, and much remains underground.  It was originally constructed to guard a bridge that carried the Military Way Roman Road across the River Tyne.  It housed up to 500 cavalrymen, plus supporting staff and civilians.  The troops who garrisoned here weren't Roman troops.  They were called Auxiliary Troops and were gathered from across Europe including Northern Spain, the Rhineland in Germany, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The view above is the area of the fort closest to the river and the remains of the Roman bridge.  This area primarily housed the baths.



It takes a squint, but you can see ruins across the River Tyne that are the remains of what are called "massive" abutments.  The Saxons dismantled the Roman bridge in the late 600's in order to use the stones in the building of a church--today's Hexham Abbey in nearby Hexham., Northumberland.


Farther from the river, we find the stable-barracks in which the men and their horses lived.  I'm not exactly sure how they divided up the square footage, but it seemed to work for them.  These barracks were probably built in the second century when a new group of cavalry arrived.  By this time, the numbers had been reduced to about 360 or so.  Plus their horses, of course.



Peter is demonstrating the width of this bit of Hadrian's Wall that still remains.  When it was originally built, the wall varied from nine feet wide in the east, where the wall was built entirely of stone, to as much as twenty feet wide in the west, where the wall was mainly constructed of dirt.  The height also varied from twenty feet high down to eleven feet.  Much of that seemed to depend on materials at hand.  Wikipedia mentioned that when Hadrian's Wall was completed, it might have been plastered and then white-washed as an example of the sophistication and glory of the Roman Empire.



This is an oven--or the remains of an oven--used to bake bread for the soldiers.  If I understood correctly, this was a kind of bee-hive oven in which a fire would be built.  As that fire died down, the dough  was placed inside and baked by the heat dissipating from the rocks.  Really, it's a pretty simple concept, but I can imagine, over time, the sophistication (and competition) that arose from individual bakers and their take on perfect dough, right-sized fires, temperature variations outside and inside the oven and all of the many etc's. that go with the baking and breaking of bread.



Not to mention the variations of millstones.  We saw dozens of millstones, all of which were discovered here at Chesters Fort.  My son is a miller (How many mothers can say that?), so I have some interest in millstones and the magic they create.  This photo came from the little museum nearby which contains all sorts of artifacts from the excavations at Chesters Fort.  It's a tiny museum, over one-hundred years old, and well worth the look...as are all Quintessential British sites!

3.09.2016

OUR DAY IN YORK

We left Harrogate about 9:30 a.m. for a late morning tour of York Minster.  The Minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York...second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury.  I'm not completely sure how all of that works but, in this case, coming in second is still quite impressive.


Much of the Minster dates to the 13th and 14th centuries, but Christendom has roots here from 180 CE--or so the story goes.  The first recorded church on this site was a wooden structure built in 637 CE for the specific purpose of baptizing Edwin, King of Northumbria.  If Wikipedia is to be believed, the destruction and resulting construction never stopped after that, with each iteration being a bit larger and a little more grand.  I'm convinced that a detailed tour of the Minster would take days and, no doubt, leave your head spinning with names and dates and deaths and births.  It is beautiful and...


towers over all of York.  We were turned loose later in the day, but could always find our bearings by referencing the Minster.

Considering (again) that we are on a tour titled "Quintessential Britain," today has been designated as Fish and Chips and Mushy Peas day.  We have waited a good number of days for the quintessential fish and chips, and now is our time.  I'm really not a fish person, but I do know that if you take a fresh piece of mild white fish, dip it in a goodly amount of well-prepared batter, and gently lower it into a fresh, and bubbling oil, the result will be quite good...and it was.  Ditto the chips.  I had been a bit worried about mushy peas, but they were really good.  I haven't mushed any since I've been home, but I just might give it a try.

This afternoon we're on our own (so to speak) to wander at will, or wander with Peter.  We choose Peter who points out various historical buildings, shopping areas, museums and parks, before we unfold our city map and give it a go by ourselves.  We have a friend who loves anything to do with railroads, so we walk to the Railway Museum (Per Trip Adviser, the Number One attraction in York) to see if we can actually find it, and when we do, purchase a little something for him.  We're successful on all counts!

This is Sunday, so those of us who wish are meeting back at the Minster for Evensong.  I have really looked forward to this experience and it doesn't disappoint.  We didn't realize that the Minster Choir was on a summer break, and so this evening, our choir will have come all the way from Kentucky.  I would have loved to hear the Minster choir, but the Kentuckians were wonderful!  The Dean of York Minster is a woman--Vivienne Faull, and she delivered the sermon.  Between her accent, the acoustics and the sound system, I didn't understand it all, but I know she got a word or two on women and equality worked into it.  Good for the Dean!



This will be our final night at The Majestic Hotel in Harrogate.  She does resemble an aging grand dame on the outside, but her interior has held up remarkably well.  Her large public rooms are elegant, and her dining room adds just a touch of formality to our meals.  Unfortunately, plumbing appears to have been an "add on" and pipes (maybe a little like my wrinkles) run helter-skelter over her well-maintained but fading face.

This evening, a young Indian couple are celebrating their wedding at The Majestic and it is a perfect setting.  Beautifully dressed women and handsome young men fill the main floor rooms and wide hallways.  Tons of kids--all dressed in their best--are skittering up and down the wide curving staircase, laughing all the way.  We can hear the music and quietly smile at the pure joy seeping through this grand lady and our evening.  A perfect day's end.