Greta Bridge
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Greta Bridge is a small village (or hamlet) on the River Greta in County Durham, England. The bridge (now bypassed by the A66 trunk road) is over the River Greta, just south of its confluence with the River Tees. The North Pennines, Teesdale and the Greta Bridge area – including the Meeting of the Waters – became a source of inspiration for romantic artists, poets and writers during the eighteenth century.
Name
The name derives from the River Greta, recorded earlier as Gretha (1279) and Gretay (1341).[1]
The etymology is a hybrid of Old Norse and Old English:
- Old Norse grjót
- "coarse stones, rubble".
- Old English ēa
- "river".
- "running water, stream".
Governance
Greta Bridge is part of County Durham district and is governed by Durham County Council. The neighbouring village of Newsham – to the south-east – is part of North Yorkshire district.[Map 1]
Former
Greta Bridge lies within the historic county boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, but along with the rest of the former Startforth Rural District, Greta Bridge was transferred to County Durham for administrative and ceremonial purposes on 1 April 1974 pursuant to the Local Government Act 1972.
Geography
Location
The village lies on the eastern flanks of the North Pennines – about 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the North Pennines area of outstanding natural beauty. The nearest town – Barnard Castle – is the market town for Teesdale.
Parish boundary
The village is divided between Rokeby parish and Brignall parish – by the river Greta.[Map 2]
Civil parish | Place name | River Greta.[a] | Latitude N – S |
---|---|---|---|
Rokeby parish. | Mortham Tower. Rokeby Hall. Greta Bridge village. | East West East | 514210 514180 513170 |
Brignall parish. | The Morritt Arms. Greta Bridge village. Brignall village. | West | 513286 513170 512290 |
Wycliffe with Thorpe. | Thorpe Grange Farmhouse. | East | 512770 |
Listed buildings, monuments
Notable listed buildings and scheduled monuments in the local area include:
Grade | Name | Points of interest | Listed | Latitude N – S |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. Grade I | Egglestone Abbey | White Canons | [Listed 1] | 515121 |
2. Grade II* | Abbey Bridge | John Sawrey Morritt.[b] | [Listed 2] | 514940 |
3. Grade II | Dairy Bridge over the River Greta. | Meeting of the Waters. | [Listed 3] | 514384 |
1. Grade I | Mortham Tower (Manor House). | Christopher Rokeby | [Listed 4] | 514210 |
1. Grade I | Rokeby Park (Country house). | J B S Morritt | [Listed 5] | 514180 |
2. Grade II* | Rokeby Park (Landscape garden). | Meeting of the Waters. | [Listed 6] | 514180 |
3. Grade II | Sir Walter Scott's Cave (Grotto). | Walter Scott | [Listed 7] | 514108 |
3. Grade II | The Morritt Arms Hotel | 17th century coaching inn. | [Listed 8] | 513286 |
2. Grade II* Monument | Greta Bridge. | River Greta. | [Listed 9] [Listed 10] | 513170 |
Monument | Greta Bridge Roman fort – Maglona. | Watling Street (North). | [Listed 11] | 513170 |
3. Grade II | Thorpe Grange Farmhouse | Charles Dickens.[c] | [Listed 12] | 512770 |
Natural England maps
Feature | Name | Map [Help 1] | Latitude N – S |
---|---|---|---|
Confluence | River Greta > River Tees. Meeting of the waters – Dairy bridge.[Listed 3] | [Map 3] [Help 1] | 514510 |
Listed building | Mortham Tower (Manor House). | [Map 4] | 514210 |
Listed building | Rokeby Hall (Country house). | [Map 5] | 514180 |
Roman road | The Street; Tutta Beck. | [Map 6] | 513690 |
Confluence | Tutta Beck > River Greta. | [Map 7] | 513510 |
Listed building | Greta Bridge village – The Morritt Arms.[Listed 8] | [Map 8] | 513286 |
Bridge | Greta Bridge – River Greta.[Listed 9][Listed 10] | [Map 9] [Help 1] | 513170 |
Roman fort | Greta Bridge Roman fort – Maglona.[Listed 11] | [Map 10] | 513170 |
Roman road | Watling Street (North) – The Street. | [Map 11] | 513170 |
Civil parish | Greta Bridge – Rokeby CP and Brignall CP.[d] | [Map 2] | 513170 |
LAD | County Durham (district) – North Yorkshire. | [Map 1] | 513170 |
AONB | Eastern flanks of the North Pennines.[e] | [Map 12] | 513170 |
Listed building | Thorpe Grange Farmhouse.[Listed 12] | [Map 13] | 512770 |
Roman road (Watling Street)
Greta Bridge is on the route of the trans-Pennine (Stainmore) section of Watling Street (North) Roman road – now largely followed by the A66 trunk road. Archaeological excavations during the 1970's found part of the original road.[f]
Watling Street (North) connected York (Eboracum) with Carlisle (Luguvalium) and Stanwix Roman fort (Petriana) – the largest fort on Hadrian's Wall.
Route from York to Carlisle:
Section | Shared route | Direction | From | To | Modern road equivalent. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
East Pennine. | Dere Street | North | York (Eboracum) | Scotch Corner | A1 road |
Trans-Pennine | West | Scotch Corner | Brougham, Penrith. | A66 road. | |
West Pennine. | North | Brougham (Brocavum) | Carlisle (Luguvalium) Stanwix fort (Petriana) | A6 road |
Scotch Corner
Archaeological excavations near Scotch Corner have recently (c.2017) discovered a previously unknown major Roman settlement.[g]
Stanwick Camp
Stanwick Camp is an Iron Age hill fort a short distance north from Scotch Corner. The camp is believed to have been the main stronghold for the Brigantes tribe, a confederacy of smaller tribes spread across the North Pennines. The site was hugely extended at the beginning of the Roman occupation.[h] Its close proximity to important Roman infrastructure is interesting – it is possible that there was a mutually beneficial truce between the Stanwick Brigantes and the Roman army, that did not extend to other Brigantes.[i]
Roman fort (Maglona)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Greta_Bridge_ramparts.jpg/310px-Greta_Bridge_ramparts.jpg)
Overview
An inscription found near the north gate suggests that the castrum (fort) was built during the early third century AD, although it is possible that a fort existed on the site as early as the first century AD.[j][k] The castrum was built to protect the Watling Street crossing of the River Greta – river crossings were particularly vulnerable to attack from the local Brigantes or from other local tribes.
Many of the legions and auxiliaries who were stationed in North Britain during the Roman occupation originated from Roman Gaul (France) and Hispania (Spain).[l] The name Tutta (from Tutta Beck) may derive from the Gaulish deity Toutatis (or Tūtatus) – god of the tribe.
Tutta Beck
The Tutta Beck–Greta confluence and the Greta–Tees confluence are both in close proximity to Maglona Roman fort. [Map 7][Map 3] River confluences had a special significance for the Gaulish legions and auxiliaries who were stationed in North Britain during the Roman occupation.
Roman altars with inscriptions to Mars Condatis have been found in the Tees and Wear valleys.[m] Similar altars are normally found at the confluence of rivers – for example, the Cong Burn–Wear confluence near Chester-le-Street – however others may have been disturbed or removed, especially by antiquarians and collectors.
The inscription Mars Condatis is a conflation (joining together) of deities:[n]:
- Roman god Mars – god of war and father of Romulus, the founder of Rome.
- Gaulish deity Condatis – god of river confluences.
The name Tutta may derive from the Gaulish deity Toutatis (or Tūtatus) – god of the tribe.[o]
The two main source tributaries for Tutta Beck rise near Boldron and Kilmond Scar and meet at its source confluence near the A66 road junction known as Cross Lanes.[Map 6] The beck flows from west to east parallel to Watling Street (A66 road) until its confluence with the River Greta north of Maglona Roman fort.[Map 7] Archaeological excavations in the 1970's found remains of a vicus on the west bank of the beck.[p]
Local Roman forts
Local Roman forts in the Tees and Wear valleys were often positioned to protect important river crossings:
Settlement | Roman fort | Roman road | River crossing | River name | Listed | Map [Help 1] | Latitude N – S |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chester-le-Street | Concangis | ? Cade's Road | ? | River Wear | [Listed 13] [Note 1] | [Map 14] | 551310 |
Binchester | Vinovia | Dere Street | Wear | River Wear | [Listed 14] | [Map 15] | 531275 |
Piercebridge | Morbium | Dere Street | Tees | River Tees | [Listed 15] | [Map 16] | 515780 |
Bowes | Lavatrae | Watling Street (North) | ? | River Greta | [Listed 16] | [Map 17] | 513407 |
Greta Bridge | Maglona | Watling Street (North) | Greta | River Greta | [Listed 11] | [Map 10] | 513170 |
Local history
Timeline
Timeline for Greta Bridge and the surrounding area:
Date | Event |
---|---|
1069-70 | Harrying of the North |
1086 | Domesday Book Mortham and Brignall ..."Possibly waste...when acquired by current owner..." |
c.1166 | Original Mortham Tower built by the Rokeby's.[5] |
c.1195 | Egglestone Abbey founded as a daughter house of Easby Abbey.[Listed 1] |
c.1314 | Mortham Tower destroyed by raiding Scots following the Battle of Bannockburn.[Listed 4] |
c.1540 | Egglestone Abbey granted to Robert Strelley following the Dissolution of the monasteries. |
1725-31 | Rokeby Park built for Sir Thomas Robinson.[Listed 5] |
1769 | Rokeby Park sold to the Morritt family. |
1771 | The great flood of 1771. Greta bridge destroyed. Old Brignall church destroyed.[q] |
1773 | Greta bridge replaced with current one designed by John Carr.[Listed 9][Listed 10] |
1799 | The Lake Poets Wordsworth and Coleridge explored the area around Greta Bridge.[7] |
1802 | Wordsworth married Mary Hutchinson. |
1805 | The artist John Sell Cotman sketched the area around Greta Bridge. |
1806 | Cotman's Greta Bridge (1805) and other work exhibited. |
1813 | The romantic poem Rokeby by Walter Scott published. |
1813 | The famous painting the Rokeby Venus by Spanish painter Diego Velázquez purchased and brought to England to hang in Rokeby Park. |
1816 | J. M. W. Turner sketched Junction of the Greta and Tees at Rokeby. |
1829-31 | Whorlton Bridge – part of the Staindrop to Greta Bridge turnpike.[Web 3] |
1834 | Greta Bridge was an important staging post – with three inns.[r] |
1839 | Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens published. |
1868 | Bowes railway station opened on the Stockton to Liverpool railway.[8] |
1974 | Greta Bridge transferred from North Riding of Yorkshire to County Durham. |
Domesday Book
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Honour_of_Richmond.jpg/240px-Honour_of_Richmond.jpg)
The local area was badly affected by the harrying of the North – due to its close proximity to the Great North Road.
The Domesday entry for Mortham [Tower][Web 4] and Brignall ("Bringhenale")[Web 5] show:
..."Possibly waste...when acquired by current owner..."
At that time the land south of the Tees – including Mortham and Brignall – was part of the Gilling wapentake, and part of the Honour of Richmond.
The bridge
The current bridge was built in 1773 to replace the one destroyed by the great flood of 1771.[Listed 9][Listed 10] It was designed by John Carr for John Sawry Morritt, father of J B S Morritt. Morritt also paid for the Abbey Bridge to be built in the same year.[Listed 2]
Mail coach
Prior to the arrival of the railways in the 1850's, Greta Bridge had been an important overnight stop for the London to Carlisle coach. Overnight passengers and visitors would stay at one of the three coaching inns in the village.[s]
- The Morritt Arms.[Listed 8]
- The George.
- George and New Inn (now Thorpe Grange Farmhouse).[r][c]
Wordsworth and his wife Mary were regular users of the mail coach in order to travel over from the Lakes to visit Mary's parents at Stockton-on-Tees. [t][u]
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens wrote his famous book Nicholas Nickleby in order to expose the truth about the boarding schools for young boys in North Yorkshire. He deplored what he considered to be the exploitation and harsh treatment of boys who stayed at those schools – many were expected to do hard labour on the land, such as hay making and mucking out – in addition to their school work. Sanitary arrangements were often poor, resulting in ill health if not actual death. [v] Diet was also generally poor, and boys often went hungry.[w]
There was a cluster of these schools around the Greta Bridge area – due to its convenient location for travel from London using the London to Carlisle mail coach. Most of the boys were from wealthy parents who lived in London or the South.[x][y]
The book was hugely successful, in terms of sales, reception and reform of the system.[z]
Yorkshire schools
Village | Schools | Pupils | Academy name – Proprietor | Map [Help 1] | Latitude N – S |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cotherstone | 1 | ? | Woden Croft – Edward Simpson.[aa] | [Map 18] | 520764 |
Cotherstone | 2 | ? | Two boarding schools.[ab] | [Map 19] | 519716 |
Startforth | ? | ? | Startforth schools.[ac] | [Map 20] | 516179 |
Bowes | 4 | 800 | Bowes Academy – William Shaw.[ad] Three other schools.[ae] | [Map 21] | 513426 |
Woden Croft
Woden Croft is now a Grade II listed building,[Listed 17] located just north of Cotherstone in Teesdale, near the Balder–Tees river confluence.[Map 18] During the 19th century Woden Croft had been a private academy run by Edward Simpson, and typical of the Yorkshire schools satirized by Dickens. [aa][y]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Gosforth_Cross_V%C3%AD%C3%B0arr_detail.jpg/260px-Gosforth_Cross_V%C3%AD%C3%B0arr_detail.jpg)
Fenrir (enemy of Odin) and Baldr feature in the poem Eiríksmál, written after the death of Eric Bloodaxe on Stainmore.
The name Woden is a play on the Norse mythology of Baldersdale – Woden is the English name for the Norse god Óðinn – father of the Norse god Baldr.[af]
Then, Balder, one bleak garth was thine,
And one sweet brooklet's silver line,
And Woden's Croft did title gain
From the stern Father of the Slain;[ag]
– Walter Scott (1771 – 1832)
See also Wiktionary:
- English croft
- "An enclosed piece of land... used for small-scale food production..."
Romantic arts and tourism
During the eighteenth century Teesdale became a popular destination for romantic artists, poets and writers, who inspired others to follow.
..."The Greta and Tees, two most beautiful and rapid rivers, join their currents in the demesne.
The banks of the Tees resemble, from the heights of the rocks, the glen of Roslin, so much and justly admired.
— Sir Walter Scott (1771 – 1832).[13]
Rokeby Park
The main building is a Grade I listed country house, built 1725-31 in the Palladian style for Sir Thomas Robinson.[Listed 5] The house was sold to the Morritt family in 1769.[ah] In 1773 John Sawry Morritt (father of J B S Morritt) paid for the rebuilding of the Greta bridge and for the building of the Abbey Bridge.[Listed 2]
John Bacon Sawrey Morritt was a patron of the arts, who nurtured young painters (for example John Sell Cotman), poets and writers, guided and advised them about the local area, its history and geography.[ai] Morritt was also a business man who hoped that the influx of painters, poets and writers to the region would spark a vigorous tourist trade, and boost the local economy.[aj]
The famous painting the Rokeby Venus by Spanish painter Diego Velázquez was purchased c.1813 and brought to England to hang in Rokeby Park. In 1906 the painting was purchased for the National Gallery in London.
Rokeby visitors
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/RokebyVenus.jpg/310px-RokebyVenus.jpg)
Notable visitors to Rokeby Park included:
Year | Visits | Name | Profession |
---|---|---|---|
1767, 1769.[14] | ? 2 | Thomas Gray | Poet, scholar. |
1796 – 1831.[14] | ? 4 | J. M. W. Turner | Romantic painter. |
1799 – ? | ? | Wordsworth[t] | Lake Poet. |
1805[14] | ? 1 | John Sell Cotman | Romantic painter. |
1809 – 1831. | ? 6 | Walter Scott | Romantic poet. |
1812 – 1829. | ? 2 | Robert Southey | Lake Poet. |
Lake Poets
In 1799 Wordsworth and Coleridge explored the area around Greta Bridge, after visiting Mary Hutchinson at Sockburn.[ak] Mary lived on her parents farm on the Sockburn Peninsula – the peninsula created by a tight meander of the River Tees. Wordsworth married Mary in 1802, and the couple often travelled over from the Lakes to visit Mary's parents, using the mail coach to Greta Bridge, and stopping over at Rokeby.[t]
John Sell Cotman
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/John_Sell_Cotman_002.jpg/310px-John_Sell_Cotman_002.jpg)
The romantic painter John Sell Cotman (1782 – 1842) first explored the Greta Bridge area in 1805 when 23 years old. He had been invited by the Cholmeley family to stay with them at Rokeby Hall.[al]
Greta Bridge (1805)
Cotman's best known work from his early period is the watercolour Greta Bridge (1805), now in the British Museum, which he painted from sketches made during his visit to Rokeby Park.[am] The view is from the south of the bridge looking north, the Morritt Arms is shown on the left side of the bridge. The profile shown at the top of the bridge is noticeably different from that of the actual bridge – it shows a higher more pronounced summit – whereas the actual bridge has a gentle curved profile. It has been suggested that this was influenced by the geometry of the earlier bridge that had been destroyed in the great flood of 1771.[an] The foreground is dominated by huge boulders – possibly swept down during the great flood.
Walter Scott
Walter Scott's poem The Lady of the Lake, published 1810, had been hugely successful and was well received by the general public. The poem – set around Loch Katrine in the Trossachs – placed that part of Scotland firmly on the tourist map, boosting the economy of local towns, for example Callander. When Scott announced to J B S Morritt that he was planning to write a similar poem based around Teesdale, Morritt offered his services as a guide, possibly anticipating how it might spark a wealthy tourist trade, and boost the local economy.[ao] Scott's poem Rokeby, published 1813, was also hugely successful and did attract many new visitors to Teesdale.[ap]
Rokeby (poem)
Scott's poem Rokeby was largely based on local information provided by Morritt (or from books recommended by him), for example the Norse mythology behind many place names in Teesdale.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Roseberry_topping_north_side.jpg/310px-Roseberry_topping_north_side.jpg)
("Othin's Peak" or "Odin's Peak").
Extract from Rokeby – Canto Fourth:[Web 7]
When Denmark's raven soar'd on high,
Triumphant through Northumbrian sky,
Till, hovering near, her fatal croak
Bade Reged's Britons dread the yoke,
And the broad shadow of her wing
Blacken'd each cataract and spring,
Where Tees in tumult leaves his source,
Thundering o'er Caldron and High-Force;
Beneath the shade the Northmen came,
Fix'd on each vale a Runic name,
Rear'd high their altar's rugged stone,
And gave their Gods the land they won.
Then, Balder, one bleak garth was thine,
And one sweet brooklet's silver line,
And Woden's Croft did title gain
From the stern Father of the Slain;
– Walter Scott (1771 – 1832)
See also
- Bowes Museum
- List of places in County Durham
- List of Roman place names in Britain
- Roman sites in Great Britain
References
Citations
- ^ Watts 2007, pp. 262.
- ^ a b Higham 1986, pp. 151.
- ^ MacKillop 2004, pp. 100.
- ^ Oliver 2012, pp. 347.
- ^ Rudd 2007, pp. 49.
- ^ a b c Rudd 2007, pp. 104–106.
- ^ Rudd 2007, pp. 104.
- ^ Rudd 2007, pp. 112.
- ^ Rudd 2007, pp. 89.
- ^ a b c d e Rabbitts & Rabbitts 2022, pp. 43–46.
- ^ a b Rudd 2007, pp. 109.
- ^ a b Rudd 2007, pp. 107–110.
- ^ Rudd 2007, pp. 82.
- ^ a b c d e f g Warwick & Parker 2016, pp. 1–128.
- ^ a b c Rudd 2007, pp. 78.
- ^ Rudd 2007, pp. 84.
Web
- ^ *"Roman treasures found on A1". Highways England. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ *"Greta Bridge Roman Fort Maglona". Tynedale Hadrian's Wall Group. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ *"Whorlton Bridge background and history". Durham County Council. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ *"Mortham [Tower]". Open Domesday. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ *"Brignall". Open Domesday. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ *"The 17th Century Days of the Mail Coach". The Morritt Hotel. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ *"ROKEBY: CANTO IV". poetandpoem.com. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
Listed
- ^ a b Historic England. "RUINS OF EGGLESTONE ABBEY (1322741)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Historic England. "ABBEY BRIDGE (1310824)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b Historic England. "DAIRY BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER GRETA (1160953)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b Historic England. "MORTHAM TOWER (1160832)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Historic England. "ROKEBY PARK AND ATTACHED STABLES (1121680)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ Historic England. "ROKEBY PARK (1000733)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ Historic England. "SIR WALTER SCOTT'S GROTTO (1310358)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Historic England. "THE MORRITT ARMS HOTEL (1121699)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b c d Historic England. "GRETA BRIDGE – Listed building (1160430)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b c d Historic England. "Greta Bridge – Scheduled Monument (1002319)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Historic England. "Greta Bridge Roman fort, vicus and section of Roman road (1019074)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Historic England. "THORPE GRANGE FARMHOUSE, A66 (1161229)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST MARY AND ST CUTHBERT (1120955)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ Historic England. "Binchester Roman fort (Vinovia) (1002362)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ Historic England. "Piercebridge Roman fort (1002365)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ Historic England. "Roman Fort (Lavatrae) (1002316)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ a b Historic England. "WODEN CROFT (1323058)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
Maps
- ^ a b "MAGiC MaP : County Durham (district)". Natural England.
- ^ a b "MAGiC MaP : Greta Bridge – Rokeby parish and Brignall parish". Natural England.
- ^ a b "MAGiC MaP : Confluence of River Greta – River Tees". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Mortham Tower". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Rokeby Hall". Natural England.
- ^ a b "MAGiC MaP : The Street – Tutta Beck source confluence". Natural England.
- ^ a b c "MAGiC MaP : Confluence of Tutta Beck – River Greta". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Greta Bridge village – The Morritt Arms". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Greta Bridge". Natural England.
- ^ a b "MAGiC MaP : Greta Bridge Roman fort". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Greta Bridge Roman road". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Eastern flanks of the North Pennines". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Thorpe Grange Farmhouse". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Chester-le-Street Roman fort". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Binchester Roman fort". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Piercebridge Roman fort". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Bowes Roman fort". Natural England.
- ^ a b "MAGiC MaP : Woden Croft near Cotherstone". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Cotherstone village". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Startforth near Barnard Castle". Natural England.
- ^ "MAGiC MaP : Bowes village". Natural England.
- ^ a b c d e MAGiC MaP – Help
- Use Table of Contents for Colour mapping.
- There may be intermittent problems with the magic.defra.gov.uk website, if so then try again another time.
Notes
- ^ Rokeby Hall is on the west side of the Greta.
- ^ In 1773 John Sawry Morritt (father of J B S Morritt) paid for the rebuilding of the Greta bridge and for the building of the Abbey Bridge.
- ^ a b Historic England
..."house is claimed to be the former George and New Inn, at which Charles Dickens stayed while researching Nicholas Nickleby.[Listed 12] - ^ Brignall CP is mostly south of the bridge and west of the river.
- ^ Greta Bridge is about 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the AONB.
- ^ Historic England
..."Immediately to the north of the fort there are the buried remains of the Roman road and the vicus. These remains were identified and partially excavated in the 1970s in advance of the A66 road re-alignment at Greta Bridge...[Listed 11] - ^ Highways England – Roman treasures found on A1
..."The excavations have also led to the unearthing of a major Roman settlement at Scotch Corner which pre-dates settlements in York and Carlisle by 10 years.[Web 1] - ^ Higham – The Northern Counties...
..."The excavation of the site, published in 1954, revealed a hillfort rapidly and massively extended shortly after about AD 50...[2] - ^ Higham – The Northern Counties...
..."it seems difficult to divorce this site from the changing political balance among the Brigantes. Venutius had already looked to help from the North to dispossess Cartimandua, and Stanwick is a reasonable hosting-place...[2] - ^ Historic England
..."The exact date for the construction of the fort is uncertain; some evidence suggests it was constructed during the first century AD, but it may be as late as the late second century or the early third century.[Listed 11] - ^ Tynedale Hadrian's Wall Group
..."Greta Bridge Roman Fort was probably built about 80AD about the same time as the first road... [Web 2] - ^ For an example see – Vacomagi
- History
- Mons Graupius AD c.83
- History
- ^ MacKillop – ...Celtic Mythology
Condatis..."A god worshipped in Roman occupied Britain, much associated with the confluence of rivers..."His shrines have been found between the Tyne and Tees rivers..."His name is commemorated in many place names...[3] - ^ Neil Oliver – Ancient Britain
..."Twinning of gods and goddesses was a tactic the Romans employed all across the Empire...[4] - ^ See also – Vacomagi
- ^ Historic England
..."Two areas of the vicus were uncovered and partially excavated in the 1970's. The first lies 200m north west of the fort on the west bank of the Tutta Beck.[Listed 11] - ^ Rudd – The Discovery of Teesdale
..."J B S Morritt ...related the damage done by the River Greta in 1771.[6] The river..."rose in the most extraordinary manner during what is still known as the great flood"
- ^ a b Rudd – The Discovery of Teesdale
..."Greta Bridge was an important staging post...in 1804 there were two inns...but by 1834 a third had been built a few hundred yards to the south-east[9] - ^ The Morritt Hotel – Days of the Mail Coach
..."Through the 17th Century ...Greta Bridge was the second overnight stop for the London-Carlisle mail coach, bringing with it a considerable number of visitors.
..."There were three inns at Greta Bridge, including The George, and the New Inn, which is now Thorpe Farm...[Web 6] - ^ a b c Rudd – The Discovery of Teesdale
..."In a letter of 1833 William Wordsworth's daughter Dora suggests that Rokeby was a popular stop on the journey to see the Hutchinsons, then living at Stockton-on-Tees ...[6] - ^ Mary's parents had moved to Stockton-on-Tees from their farm on the Sockburn Peninsula – near the Tees.
- ^ Rabbitts – Cotherstone...
..."Alan Lee, writing in his Short guide to Romaldkirk lists the burials of five pupils from the school run by Adam Thwaite in Cotherstone between 1805 and 1812...One of these pupils came from Kent and another from London...[10] - ^ Rabbitts – Cotherstone...
..."A prospectus for John Smith's Academy of 1830 and associated letter:[10]..."this one of Smith's at Cotherstone was very badly conducted and the boys half starved. My uncle has seen them taking turnips from a field...
- ^ Rabbitts – Cotherstone...
..."Baines directory of 1832 describes Cotherstone:[10]..."Pleasantly situated on the banks of the Tees...likewise two boarding schools, chiefly occupied by boarders from London.
- ^ a b Rabbitts – Cotherstone...
..."When Edward Simpson opened a dale boarding school for boys it was not long before he attracted the sons of affluent families living in the South...[10] - ^ Rudd – The Discovery of Teesdale
..."So great was the effect of the novel that of the 800 boys in the four schools in Bowes when its serialisation started only 20 were left when it was completed.[11] - ^ a b Historic England
..."Woden Croft II House, formerly a private academy run by Edward Simpson. Dated 1792 (on front door lintel)...[Listed 17] - ^ Rabbitts – Cotherstone...
..."There were, in fact, two boarding schools for young gentlemen in the village environs, and these were closed in the 1830s...[10] - ^ Rudd – The Discovery of Teesdale
..."Dickens and Browne probably saw the few schools around Startforth before making for Bowes.[12] - ^ Rudd – The Discovery of Teesdale
..."Willian Cudworth in the Darlington Half Holiday Guide (1899) states that the Bowes Academy was rather a superior school; that there were three other schools in Bowes, and Dickens had intended to caricature Bowes Hall at the foot of the village.[12] - ^ From 1785 the mail coach also stopped at Bowes, in order to service the four schools there.[11]
- ^ See also Family trees of the Norse gods.
- ^ See also – Contents
- Romantic arts and tourism
- Romantic arts and tourism
- ^ Warwick – River Tees...
..."The house is a fine Palladian villa...sold to the Morritt family in 1769...[14] - ^ Warwick – River Tees...
..."Painters, poets and writers were frequent visitors to Rokeby in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries...[14] - ^ Warwick – River Tees...
..."Rokeby Park...featured strongly in the conversion of Teesdale into a tourist hot spot...[14] - ^ Rudd – The Discovery of Teesdale
..."Having stayed overnight at Piercebridge, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Cottle explored the area around Greta Bridge...[6] - ^ Rudd – The Discovery of Teesdale
..."The owner of Rokeby, J B S Morritt, had readily agreed to the 22-year-old Francis Cholmeley's request that Cotman accompany him on a visit to his estate...[15] - ^ Rudd – The Discovery of Teesdale
..."The best known Greta watercolours are two versions of Greta Bridge made from a pencil sketch that has survived...In the two watercolours, made in 1805 and 1810...[15] - ^ Rudd – The Discovery of Teesdale
..."Interestingly, although Cotman's sketch shows the curved parapet of the bridge, for both watercolours he returns to the pre-1771 triangular shape depicted in a 18th century painting hanging in Rokeby Hall...[15] - ^ Rudd – The Discovery of Teesdale
..."Morritt reminds Scott of their rides up Deepdale and along the Tees to Cotherstone...Rokeby's owner offers his services as a guide, and hints at the tourist trade Scott's poem is likely to bring:[16]..."I shall raise the rent of my inn at Greta Bridge...I hear that the people of Callander have made a fortune by you...
- ^ Warwick – River Tees...
..."The literary work that did most to popularise the natural beauties of Teesdale...was by Walter Scott ...[14]
- ^ The church of St Mary and St Cuthbert is on the site of the Roman Fort. The church is shown on the map as a Grade I listed building – yellow box.
Sources
- Higham, Nick (1986). The Northern Counties to AD 1000. Longman. ISBN 0-582-49276-9.
- MacKillop, James (2004). Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860967-1.
- Oliver, Neil (2012). A History of Ancient Britain. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0753828861.
- Rabbitts, Paul; Rabbitts, David (2022). Cotherstone: A Village in Teesdale. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1398113831.
- Rudd, Michael D. C. (2007). The Discovery of Teesdale. Phillimore & Co Ltd. ISBN 978-1860774539.
- Warwick, Tosh; Parker, Jenny (2016). River Tees: From Source to Sea. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445634876.
- Watts, Victor (2007). The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-16855-7.
External links
- Tynedale Hadrian's Wall Group Greta Bridge Roman Fort Maglona.
- The Morritt Hotel The Morritt Hotel and Garage Spa.
- Durham County Council