History

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History of the area

Romans - Hadrian's Wall

Seventy-six Roman miles of wall ends where it meets the sea at Bowness on Solway. A stone fort (Maia) was built to defend the last fording point across the 3 mile wide Solway Estuary. Over time, the stones were used to construct the village of Bowness on Solway. Today the only visible trace of the Roman constructions lies in the field opposite Wallsend Guest House. Here you can still see the line of the main road into the fort. The site is protected by legislation but sheep still graze over the remains of the camp follower village that still lies unexcavated beneath the bumpy grass.
More information from:
http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/wallnet/wall/wall.htm
http://www.hadrians-wall.org/about.htm

The Church, next to Wallsend Guest House, dates back to the Norman period and its magnificent beamed interior was installed in the 19th Century. The Old Rectory. which is now Wallsend Guest House, is first mentioned in 1464 when the rector of Bowness had licence from the Bishop of Carlisle to collect subscriptions in the diocese for the repair of a "house of defence there". It is probable that this refers to a fortified rectory tower. Nothing remains of this "Peel" tower but Burgh-by-Sands church is has a similar defensive tower which can be seen along with the monument to King Edward 1st , "The Hammer of the Scots" nearby.

- is a unique tradition found only in the Solway Estuary and dates back to the Vikings who raided and sometimes settled in the area at the end of the 1st millennium. The word "haaf" means "sea net" which is mounted on a rectangular frame 18 feet long by 5 feet high. Fishermen walk out into the flat, shallow waters of the Solway sands and mudflats and place the Haaf Net in front facing either the incoming ("flood") or outgoing ("ebb") tides. Only 150 licences are allowed each year and the English Water Board, unlike its Scottish equivalent on the North shore, is trying to restrict and even halt this ancient local practice. The local fight to defend this traditional fishery is a David & Goliath struggle between a small rural community and the bureaucrats of Government and major corporations.
You can find out more about this old Viking form of fishing plus other Medieval fishing methods on:
http://www.regia.org/fishing.htm

- 1 mile from Bowness is the remains of the 19th century harbour from which Woodrow Wilson's wife originally emigrated to America. You can still see the old docking quay with its great sandstone block wall. The dock itself still has the silted up lock entrance to the "basin" where barges collected the grain and produce destined for Carlisle's biscuit and feed mills. The canal built specially for this purpose ended in the canal basin behind the present Carrs (McVities) biscuit factory in Carlisle, 12 miles further inland. View of the dock across the canal basin The canal itself was replaced by a railway but with the building of a deep water port at Silloth the port fell into disuse. This gives everyone the unique opportunity to see a Victorian designed village still intact and "living" without the intrusion or encumbrance of modern architecture and development. The local community plans to restore some of the features of the village with the help of Solway Rural Initiative (find SRI at http://www.solwaycoast.co.uk) who manage the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (A.O.N.B.) which includes Bowness on Solway, Port Carlisle & Burgh-by-Sands.

Bridge between Bowness on Solway and Annan (known locally as "The Viaduct") - A rail bridge was built across the Solway estuary in 1869. Ice flows damaged the supports in the winter of 1881. The last train crossed in 1921 and it was dismantled in 1934 stopping the Scottish residents walking over for a "wee dram" on Sundays when Scottish pubs were closed! The man-made peninsular still remains and affords spectacular views down the Solway from the end, especially when the tide sweeps in over the dangerous tidal sands. Port Carlisle Station - With demise of the harbour, Port Carlisle became a day tourist attraction to Carlisle Victorians who travelled on the horse drawn carriage or Jockey. The site of the old sidings and the The Dandy horse drawn carriage station platforms can be seen amongst the gravel at the Bowling Club car park.

It was not until the 18th Century that the Border Country between England & Scotland finally came under English & Scottish Law. Before this, family feuds between raiding families caused every village and house to defend itself with fortified houses or towers. (See the story of Border Reivers at http://www.reivers.com/) St.Michael's church had its bells stolen by raiders in 1626 but they lost them in the Solway when returning to Annan on the Scottish shore. Bowness villagers retaliated by taking the church bells from Dornock and Middlebie. Every new vicar of the church in Annan continues to request the return of their bells. His entreaties are always refused - nowadays politely!

King Edward I Monument

	Better known as the "Hammer of the Scots", Edward died of dysentery in his camp near Burgh-by-Sands in 1307 whilst mounting another campaign to attack Scotland. His body was laid out in Burgh Church before being taken back to Westminster.
	Burgh Church also contains two stones which have an elephant and hippopotamus (?) carved on them by homesick Roman legionaries stationed along the wall.

Take a tour around Wallsend

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