GLASGOW - GRETNA GREEN - HADRIAN'S WALL - GRASMERE - BONESS-ON-WINDERMERE
Masonic Jewels Tour - UK Day 12 - Glasgow to Lake Windermere
Tour to be continued in next update - Lake District to Chester
Food For Thought
Remains of Hadrian's wall by the car park,a mile castle and the wall stretching across the rugged countrysie
In the museum there were several old coaches, vintage cars and bicycles on display, There was old armour and weaponry displayed for sale.
However,it was this masonic sword which took our attention, especially its ornate handle. The price only £99. There was even a Templar sword with a damask blade for sale at £375.
However,it was this masonic sword which took our attention, especially its ornate handle. The price only £99. There was even a Templar sword with a damask blade for sale at £375.
Gilsland with the roman ruins infront, and an information board explaining its use and operations
After a good look round, our bus then took us down the M6 and into the northern Lake District past increasingly higher hills. The first stop was Grasmere. .
Gretna Green Smithy, The Jewels Tour party in their mock "wedding photo", The Gretna Green Marriage Anvil
Mock weddings are still performed by the “blacksmith”, so the old wedding anvil was put to good use by two of our party who renewed their weddings vows Gretna style. There was even a wedding photograph taken of the group including shotgun carrying father!
It was then on into England to the next stop was Hadrian's wall at Gilsland. The famous wall stretched over the horizon towards the East from the car park. One could make it out as it climbed a craggy outcrop a mile or two in the distance. It was hard to believe that this defensive fortification was begun by the Romans in 122 AD during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. It ran over 117 kms from the banks of the River Tyne on the North Sea in the East to the Solway Firth on the Irish Sea in the West.
Its width and height varied according to the construction materials that were available nearby. East of the River Irthing, the wall was made from squared stone and measured 3 metres wide and 5 to 6 metres high, while west of the river the wall was originally made from turf and measured 6 metres wide and 3.5 metres high; it was later rebuilt in stone. These dimensions do not include the wall's ditches, berms and forts. The central section measured 2.4 m wide on a 3.0 m base. Some parts of this section of the wall survive today to a height of 3 m.
There were milecastles with two turrets in between. There was a fort about every five Roman miles. From north to south, the wall comprised a ditch, wall, military way and vallum (another ditch with adjoining mounds). It is thought that the milecastles were staffed with static garrisons, whereas the forts had fighting garrisons of infantry and cavalry. In addition to the wall's defensive military role, its gates may have been used as customs posts.
Gilsland was the west gate in the Hadrian's wall, and the wall came right alongside the car park and the walkway to the buildings. The wall here was made of cut stone packed with uncut.
Its width and height varied according to the construction materials that were available nearby. East of the River Irthing, the wall was made from squared stone and measured 3 metres wide and 5 to 6 metres high, while west of the river the wall was originally made from turf and measured 6 metres wide and 3.5 metres high; it was later rebuilt in stone. These dimensions do not include the wall's ditches, berms and forts. The central section measured 2.4 m wide on a 3.0 m base. Some parts of this section of the wall survive today to a height of 3 m.
There were milecastles with two turrets in between. There was a fort about every five Roman miles. From north to south, the wall comprised a ditch, wall, military way and vallum (another ditch with adjoining mounds). It is thought that the milecastles were staffed with static garrisons, whereas the forts had fighting garrisons of infantry and cavalry. In addition to the wall's defensive military role, its gates may have been used as customs posts.
Gilsland was the west gate in the Hadrian's wall, and the wall came right alongside the car park and the walkway to the buildings. The wall here was made of cut stone packed with uncut.
The armour and swords for sale - A masonic sword with ornate handle, and a Knight's Templar sword
Gilsland as well as being a gate in the wall also had barracks the remains of whose walls are clearly visible. There are information boards around the ruins, as well as exhibits inside the museum in the 19th century building.
Winderemere is the largest Lake in England being 18 kms long and 1.5 kms wide at its widest. Even though it is narrow and quite deep 66 ms it has 18 islands. Sir Richard Seagreave was killed trying to set a World Water speed record there in the 1930s.
A winter time photograph of Lake Windermere
Grasmere narrow streets and interesting shops from another ear compliment William Wodsworth's Dove cottage
The walls of Wordsworth cottage are rendered and whitewashed a harbinger of waht is common in the towns further south along Lake Windermere.
Leaving Grasmere village behind we travelled down the eastern shore of Lake Grasmere, which is famous for its marvellous reflections. This is a small lake barely 1.5kms long and roundish in shape and takes the colour of the day.
Continuing south through Ambleside at the Northern end of Lake Windermere the bus passed close by the well know Lakeland Hotel near the town of Windermere. ..
Leaving Grasmere village behind we travelled down the eastern shore of Lake Grasmere, which is famous for its marvellous reflections. This is a small lake barely 1.5kms long and roundish in shape and takes the colour of the day.
Continuing south through Ambleside at the Northern end of Lake Windermere the bus passed close by the well know Lakeland Hotel near the town of Windermere. ..
Two sets of reflection on Lake Grasmere, and one of Lakeland hotel on Lake Winderemere
We travelled through Windermere town to Boness-on-Windermere. These two towns were once separate but amalgamated in 1905 when the houses ran together. However, there are still two town centres for those who like to shop. The lake ferries run from a lakeside complex in Boness-on-windermere which some of the tour party visited on their evening look around the town..
The lakeside terminal at Boness-on-Windermere
The tour party was prompt leaving the hotel in the morning for the journey south. Glasgow is a modern city, and the powers that be had allowed the motorway to be built almost through the city centre, so it was a relatively quick exodus from the inner city streets onto fast roads - first the M8 and then south onto the M74. The Glasgow to Carlisle road runs through the Scottish counties of Dumfries & Galloway, Lanarkshire and into Cumbria in England.
The M6 motorway in centre of Glasgow, The A74(M) near Beattock Summit and the old Telford road grassed over
This motorway follows close to the old road which ran from Glasgow to Carlisle, which once again had a masonic connection, as this report by ”engineering timelines” explains in detailing its construction -
"The original mail road that ran between Glasgow and Carlisle was built by the turnpike trusts that controlled it, and it was upgraded by engineer Thomas Telford in the 19th century. Some of his bridge structures and toll houses remain, though the modern M74, A74(M) and M6 motorways have superseded the route.
Parts of the original route followed the line of Roman roads. By 1814, this strategic inter-city transport link had become "nearly impassable". Thomas Telford’s (1757-1834) chief assistant William Alexander Provis (1792-1870) surveyed the route in 1814-15, and the subsequent improvements they devised were implemented by 1825.
The resulting Glasgow to Carlisle Road was the Georgian equivalent of a modern motorway, reducing the original distance from 165km to 150km. The route headed east out of Glasgow, south east through Lanarkshire, Dumfries & Galloway and into north Cumbria, via Gretna on the Scotland-England border, to Carlisle. It followed generally along the line of the present-day A72, B7078, A702, B7076 and M6 roads.
The original mail road had been tolled and this continued with the new road. The turnpike trusts were allowed to retain control of an 18km length between Glasgow and Hamilton and a 21km stretch over the boundary of Lanarkshire and Dumfries & Galloway. The remaining 111km were reconstructed or refurbished under Telford’s direction, in his capacity as Engineer to the Highland Roads & Bridges Commission. The total cost was around £50,000.
The new road’s longitudinal elevation ranged from near sea level to nearly 305m above it at the Beattock summit. A ruling gradient of not steeper than 1 in 30 was adopted, involving extensive cut-and-fill and 15 large bridges.
The general specification called for the main carriageway to be 5.5m wide, to allow two mail coaches to pass, with a crossfall of 1 in 30 from the centreline. Its construction consisted of Telford’s traditional hand-pitched bottom course of 180mm high stones topped by 180mm of broken stones less than 63mm in diameter. The roadway had a 2.4m wide extension on each side covered in gravel for use by horse and pedestrians, beyond which were the all-important side drains. The whole width of 10.4m was compacted with a heavy iron roller.
The enabling Act of Parliament for the road provided for not less than 10 broken-stone depots per 1.6km (1 mile). A single man maintained a length of between 1.6km and 8km, depending upon its level of usage. In winter, the men were employed in keeping the road clear of mud and water. In summer they removed loose surface stones, filled potholes, cleared drains and repaired retaining walls.
Of the 15 bridges, the most unusual was a three-span cast iron arch bridge over the River Esk at Metal Bridge in Cumbria. It was built in 1820 with a southern span of 45.7m adjoining two spans of 32m. The northernmost span was probably added during construction to provide additional drainage for floodwater, hence the asymmetric elevation. The ironwork was prefabricated to Telford’s standard lattice spandrel design. The bridge closed to traffic in 1911 and was replaced with a ferro-concrete structure in 1913-6, which was itself replaced by the existing reinforced concrete bridge in 1970.
Masonry bridges of note along the route include single arch structures over the River Avon at Hamilton (24.8m span, constructed 1823-5), over Glengonnar Water at Abington (9.1m span, built 1824-5), over the River Clyde at Elvanfoot (27.4m span, constructed 1824-5), over Evan Water at Beattock (12.2m span, built 1819) and over the River Annan at Johnstonebridge (24.4m span). There was also a bridge with three arches of some 9m span over the River Nethan at Milton Bridge near Lesmahagow, which was replaced in 1938 by a three-span steel bridge.
There were eight toll houses along the road - at Hamilton, Kirkmuirhill, Lesmahagow, Douglas Mill, Abington, Beattock, Dinwoodie and Gretna. Only the ones at Hamilton, Dinwoodie and Gretna survive - Dinwoodie Toll House (NY104901, see map) being the best-preserved example of Telford's standard design, and a Category A listed building. Gretna Toll House (NY327671) was the venue for runaway marriages from about 1830 until well into the 20th century, though it is now a tearoom.
Parts of the original route followed the line of Roman roads. By 1814, this strategic inter-city transport link had become "nearly impassable". Thomas Telford’s (1757-1834) chief assistant William Alexander Provis (1792-1870) surveyed the route in 1814-15, and the subsequent improvements they devised were implemented by 1825.
The resulting Glasgow to Carlisle Road was the Georgian equivalent of a modern motorway, reducing the original distance from 165km to 150km. The route headed east out of Glasgow, south east through Lanarkshire, Dumfries & Galloway and into north Cumbria, via Gretna on the Scotland-England border, to Carlisle. It followed generally along the line of the present-day A72, B7078, A702, B7076 and M6 roads.
The original mail road had been tolled and this continued with the new road. The turnpike trusts were allowed to retain control of an 18km length between Glasgow and Hamilton and a 21km stretch over the boundary of Lanarkshire and Dumfries & Galloway. The remaining 111km were reconstructed or refurbished under Telford’s direction, in his capacity as Engineer to the Highland Roads & Bridges Commission. The total cost was around £50,000.
The new road’s longitudinal elevation ranged from near sea level to nearly 305m above it at the Beattock summit. A ruling gradient of not steeper than 1 in 30 was adopted, involving extensive cut-and-fill and 15 large bridges.
The general specification called for the main carriageway to be 5.5m wide, to allow two mail coaches to pass, with a crossfall of 1 in 30 from the centreline. Its construction consisted of Telford’s traditional hand-pitched bottom course of 180mm high stones topped by 180mm of broken stones less than 63mm in diameter. The roadway had a 2.4m wide extension on each side covered in gravel for use by horse and pedestrians, beyond which were the all-important side drains. The whole width of 10.4m was compacted with a heavy iron roller.
The enabling Act of Parliament for the road provided for not less than 10 broken-stone depots per 1.6km (1 mile). A single man maintained a length of between 1.6km and 8km, depending upon its level of usage. In winter, the men were employed in keeping the road clear of mud and water. In summer they removed loose surface stones, filled potholes, cleared drains and repaired retaining walls.
Of the 15 bridges, the most unusual was a three-span cast iron arch bridge over the River Esk at Metal Bridge in Cumbria. It was built in 1820 with a southern span of 45.7m adjoining two spans of 32m. The northernmost span was probably added during construction to provide additional drainage for floodwater, hence the asymmetric elevation. The ironwork was prefabricated to Telford’s standard lattice spandrel design. The bridge closed to traffic in 1911 and was replaced with a ferro-concrete structure in 1913-6, which was itself replaced by the existing reinforced concrete bridge in 1970.
Masonry bridges of note along the route include single arch structures over the River Avon at Hamilton (24.8m span, constructed 1823-5), over Glengonnar Water at Abington (9.1m span, built 1824-5), over the River Clyde at Elvanfoot (27.4m span, constructed 1824-5), over Evan Water at Beattock (12.2m span, built 1819) and over the River Annan at Johnstonebridge (24.4m span). There was also a bridge with three arches of some 9m span over the River Nethan at Milton Bridge near Lesmahagow, which was replaced in 1938 by a three-span steel bridge.
There were eight toll houses along the road - at Hamilton, Kirkmuirhill, Lesmahagow, Douglas Mill, Abington, Beattock, Dinwoodie and Gretna. Only the ones at Hamilton, Dinwoodie and Gretna survive - Dinwoodie Toll House (NY104901, see map) being the best-preserved example of Telford's standard design, and a Category A listed building. Gretna Toll House (NY327671) was the venue for runaway marriages from about 1830 until well into the 20th century, though it is now a tearoom.
SOURCE: http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=1239
Just before entering England, almost on the border is Gretna Green. Gretna Green has a Blacksmith shop that has been involved in weddings since 1754.
In the middle of the 18th century English law lords approved new laws regarding marriage requirements. Couples had to reach the age of 21 before they could marry without their parents' consent and the marriage had to take place in a church. Scottish law however was different: you could marry on the spot, in a simple 'marriage by declaration', or in a 'handfasting' ceremony, only requiring two witnesses and assurances from the couple that they were both over the age of 16 and free to marry.
With such simple requirements and Gretna Green so close to the border the inevitable influx of thousands of young couples running away to marry began.
The Gretna Green Smithy is still the number one venue for weddings in the UK. It is now a very worthwhile stop, and features other interesting exhibits such as a museum, cafe, statues around the lawns etc.
In the middle of the 18th century English law lords approved new laws regarding marriage requirements. Couples had to reach the age of 21 before they could marry without their parents' consent and the marriage had to take place in a church. Scottish law however was different: you could marry on the spot, in a simple 'marriage by declaration', or in a 'handfasting' ceremony, only requiring two witnesses and assurances from the couple that they were both over the age of 16 and free to marry.
With such simple requirements and Gretna Green so close to the border the inevitable influx of thousands of young couples running away to marry began.
The Gretna Green Smithy is still the number one venue for weddings in the UK. It is now a very worthwhile stop, and features other interesting exhibits such as a museum, cafe, statues around the lawns etc.
Outside there were a large number of statues on the lawns, and inside the museum old coaches and cars
the low Fells (hills) that herald the start of northern lake district, Grasmere hotels, and a little stream side cafe
Grasmere is a lovely little village, with cut stone houses made from local stone. There are slate quarries in the hills. The writer can remember the sweet little cafe overlooking the small river from long ago. It had trout in it then which were fedd by the patrons.
