Weather update

The weather forecast sadly has beaten us again! We are going to postpone tomorrows day on site to a day next week to be arranged.

Bradford Kaims

Providing the weather does not take a turn for the worse we are thinking of heading to site on Saturday to progress the excavation and recording of the first of our burnt mounds. Volunteers can drop me a line if you would like to come along.

Bamburgh “Ghosts”-Tales from the Eighteenth Century- The Fear of Invasion

A further installment of Carol’s archive research, with thanks to the Woodhorn Archive:

 

Over the last few years, I have had the privilege of working as a volunteer at Woodhorn County Archive, on the Lord Crewe papers. These are a fabulous collection reflecting life in the 18C in Bamburgh, and in the Castle; I would like to share some of the stories I have found with you

 

 

During the time of Dr Sharp being the foremost Trustee at Bamburgh Castle during the mid to late 1700s-till his death in 1791-life on our North Northumberland coast was dominated by fear of invasion, or harassing by enemy privateers. A committee was established for the Safety of the Coast (the Coast Committee), and a series of signals was agreed that were passed from stations at Berwick, to Holy Island, to Bamburgh, to Dunstanburgh and down to Hauxley, using guns and flags. I have wondered how flags at that distance could be recognized without perfect eyesight, until I realized from contemporary etchings and drawings that the flagpoles on, say Lindisfarne and Bamburgh Castles were huge! Who were the enemy? There are accounts of privateer ships (pirates but authorized by their respective governments) from France and Holland…

 

 

The Following document NRO452/c/3/2/11/67 is a formal Memorandum drawn up at the house of Mr. Adams, the Trustees’ hard working Solicitor, based at Alnwick on 11 September 1779 between Holy Island and Bamburgh Castles-

 

 

“At a meeting of the Coast Committee held in Alnwick on…

 

Resolved as Major Cathcart the commanding officer of the Garrison of Berwick upon Tweed has fixed certain signals at Holy Island Castle-that the Signal Men at Bam rough Castle Station shall be bound to attend to the same and regulate themselves accordingly and that a copy of the Signals at Bambrough Castle shall be sent to the said Commanding Officer for the Signal man at holy Island Castle-

 

Resolved the following Signals shall be observed at the said several stations-

 

 

Large Red Ensign

 

1. An Enemies Fleet on the Coast, the flag to be kept flying at all stations-+ 3 guns fired

2. Preparing for A Landing from any number of vessels under that of a Fleet-+ 1 gun fired

3. Landing made good-+2 guns fired

4. Preparing for Landing from an Enemy Fleet-+4 guns fired

5. Landing made good-Minute Guns[?]

 

Large St George Jack

 

1. A Fleet in sight-signal man to keep sharp lookout and when made that of an enemy this Signal hauled down and No 1 [above] hoisted-+I gun fired

2. a Vessel taken by the enemy-+ 2 guns fired

3. Two or more taken by the Enemy-+3 guns fired

4. one or more Vessels run ashore by the enemy-+ 4 guns fired

 

Red Broad Pendant

 

1. An Enemy Vessel in Sight-+1 gun fired

 

NB 5 or more square rigged Vessels a Fleet”

 

The Memorandum goes on to instruct use of Messengers by the Signal man to acquaint his “director” of the situation, warnings to be given to [local] ships seemingly ignorant of the rules, + instructions to be followed if invasion is by land

 

It concludes-perhaps confusingly!-

 

“NB The Union Flag and small Jacks are hoisted at Balmbrough Castle on Various Occasions [such as His Majesty’s Birth Night] and therefore not to be regarded as Alarm signals”

 

 

Many letters were written to Dr Sharp when he was away from the Castle at his Parish of Hartburn, or attending Diocesan business in Durham, by George Hall his Foreman at the Castle, referring to the threat from enemy privateers. But the following written on Sept 24 1779, author unknown but clearly a resident at the Castle-possibly Rev Elliott? – clearly illustrates the panic that such a sighting could cause

 

 

NRO452/C/3/2/8/94

 

“What I now suffer that you and [George] Hall sh’d be from Home together

 

A Fleet is now passing what they are God knows they came from the southwards Bowlt [Curate at Bamburgh Church] tells me the Great Flag sh’d be hoisted and one Gun fired-

 

Which is done. I tremble to think whether to have done right or wrong- I was very unwilling to give my consent afraid of alarming the Country, but he Assured me it was the order upon the Castle Doors. The Fleet are now in the Open. We hope they are Scotch, but are far from being certain they are 15 in number+ two of them are very Large Ships. Mr Moneypenny [local Trustee tenant and maybe JP?] was sent to + it was with his Approbation that the Great Flag was hoisted the Day happens to be very windy and the Flag is Fore. I sat upon the Hill till the Gun fired, the Flag looked very Grand. Bowlt, Todd+ Richard conducted it very properly. My fear was it should have took fire from the Gun-but all was safe from that respect

 

The Fleet went North + Sir Harry Herron joined them as did another Large Ship which came from the South about 3 O’clock

 

George Hall return’d, approves of all we have done, He saw the Flag from Hefferly Tower (letter incomplete)”

 

 

What a vivid account of the panic an unidentified Fleet could cause, especially when both Dr Sharp and his Foreman absent from the Castle. It is a poignant thought that we know the very point on the old A1 road passing Heiferlaw Tower-still there today-when George Hall must have recognized the Flag hoisted at the Castle, and galloped back, heart in mouth, wondering what he would find…But seemingly, to doubtless great relief, this seems to have been a false alarm

 

 

Carol Griffiths

 

 

Tales from the Eighteenth Century- Glimpses of Holy Island

A further installment of Carol’s archive research, with thanks to the Woodhorn Archive:

Over the last few years, I have had the privilege of working as a volunteer at Woodhorn County Archive, on the Lord Crewe papers. These are a fabulous collection reflecting life in the mid and late 8C in Bamburgh, and in the Castle; I would like to share some of the stories I have found with you.

Dr John Sharp was the foremost Trustee appointed under the Will of Lord Crewe, to oversight the restoration of Bamburgh Castle. This was followed under the terms of the Will by the establishment of charitable good works from the Castle, rather than being the seat of landed gentry. Dr Sharp accumulated a huge correspondence, and fortunately for us, never threw a letter he received away. From his many correspondents and supplicants-the power of patronage held sway and he was entreated and beseeched in the most subservient terms-we get enticing glimpses of the area surrounding Bamburgh. The following two letters give a glimpse of 18C Holy Island…

Rev Mr Dampier writes from Eton on March 12 1780 with a rather precious enquiry- (NRO452/C/3/2/10/10)

“Dear Sir- I hope you will excuse the Liberty I have taken in troubling you with this letter, containing a literary Enquiry concerning your island of Lindisfarne. Mention being made in the old Poems which were published three years ago, of a grove of majestic Oaks which stood near the Abbey there. I am desired by a learned Friend to inquire whether there are now any oaks or trees of any sort on the Island, or any traces that a wood has ever flourished there and also are there now any considerable number of Trees in one place near the Sea Shore between Bambrough Castle and Wearmouth”

Lindisfarne looking south towards Bambugh Castle

Much more basic and threadbare is the following letter written to Dr Sharp on May 1 1782, from Mark Reveley, schoolmaster on Holy Island (NRO452/C/3/2/12/3)

“Indeed the School turns out very badly, owing to the poverty of the generality of the Inhabitants; for they get few fish therefore are not in ability tom put there children to the school- I was at Durham and thought to have seen you or Dr Dickens for to have got a Terrier for my fear of the Clerks Office, but I was disappointed but Mr Wood told me that shourly there was a considerable fee belonging to the church on Holy Island which all have got it will not amount above 50 shillings a Year, which it and the School will not come to Seven pounds.

I had my victuals from house to house by them that had children at the school but they have all declined of giving any more Victuals any longer which Sir I have taken this opportunity to Aquaint you as Mr Roberts (Curate on Holy Island?) is so poorly that he cannot get out of bed, nor to give his advise to anybody-for he is quite insensible at times, and as to the publick duty in the church we have none done…Sir I hope you will mention ..our unhappy situation. We are in for want of one to do our duty in the established church for I dare say Mr Roberts is not able to ingage me.

Sir I am sorry that I should have the occasion to trouble you with this. please excuse my freedom and take it into consideration with my friends + well-wishers to settle something on me to help my family- for everything becomes very high in this place

Your very humble and much obliged servant..”

This vivid account of the poverty of the Holy Islanders-and their children’s’ Schoolmaster, takes us back only a hundred years or so, to an even more desperate age- In 1643 Father Gilbert Blakhal, (a priest of the Scots mission in France, in the Low Countries and Scotland) was storm driven into Lindisfane Harbour and witnessed “an unseemly brawl” as villagers and local priest fought over a box of hats decorated with gold braid washed up from an unfortunate wreck, and recounted “ how the Common people ther do pray for shippes which they sie in danger. They al sit downe upon their knees, and hold up their handes, and say very devotedly, lord Send hir to us. …they pray not God to sauve you, or send you to the port, but to send you to them by shipwreck, that they may gette the spoile of her. And to show their meaning,.. if the shippe come well to porte..they gette up in anger, crying the Devil Stick her, she is away from us”

(Linisfarne, the Cradle Island-Magnus Magnusson)

What a contrast with the Holy Island of today, so dependent on the seasonal Tourist influx, in a much more civilized but perhaps less colourful age

Carol Griffiths

PS If you are enjoying our blog then please consider making a modest contribution to our Sponsume campaign below!

The Floods Slowly Recede at the Kaims!

 

Our return to the Hoppenwood bank the Saturday before last was very positive. The water levels that were in danger of recreating the ancient prehistoric lake levels had receded visibly, particularly in the first field.

We busied ourselves by starting to clean up and prepare the long section from the burnt mound into the peat levels that we had begun in the summer of 2012, before the great deluge flooded us from the site. Over the next few weeks we hope to get the long section cleaned and recorded, Better late than never. In addition we began to clean up the pit, and possible double post-setting to the east of the fired stone surface. So that this can be fully excavated before it eroded away. Also we continued to survey the area as part of our process of gathering data for a topographic survey.

 

In future weeks we hope to make regular visits to the site.

 

 

Cleaning up the section

Also if you have not already seen our Sponsume appeal then please take a few minutes to have a look and consider helping to support the project. Every little contribution helps.

 

We will be using the crowd-funding site Sponsume. Our campaign Archaeology for Everyone {with the Bamburgh Research Project} webpage will be going live Sunday the 7th at midnight (Geenwich Mean Time).

There are many benefits available for those who can donate, including access to our VIP blog (which will include behind-the-scenes videos, interviews and lots more), a poster sized replica of one of our beautifully drawn site plans, and even a VIP day at Bamburgh for you and three friends. These start at £1, and any amount you can give will help.

For those unable to buy a benefit, YOU CAN STILL HELP! Just join the Bamburgh Research conversation via this blog, Facebook, twitter (@brparchaeology) or even Instagram (bamburghresearchproject)

Once more, we would like to acknowledge everyone who supports us in our quest to ensure the sustainability of this vibrant cultural heritage resource. From the Directors, Volunteers, Staff, and Students at the Bamburgh Research Project, THANK YOU.

Brandes Excavation

One of our former excavators at Bamburgh runs his own excavation in France and has sent over a poster promoting this season’s work. If anyone is interested in a French dig this year then do check it out. It almost follows on from Bamburgh if you were keen to expand their season.

 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG
Medieval mining village of Brandes
XIe – XIVe – France – Alpe d’Huez
July 22th – August 31st, 2013

At the end of the 11th century, in the very heart of the Oisans massif, the Dauphiné lord established a mining village 1800 m above sea level in order to exploit a rich silver vein. The mining community developed until the middle of the 14th century. Both remains of production structures (open-cast and underground mines, mineralurgical workshops, waterworks …) and ruins of the village (a fortified tower, a parish church and its cemetery, about 80 miners dwellings, artcraft shops) were preserved on this site, unique in Europe.
The village was studied continuously since 1977 by a CNRS multidisciplinary team : archives research, territory and environmental studies, subterranean surveys, extensive excavations are conducted t o try and understand the mining settlement in a global way. The 2013 excavation campaign will consist to finish an extensive dig on a wide hydraulic distribution and grinding ore area, in one of the industrial sectors.

Direction :
M.C. Bailly-Maître, (SRS, CNRS) and N. Minvielle (Phd student) – UMR 7298 – LA3M – Aix en Provence
Registration fees : 15 Euros – Indoor accommodation and meals are provided – Six working days /
week – Good physical condition required -
Registration and information : gemarcheo@wanadoo.fr – Send CV and cover letter
GROUPE D’ETUDE DES MINES ANCIENNES
1 rue des Alpes 38600 FONTAINE
Tel/fax 04 76 26 36 03
E mail gemarcheo@wanadoo.fr
Partial view

A Sponsume Odyssey – Archaeology for Everyone 2013

As the Bamburgh Research Project gears up for the 2013 season, we are reminded of how difficult it can be to sustain a research project and annual field school. Each year countless individuals and businesses donate time, goods and money to the Bamburgh Research Project. We are extremely grateful, as without this support we would not be as successful as we are today. Each year, staff and students travel from within the UK, Europe, America, Australia and everywhere in between to spend their summers with us.

To ensure we remain up-to-date with the best practice and technology and are able to do our students and the heritage they uncover justice, this year we are holding a crowd-funding campaign. From April 8^th until the 31^st of May we invite all our friends, followers, colleagues and campaigners to check out our sponsorship video. We are hoping to raise £10,000 and intend to use the money raised to purchase supplies to maintain our extensive archives and artefacts.

We will be using the crowd-funding site Sponsume. Our campaign Archaeology for Everyone {with the Bamburgh Research Project} webpage will be going live Sunday the 7th at midnight (Geenwich Mean Time).

There are many benefits available for those who can donate, including access to our VIP blog (which will include behind-the-scenes videos, interviews and lots more), a poster sized replica of one of our beautifully drawn site plans, and even a VIP day at Bamburgh for you and three friends. These start at £1, and any amount you can give will help.

For those unable to buy a benefit, YOU CAN STILL HELP! Just join the Bamburgh Research conversation via this blog, Facebook, twitter (@brparchaeology) or even Instagram (bamburghresearchproject)

Once more, we would like to acknowledge everyone who supports us in our quest to ensure the sustainability of this vibrant cultural heritage resource. From the Directors, Volunteers, Staff, and Students at the Bamburgh Research Project, THANK YOU.

If you are interested in receiving a PDF press release about Archaeology for Everyone {with the Bamburgh Research Project} or would like to get in touch about this project please e-mail us at fundraising@bamburghresearchproject.co.uk