president's address. 79 



lake. After having thus feasted the intellectual man, the party 

 proceeded to Haydon Bridge, where they partook of an excellent 

 dinner provided by mine host of the Anchor, and, after electing 

 three gentlemen as members, they returned to Newcastle highly 

 gratified with the day's excursion. 



The Fifth Field Meeting was held at Chollerford and 

 Simonburn, on the 31st August, when there was a better atten- 

 dance of members, eighteen being present. The party left at 

 6-15 by train to Hexham, and thence by the newly opened 

 section of the Border Counties Railway to Chollerford, where 

 they breakfasted, and then proceeded to Chesters, the charming 

 seat of John Clayton, Esq., by whose obliging permission they 

 were enabled to revisit and inspect the important Roman station 

 of Cilurmmi. The station, which is in the park in front of the 

 mansion, is in excellent preservation, and has been carefully 

 excavated by its learned proprietor, whom I had occasion in my 

 last address to designate "an able antiquary," and who is, 

 happily, the owner of an extensive line of the most interest- 

 ing and perfect portion of the Roman wall, including "the 

 Tadmor of Britain," Borcovicus. The station at Cilurnum^^ in its 

 pristine condition, was garrisoned by a regiment of Sj)anish 

 cavalry (the second wing of the Astures, and not the Astores, as 

 has been recently ascertained), and Hodgson, with his usual 

 discrimination, and no little enthusiasm, observes that "the As- 

 tores, in exchanging the sunny valleys of Spain for the banks of 

 the tawny Tyne, might find the climate in their new situation 

 worse, but a lovelier spot than Cilurnum all the Asturias could 

 not give them." Mr. MacLauchlan, in his recent " Memoir of 

 his Survey of the Roman Wall," concludes a note on the deriva- 

 tion of the name Cilurnum from the British Cz7, a " retreat," and 

 Brynn^ a " hill," by the remark that the British name was an 



* The station at Cilurnum has been fortunate in its exponents, from Camden and 

 Horsley to Hodgson and Dr. Bruce, in its learned proprietor Mr. Clayton, and lastly in 

 Mr. MacLauchlan, whose very beautiful and minutely accurate siu-vey of the Roman wall, 

 and of the stations per lineam valli, executed at the instance and expense of the Duke of 

 Northumberland, has engaged the attention and approval of all the antiquaries who, by his 

 Grace's liberality, have been enabled to consult it and the accompanying memoir of the 

 survey. 



