14 MELANDRA CASTLE, DERBYSHIRE. 



inhabiting this part of the country, and as the country was 

 well wooded, hilly, and almost inaccessible, many severe con- 

 flicts must have ensued before the Romans became firmly 

 established. 



There is a tradition in the neighbourhood that Mouselow Castle, 

 the British fortress mentioned, was attacked by an enemy, whose 

 nationality is not known, and that a dreadful battle took place. 

 Certain it is that on the side which is most accessible there 

 is a field, named in old deeds, " Almen's Death," and many 

 remains of weapons of war have been turned up there by the 

 plough. I have here a spear-head found during excavating 

 operations, in the clay near to the castle. 1 am unable to say 

 whether it is Roman or British, but of its antiquity there can 

 be no doubt. 



Another place near to is called Redgate, and tradition asserts 

 that it is so called because of the blood which flowed down the 

 bank. Watson visited Mouselow shortly after visiting Melandra — 

 they are within a mile of each other— before the hill was planted 

 with trees, and he describes it as a place of great strength, 

 defended by ditches, which are even now plainly discernible. 

 Whether the battle, which tradition says took place, was between 

 the Romans and Coritani, or during Anglo-Saxon times, will 

 probably never be known, but it is scarcely credible that the 

 British fortress would be abandoned without an attempt at 

 defence. That an attempt was made by the natives to drive the 

 Romans from their camp is inferred from the battle-axes and other 

 British weapons that have been found there. 



In 1865 the tenant of the land was digging for stone, and he 

 discovered one of the entrances to the station. The stones then 

 unearthed are lying in the area of the station, and are of large 

 size. There is a key stone of an arch, several cap stones, and 

 pilasters. The workmanship is rude, what one might expect 

 from unskilled labour, working under the direction of a mason. 

 In several cases, where an attempt at ornamentation has been 

 made, the workman, in measuring off his distances, has sunk the 

 tool used loo deep in the stone. The large size of the stones used, 



