president's address. t05 



ADDRESS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE TYNESIDE 

 NATURALISTS' FIELD CLUB. 



READ BY THE PRESIDENT, THOMAS THOMPSON, ESQ:, AT THE FIFTY- 

 THIRD ANNIVERSARY MEETING ON THE 10th MAY, 1901. 



The First Field Meeting was held at Lanchester and 

 Howns Gill on Monday, the 28th May, 1900, a very strong, cold, 

 wind prevailing, which certainly did not add to the pleasure 

 of the excursion. Ten members were present, some of whom 

 left Newcastle by train at 12.25 ^"^ alighted at Lanchester, 

 There they were met by the Rev. Arthur Watts, F.G.S., 

 Rector of Witton Gilbert, and a former President of our Club, 

 and by Mr. Balleny, of Little Greencroft Hall, and later were 

 joined by Mr. Buckham, of Lanchester. They first visited 

 the Parish Church, the benefice of which has gone through 

 the stages of a Rectory, Collegiate Church, and Perpetual 

 Curacy. The founder furnished a set of statutes and 

 ordinances which were confirmed by Edward I. in a.d. 1293. 

 Mr. Watts pointed out the fine monolith pillars in the northern 

 arcade which first did duty in some public building in the 

 Roman Camp, suggesting that this was probably in Gordian 

 Ill's basilica, a.d. 240. He also drew attention to the magni- 

 ficent altar in the Church porch, found in 1893 near a spring 

 on Margery Flatt farm, and to the finely carved chamfered 

 stone quite recently found in making an enlarged organ 

 chamber. Eight out of the sixteen points of a sun-like figure 

 are to be seen, each ending in a trefoil ; this ** Sun " formed 

 the head of the stone, which has been split vertically. 



The Roman Camp was next visited, where several specially 

 worked stones were pointed out by Mr. Buckham. Then 

 under the guidance of Mr. Balleny, the line of the ancient 

 water course was followed from the reservoir off the south- 

 west angle of the Camp to the source beyond David's Tower, 

 in Howns Gill. This entailed a walk of three miles or more, 

 across pasture and heath, bog and wood and tillage, during 

 which the botanists were kept on the quivive. Passing Hollin 



