president's address. 191 



Roman work. The portals are eleven feet wide, and have 

 been spanned by arches. The pivot holes are there. This 

 gateway has two guard chambers. Both the gateways on the 

 eastern side have been exposed. The lower one is much dis- 

 torted by defective foundations. The other is in very perfect 

 order, and is also double with guard chambers on each side. 

 Several circular door-heads have been found in the vicinity 

 of the gateway. An excavation has disclosed the remains of 

 a tank from which water was filtered by passing it through a 

 mass of charcoal. The cistern was fed by a spring on the 

 west of the station, and a water course between the spring 

 and the tank consisted of fiat stones set up on end covered 

 over by a third on the top, the whole being sunk in the 

 ground. Between Birdoswald and Coombe Crags the fosse 

 of the wall and the earthworks of the vallum are very bold. 

 Here the vallum is supported on the northern side by a second 

 ditch. After a short drive we reached the path leading to 

 Coombe Crags, and were interested in an inspection of the 

 inscriptions on the face of the rock. These are said to have 

 been made by Roman workmen, but doubts have been ex- 

 pressed as to whether they are not of much more recent date. 

 In passing down the well-wooded banks of the Crags dark 

 clouds gathered, and rain soon began to fall heavily. This 

 caused us to proceed back to the conveyance, where we had 

 left our coats, but after waiting a time without any sign of the 

 rain ceasing, we drove on to Lanercost Priory, which appears 

 to have been founded by Robert de Vallibus, Lord of 

 Gilsland, about 1169. In 1296 the monastery suffered by an 

 invasion of the Scottish forces. During the winter of 1306- 

 1307 King Edward I. and his queen resided in the monastery. 

 On the suppression of the monasteries Lanercost was granted 

 to a branch of the Dacre family, but in 17 16 reverted to the 

 Crown. It now belongs to the Earls of Carlisle by purchase. 

 The nave of the priory Church is the only portion which is in 

 repair, and this is used as the Parish Church. The choir and 

 transepts are roofless. Several of the monastic buildings 

 remain. The site of the cloisters is now used as a garden. 



