PRESIDENTS ADDRESS. 257 



land, who had joined in Archbishop Scrope's rebelHon. The 

 site of the Castle is in the angle formed by the Deanraw and 

 Langley Burns. Its towers have a commanding view of the 

 high ranges north of the Tyne from St. Oswald's to the Wall- 

 town Crags. Foundations of the ordinary kind were dis- 

 pensed with ; great boulders were laid down, and the walls, 

 averaging six feet thick, built on top of them. After the 

 rising of 17 15 the property was forfeited to the Crown; and in 

 October, 1882, it was purchased by Mr, C. J. Bates, who 

 unfortunately did not live long enough to see the completion 

 of his restoration. A little to the south are the Langley Mills 

 for the smelting of lead ore, but as seen from the highway 

 they appear to be in ruins. A drive of two miles from 

 Langley Castle brought us to Staward. Alighting here we 

 proceeded to the well-known Peel, but little remains of this 

 fortress or stronghold. It occupies a position which at the 

 time of its construction must have been almost impregnable. 

 The promontory on which it stands is only connected by a 

 very narrow strip of land. The descent on the other three 

 sides is very steep, and at the bottom flow the Allen and its 

 tributory the Harsondale Burn. The three sides of the site 

 of the Peel consist of rock, well wooded where a covering of 

 soil is to be found. The stronghold was fortified further by 

 artificially constructed defences. The walls of the Peel appear 

 to have been some seven feet thick. Some of the stones of 

 the Peel are evidently Roman, and may have been taken from 

 the neighbouring stations. When the Peel was erected is not 

 known ; but in the year 1386 it appears to have been given to 

 the Friars Eremite of Hexham. From the grass-covered 

 plateau on which the remains of the Peel stand, a magnificent 

 view, altogether alpine in its character, is to be had of the wild 

 and steep banks of the Allen covered with pines, ash, alder, 

 birch, and other trees, the charm of the scene being greatly 

 added to by the varying tints of the foliage, which pass 

 through all gradations from the softest of pale green to the 

 darkest hues, where the green almost becomes sombreness. 

 We then descended by a steep pathway to the bed of the 



