Anniversary Address. 37 



■when I fished in the river, is not now seen. The Kingfisher, 

 then plentiful, is not now to be seen in the neighbourhood. 

 There are yet a few Herons. I saw three about three miles east 

 of Corbridge about six weeks ago." 



In passing through Corbridge the party took shelter from a 

 shower in the Inn ; but they were soon again on foot, making 

 now for Dilston Castle, about a mile distant, on the south side of 

 the ralley of the Tyne. On traversing the level ground beyond 

 the river, notice was taken of the progress of the harvest, which 

 this year was later than usual. Wheat, oats, and barley in the 

 neighbourhood were almost all in stook, but only a field here 

 and there was cleared, and its produce secured in rick. By 

 a gentle ascent along a tree-shaded road the entrance to the 

 grounds of Dilston was reached. Entering between two massive 

 stone pillars, probably the remains of the original gatewaj', the 

 first objects to attract the eye were some lofty and umbrageous 

 Horse Chestnuts, this season displaying little fruit. Mr Balden, 

 the agent at Dilston, here kindly met the party, and acted as 

 guide to the ruins of this mansion of melancholy memories. The 

 present proprietor has done much both for the discovery of the 

 original plan of the building by uncovering foundations, and for 

 the preservation of those walls which are still standing. The 

 Castle had been of great extent, and the enormous thickness of 

 the walls in the older portions gives token of its great strength 

 as a place of defence. A mere fragment of the lordly pile now 

 remains, and the rooms and vaults in this portion were examined 

 with interest, as was also the small detached domestic Chapel 

 close to the Castle. The dimensions of the Chapel within are 32 

 feet by 15, the height 18 feet. It is a plain and unadorned 

 structure. Below the floor of the Chapel is the vault which con- 

 tained the remains of several members of the Derwentwater 

 famUy down to the year 1874, when most of them, on the sale of 

 the estate, were removed to the Eoman Catholic Chapel at Hex- 

 ham. The body of the last Earl, however, who was beheaded in 

 1716, was transferred to the burial-place of his descendant, Lord 

 Petre, at Thorndon in Essex. On the east gable of the Chapel 

 there has recently been discovered a sculptured stone bearing a 

 coat-of-arms, which had been concealed for a length of time 

 by a thick growth of ivy. The owner of this heraldic emblem 

 has not yet been determined. 



The romantic story of Dilston, and its successive owners, has 



