118 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 



To look back to the far-off period when Northumbrian, 

 or rather mid-British, history recommences after the 

 century and a half of almost complete silence following 

 on the withdrawal of the Roman legions in A.D. 407, 

 two landmarks — both places of defence — stand out, each 

 with a story of its own, in what is now our Southern 

 border-land. They are Linguardi, the remarkable rock 

 and fortress of Bamburgh, and Ad Gebrium, the mysterious 

 fortified camp of Yeavering. Through the long dim 

 centuries these two places have retained their identity, 

 and around them the post-Roman history of Bernicia 

 and the later Northumbrian border takes shape and 

 becomes a living thing. 



Founding, as he did, the English kingdom of Bernicia 

 in or about the year 547, King Ida must have found 

 the natural fortress at Bamburgh (as it was afterwards 

 called) of the utmost importance as a coast defence. It 

 Avould be erroneous to suppose that any portion of the 

 existing castle dates from these early times. Ida probably 

 did little more than erect a palisade enclosing some build- 

 ings of wood or loose stonework on the top of the rock, 

 making use perhaps of such remains of rude habitations 

 as may have been left there by former occupants. In 

 the same way, in the following century, Edwin, king 

 of a united Northumbria, may have utilised for his 

 occasional residence at Yeavering some of the then exist- 

 ing dwellings on the summit of Yeavering Bell. I venture 

 the opinion that the old vaulted house seen at Yeavering 

 to-day, and known as " King Edwin's Palace," is nothing 

 more than a Border pele or bastle, though it may possibly 

 indicate the near site of a royal Northumbrian residence, 

 and is certainly deeply interesting as a traditional con- 

 necting link with the remote history of the district. The 

 question how far the island of Lindisfarne on the 

 neighbouring coast may have been, if at all, the head- 

 quarters of a line of Bernician monarchs, previous to 

 the days of Ida, is entirely eclipsed by the later glory 



