Rochester lies on the A 68 between Otterburn and the Scottish border. Its War Memorial is of the tabernacle type.

Dedication: “To the glory of God and in proud memory of the men of this country-side who fell in the cause of right and freedom 1914 – 1918.” Plus Great War names:-

Great War names:-

Second Dedication: “Also in gratitude for service rendered in the same cause by” followed by the names of those who served:-

The land on which Chesters Fort was uncovered belonged to a man called John Clayton. His house is right beside the site of the fort:-

There’s some elegant topiary, not to mention a lovely tree, in its grounds:-

Just beyond the English Heritage entrance to Chesters Fort, past the path leading to the ruins is the Chesters Museum where many of the artefacts uncovered by the excavations are displayed.

Hadrian’s Wall Milestones:-

Statue of Juno Regina, Juno Regina was a popular deity among the Roman soldiery:-

There was a piece of soldier’s graffiti carved in the shape of a man’s genitals on one of the displayed pieces which I was going to go back to photograph. Unfortunately this was just after last year’s lockdown was lifted and a man with no mask started to cough loudly in the museum room’s enclosed space so I thought I had better make myself scarce and hence missed my opportunity.

Previous posts on Chesters Fort are here, here, here and here.

Commandant’s house from distance:-

Closer view. Stacked bricks are likely part of the hypocaust (heating) system:-

Side nearest River North Tyne:-

Remains of the floor:-

These niches are part of the bath complex. I forgot to include them in the psot about the baths at Chesters:-

The information board shows how this would have looked in the fort’s heyday:-

It’s a little less imposing now:-

See previous posts on Chetsers Fort here and here.

Main east gate. This is nearest the River North Tyne:-

Main East Gate information board:-

West gate:-

Posts; foundations for something or other:-

Vicinus houses lay outside the fort; local civilians or retired soldiers providing services to the fort would have set up houses/shops etc close by:-

The main body of Chesters Fort lies on a hill just above the river River North Tyne.

River from Chesters Fort:-

This shows the spot where a Roman bridge crossed the river:-

Eastern part of Hadrian’s Wall and bridge abutment:-

Closer view:-

Bridge information board showing how it looked:-

Between the bridge and the fort proper you can still see a part of Hadrian’s wall:-

Also down by the river are the baths the soldiers used:-

Lower part of baths complex:-

Chesters Fort was one of the Roman forts stationed along Hadrian’s Wall. It lies a few miles north of Hexham, on a position commanding a crossing point on the river North Tyne.

It was a posting for a troop of cavalry originally raised in what is now Spain.

As a result the remains of the stables take up a fair bit of the site towards the entrance:

This one was taken from further up the hill, stables to left, Commandant’s House to right.

An interval tower:-

Tower at South-East Angle of fort:-

Due to the legacy of Hadrian’s Wall the north of England is festooned with Roman ruins. They range from the reaonably large – the forts along the wall, not to mention the remnants of the wall itself – to quite small. One of the latter lies just off the B6318 at Carrawburgh, Northumberland. It is the remains of a Mithraic Temple. The B6318 runs south of Hadrian’s Wall and is very straight (see here at the Carrawburgh car park) presumably by following the course of a Roman original

Temple from path:-

Centre isle from entrance:-

The information board has a representation of how the inside of the temple would have looked when in use:-

Altar:-

At its centrepiece the altar has a small dish which presumably was originally intended to receive votive offerings. Certainly modern visitors have been leaving coins, sweets and, for some reason obscure to me, a piece of wood:-

Hexham War Memorial lies in the grounds of Hexham Abbey. It takes the form of a Cross of Sacrifice:-

Dedications. “Here are inscribed names which bid us by service our debt repay,” with below, “This cross and S Wilfrid’s War Memorial Hospital are dedicated to the glorious memory of the men of Hexham who laid down their lives in the Great Wars 1914-1918 1939-1945.”

Names:-

Royal Northumberland Fusiliers memorial plaque by a memorial garden at Hexham Abbey. Dedicated to those of the 4th Battalion and 8th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers who died in the Second World War:-

Hexham Abbey:-

Moot Hall from the Market Square. The Archbishop’s Hall used for administrative purposes in the Middle Ages:-

The Shambles, old Market Square Hexham:-