Nigel's Photo Blog

  Market Cross This evening, I am reporting on the delightful market town of Corbridge (pop 3000) in northern England. Location is about 42 miles east of Carlisle. The name translates as 'Bridge near Corchester' with latter being derived from the old Roman town of Corstopitum nearby. Directly and indirectly the settlement at Corbridge can be traced back to AD79 when a Roman fort was established nearby. Over about 330 years the original Roman fort morphed into a civilian settlement which came to an end around AD410 when the Romans abandoned Britain.It seems the incoming Saxons established a new settlement about one mile to the east of the Roman town from which the current town has evolved.  This image shows the Roman town with modern town in distance. A summary of Corbridge's history can be viewed in the image below. Overview of Corbridge's post-Roman history Overall, Corbridge impresses as an attractive and prosperous English market town with a wide variety of shops an...

  Corbridge Lion in Museum at Corbridge Site This evening, I am posting information on the Roman site of Corbridge which is located about 20 miles west of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in Northern England. Here is a summary of the site’s evolution from a military frontier post to a prosperous town: A fort just to the west of the present site was established in AD 79. A new fort on the current site was constructed in AD 84, probably for unit of cavalry. This was destroyed by fire in AD 105. A new fort was built in context of the open frontier then prevailing. This lasted until AD 120. A new fort, contemporary with the construction of Hadrian’s Wall and 4 km south of the Wall,was built to house an infantry garrison. A stone fort was built in AD 139 coinciding with the  frontier centred on the newly constructed Antonine Wall. Corbridge ceased to be used as a base for auxiliary troops in AD 163, contemporary with re-commissioning of Hadrian’s Wall as the Northern Frontier of the E...