Corbridge, Northumberland

Description
Corbridge, a small town, a township, and a parish in Northumberland. The town stands on Watling Street and the river Tyne, adjacent to the Newcastle and Carlisle railway, in the vicinity of the Roman Corstopitum, 2 1/2 miles S of the Roman wall, and 3 1/4 E of Hexham. It had a monastery in 771; was occupied by David I. in 1138 ; was burnt by the Scots in 1296, 1311, and 1346; it was anciently a borough, and long sent members to parliament; had at one period four churches, was an important market-town, displays now an aspect of grey antiquity, and has a head post office (R.S.O.), a railway station, a market cross, an old peel tower, originally intended to answer two purposes £a place of residence for the vicar, and also a place of defence, but afterwards used for a time as a " lock-up" or temporary place of detention for evil-doers; a seven-arched bridge built in 1674 (the only bridge on the Tyne which was not swept away by the great flood in 1771), a parish church, three dissenting chapels, a town-hall built in 1887, a reading-room, brick works, and charities. The church is old, of fortified structure, and was restored in 1868. The township includes the town, and comprises 3547 acres; population, 1647. Cor-chester, about half a mile west of the town, is the Roman Corstopitum, and there Roman coins and altars, two Greek inscriptions, a silver-votive tablet of 148 ounces, and remains of an ancient bridge have been found. The parish contains also the townships of Dilston, Thombrough, Aydon, Aydon-Castle, Halton, Halton-Shields, and Little Whittington. The manor belonged to the Claverings, and is now the property of the Percys. Dilston was the seat of the Earls of Der- "wentwater. The living is a vicarage, united with Halton, in the diocese of Newcastle; gross joint value, £404 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle. Population of the civil parish, 2138.