The Bewcastle Cross, standing in the churchyard of St Cuthbert’s at Bewcastle in Cumbria, was raised by our Anglo-Saxon ancestors around 1,300 years ago.
Carved with Christian figures, vine-scrolls, animals, interlacing and runic inscriptions, it is one of the finest surviving monuments of early Northumbrian Christianity. Its original cross-head has been lost, but the great stone shaft still rises more than 14 feet above the ground.
What makes it even more remarkable is that it still stands where our ancestors erected it. Generations have come and gone, kingdoms have risen and fallen, yet this monument to their English Christian faith remains 🏴
A remarkable find from Chiddingstone Castle in Kent. ⚔
After the recent heatwave caused water levels in the castle lake to fall, volunteers spotted a sword blade sticking out of the water while clearing branches.
The heavily corroded weapon has a gilded brass hilt with a lion-head pommel and is thought to be an early-19th-century bandsman’s sword, around 200 years old.
How it ended up in the lake remains a mystery. It may have belonged to the Streatfeild family or later residents of the castle.
A proper little piece of English history dragged out of the mud 🏴
An ancient Roman road cutting straight through the Yorkshire Dales.
For around four miles it runs in an almost dead-straight line across the landscape, and nearly 2,000 years later, parts of the route can still be walked today.
This is England. Every old path you walk, every field you cross, every ancient wall, lane and village has a story to tell. Generation after generation walked this land before us, leaving their mark upon it.
History isn’t confined to museums here. It’s under your feet. 🏴