DILSTON HALL & THE EARLS BRIDGE - JACOBITE RISING
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Size: 
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Short walk with view of Dilston Hall - parking along Ladycutter Lane at 54.57.699 - W002.01.674 .
When in 1709, James Radcliffe, the young 3rd Earl of Derwentwater returned from France to take up his family seat, he set about building a grand and stately mansion at Dilston that would rival the other early-eighteenth-century houses in the county. Contemporary engravings show the imposing mansion set high above the Devil's Water, with its formal flower gardens and orchards stretching down to the river.
Dilston Hall, with its extensive grounds that included two deer parks and beautiful riverside gardens, was designed to be the finest mansion in Northumberland. The ruin that stands today serves as a poignant reminder of the tragic Earl of Derwentwater and the lost Stuart cause.
There had been fountains and a forecourt paved in black-veined limestone, with steps leading up into a marble hall. Dilston Hall never reached completion, for, at the outbreak of rebellion, work was suspended, never to be resumed. The impeachment of the Earl in 1716 resulted in the sequestration of the Derwentwater Estates and the demolition of Dilston Hall in 1768.
The recorded history of Dilston goes back to medieval times when the manor belonged to the lords of Divelston and a thriving township was established there. Earthworks of the lost township of Divelston can be traced in the field to the east of the castle, as can the foundations of the Earl of Derwentwater’s grand mansion, Dilston Hall – demolished in 1768.
Today, Dilston Castle, a picturesque ruin, is all that remains of the grand family seat of the Radcliffes, Earls of Derwentwater. This ruined, early-fifteenth--century tower house was once incorporated in the western wing of Dilston Hall. Dilston Chapel, which stands nearby, was built c.1616 and is a rare example of a post-Reformation recusant chapel.
The ancient site of Dilston, situated between Hexham and Corbridge, is renowned for its associations with James Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater, who played a leading part in the Jacobite Rising of 1715 and was executed the following year. The distraught Countess of Derwentwater, who had pleaded in vain with King George to spare her husband’s life, never returned to live at Dilston Hall. She died of smallpox in 1723, only seven years after her husband’s execution. Tradition claims that her unhappy spirit haunts the ruins of Dilston Castle and wooded glades beside the Devil’s Water.
At the foot of a wooded escarpment beyond the Castle, the Devil's Water (name probably originated in Norman times when local lands were held by a baron with the surname D’Eivill) a lively tributary of the River Tyne, flows beneath an elegant, single-span bridge, The Lord's Bridge or The Earl’s Bridge, built at the same time as the chapel. The chapel is an example of a post-Reformation recusant chapel and along with the bridge is said to have been built with money originally raised for financing the Gunpowder Plot. In days gone by, an ancient deer park was sited on the land beyond the bridge, and the wooded bankside leading up to the castle was landscaped to create the picturesque riverside gardens of Dilston Hall. The site has a history that can be traced back to the twelfth century, when the ancient settlement of Dyvelston (Dilston) was established on the banks of the Devil's Water, and an earlier mediaeval castle stood on the steep escarpment overlooking the river. Local folklore dictates that it is unlucky to cross the water carrying a pack of cards but if the water is crossed without the feet touching the ground, any wish will come true!
MEMORIAL CROSS – LANGLEY – JACOBITE RISING
DILSTON CASTLE AND THE EARL’S BRIDGE - JACOBITE RISING
WATERFALLS HILL - JACOBITE RISING
THE THREE HALF MOONS - JACOBITE RISING
THE MASONS ARMS - JACOBITE RISING
FAIRY STONE - JACOBITE RISING
THE HOLLY BUSH - JACOBITE RISING
MIDDLETON HALL – JACOBITE RISING
LORD'S ISLAND - JACOBITE RISING (CUMBRIA)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Cyrnfr pybfr gur tngr.