History
Hadrian's Wall runs through the village, and the site once was that of a Roman fort, Aballava. It has also been mooted as a possible site for the semi-mythical Avalon where King Arthur died and the legendary Excalibur was forged.
In the 12th century, the castle and lands of Burgh upon Sands belonged to a female-dominated line of feudal lords, among them Ada de Engaine. Her granddaughter's second marriage founded a younger branch of the de Multon family, a branch which held this castle in the 13th century. The Dacre lords inherited it in the 14th century via an heiress, their foremother.
The Church of St Michael is built with stone from the Roman wall on the site of a Norman church. It has a broad tower with a base dating from the mid 14th Century, and apart from the 18th century east windows, the rest is Early English. The tower, which can only be reached from within the church, is designed for defence and the ground floor is tunnel-vaulted. The top of the tower is probably 18th century.
Read more about this topic: Burgh By Sands
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“When the coherence of the parts of a stone, or even that composition of parts which renders it extended; when these familiar objects, I say, are so inexplicable, and contain circumstances so repugnant and contradictory; with what assurance can we decide concerning the origin of worlds, or trace their history from eternity to eternity?”
—David Hume (1711–1776)
“The one duty we owe to history is to rewrite it.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)