Bowness on the Solway Firth
Preserved but no longer current.
It was erected about A.D. 122 by the Emperor Hadrian to keep back the Pictish tribes of North Britain, ana was repaired by Severus in 208. The wall was 20 ft. high and 8 ft. thick, with strong points every mile or so, and towers between. To the south of the wall is a parallel vallum or ditch with three ramparts, all of earthworks.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Bowness on the Solway Firth” mean?
It was erected about A.D. 122 by the Emperor Hadrian to keep back the Pictish tribes of North Britain, ana was repaired by Severus in 208. The wall was 20 ft. high and 8 ft. thick, with strong points every mile or so, and towers between. To the south of the wall is a parallel vallum or ditch with three ramparts, all of earthworks.
Is “Bowness on the Solway Firth” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.