parliamentary division of
Northumberland, England; 3-1/2 m. E. of Hexham, on the north bank of the
river Tyne, which is here crossed by a fine seven-arched bridge dating
from 1674. Pop. (1901) 1647. Corbridge was formerly of greater
importance than at present. Its name, derived from the small river Cor,
a tributary of the Tyne, is said to be associated with the Brigantian
tribe of Corionototai. About 760 it became the capital of Northumbria;
later it was a borough and was long represented in parliament. In 1138
David of Scotland made it a centre of military operations, and it was
ravaged by Wallace in 1296, by Bruce in 1312, and by David II. in 1346.
Its chief remains of antiquity are a square peel-tower and the cruciform
church of St Andrew, of which part of the fabric is of pre-Conquest
date, though the building is mainly Early English. Extensive use is made
of building materials from the Roman station of _Corstopitum_ (also
called Corchester), which lay half a mile west of Corbridge at the
junction of the Cor with the Tyne. This site has from time to time
yielded many valuable relics, notably a silver dish, discovered in 1734,
148 oz. in weight and ornamented with figures of deities; but the
first-rate importance of the station was only revealed by careful
excavations undertaken in 1907 seq. There were then unearthed remains of
several buildings fronting a broad thoroughfare, one of which is the
largest Roman building, except the baths at Bath, yet discovered in
England. Two of these buildings were granaries, and indicate the
importance of Corstopitum as a base of the northward operations of
Antoninus Pius. After his conquests had been lost, and Corstopitum
ceased to be a military centre, its military buildings passed into
civilian occupation, of which many evidences have been found. A fine
hoard of gold coins, wrapped in lead-foil and hidden in a wall, was
discovered in 1908. Corstopitum ceased to exist early in the 5th
century, and the site was never again occupied.

CORBULO, GNAEUS DOMITIUS (1st century A.D.), Roman general, was the
half-brother of Caesonia, one of the wives of the emperor Caligula. In
the reign of Tiberius he held the office of praetor, and was appointed
to the superintendence of the roads and bridges. Under Claudius he was
governor of lower Germany (A.D. 47). He punished the Frisii who refused
to pay the tribute, and was on the point of advancing against the
Chauci, but was recalled by th