Northumberland Yesterday And To Day - Jean F. Terry (i want to read a book TXT) 📗

Of The Wansbeck From

Here To Morpeth Is Not Easy To Surpass In All The County, Though Several

Parts Of The Coquet Valley May Justly Compete With It. William Howitt

Has Left On Record His Admiration For This Lovely Region, And Said

Morpeth Was "More Like A Town In A Dream" Than A Reality. Especially Is

This So When Looking At The Town From The Neighbourhood Of The River.

Before Actually Reaching Morpeth The Wansbeck Waters The Fair Fields

That Once Held Newminster Abbey In Its Pride; Now, Nothing Remains But

An Arch Or So And A Few Stones, To Remind Us Of The Noble Abbey Which

Ralph De Merley Built So Long Ago. When Only Half Built It Was

Demolished By The Scots Under King David; But Willing Hands Set To Work

Again, And The Abbey And Monastery Were Completed.

 

In The Town Of Morpeth, Though Newer Buildings Are Stretching Out

Towards The Outskirts, Many Of The Ancient Buildings And Streets Remain,

And The General Aspect Of This Part Of It Is Much The Same As When The

Jacobites Of Northumberland Gathered Together Here, And The Clergyman,

Mr. Buxton, Proclaimed James Iii. In Its Market Place. Of Morpeth

Castle, Built By A De Merley Soon After The Conquest, Only The Gateway

Tower Remains, But The Outlines Of The Original Boundary Walls Can Be

Clearly Traced. A Company Of Five Hundred Scots, Whom Leslie Had Left As

A Garrison In 1644, Held Out Here For Three Weeks Against Two Thousand

Royalists Under Montrose. After The Cannonading Received During That

Siege, The Walls Were Not Repaired Again, And The Castle Fell Into

Decay. The Inhabitants Of Morpeth Have A Daily Reminder Of Times Yet

More Remote, For The Curfew Bell Still Rings Out Over The Little Town

Every Evening At Eight O'clock.

 

Another Walk Of Three Miles Along The Still Beautiful Banks Of The

Wansbeck Brings Us To Bothal, Another Little Village Of Great Beauty,

Embowered And Almost Hidden Amongst Luxuriant Woods. Its Curious Name Is

Derived From The Anglo-Saxon _Bottell_, A Place Of Abode (As In

Walbottle). The Name Conjures Up Memories Of The Knights Of Old, Their

Loves And Their Fortunes, Fair Or Disastrous; For The Best-Known Version

Of "The Hermit Of Warkworth" Tells Us That It Was A Bertram Of Bothal

Who Was The Luckless Hero Of That Tale, Though Another Version Avers

That He Belonged To The House Of Percy.

 

Wansbeck's Fellow Stream, The Coquet, Has Its Birth Amongst Some Of The

Wildest Scenery Of The Cheviot Hills, Where The Heights Of Deel's Hill

And Woodbist Law Look Down On The Now Silent Watling Street And The

Deserted Ad Fines Camp. In Its Windings Along The Bases Of The Hills It

Is Joined By The Usway Burn, Said To Be Named After King Oswy, Between

Which And The Little River Alwine Lies The Famous Lordship Of Kidland,

Once Desolate On Account Of The Thieving And Raiding Of Its Neighbours

Of Bedesdale And Scotland.

 

Hodgson, In His "Northumberland," Says Of This Region, "All The Said

Kydlande Is Full Of Lytle Hilles Or Mountaynes, And Between The Saide

Hilles Be Dyvers Valyes In Which Discende Litle Ryvvelles Or Brokes Of

Water, Spryngynge Out Of The Said Hilles And All Fallynge Into A Lytle

Rever Or Broke Callede Kidlande Water, W'ch Fallethe Into The Rever Of

Cockette Nere To The Towne Of Alwynntonn, W'tin A Myll Of The Castell Of

Harbottell." The Reasons For The Desolation Of Kidland Are Graphically

Set Forth:--"In Somer Seasons When Good Peace Ys Betwene England And

Scotland, Th'inhabitantes Of Dyv'se Townes Thereaboutes Repayres Up With

Theyr Cattall In Som'ynge (Summering) As Ys Aforesaid, And So Have Used

To Do Of Longe Tyme. And For The Pasture Of Theyr Cattall, So Long As

They Would Tarye There They Payed For A Knoweledge Two Pens For A

Household, Or A Grote At The Most, Though They Had Nev' So Many

Cattalles. And Yet The Poore Men Thoughte Their Fermes Dere Enoughe.

There Was But Fewe Yeres That They Escaped W'thout A Greatter Losse Of

Their Goodes And Cattalles, By Spoyle Or Thefte Of The Scottes Or

Ryddesdale Men, Then Would Have Paide For The Pasture Of Theyr Cattail

In A Much Better Grounde. And Ov' (Over, Besides) That, The Saide Valyes

Or Hopes Of Kidlande Lyeth So Distant And Devyded By Mounteynes One From

An Other, That Such As Inhabyte In One Of These Hoopes, Valeys, Or

Graynes, Can Not Heare The Fraye Outcrye, Or Exclamac'on Of Such As

Dwell In An Other Hoope Or Valley Upon The Other Side Of The Said

Mountayne, Nor Come Or Assemble To Theyr Assystance In Tyme Of

Necessytie. Wherefore We Can Not Fynde Anye Of The Neyghbours

Thereabouts Wyllinge Cotynnally To Inhabyte Or Plenyshe W'thin The Saide

Grounde Of Kydland, And Especially In Wynter Tyme."

 

These Reasons Were Given By The People Of "Cockdale" In The Neighbouring

Valley, To Account For The Desolation Of Kidland, Which Lay Open On The

Northward To Attacks From The Scots, And Had No Defence On The South

From The Rievers Of Redesdale. The Inhabitants Of Coquetdale Seem To

Have Been A Right Valiant And Hardy Fraternity, Honest And Fearless,

Well Able To Give Good Blows In Defence Of Their Possessions, For It Is

Left On Record That "The People Of The Said Cock-Dayle Be Best P'pared

For Defence And Most Defensyble People Of Themselfes, And Of The Truest

And Best Sorte Of Anye That Do Inhabyte, Endlonge, The Frounter Or

Border Of The Said Mydle M'ches Of England." The Traces Of These Days Of

Raid And Foray Are To Be Found In Abundance All Over Coquetdale, As

Indeed All Over Northumberland, In Pele-Tower And Barmkyn, Fortified

Dwelling And Bastle House.

 

Harbottle Castle Would Have A Good Deal To Tell, Could It Only Speak, Of

Siege And Assault From The Day When, "With The Aid Of The Whole County

Of Northumberland And The Bishopric Of Durham," It Was Built By Henry

Ii., Until, After The Union Of The Crowns, It Shared The Fate Of Many Of

The Border Strongholds, And Fell Into Gradual Decay, Or Was Used As A

Quarry From Which To Draw Building Material For New And Modern

Mansions. At Rothbury, A Pele-Tower Has Formed The Dwelling Of The

Vicars Of That Town From The Time That Any Mention Of Whitton Tower Is

To Be Found, It Being First Noticed As "Turris De Whitton, Iuxta

Rothebery." Rothbury Itself Occupies Quite The Finest Situation Of Any

Of The Northumbrian Towns. Others, Besides It, Lie On The Banks Of A

Pretty River; Others, Too, Possess Fair Meadows And Rich Pastures; But

None Other Has The Combination Of These Attractive Features With The

Finer Surroundings Of Hill, Crag, And Moorland As Picturesquely

Beautiful As Those Of Rothbury. In The Old Church Here Bernard Gilpin,

"The Apostle Of The North," Often Preached; And Even The Fierce Rival

Factions Of The Borderland Were So Influenced By The Gentle, Yet

Fearless Preacher, That They Consented To Forego Their Usual Pleasure Of

"Drawing" Whenever They Met One Of A Rival Family, At Least So Long As

Gilpin Dwelt Among Them, And Especially To Refrain From Showing Their

Hostility In Church.

 

There Are In Coquetdale, As Elsewhere, Memorials Of The Ancient British

Days In The Many Camps To Be Found On The Summits Of The Hills Near The

Town, On Tosson Hill And The Simonside Hills; And Not Camps Only, But

Barrows, Cist-Vaens, And Flint Weapons In Considerable Numbers. The

Magnificent View To Be Obtained, On A Clear Day, From Tosson Hill Or The

Simonsides Is One To Be Remembered; To The West And North Stretch The

Vales Of Coquet And Alwin, With The Rolling Heights Of The Cheviots

Bounding Them; Northward Are The Woods Surrounding Biddlestone Hall, The

"Osbaldistone Hall" Of Scot's _Rob Roy_, Awakening Memories Of Di

Vernon; Far To The Eastward A Faint Blue Haze Denotes The Distant

Coastline; While Southward, Over The Dales Of Rede And Tyne, The Smoke

Of Industrial Tyneside Lies On The Horizon, With The Spires And Towers

Of Newcastle Showing Faintly Against The Heights Of The Durham Side Of

The Tyne.

 

One Of The Chief Sights Of Rothbury Is The Beautiful Mansion Of Cragside

And The Wonderful Valley Of Debdon And Crag Hill, As Transformed By The

First Lord Armstrong Into A Paradise Of Beauty, Where Art And Nature Are

So Blended As To Make A Romantically Artistic Whole. Another Lovely Spot

On The Banks Of Coquet Is At Brinkburn, Where The Famous Priory Stands

Almost Hidden At The Foot Of Thickly Wooded Slopes. A Very Much Larger

Portion Of This Fine Priory Is Still Standing Than Is The Case With Many

Other Religious Houses Of The Same Age, For It Dates From The Reign Of

Henry I. The Story Is Told Of Brinkburn As Well As Of Blanchland, That A

Party Of Marauding Scots On One Of Their Forays Passed By The Priory

Without Discovering It In Its Leafy Bower; And So Overjoyed Were The

Monks At Their Escape That They Incautiously Rang The Bells By Way Of

Showing Their Delight. The Scots, Who Had Passed Out Of Sight But Not

Out Of Hearing, Immediately Returned On Their Tracks, And, Guided By The

Joyful Peal, Reached The Priory, Sacked The Buildings, And Then Set Them

On Fire. It May Well Be That The Tragedy Occurred At Both Places, On

Different Occasions.

 

Farther Eastward Down The Coquet Are Two Places Pre-Eminently Noted As

Centres For The Sport For Which The River Is Famed Above All Other

Northumbrian Streams, Though Some Of Them Are Worthy Rivals. These Two

Places Are Weldon Bridge And Felton; The Old Angler's Inn At The

First-Named Is A Favourite Rendezvous Of The Fraternity Of Rod And

Creel. Fishermen Have Long Known The Fascination Of These Two Places,

And I Quote From The "Fisherman's Garland" Two Stanzas Written By Two

Enthusiastic Anglers In Praise Of Them. The Writers Are Robert Roxby

And Thomas Doubleday.

 

 

  "But We'll Awa' To Coquetside,

  For Coquet Bangs Them A';

  Whose Winding Streams Sae Sweetly Glide

  By Brinkburn's Bonny Ha'!"

 

  _Written In 1821_

 

  "The Coquet For Ever, The Coquet For Aye!

  The _Woodhall_ And _Weldon_ And _Felton_ So Gay,

  And _Brinkburn_ And _Linden_, Wi' A' Their Sweet Pride,

  For They Add To The Beauty Of Dear Coquetside."

 

  _Written In 1826_

 

Felton, A Charmingly Placed Little Village, On The Banks Of The River

Where They Are Overhung By Graceful Woods, And Diversified By Cliff And

Grassy Slope, Stands Just Where The Great North Road Crosses The Coquet.

By Reason Of This Position It Has Been The Scene Of One Or Two Events Of

Historical Interest, Notably Those Connected With The "Fifteen" And The

"Forty-Five." On The Former Occasion, The Gallant Young Earl Of

Derwentwater, With His Followers, Was Joined Here By A Band Of Seventy

Gentlemen From The Borders, And They Rode On To Morpeth To Proclaim

James Iii. And Thirty Years Later, The Soldiers Of George Ii. Passed

Over The Bridge From The Southward, Led By The Duke Of Cumberland, And

Pressed On Towards The Scottish Moor Where They Dealt The Final Blow To

The Stuart Cause At Culloden. The Interesting Old Church At Felton,

Dating From The Thirteenth Century, Is Well Worth A Visit. After Leaving

Felton Behind, The Coquet Enters On The Most Marked Windings Of All Its

Winding Course, Until, When It Enters The Sea At Warkworth Harbour, Just

Opposite Coquet Island, It Has Contrived To Lengthen Out Its Journey To

A Distance Of Forty Miles.

 

The Bright Clear Stream Of The Aln Also Begins Its Short Journey Across

Northumberland From The Heights Of Cheviot, But In The Narrower

Northern Portion Of The County. Alnham, With Its Pele-Tower Vicarage,

Ancient Church, And Memories Of A Castle, Stands Just At The Foot Of The

Hills, Near The Source Of The River. Some Three Or Four Miles Eastward

Along Its Banks, A Walk Through Leafy Woods Brings Us To

Whittingham--The Final Syllable Of Which, By The Way, One Pronounces As

"Jam," As One Does That Of Nearly All The Other Place-Names Ending In

"Ing-Ham" In Northumberland, Contrary Though It Be To Etymological

Considerations--Excepting, Curiously Enough, Chillingham, Situated In

The Very Midst Of All The Others. The "Ing" And "Ham" Are In Themselves

A Historical Guide To The Days In Which The Various Villages Received

Their Names, These Two Syllables Being A Certain Indication Of A Saxon

Settlement, The "Home Of The Sons, Or Descendants Of" Whatever Person

The First Syllable Indicates. Thus, Edlingham, Only A Few Miles Away, Is

The "Home Or Settlement Of The Sons Of Eadwulf"; Ellingham, The "Home Of

The Sons Of Ella," And So On. How The "Whitt" Syllable Was Spelled We Do

Not Know; Most Probably Hwitta Or Hwitha--For All Our _Wh's_ Were _Hw_

Originally--_Hwaet, Hwa, Hwaether_ And So Forth.

 

This Ancient Village Is In These Days A Charming And Peaceful Place,

Lying In The Midst Of Rich Meadow Lands, And Surrounded By Magnificent

Trees. It Had Its Romances, Too, In The Course Of Years; So Long Ago As

The Days Of