Northumberland Yesterday And To Day by Jean F. Terry (read aloud books .txt) 📖

Was In The Hands Of The Balliols, Of Scottish Fame, Who, Like The

Bruces, Were Norman Knights High In Favour With Their Kings, Norman And

Plantagenet, Though They Afterwards Became Their Most Determined Foes.

 

Long Before The Advent Of The Normans, A Church Was Built Here By St.

Wilfrid, And In It--St. Andrew's Or The "White" Church--Egbert, Twelfth

Bishop Of Lindisfarne, Was Consecrated By Archbishop Eanbald In The Year

803. More Than A Thousand Years Afterwards, In 1896, An Ordination

Service Was Again Held At Bywell, In St. Peter's Church, When Five

Deacons Were Ordained By Bishop Jacob. And In Times Yet More Remote

Than Wilfrid's Age, Roman Legionaries Crossed The Tyne At This Point

Over A Bridge Of Their Own Construction, Of Which The Piers Might Be

Seen Until Our Own Day. Bywell, Too, Had Its "Find" Of Roman Silver; In

1760 A Silver Cup Was Found In The Tyne, Bearing The Inscription

"Desidere Vivas" Around The Neck Of The Vessel.

 

When The Nevilles Were Lords Of The Manor Of Bywell, They Began To Build

A Castle Here, Which, However, Was Left Unfinished; The Ancient Tower

Still Standing, With Its Picturesque Draping Of Ivy, Was The Gate-House

Of The Intended Fortress. On The Rebellion Of The Northern Earls In

1569, Westmoreland's Forfeited Lands Passed To The Crown, So That Bywell

Was Held By Queen Elizabeth For A Year Or Two, Until She Sold The Estate

To A Branch Of The Fenwick Family.

 

Bywell Is Unique In Northumberland In Possessing Two Churches Side By

Side Yet In Different Parishes. The Town Of Bywell, We Are Told By The

Same Authority Before Quoted, Lay In A Long Line By The North Bank Of

The Tyne, And Was "Divided Into Two Separate Parishes" Even Then, So

That There Ought To Be Traces Of Former Buildings Westward From The

Present Village. In Connection With The Two Churches Which Adjoin Each

Other So Closely, Tradition Tells The Well-Known Story Of The Two

Quarrelsome Sisters Who Could Not Agree On The Building Of A Church And

Therefore Each Built One. One Might Have Imagined, With Some Show Of

Reason, That There Being Two Parishes, The Two Churches Were Placed

There In Sheltering Proximity To The Castle, Were It Not For The Fact

That The Churches Were In Existence Long Before The Stronghold Of The

Nevilles Was Contemplated.

 

St. Andrew's, Called The "White" Church From The Fact Of Its Being

Served In Later Days By The White Friars, Is The More Ancient Of The

Two. As We Have Seen, A Church Erected By St. Wilfrid Stood On This

Site, And A Goodly Portion Of The Saxon Work Remains In The Tower. The

Hagioscope, Or "Squint" In This Church, And The "Leper" Window In St.

Peter's Are Interesting Relics Of The Middle Ages.

 

St. Peter's, Or The "Black" Church Which Once Belonged To The

Benedictines Or Black Friars, Is Of Much Later Date Than Its Neighbour,

Though Still An Ancient Building, Being Supposed To Date From The

Eleventh Century. Its Most Interesting Possessions Are Two Very Old

Bells, Bearing Latin Inscriptions, One Announcing "I Proclaim The Hour

For People Rising, And Call To Those Still Lying Down," And The Other

Reading "Thou Art Peter."

 

Bywell Suffered Greatly In The Flood Of 1771, When The Bridge Was Swept

Away, Many Houses Destroyed, Several People Drowned, And Both Churches

Greatly Damaged.

 

It Is Not Surprising That This Tranquil Little Village--"The Retreat Of

The Old Doomed Divinities Of Wood And Fountain, Banished From Their

Native Haunts," To Quote Mr. Tomlinson's Happy Phrase--Has Always Been

Beloved Of Artists, Many Of Whom Have Transferred To Their Canvasses The

Beauties Of Its Mingled Scenery Of Graceful Woods And Sparkling Waters,

Ancient Fortress, Peaceful Meadows, And Gray Old Towers. Many Noteworthy

And Fine Old Trees Are To Be Found In And Around This Artists' Haunt.

 

On The Opposite Side Of The River, Bywell's Younger Sister, Stocksfield,

Grows Apace, Reaching Out Towards The Lulls And Along The Eastward

Lanes, Though Not As Yet In Such Measure As To Cover The Hillsides With

Any Semblance Of A Town, Being Still Almost Hidden Amongst The Profusion

Of Trees That Clothe Most Of The District In Their Leafy Greenery. On

The North Bank Of The Stream The Village Of Ovingham Now Rises Into

View, Its Name Telling Us Plainly That There Was A Settlement Here In

Saxon Times "The Home Of The Sons Of Offa"; And The Slope Above The

River Is Fittingly Crowned By The Ancient Church Of St. Mary, Whose

Tower, With Its Curiously Irregular Windows, Is The Work Of The Saxon

Builders Of The Original Church. The Rest Of The Building, Except Some

Saxon Work At The West End Of The Nave, Dates From Early Norman Days.

Here Is The Burial Place Of The Famous Brothers John And Thomas Bewick,

Who Were Born At Cherryburn House, Just Across The River. In This

Delightful Spot The Boy Thomas Bewick Grew Up, Absorbing Unconsciously

The Natural Beauties That Are To Be Found Here By The Tyne And In The

Little Ravine Through Which The Cherry Burn Flows, Which Beauties He So

Lovingly Reproduced On His Engraving Blocks Later In Life.

 

At The Fords Of Ovingham, Eltringham, And Bywell, The Scots Under

General Leslie Crossed The Tyne In 1644, And Made Their Way Into Durham,

Leaving Six Regiments To Watch Newcastle.

 

The Picturesque Ruins Of Prudhoe Castle, Whose Lofty Towers Dominate The

Valley For Some Distance Up And Down The Stream, Stand On A Commanding

Rocky Ridge Above The Tyne. The Lands Of Prudhoe Were Given, Soon After

The Norman Conquest, To One Of Duke William's Immediate Followers,

Robert De Umfraville; And It Was Odinel De Umfraville Who Built The

Present Castle In The Twelfth Century. Its Strength Was Soon Put To The

Test, For A Few Years After It Was Built William The Lion Of Scotland

Found That The Place Baffled All His Attempts To Capture It. In His

Anger He Determined To Reduce The Fortress Of Odinel, Who Had Spent Much

Time At The Scottish Court In His Youth, The Kings Of Scotland Being At

That Time Lords Of Tynedale. The Attempt Ended In Total Failure, The

Greatest Harm The Scots Did On That Occasion Being To Destroy The

Cornfields And Strip The Bark From The Apple Trees Near The Castle;

While, A Day Or Two Afterwards, Odinel De Umfraville, With Glanvile And

Balliol, Captured The Scottish Monarch Himself At Alnwick.

 

Another Umfraville, Richard, Quarrelled With His Neighbour Of Nafferton,

On The Opposite Side Of The River, For Having Begun To Erect A Fortress

Much Too Near Umfraville's Own. He Sent A Petition To The King On The

Subject And King John Commanded Philip De Ulecote's Building Operations

To Cease. The Unfinished Castle, Known As Nafferton Tower, Remains To

This Day As Philip's Masons Left It So Many Centuries Ago.

 

Sir Ingram De Umfraville Was By The Side Of Edward Ii. At Bannockburn,

When, Before The Battle, Bruce Ordered His Men To Kneel In Prayer.

Edward Looked On The Kneeling Host, And Turning To Umfraville, Exclaimed

"See! Yon Men Kneel To Ask Mercy." "You Say Truth, Sire," Answered The

Knight Of Prudhoe; "They Ask Mercy--But Not Of You."

 

The Last Umfraville, Who Died In 1381, Left A Widow, The Countess Maud,

Who Married A Percy Of Alnwick, And So The Castle Passed Into The Hands

Of That Family, In Whose Possession It Still Remains.

 

When Odinel De Umfraville Was Building The Keep Of His Castle, Every One

In The Neighbourhood Was Pressed Into The Service, And All Lent Their

Aid Except The Men Of Wylam. Wylam Had Been Given To The Church Of St.

Oswyn At Tynemouth, And, As Was Customary, Was Freed By Charter From The

Duty Of Castle Building, Or Any Other Feudal Service Excepting Such As

Were Rendered To The Prior Of Tynemouth As Occasion Arose. So, In Spite

Of The Angry Surprise Of The Lord Of Prudhoe, The Wylam Men Quietly Held

To Their Charter, And Not All Odinel's Threats Or Persuasions Moved Them

One Whit.

 

The Stanley Burn, Which Enters The Tyne Close To Wylam Railway Station,

Divides This Part Of The County Of Durham From Northumberland, So That

From Wylam To The Sea The South Side Of The Tyne Is In The County Of

Durham. The Most Noteworthy Object At Wylam, Or, To Be Precise, A Little

Way Along The Old Post-Road, Leading To Newcastle From Hexham, Is The

Red-Tiled Cottage In Which George Stephenson Was Born In 1781. It Stands

On The North Bank Of The Tyne, Where It Can Be Distinctly Seen From

Passing Trains. Its Neighbour Cottage Has Been Repaired And Re-Roofed,

But Stephenson's Cottage Remains Unaltered.

 

Mr. Blackett, Who Owned Wylam Colliery At The Beginning Of The

Nineteenth Century, Took The Keenest Interest In The Question Of

Locomotives, And Had Tried More Than One On His Estate Before George

Stephenson Brought Them To The Point Of Practical Use. At Newburn, Just

Four Miles Down The Tyne, George Stephenson Passed Many Years Of His

Youth; Here He Learned To Read And Write, When He Was Old Enough To Earn

A Man's Wage And Could Afford The Few Pence Necessary; And Here, In The

Parish Church, May Be Seen, With An Interval Of Twenty Years Between

Them, The Entries Of His Two Marriages.

 

Newburn Is Important Nowadays For Its Steel Works, Within Whose

Workshops Is Incorporated An Old Building Formerly Known As Newburn

Hall; But In Days Long Past Its Importance Arose From Its Being On The

Ford Of The Tyne Nearest To Newcastle. This Ford Was Frequently Made Use

Of, Notably By The Scots In The Reign Of Charles I. Their Chief Camping

Ground Is Pointed Out To Us By The Name Of Scotswood, Which Also

Describes What Scotswood Was Like In Those Days--A Great Contrast To Its

Present Appearance, When The Lines Of Brick And Mortar Stretching Out

Uninterruptedly From Newcastle Make It Practically One With That Town.

In 1640, The Scottish Army, Under General Leslie, Faced The Royalist

Troops, Under Lord Conway, On The South Side Of The River. The Scots

Mounted Their Rude Cannon On Newburn Church Tower, And The English

Raised Earthworks Along The Bank Of The River, Which Was Here Fordable

In Two Places. The Two Armies Calmly Watered Their Horses On Opposite

Banks Of The Stream All The Next Morning, But A Shot At A Scottish

Officer From The English Ranks Precipitated The Battle; And The Scottish

Army, Having Made A Breach In Both Earthworks With Their Artillery,

Waded Across The Fords And Drove The Royalist Troops Up The Bank, After

One Spasmodic Rally, Which, However, Failed To Check The Scottish

Advance. The Way Was Now Open For The Scottish Army To Continue Down The

South Bank Of The Tyne And Attack Newcastle From Gateshead. It Had Been

Lord Conway's Task To Prevent This, But Owing To His Incapacity Or Want

Of Whole-Hearted Enthusiasm For His Cause, He Failed Entirely.

 

Not Until 1644, However, Was A Scottish Attack On Newcastle Actually

Made, For On This Occasion Leslie, As We Have Already Seen, Led His Men

Across The Fords Higher Up The River And Marched Southwards. The

Earthworks Thrown Up By Conway's Troops May Still Be Seen On Stella

Haughs.

 

It Is Supposed That The Romans Had A Fort Here, Commanding The Passage

Of The River; Indeed It Would Have Been Strange Had This Not Been The

Case, For The Romans Were Not The People To Disregard Any Point Of

Strategical Importance, Especially One So Near Their Stations Of Pons

Aelii And Condercum. Many Stones Of Roman Workmanship Have Been Used In

The Building Of The Newburn Church.

 

From This Point To Its Mouth, Nearly Fifteen Miles Away, Both Banks Of

The Tyne Present An Unbroken Scene Of Industry. Between The Steel Works

Of Newburn And The Iron And Chemical Works, The Brick And Tile Works Of

Blaydon And Past The Famous Yards Of Elswick, Down To The Wharves And

Shipyards Of North And South Shields, The Tyne Rolls Its Swift Dark

Waters Through A Scene Of Stirring Activity; The Air Is Dusky With Soot

And Smoke, And Reverberant With The Clang Of Hammers And The Pulsing

Beat Of Machinery. Some Old And World-Famed Works Have Been Closed Or

Removed, Like Hawks' And Stephenson's, But Others, Many Others, Have

Opened; And The Map Of The Positions Of Tyne Industries, Published Under

The Auspices Of The Newcastle And Gateshead Chamber Of Commerce, Is A

Record Of Resolute Toil And Brilliant Achievement In The Many Aspects Of

Industrial Life Represented On The River.

 

And, Apart From The Mere Prosperity And Commercial Supremacy Of The

District, There Is Another Cause For Pride In The Many Notable

Inventions Which Hail From Tyneside; From The Locomotive And The

"Geordie" Lamp Of Stephenson, The Hydraulic Machinery And The Big Guns

Of Armstrong, To The Wonderful Turbine Engines Of Parsons; The Invention

Of Water-Ballast, Too, Belongs To The Tyne, For It Was The Idea Of A

Gateshead Man, And First Used At Jarrow.

 

And, In Connection With Ships And Seafarers, Though Not In Any

Commercial Sense, We May