Anton's Letch

To the west of Rothbury lies Anton's Letch; a small stream trickling down from the moors, across West Hillside Road and down to the Coquet.   Close to the stream, along a pleasant wooded lane, can be found a number of modern houses which include  'Anton' in their name; Anton's Leap, Anton's  Dell etc.

So who was Anton?

The story is that Anton was an itinerant priest and tax collector, around 1600, who had been trying to extract what he considered his due from local farmers: in particular a Farmer Green, but with little success.

Now Farmer Green was a canny man who always kept an eye out for undesirables, and to his mind a tax collector was the most undesirable of all. On this fateful day he spied Anton from afar and promptly did a runner (so to speak). Anton was not best pleased and decided to extort his due in kind. He rode around the farm, trampling down the cabbage patch, pulling down fences and finally riding through the midden and away.

After suffering these acts of vandalism Farmer Green took umbrage and gave chase. Over the hill he rode from Thropton along the old road, following in the tracks of Anton. As they approached the burn Anton who was by now in some, justified, fear of his life leapt over, was thrown from his horse and was clubbed to death. Hence the name: Anton's Leap!

Farmer Green was promptly excommunicated by the church but never brought to trial. On his death he was buried in unhallowed ground on his farm at Thropton.

In 1943 when houses were being built an old headstone tucked away under an apple tree was incorporated into the wall of  No. 1 The Meadows where it remains to this day, hidden behind a few bushes at the front of the house..

The inscription is rather worn by time but reads;

"John Green of Thropton died April 11 1731 aged 92 years.
Roger son of John Green of Thropton died Nov. 30 1765."
 

The story appears to be true although the dates are anomalous. John Green would have been born in 1639, some 39 years after Anton was supposed to have lived and if we assume he was about 20 when the deed was done the discrepancy grows to about 59. So maybe the miscreant was was his father, but if so, why was John Green buried in unhallowed ground and where was his father buried? Will we ever know the full story?

A footnote:  On numerous occasions many claim to have seen the ghost of John Green walking along the main street of Thropton and always on nights of special joy and celebration.  Sceptics may comment on this but perhaps he continues to celebrate the demise of a tax collector?
 

Just a few yards down the lane towards Rothbury lies the disused Cove Quarry. For many years the blacksmiths shop at the entrance to the quarry was the abode of a drover named Kayfer. A friendly and popular chap he died in 1950 and the whole village turned out for his funeral. It is said that the procession of mourners was still crossing Rothbury Bridge when the coffin reached the cemetery.

His real name was Bill Wilson but once when he was asked by a local school teacher what "K" stood for, he replied "K for sugar" and was known by that name for the rest of his life.

The house next door is called "Kayfer": a nice touch!

The stone hut had an interesting life: from dynamite storage to blacksmiths to Kayfer's abode and finally in the late 1950s it was used as a refuge for itinerant climbers.

There is a nebulous link here to Wholehope and Old Rookland once the chosen venues of Youth Hostellers, walkers and skiers in the 50's.

Look at the signs on the door. Difficult to see in this picture the top sign reads "Rookland Private" and it is known that Old Rookland was once used by a breakaway group of hostellers from Wholehope.

Is there a link?

I am indebted to Trevor Hipkin whose excellent site www.hipkin.net has provided a great deal of information on Youth Hostelling in this area.

If anyone can provide additional information or can add to this or the story of Wholehope it would be greatly appreciated.

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