|
Edlingham |
|
Tucked away in a narrow green valley about 10 miles from Rothbury heading towards Alnwick lies the small village of Edlingham. And a pleasant little place it is today. A few houses, castle, church, and viaduct all conspire to make it a most agreeable place to spend a little time. In 1682 the village was known far and wide as the home of Margaret Stothard known as the Witch of Edlingham" who although accused , famously by John Mills of Edlingham Castle, escaped the usual fate of witches. John Mills' testimony seemed slightly unreliable as he ".... did heare a great blast of wind goe by his window and ....... something fell with a great weight upon his heart and gave a great crye like a cat ........ there appeared a light at his bedd foot ..... and did see Margaret Stothard or her vission........" The author George Mark was not too impressed with the village when he wrote in 1730 that it was "most unagreeable to the traveller, having nothing to recommend it, if we exclude the church, which is in tolerable order as to appearance". Unable to contain himself he continued to complain about "the intolerable roads", "the frightful moors" and "the lack of good spring water. Maybe he just had a bad day! Because today the village is considered "a jewel in our heritage crown, encapsulating medieval power, social history and architecture in its church and castle". The name Edlingham comes from the Anglo-Saxon and means the home of Eadwulf. It was one of four royal Northumbrian villages given to Cuthbert in AD 737 by King Coelwulf and some 600 people lived nearby. Quite a few more than today. In the
middle of the 12th century, John de Edlingham built a two storey house
near the burn and the defences at that time included a moat
Over the years the building was improved and the defences further strengthened by a gate tower. From about 1400 the house was referred to as a castle. It passed to the Hastings about 1420 and thence to the Swinburnes in 1519 who were accused of hiding priests although none were ever found. Over the intervening years up to the present time the need for defences steadily abated and faming became of greater importance, with the ground floor rooms converted into barns and housing for animals. Decay set in and the castle was abandoned in 1650. More decay and the theft of the stonework over the next three hundred years till there was a covering of almost six feet of wind blown soil. In 1978 English Heritage stepped in to start excavations and make the remaining masonry safe for visitors.
Close to the castle stands
the simple rugged church of St John
the Baptist.
Built not only for worship, in common with many other churches in the area, it was often used as a refuge in times of need. Scottish raiders were a constant threat and the narrow slit windows were ideal as a measure of defence. Tomlinson suggests that the church was also used for the detention of captured moss-troopers as the door could be fastened from the outside. In the southern recess may be seen the arms of the De Felton family. Also close by stands an imposing viaduct.. No longer in use following the demise of the Cornhill branch line it formed part of the 36 mile route from Alnwick to Cornhill. Originally the plan was to build a line from Rothbury to Wooler but Alnwick merchants did not want to see trade from Wooler diverted to Rothbury, and the North Eastern Railway proposed the Cornhill Branch, which was to run from Alnwick through Wooler and meet the Tweedmouth to Kelso line before proceeding to Cornhill. Initially the single track with passing loops was open to all traffic in 1887 but although it was well used it was unable to compete with the new bus services and fell into decline. Although staff was reduced and costs were cut, the line continued to lose money and passenger services were discontinued in 1930. In 1948 the line suffered serious storm damage and a bridge near Ilderton was washed away. The bridge was not replaced and British Railways ran two lines: one from Alnwick to Ilderton and the other from Coldstream to Wooler but trains were infrequent, sometimes only one a week. The Alnwick to Ilderton line closed in 1953 and the Coldstream to Wooler line was closed by Dr Beeching in 1965. And finally there is the story of the nearby Senna Wells. The rite of "going through the well" was once part of the ceremony of riding the boundaries in Alnwick every fourteen years. It seems that on St Mark's day (26th April) the candidates for the Freeledge had to cross the Freeman's Well, a sheet of water 100 feet long, 15 feet wide and up to 5 feet deep. To the great amusement of spectators they plunged, and swam and generally floundered across. Ropes strung across and peat dykes did not help. But why? Well it seems that the noble King John was hunting near Alnwick when he was caught in a bog. (Possibly a rehearsal for his next foray into marshes when he lost his jewels) He was so enraged that as a punishment to the town he revoked their charter. However he did relent and granted a new charter with the condition that every burgess, on admission to the freedom should plunge through the same bog on the anniversary of the day His Kingship was dropped in the mire, so to speak. The custom
ended in 1853 and tradition states that King John was indeed in Alnwick on the
24th April 1209. |
fed
from local springs. In 1296 Sir William de Felton fortified the house by means
of a strong palisade inside the moat with a gatehouse on the north
side. 