Beltingham
Encyclopedia
Beltingham is a small village on the River South Tyne
in Northumberland
, in England
. It is situated 1 miles (2 km) southeast of Bardon Mill
and 10 miles (16 km) to the west of Hexham
. Beltingham is a most attractive village with stone houses about a little green with pretty flowering gardens. There is a fine Georgian house near the church, and another nearby looks as if it had been a bastle.
.
and stands in a churchyard containing three massive yew trees, which are more than 700 years old,(see below) and may well have been used for the making of longbows before guns came. Bishop Nicholas Ridley
was keen on archery, which was compulsory school sport in the days of Henry VIII
. The yew tree indicates an old church, but the present church was built about 1500 in Perpendicular style. There is no division between nave and chancel, and the roof carries a little bell tower. There is an old cross shaft at the west end. In 1883-4 the church was very much restored, and some of the old memorials were destroyed. One, recorded by Hodgson
, requested prayers for the soul of Nicholas Ridley, who died in the fifteenth century (1490). There is a memorial now in the church to the Revd. Anthony Hedley of Chesterholm, friend of John Hodgson, who died 17 January 1835, having caught a fatal chill in going out to supervise an excavation at Vindolanda
fort. He was born near Otterburn
and related to Capability Brown. Both had served the Marquis of Bath
at Longleat
. Hedley was inspired to improve vicarage gardens as well as to search for antiquities.
Standing halfway between Ridley bridge and Willimoteswick, the little church stands above a burn, making it look like an island, and clustered round the green and the lych-gate are the few houses and the village school. This church, another dedicated to St. Cuthbert, was founded in Saxon days but little of the Saxon building remains. The church we know today was restored at the end of Queen Victoria's reign by the Honourable Francis Bowes-Lyon, who was an uncle of H.M. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
. The yew tree in the churchyard would be young when Nicholas Ridley
died and the forefathers of men who sleep beneath its shade may well have cut their bows from it to draw at Flodden. The almost perfect leper's squint is still there, to remind us that in the Dark Ages the outcasts were banned from the house of God.
"Churchyards can be little havens for wildlife, as they are often quiet and undisturbed." Ancient yews offered a sanctuary for the region's wildlife, one of which [in St Cuthbert's churchyard] is believed to be up to 2,000 years old.
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
in Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is situated 1 miles (2 km) southeast of Bardon Mill
Bardon Mill
Bardon Mill is a village in Northumberland, England. It is situated to the west of Haydon Bridge and Hexham, on the River South Tyne.-Governance:Bardon Mill is in the parliamentary constituency of Hexham.-Transport:Rail...
and 10 miles (16 km) to the west of Hexham
Hexham
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...
. Beltingham is a most attractive village with stone houses about a little green with pretty flowering gardens. There is a fine Georgian house near the church, and another nearby looks as if it had been a bastle.
Governance
Beltingham is in the parliamentary constituency of HexhamHexham (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 2000s :- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :- Elections in the 1970s :-Notes and references:...
.
Religious sites
The church is dedicated to St. CuthbertCuthbert of Lindisfarne
Saint Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop and hermit associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Northumbria, at that time including, in modern terms, northern England as well as south-eastern Scotland as far as the Firth of Forth...
and stands in a churchyard containing three massive yew trees, which are more than 700 years old,(see below) and may well have been used for the making of longbows before guns came. Bishop Nicholas Ridley
Nicholas Ridley (martyr)
Nicholas Ridley was an English Bishop of London. Ridley was burned at the stake, as one of the Oxford Martyrs, during the Marian Persecutions, for his teachings and his support of Lady Jane Grey...
was keen on archery, which was compulsory school sport in the days of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. The yew tree indicates an old church, but the present church was built about 1500 in Perpendicular style. There is no division between nave and chancel, and the roof carries a little bell tower. There is an old cross shaft at the west end. In 1883-4 the church was very much restored, and some of the old memorials were destroyed. One, recorded by Hodgson
John Hodgson
John Hodgson was an Australian politician and Mayor of Melbourne 1853–54. He died at his house in Kew of bronchitis.-Arrival in Melbourne:...
, requested prayers for the soul of Nicholas Ridley, who died in the fifteenth century (1490). There is a memorial now in the church to the Revd. Anthony Hedley of Chesterholm, friend of John Hodgson, who died 17 January 1835, having caught a fatal chill in going out to supervise an excavation at Vindolanda
Vindolanda
Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England. Located near the modern village of Bardon Mill, it guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth...
fort. He was born near Otterburn
Otterburn, Northumberland
Otterburn is a small village in Northumberland, England, northwest of Newcastle Upon Tyne on the banks of the River Rede, near the confluence of the Otter Burn, from which the village derives its name. It lies within the Cheviot Hills about from the Scottish border...
and related to Capability Brown. Both had served the Marquis of Bath
Marquess of Bath
Marquess of Bath is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth. The Thynne family descends from the soldier and courtier Sir John Thynne , who constructed Longleat House between 1567 and 1579...
at Longleat
Longleat
Longleat is an English stately home, currently the seat of the Marquesses of Bath, adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster in Wiltshire and Frome in Somerset. It is noted for its Elizabethan country house, maze, landscaped parkland and safari park. The house is set...
. Hedley was inspired to improve vicarage gardens as well as to search for antiquities.
Standing halfway between Ridley bridge and Willimoteswick, the little church stands above a burn, making it look like an island, and clustered round the green and the lych-gate are the few houses and the village school. This church, another dedicated to St. Cuthbert, was founded in Saxon days but little of the Saxon building remains. The church we know today was restored at the end of Queen Victoria's reign by the Honourable Francis Bowes-Lyon, who was an uncle of H.M. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
. The yew tree in the churchyard would be young when Nicholas Ridley
Nicholas Ridley (martyr)
Nicholas Ridley was an English Bishop of London. Ridley was burned at the stake, as one of the Oxford Martyrs, during the Marian Persecutions, for his teachings and his support of Lady Jane Grey...
died and the forefathers of men who sleep beneath its shade may well have cut their bows from it to draw at Flodden. The almost perfect leper's squint is still there, to remind us that in the Dark Ages the outcasts were banned from the house of God.
"Churchyards can be little havens for wildlife, as they are often quiet and undisturbed." Ancient yews offered a sanctuary for the region's wildlife, one of which [in St Cuthbert's churchyard] is believed to be up to 2,000 years old.