Knarsdale, historically Knaresdale, is a village 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...

, 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...

 about 5 miles (8 km) north of Alston

Alston, Cumbria

Alston is a small town in Cumbria, England on the River South Tyne. It is one of the highest elevation towns in the country, at about 1,000 feet above sea level.-Geography:...

. The village takes its name from the Knarr Burn: Knarr means 'rugged rock'.

History

The manor of Knarsdale was held in medieval times by the Swinburn family, and in 1313 Hugh de Swinburn was rector of Knarsdale. It was later held by the Wallis family, who sold it in 1730 to John Stephenson, a Newcastle merchant. One of the Stephenson family built Alston

Alston, Cumbria

Alston is a small town in Cumbria, England on the River South Tyne. It is one of the highest elevation towns in the country, at about 1,000 feet above sea level.-Geography:...

 market cross. But in 1769 Knarsdale was sold to James Wallace, a distinguished lawyer. His son Thomas, for services to his country, was created Baron Wallace of Knarsdale. The family also owned Featherstone Castle

Featherstone Castle

Featherstone Castle, a Grade I listed building, is a large Gothic style country mansion situated on the bank of the River South Tyne about southwest of the town of Haltwhistle in Northumberland, England....

, and 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:...

 described Knarsdale Hall as having declined in importance — a gentleman's place of the 17th century now and for a long time since occupied by the farmer of the adjoining grounds... The garden walls have lost their trimness, the malt kilns and the brewhouse are gone. Today, however, the stone buildings on top of a high mound dominate the scene and are strongly built. The mullioned windows seem to have been inserted into an older hall.

Governance

Knarsdale is in the parliamentary constituency of Hexham

Hexham (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. Jude, and 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:...

saw it in a ruinous condition with a lot of stone lying about. It had been rebuilt in the seventeenth century, and old grave slabs were used in the building. In 1833, however, it was rebuilt at a cost of £300 and a new rectory was erected at this time. On the south wall of the church, beneath the sundial, is a stone carved with Erected 1833. Rev. Thomas Bewsher, Rector. William Parker and Joseph Richardson, Church Wardens. Enlarged 1882. Vestry and Porch added 1906. There is a fine collection of gravestones and one, now badly eroded, carried a strange inscription, which Hodgson called 'disgraceful doggerel'.

All you who please these lines to read

It will cause a tender heart to bleed:

I murdered was upon the fell,

And by a man I knew full well;

My bread and butter which he'd lade,

I, being harmless, was betrayed.

I hope he will rewarded be,

That laid the poison here for me.

(it is a common fallacy that this inscription exists. Locally it is thought that it was removed by the Baxter family. It is often quoted in guidebooks - probably by writers who copy it from other guidebooks.

It was the epitaph of Robert Baxter, who died October 4, 1796. A man with whom he had a quarrel, left a poisoned wrapped sandwich for him. There is no record of the offender being brought to justice, and it is surprising that such an epitaph was allowed in the churchyard.

External links

• GENUKI (Accessed: 27 November, 2008)