Longhorsley
Encyclopedia
Longhorsley is a village in Northumberland
, England
about 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Morpeth
, and about 14 miles (23 km) south of Alnwick
. The A697 road passes through the village linking it with Morpeth, Wooler
and Coldstream
in Scotland
. There are 6 "Streets" in Longhorsley: Whitegates, Church View, Drummonds Close, West Road, East Road and Reavers Gate. The village is bordered on the north by the River Coquet
. The village formerly lay in three separate townships: Bigges Quarter, Freeholders Quarter and Riddells Quarter.
The population of Longhorsley is approximately 500 and is essentially a residential community for those who work in South Northumberland and Tynemouth
.
, as "the prolific source of contagious disorders incident to cattle and of little real use in its present state". Longhorsley Moor is high and bleak (in the winter of 1890 the mail-gig was blown over in a gale and the driver found with his neck broken). In the course of time the manor of Longhorsley was owned by the Gospatricks who gave it to the Merlays, and then it passed into the hands of the Horsleys and, later, to the great Catholic family, the Riddells.
passes the village less than 2 miles (3 km) to the west. The causeway is a Roman road
which starts at Port Gate on Hadrian's Wall
, north of Corbridge
, and extends 55 miles (89 km) northwards across Northumberland to the mouth of the River Tweed
at Berwick-upon-Tweed
.
A hoard of Roman coins discovered by metal-detecting enthusiasts on a farm near Longhorsley, Northumberland, could be evidence that entrepreneurial native Northumbrian settlers were recycling old bronze coins and making trinkets to sell back to soldiers in the Roman army, according to experts.
The hoard of 70 Roman coins – 61 sestercii and 9 dupondii
— dates from the reign of Emperor Vespasian
to the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD69–180) — a period when the Antonine Wall
, between Glasgow
and Edinburgh
, and not Hadrian's Wall, marked the northern frontier of the Roman Empire
in Britain
, and for a short period, Northumberland, which had until then been barbarian territory, became part of the Roman Empire.
The hoard was found close to the route of the Devil's Causeway, the main Roman road which ran north through Northumberland.
Roman expert Lindsay Allason-Jones, Director of Archaeological Museums at Newcastle University, where the coins are shortly to go on display, says: 'What makes this find unusual is that it dates from a period when there was no Roman fort close to Longhorsley, although there were a number of native settlement sites in the area'.
An ancient battlemented Peel tower
lies on the western edge of Longhorsley, dating from the early 16th century and formerly belonging to the Horsley family of Brinkburn
. Sir Thomas Horsley
entertained General Monck
here on his way south to effect the Restoration of Charles II
. For a time the tower was used as a Roman Catholic chapel. It is now a private residence.
Linden Hall was built in 1812 for Charles William Bigge
, a member of one of Northumberland's most notable merchant and banking families. He had acquired the estate from the Earl of Carlisle
, whose family had held it since the time of Henry I
. His close friend, Sir Charles Monck, designed the mansion, which consisted of six large rooms on each floor, a sweeping staircase with a domed lantern above, and a basement in the main hall. In addition there were kitchens, servants' quarters, a schoolroom, a brew house, a slaughterhouse and stables. In 1861 it passed from the Bigge family into the hands of the Ames, who held it until 1904, when it then passed to the Adamson
family, until 1963. The Hall was purchased in 1978 from John Liddell and opened as a first class hotel three years later.
The Roman Catholic church, St Thomas of Canterbury
, which was erected in 1841. Before the Catholic church was built, the parish was served from the pele tower
which stands adjacent to the present church.
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 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Morpeth
Morpeth, Northumberland
Morpeth is the county town of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town. The town is from the A1, which bypasses it. Since 1981, it has been the administrative centre of the County of Northumberland. In the 2001 census the town had a population...
, and about 14 miles (23 km) south of Alnwick
Alnwick
Alnwick is a small market town in north Northumberland, England. The town's population was just over 8000 at the time of the 2001 census and Alnwick's district population was 31,029....
. The A697 road passes through the village linking it with Morpeth, Wooler
Wooler
Wooler is a small town in Northumberland, England. It lies on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, by the Cheviot Hills and so is a popular base for walkers and is referred to as the "Gateway to the Cheviots"...
and Coldstream
Coldstream
Coldstream is a small town in the Borders district of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Tweed in Berwickshire, while Northumberland in England lies to the south bank, with Cornhill-on-Tweed the nearest village...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. There are 6 "Streets" in Longhorsley: Whitegates, Church View, Drummonds Close, West Road, East Road and Reavers Gate. The village is bordered on the north by the River Coquet
River Coquet
The River Coquet runs through the county of Northumberland, England, discharging into the North Sea on the east coast of England at Amble. Warkworth Castle is built in a loop of the Coquet....
. The village formerly lay in three separate townships: Bigges Quarter, Freeholders Quarter and Riddells Quarter.
The population of Longhorsley is approximately 500 and is essentially a residential community for those who work in South Northumberland and Tynemouth
Tynemouth
Tynemouth is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England, at the mouth of the River Tyne, between North Shields and Cullercoats . It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough in its own right...
.
History
The village has a long history. In 1196 we find it referred to as Horsieg, a "woodland clearing where horses are kept" - although it was a pretty tough place for a horse: one traveller, Eneas Mackenzie (1778–1832), described it in his view of NorthumberlandNorthumberland
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...
, as "the prolific source of contagious disorders incident to cattle and of little real use in its present state". Longhorsley Moor is high and bleak (in the winter of 1890 the mail-gig was blown over in a gale and the driver found with his neck broken). In the course of time the manor of Longhorsley was owned by the Gospatricks who gave it to the Merlays, and then it passed into the hands of the Horsleys and, later, to the great Catholic family, the Riddells.
Landmarks
The Devil's CausewayDevil's Causeway
The Devil's Causeway is a Roman road in Northumberland, in North East England. It branches off Dere Street north of Corbridge and can be traced through Northumberland for about north to Berwick-upon-Tweed.-Description:...
passes the village less than 2 miles (3 km) to the west. The causeway is a Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
which starts at Port Gate on Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall, lesser known of the two because its physical remains are less evident today.The...
, north of Corbridge
Corbridge
Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, situated west of Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages in the vicinity include Halton, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe.-Roman fort and town:...
, and extends 55 miles (89 km) northwards across Northumberland to the mouth of the River Tweed
River Tweed
The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is long and flows primarily through the Borders region of Great Britain. It rises on Tweedsmuir at Tweed's Well near where the Clyde, draining northwest, and the Annan draining south also rise. "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside" as the Border saying...
at Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
.
A hoard of Roman coins discovered by metal-detecting enthusiasts on a farm near Longhorsley, Northumberland, could be evidence that entrepreneurial native Northumbrian settlers were recycling old bronze coins and making trinkets to sell back to soldiers in the Roman army, according to experts.
The hoard of 70 Roman coins – 61 sestercii and 9 dupondii
Dupondius
The dupondius was a brass coin used during the Roman Empire and Roman Republic valued at 2 asses ....
— dates from the reign of Emperor Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
to the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD69–180) — a period when the Antonine Wall
Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall is a stone and turf fortification built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. Representing the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire, it spanned approximately 39 miles and was about ten feet ...
, between Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, and not Hadrian's Wall, marked the northern frontier of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
in Britain
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
, and for a short period, Northumberland, which had until then been barbarian territory, became part of the Roman Empire.
The hoard was found close to the route of the Devil's Causeway, the main Roman road which ran north through Northumberland.
Roman expert Lindsay Allason-Jones, Director of Archaeological Museums at Newcastle University, where the coins are shortly to go on display, says: 'What makes this find unusual is that it dates from a period when there was no Roman fort close to Longhorsley, although there were a number of native settlement sites in the area'.
An ancient battlemented Peel tower
Peel tower
Peel towers are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, intended as watch towers where signal fires could be lit by the garrison to warn of approaching danger...
lies on the western edge of Longhorsley, dating from the early 16th century and formerly belonging to the Horsley family of Brinkburn
Brinkburn
Brinkburn is a parish in Northumberland, England. It is divided by the River Coquet.-External links:* *...
. Sir Thomas Horsley
Thomas Horsley
Thomas Horsley was a sixteenth century English magistrate and Lord Mayor. He was Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1525 and 1533. He is remembered primarily for founding the Royal Grammar School.-References:...
entertained General Monck
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, KG was an English soldier and politician and a key figure in the restoration of Charles II.-Early life and career:...
here on his way south to effect the Restoration of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. For a time the tower was used as a Roman Catholic chapel. It is now a private residence.
Linden Hall was built in 1812 for Charles William Bigge
Charles William Bigge
Charles William Bigge was an important merchant and banker in Newcastle on Tyne.He served as High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1802, a position previously held by...
, a member of one of Northumberland's most notable merchant and banking families. He had acquired the estate from the Earl of Carlisle
Earl of Carlisle
Earl of Carlisle is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1322 when the soldier Andrew Harclay, 1st Baron Harclay was made Earl of Carlisle. He had already been summoned to Parliament as Lord Harclay in 1321...
, whose family had held it since the time of Henry I
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
. His close friend, Sir Charles Monck, designed the mansion, which consisted of six large rooms on each floor, a sweeping staircase with a domed lantern above, and a basement in the main hall. In addition there were kitchens, servants' quarters, a schoolroom, a brew house, a slaughterhouse and stables. In 1861 it passed from the Bigge family into the hands of the Ames, who held it until 1904, when it then passed to the Adamson
Adamson
The Adamson was an English car manufactured in Enfield, Middlesex, from 1912 to 1925. It was designed by Reginald Barton Adamson at the premises of the family haulage contract business....
family, until 1963. The Hall was purchased in 1978 from John Liddell and opened as a first class hotel three years later.
Religious sites
The Anglican Church of St. Helen, which has registers dating from 1688.The Roman Catholic church, St Thomas of Canterbury
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
, which was erected in 1841. Before the Catholic church was built, the parish was served from the pele tower
Peel tower
Peel towers are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, intended as watch towers where signal fires could be lit by the garrison to warn of approaching danger...
which stands adjacent to the present church.
Notable people
- Robert TownsRobert TownsRobert Towns was an Australian businessman, pastoralist, and founder of Townsville, Queensland.Towns was born at Longhorsley, Northumberland, England, on 10 November 1794. This is the date usually given, and it agrees with his death notice in the Sydney Morning Herald of 12 April 1873 which stated...
(c.1794 - 1873), Australian businessman, pastoralist, and founder of Townsville, QueenslandTownsville, QueenslandTownsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2006 census...
. - Thomas Bell reputedly developed the world's first self-raising flour in Longhorsley village shop. Bell founded a wholesale grocery business near the Tyne Quays in Newcastle in the 1880s. One of his best selling brands was a self-raising flour he called Bell's Royal. He was forced to change it to Be-RoBe-Ro-History:The Company was founded by Thomas Bell as a grocery and tea company in Longhorsley north of Newcastle in 1875. Thomas had experimented with rising agents on flour in baking and from that produced the world's first self-raising flour. He founded the Bells Royal works which sold the Bell's...
after it became illegal to use the Royal name following the death of Edward VIIEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
in 1910. - Emily Wilding DavisonEmily DavisonEmily Wilding Davison was a militant women's suffrage activist who, on 4 June 1913, after a series of actions that were either self-destructive or violent, stepped in front of a horse running in the Epsom Derby, sustaining injuries that resulted in her death four days later.-Biography:Davison was...
, one of Northumberland's most famous heroines lived in the village of Longhorsley. She is notable as the suffragette who was killed after throwing herself in front of the King'sGeorge V of the United KingdomGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
horse, Anmer in the DerbyEpsom DerbyThe Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
of 1913, while campaigning for women's right to vote. - Muriel Adamson, founder of The Richmond Theatre