Alwinton (previously named "Allenton" and sometimes still referred to as this) is a village and former parish in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, England. Alwinton is named after the nearby

River Alwin The River Alwin is a short, steep upland river that drains the Kidland Forest on the southern flanks of the Cheviot Hills, in the Northumberland National Park, England. It is a tributary of the River Coquet and in length. Course Rising as the ...

, and means farm on the River Alwin. Alwinton lies at the head of the Coquet valley, on the edge of both the Otterburn Army Training Estate and the

Northumberland National Park Northumberland National Park is the northernmost national park in England. It covers an area of more than between the Scottish border in the north to just south of Hadrian's Wall, and it is one of least visited of the National Parks. The park ...

. The village is roughly from the border with

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and about to the west of

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

. The neighbouring village of

Harbottle Harbottle is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England about south-east of the Scottish border, in the southeastern part of the Cheviot Hills and inside Northumberland National Park. The village is the site of Harbottle Castle built ...

and

Harbottle Castle Harbottle Castle is a ruined medieval castle situated at the west end of the village of Harbottle, Northumberland, England, west-north-west of Rothbury overlooking the River Coquet. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed buil ...

are about from Alwinton. A road continues past Alwinton into the

Cheviot Hills The Cheviot Hills (), or sometimes The Cheviots, are a range of uplands straddling the Anglo-Scottish border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. The English section is within the Northumberland National Park. The range includes T ...

where it terminates at the ancient Roman military encampment of

Chew Green Chew Green is the site of the ancient Roman encampment, commonly but erroneously called Ad Fines (Latin: The Limits) on the 1885-1900 edition of the Ordnance Survey map, in Northumberland, England, north of Rochester and west of Alwinton. The ...

. Having no shops, Alwinton's social life centres on the Rose and Thistle Inn, a public house owned by the Latchams. Regular

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

services are offered at St. Michael and All Angels, which traditionally serves the parish of Alwinton encompassing the nearby townships of

Biddlestone Biddlestone is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is about to the west of Alnwick. In the early 21st Century several of Northumberland's least populated parishes were merged to form slightly larger units. Biddlestone wa ...

, Burradon, Clennell, Fairhaugh,

Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a trib ...

, Linbriggs, Netherton, Peels, and

Sharperton Sharperton is a small settlement and former civil parish, now in the parish of Harbottle, in Northumberland, England. Sharperton is the site of a deserted medieval village, which was documented as having 14 taxpayers in 1296, and described as hav ...

. In the early 21st century several of rural Northumberland's least populated parishes were merged into slightly larger units, and Alwinton was one example, being merged with the neighbouring

(where from the Census 2011 the population is included).

Governance

Alwinton is in the

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

constituency of

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

Historical population and surnames

Surnames of Alwinton residents during the period 1538 to 1828 gathered from militia lists, parish books, feodary books and poll books include Belany, Bell, Bertram, Bland, Brokyt, Brown, Browne, Burn, Charleton, Clarke, Clavering, Clennell, Davison, Drybrough, Dykson, Foreste, Gibson, Gladstaines, Hall, Handley, Kirkup, Levingstone, Martin, Moses, Myngzies, Nesbit, Nevison, Patonson, Peary, Potts, Pratt, Robson, Scott, Selby, Starbecke, Steynson, Stuart, Thirwall, Trumble, Turnbull, Wallis, Whyt, Widdrington, Wilkinson, Wilson, and Young (Dixon, 1903, pp. 173, 215, 230).

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

records for Alwinton township during the 19th and 20th centuries indicate a gradual decline in population:

Religious sites

The Parish Church of St. Michael and

All Angels All Angels were a British classical crossover group formed in 2006, consisting of Daisy Chute, Laura Wright, Rachel Fabri, Melanie Nakhla and actress Charlotte Ritchie. The group's style was classical crossover music and close harmony arran ...

, is an early

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

church, and was built on a hillside in the late 11th century or 12th century. Little historical information is available about Alwinton prior to 1245, when the value of its vicarage was first recorded. In 1279, two prisoners escaped from Harbottle castle and fled to the Alwinton church where they confessed to thievery and abjured the realm. The church building was significantly neglected in the 15th and 16th centuries, to the extent that a Court of High Commission reported "the walls of the church and chancell are in great decay, noe glass in the windowes and noe doores for the church". Major repairs were finally funded and completed in the 1720s. The church was largely rebuilt in the 19th century. The crypt was last used for a burial in 1868 and is now inaccessible. The church is now a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Alwinton Border Shepherds Show

The annual Border

Shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

s Show, a traditional

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which selective breeding, breed ...

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

featuring sheep farming in the borders area of England and Scotland, is held on the second Saturday of October. The Alwinton show is the last agricultural show of the season in the borders area. Traditionally, it marks the end of summer and the time for hill farmers to begin preparations for winter.

Images gallery

File:Alwinton village - geograph.org.uk - 812543.jpg, Alwinton in 2008 File:St Michael's and all Angels, Low Alwinton - geograph.org.uk - 1264301.jpg, St Michael's and all Angels, 2009 File:St Michael and All Angels stands looking over The Haugh at Alwinton on Show Day - geograph.org.uk - 1529292.jpg, Show Day in October 2009 File:Alwinton viewed from Castle Hills - geograph.org.uk - 1410372.jpg, Alwinton viewed from Castle Hills File:Bridleway near Low Alwinton - geograph.org.uk - 456135.jpg, Bridleway near Low Alwinton File:Coquetdale near Low Alwinton - geograph.org.uk - 456112.jpg, Coquetdale near Low Alwinton looking south from the bridleway – in background Harbottle Woods and the Harbottle Hills (left)

References

* Dixon, D. D. (1903). ''Upper Coquetdale''. Reprinted 1987 by Sandhill Press, Alnwick. * Dodds, M. H. (1940). ''A history of Northumberland'' (vol.15). Newcastle upon Tyne: Andrew Reid & Company.

External links

Alwinton Village Website

Local history

Alwinton on GENUKI

Alwinton: Historic Village in Northumberland National Park

Clennell Hall Riverside Holiday Park

The Rose and Thistle

Panoramic Photograph of the interior.

Index of all the parish locations in Northumberland {{authority control Villages in Northumberland Civil parishes in Northumberland