The village and parish of Doddington are on the east side of the

Milfield Milfield is a village in Northumberland, England about northwest of Wooler. The A697 road passes through the village. History Milfield is the likely location of the Northumbrian royal settlement of Maelmin, given "mael" is a Brythonic word ...

Plain, nearly 3 miles north of the town of

Wooler Wooler ( ) is a small town in Northumberland, England. It lies on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, near the Cheviot Hills. It is a popular base for walkers and is referred to as the "Gateway to the Cheviots". As well as many shops ...

, in the county of

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. Notable buildings in Doddington include Doddington Hall and the Anglican church of

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and

St Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

, which was built in the 18th century on the site of an original 12th-century place of worship. Wooler Golf Course is also near Doddington.

History and cultural significance

In 1734, the village was described in George Mark's ''Survey of a Portion of Northumberland'' as "remarkable for its largeness, the badness of its houses and low situation, and perhaps for the greatest quantities of geese of any in its neighbourhood". At about the same time, the tune ''Dorrington'', also known as ''Dorrington Lads'', was written down in the

William Dixon manuscript The William Dixon manuscript, written down between 1733 and 1738 in Northumberland, is the oldest known manuscript of pipe music from the British Isles, and the most important source of music for the Border pipes. It is currently located in the ...

. Having 14 strains, it is the most complex and elaborate of the pieces in that early source for Northumbrian music. The last tune played, on his deathbed, by the celebrated piper Will Allan, who died near

Rothbury Rothbury is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the River Coquet. It is northwest of Morpeth and of Newcastle upon Tyne. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 2,107. Rothbury emerged as an important town be ...

in 1779, was ''Dorrington Lads''. A rhyme has survived, which fits the second strain of this tune: : Dorrington lads is bonny and Dorrington lads is canny : And I'll hae a Dorrington lad, and ride a Dorrington cuddy. The tune survives in several versions besides that in the

; a five-strain version is found both in the Rook manuscript from near

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

, and in the Fenwick manuscript, where it is attributed to Robert Reid and ultimately to James Allan and his father Will. This version has much material that also appears in the Dixon version; two rather different versions adapted for

Northumbrian smallpipes The Northumbrian smallpipes (also known as the Northumbrian pipes) are bellows-blown bagpipes from North East England, where they have been an important factor in the local musical culture for more than 250 years. The family of the Duke of N ...

are found in the Robert Bewick manuscript, and the Lionel Winship manuscript; a further version is found in the manuscript collection of

Tom Clough Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, starting with a variant of Dixon's second strain. In ''The Denham Tracts'', compiled in the mid-19th century, another rhyme about the streets of the village is found: : Southgate and Sandgate and up the Cat Raw, : The Tinkler's Street, and Byegate Ha'! The Tinkler's Street was where itinerant hawkers sold their wares. This association with travellers is not surprising, as Doddington is quite close to

Kirk Yetholm Kirk Yetholm ('kirk yet-ham') is a village in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, southeast of Kelso and less than west of the border. The first mention is of its church in the 13th century. Its sister town is Town Yetholm which lies ...

, the main base of the Border Gypsies.

Demography

The

2001 UK Census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...

shows a population of 146, with a 50:50 male:female split.

Economy

Besides farming, there was formerly a sandstone quarry in the area, and coal mines. A well-known business currently in Doddington is the Doddington Dairy farm, a producer of organic cheeses and ice creams.

References

External links

GENUKI
(Accessed: 10 November 2008)

(Accessed: 10 November 2008) {{authority control Villages in Northumberland