Milfield is a village 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 about northwest 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 ...

. The A697 road passes through the village.

History

Milfield is the likely location of the

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

n royal settlement of Maelmin, given "mael" is a Brythonic word meaning "field".

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...

tells us that a residence was built at Maelmin to supersede Edwin of Northumbria's residence of Ad-Gefrin at

Yeavering Yeavering () is a hamlet in the north-east corner of the civil parish of Kirknewton in the English county of Northumberland. It is located on the River Glen at the northern edge of the Cheviot Hills. It is noteworthy as the site of a large Ang ...

. Evidence of a high-status Anglo-Saxon settlement at Milfield strongly suggests that this is the location of Maelmin, because of its proximity to Yeavering. On Milfield Plain, which is part of the bed of the prehistoric Lake of Glendale, was fought one of the many battles between Scots and English. In the month before the tragedy of Flodden, some Scots, under

Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home (died 1516) was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, Chamberlain of Scotland and Warden of the Eastern March. He fought at the Battle of Flodden where his forces defeated the English right wing before the Scottish army ...

, were returning from a raid into England where they had burnt several villages. Laden with booty which they had "lifted", Home's men were surprised by a band of English under Sir William Bulmer of Brancepeth in County Durham. The Durham men were victorious and for long years afterwards the Scots name for the road through Milfield was "The Ill Road". Many years after the rout of Home's men, General Monk waited at Milfield with his forces before his momentous march south which brought about the Restoration. During the Second World War, an air training unit operated from the nearby

RAF Milfield Royal Air Force Milfield or more simply RAF Milfield is a former Royal Air Force station which operated during the Second World War, located near Milfield, Northumberland, England. History The airfield opened on 26 January 1942, hosting No. 5 ...

Notable people

One of Northumberland's most notable daughters, Josephine Grey, the social reformer, was born at Milfield House, about six miles from Wooler. This woman, who did so much valuable work in the nineteenth century to combat the social evils of the day, is more generally known by her married name of

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

. A

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

was named after her at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

and a residency block there was named Milfield in honour of her birthplace. At the end of her long life she returned to her beloved Northumberland and is buried in Kirknewton churchyard under the shadow of

Yeavering Bell Yeavering Bell is a twin-peaked hill near the River Glen in north Northumberland, England, to the west of Wooler, and forming part of the Cheviot Hills. The summit, 1158 feet (361 metres) above sea level, is encircled by the wall of a late-prehi ...

References

External links

Northumberland Communities
(Accessed: 27 November 2008) {{authority control Villages in Northumberland