Stocksfield is a small, yet sprawling commuter village situated close to the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wate ...

, about west of Newcastle upon Tyne in the southern part of Northumberland, England. There are several smaller communities within the parish of

Stocksfield Stocksfield is a small, yet sprawling commuter village situated close to the River Tyne, about west of Newcastle upon Tyne in the southern part of Northumberland, England. There are several smaller communities within the parish of Stocksfiel ...

, including Branch End, New Ridley, Broomley, Hindley and the Painshawfield Estate. Other villages in Stocksfield's postal district include Bywell,

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

, Mickley, and

Hedley on the Hill Hedley on the Hill is a village in Northumberland, west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located between the valley of the River Derwent, and the watershed to the River Tyne. Despite being close to a major city, Hedley is typically Northumbrian ...

History

Dere Street, a Roman road, passes through the parish to the south of Broomley, and Roman stone was used in the construction of

St Andrew's Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

in 803 AD. Bywell gained in importance in the 600 years following the Norman conquest as a centre of metalworking. It was in the hands of the Barony of Balliol until 1296 when it passed in turn to the Nevilles, the Fenwicks, and finally in 1809 to the Beaumont family. The township of "Stokesfeld" was first mentioned in 1242, and was part of Bywell St Andrew's parish. The origins of the name are uncertain, but it may be derived the from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

for "open land belonging to an outlying hamlet". in 1673 Birches Nook was home to Ann Armstrong, a "notorious witch-finder" whose accusations caused a great sensation throughout the county.

Governance

Stocksfield is in the parliamentary constituency of

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

. Guy Opperman of the Conservative Party is the Member of Parliament. For Local Government purposes it belongs to

Northumberland Council Northumberland County Council is a unitary authority in North East England. The population of the non-metropolitan unitary authority at the 2011 census was 316,028. History It was formed in 1889 as the council for the administrative county of ...

a unitary authority. At a local level it is governed by

Stocksfield Parish Stocksfield, formerly Broomley and Stocksfield is a civil parish in Northumberland, England. At the 2001 census, the parish, which includes the village of Stocksfield, along with the hamlets of Apperley Dene, Branch End, Broomley, Hindley, New ...

Council. On 11 January 2019 the name of the parish was officially changed from "Broomley and Stocksfield" to Stocksfield, reflecting developments in the area and changes in population over the years.

Demography

In the 2011 census the median age in Stocksfield and Broomhaugh was 49 years. 98.6 per cent of the population had white ethnicity and 68.8 per cent were Christian. No other religion exceeded 0.3 per cent with 23.9 per cent having no religion.

Transport

;Railway The village is served by the Tyne Valley Line, with trains running to Newcastle,

and

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 ...

Stocksfield station Stocksfield is a small, yet sprawling commuter village situated close to the River Tyne, about west of Newcastle upon Tyne in the southern part of Northumberland, England. There are several smaller communities within the parish of Stocksf ...

was opened on 9 March 1835 by the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway. Passenger services are operated by

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

, with the line also being used for freight. ;Road Stocksfield is linked to Newcastle upon Tyne and the A1 by the A695 which passes through the village. It is also linked to Leadgate and

Stamfordham Stamfordham is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 Census was 1,047, rising to 1,185 at the 2011 Census. The place-name ''Stamfordham'' is first attested in the Pipe Rolls for ...

by the B6309. The A695 and B6309 meet near the railway station. The village is served by the 10 bus service operated by Go North East running from Hexham (25 minutes away) to Newcastle (1 hour).

Education

Stocksfield has a school, Broomley First School, which is part of the ''Whittonstall and Broomley First Schools Federation''. Stocksfield lies in the catchment area for Ovingham Middle School and Prudhoe High School. Mowden Hall School is a private

prep school Preparatory school or prep school may refer to: Schools *Preparatory school (United Kingdom), an independent school preparing children aged 8–13 for entry into fee-charging independent schools, usually public schools *College-preparatory school, ...

near

, north of the river.

Religious sites

There are four Christian places of worship in Stocksfield: a Church of England Church,

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

Meeting House, Baptist Church and Methodist Church. Nearby are the twin churches of St Peter's and St Andrew's in Bywell.

Public services

Amenities in Stocksfield include two post offices, an

Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic p ...

petrol station, Spar store, garage, newsagent, three hairdressers, chemist, day nursery, first school, convenience store, pottery and studio, ice cream parlour, doctor's surgery and veterinary surgery. Stocksfield Community Centre is owned and managed by Stocksfield Community Association (formerly SICA) which is a charitable company limited by guarantee. The Association's objectives are to promote the benefit of the all inhabitants of Stocksfield and its neighbourhood, without distinction by associating with local authorities, voluntary organisations and inhabitants in a common effort to advance education and provide facilities, in the interests of social welfare for recreational and leisure time occupation, with the object of improving the conditions of life for residents. The Community Centre is available for hire by local groups and individuals for events, activities, meetings and private functions.

Sports and Recreation

Stocksfield boasts many sporting facilities including a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

club, tennis club, golf club. and a running club known a
Stocksfield Striders
There are also two play areas and a well-utilised Community Centre. In 2012, Stocksfield was one of the official stop off points for the Olympic torch before it made its way to the Olympic Games opening ceremony.

Awards

The parish of Broomley and Stocksfield was officially crowned Calor Northumberland Village of the Year in November 2008. The competition is organised annually by Community Action Northumberland (CAN) with sponsorship provided by LPG (

liquefied petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas) is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, propylene, butylene, isobutane and n-butane. LPG is used as a fuel gas in heating appliances, cooking e ...

) supplier

Calor Calor may refer to: Science * Heat (Latin: ), in thermodynamics, or the human perception of: ** Thermal energy, in physics and engineering ** Temperature, the manifestation of thermal energy * Heat (Latin: ), one of the cardinal signs of inflamm ...

Photographs of Stocksfield

Bridge over the Tyne at Bywell - geograph.org.uk - 37255.jpg, Sign for the Dr. Syntax - the other side, spot the differences - geograph.org.uk - 1056715.jpg, Foot Bridge and Ford on Batt House Road - geograph.org.uk - 210158.jpg, 1st Tee Stocksfield Golf Course - geograph.org.uk - 1536439.jpg, The Parish Church of St Andrew, Bywell - geograph.org.uk - 416672.jpg, View over Apperley Bank - geograph.org.uk - 98555.jpg,

Notable people

;Born in Stocksfield *

Mabel Atkinson Mabel Palmer (1876–1958) also known as Mabel Atkinson in her first career, was a British-born, suffragist, journalist and lecturer. After her marriage, she began a second career as a South African educator and academic, using her married name. ...

(1876–1958), feminist and socialist * Dame Veronica Wedgwood (1910–1997), historian ;Lives (or lived) in Stocksfield *

Rodney Atkinson Rodney Eric Bainbridge Atkinson (born 1948) is a British academic, political and economic commentator, journalist, author and businessman. He is the older brother of the comedian and actor Rowan Atkinson. Professional career Atkinson studied ...

(born 1948), academic and author *

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...

(born 1955), actor and comedianChronicle.co.uk. ''Stocksfield''.
/ref> * Edgar Bainton (1880–1956), composer *

Francoise Boufhal Francoise Boufhal (born 18 December 1988) is an English model, actress and presenter. Early life Born Françoise Boufhal on 18 December 1988 in Hexham, Northumberland, England, Boufhal grew up and spent most of her childhood in Stocksfield an ...

(born 1988), actress and model * Alan Clark (born 1952), ex Dire Straits keyboard player *

Brendan Foster Sir Brendan Foster (born 12 January 1948) is a British former long-distance runner, athletics commentator and road race organiser, who founded the Great North Run, one of the sport's most high profile half-marathon races. As an athlete, he wo ...

(born 1948), ex athletics 10,000 m record holder * Frances Hardcastle (1866–1941), mathematician and women's activist * Richard Harpin (born 1964), businessman * Graeme Lowdon (born 1965), businessman and entrepreneur * Alan Milburn (born 1958), politician * Chris Paisley (born 1986), professional golfer * Sir Richard Pease, 3rd Baronet (born 1922), banker * Ethel Williams (1863–1948), physician and suffragist

References

{{authority control Villages in Northumberland