Whittingham is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

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. It is situated on the banks of the

River Aln The River Aln () runs through the county of Northumberland in England. It rises in Alnham in the Cheviot Hills and discharges into the North Sea at Alnmouth on the east coast of England. The river gives its name to the town of Alnwick and the ...

, roughly east of its source at

Alnham Alnham is a hamlet and civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is about west of Alnwick, about from Scotland and is located on the south of a small tributary of the River Aln. The village stands on uneven ground, sloping from south to ...

and 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 thirteenth/fourteenth century

pele tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standing ...

, Whittingham Tower, was converted into almshouses in 1845 and is now in private ownership.

History

The village name is thought to derive from Anglo-Saxon times, meaning 'the meeting place of Hwita's people'. The double ford at the west of the village has led some historians to suggest this is the location of 'Twyford' mentioned in the writings of the Venerable Bede. There were two pele towers in the village. One to the west of the village near the church and used by the clergy. It was listed in a survey in 1541. It was either incorporated into the vicarage or dismantled when the current vicarage was built. The second pele tower was destroyed during the rebellion of Gilbert de Middleton in 1371. By 1415 it had been replaced and was owned by WillIam Heron. In 1541 it was owned by Robert Collingwood. The tower was restored and modernised in 1845 to serve as an almshouse for the poor of the

Ravensworth Ravensworth is a village and civil parish in the Holmedale valley, within the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north-west of Richmond and from Darlington. The parish has a population of 255, according ...

's estate.

Governance

Whittingham 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 ...

Geography

The village sits in the valley of the

; characterised by gentle rolling hills and fertile soils this area is frequently referred to as the Vale of Whittingham. There are road bridges over the river at either end of the village and a footbridge in the centre. At the western end of the village the River Aln meets Callaly Burn and there is a double ford at the confluence with two footbridges alongside.

Economy

The village no longer has shops or a pub. The nearest shops are in

Glanton Glanton is a small rural village, in the county of Northumberland, England. Agriculture dominates the surrounding area. Governance Glanton is in the parliamentary constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed. As a district, it is a part of the unita ...

(a post office) and at

Powburn Powburn is a small village on the A697 in Northumberland, England about south of Wooler and northwest of Alnwick. Landmarks The Devil's Causeway passes through the village and continues north under the A697 road crossing the River Till. The ...

. There is a pub in Glanton.

Landmarks

Two

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

s passed close to the village – to the east is the

Devil'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 The Devil's Causeway i ...

and south of the village is the road from

High Rochester Bremenium is an ancient Roman fort (castrum) located at Rochester, Northumberland, England. The fort is one of the defensive structures built along Dere Street, a Roman road running from York to Corbridge and onwards to Melrose. Significa ...

. These met at Learchild fort about 2 km east of the village.

Education

The village has a primary school - Whittingham Church of England First School - with around 100 pupils (6 January 2019).

Religious sites

The parish church is dedicated to

St Bartholomew Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو� ...

, shown in a stained-glass window. There is Anglo-Saxon stonework in the tower that dates from around 900 AD, but a church was recorded here in 735. The tower arch is plain and massive; the medieval work has been subject to much later alteration. The 19th-century redecoration includes plain lead-glazing in the windows. There are several gravestones in the churchyard that have skulls incised on them, these are known as

Memento Mori ''Memento mori'' (Latin for 'remember that you ave todie'Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church. The church was built 1877-1881 when the chapel at

Callaly Castle Callaly Castle is a Grade I listed building and a substantial country house to the north of the village of Callaly, which is some to the west of Alnwick, Northumberland, England. It is situated near the site of a 12th-century motte castle and a ...

was deconsecrated after the Catholic Clavering family sold the castle. The church is built in the Romanesque style. There is also an attached presbytery.

Gallery

File:Fountain memorial in Whittingham - geograph.org.uk - 427555.jpg, The fountain memorial to Athole, 3rd Earl of Ravensworth

References

External links

Villages in Northumberland {{Northumberland-geo-stub