Netherwitton is a village in
Northumberland, England about west north west of
Morpeth.
A former cotton-mill now converted into residential housing, the old village school also converted into a house, an old bridge, a small church, and a number of cottages and gardens comprise the village. The old cross, dated 1698, still stands in a garden beyond the green. The village cross in Netherwitton is dated 1698 and seems to have been moved there when the village was moved. The original site is now parkland. The cross stands 1.6m high and was repaired in 1825. Most of the common about it has been appropriated and planted with trees.
History
During the
Civil War,
Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
quartered a large force in the grounds of the stately
Netherwitton Hall for one night, and later awarded a sum of £95-5s-6d. as compensation for the damage done by his troops. After
Culloden in 1746
Lord Lovat, a
Jacobite
Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to:
Religion
* Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include:
** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...
leader, for a long while lay concealed in a "
Priest's Hole
A priest hole is a hiding place for a priest built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England, Wales and Ireland during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law. When Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, there were se ...
" in an upper room of the Hall.
Roger Thornton
Roger Thornton (died 1430), the Dick Whittington of Newcastle, seems to have been a country boy who sought his fortune in town. He lived to become 'the richest merchant that ever was dwelling in Newcastell', and three times mayor of that town. ...
, a great merchant-prince of Newcastle at the beginning of the 15th century, was a native of Netherwitton and built a castle by the river, but no trace of it remains.
Landmarks
The
Devil's Causeway passes the village less than to the east. The causeway is a
Roman road which starts at Port Gate on
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...
, north of
Corbridge, and extends northwards across Northumberland to the mouth of the
River Tweed at
Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Devils Causeway Tower, Netherwitton, also known as, or recorded in historical documents as Highbush Wood. King writes ‘Marked on some OS maps as tower but now considered to be remains of cottage.’ SMR still records as ‘site of tower’. Long records as ‘remains of an irregular shaped tower.’ This site has been described as a
Pele Tower. The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Questionable.
is a
Grade I listed building. There has been a house on the site since the 14th century. The present house, which was built in about 1685, to a design by architect
Robert Trollope has an impressive three-storey, seven-bayed frontage with balustrade and unusual irregular window pediments. The rear presents some earlier features including a stairway tower which may contain remnants of ancient fortifications. The gardens contain a folly and masonry features.
Religious sites
The church is dedicated to
St Giles.
He is the saint referred to as "Saint Aegidius" in one of the
stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
windows in the church, 'Aegidius' being the Latin form of the name 'Giles'.
References
External links
GENUKI(Accessed: 27 November 2008)
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Villages in Northumberland
