Kirkwhelpington 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 authorit ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

about northeast of Hexham. It is on the

River Wansbeck The River Wansbeck runs through the county of Northumberland, England. It rises above Sweethope Lough on the edge of Fourlaws Forest in the area known locally as The Wanneys (Great Wanney Crag, Little Wanney Crag; thus the "Wanneys Beck"); runs ...

alongside the A696 trunk road between Otterburn and

Ponteland Ponteland ( ) is a large village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The name means "island in the Pont", after the River Pont which flows from west to east and joins the River Blyth further downstream, be ...

History

Kirkwhelpington has medieval origins and is an abortive market town. The lord,

Gilbert de Umfraville Gilbert de Umfraville (died 1245) was a 13th-century English baron. Gilbert was the eldest son of Richard de Umfraville, Lord of Redesdale. He succeeded his father as Lord of Redesdale and Baron Prudhoe from November 1226 at his seat of Prudhoe ...

, obtained a

market charter A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

from King Henry III but lost its privileges on the grounds of non-usage. He had a bridge built over the Wansbeck to improve its communications.

Economy

There was a mine at Kirkwhelpington (Lead ore).

Landmarks

The Memorial Hall was built in 1924 as a memorial to the men of the village and district who gave their lives in the First World War. Money for this was raised locally with the Duke of Northumberland donating the land. The Post Office is now in the hall and the weekly activities include a Youth Club, Toddler Group, and a Bowls Club. The monthly meetings include the Parish Council, The Royal British Legion Women's Section, and an Art Club. The village school was built in 1858 and closed in 1972. Northumberland County Council Education Committee used the premises as a

Girl Guide Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

holiday centre. This has now been converted to a private house. The Methodist Church was built in 1870 and closed in 1995/96. It was bought by a villager and is now used for exhibitions of paintings and other art work. Sweethope Loughs are two freshwater lakes almost in length, west of Kirkwhelpington, and a renowned fishing location stocked with large rainbow trout. Sweethope Lough boasts good access to those anglers with disabilities, and annually hosts The Viscount Devonport Sweethope Challenge for Disabled Anglers.

Religious sites

St Bartholomew, a thirteenth-century (or earlier) building, with its low, broad

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It ca ...

tower and long nave and chancel, was altered in the fifteenth century and then in 1896. Excavations have revealed that the building originally had aisles and transepts. There are two fourteenth-century bells, a seventeenth-century font (which rests on the reversed capital of a fourteenth or fifteenth-century pier) and a mahogany pulpit from 1797. The glass includes work by Heaton, Butler and Bayne (1909 and 1914).

Exhibitions etc

The Kirkwhelpington and District Show is held on the first Saturday in September every year. This is an exhibition of horticultural and craft work with home baking and children's exhibits. On one of the Sundays during July six or seven local gardens are open to the public in aid of charity.

Notable people

*The celebrated antiquary John Hodgson wrote his ''History of Northumberland'' during his incumbency between 1823-34. *The distinguished engineer and inventor Sir Charles Parsons is buried here with his wife Katherine (there is a memorial to them in the church). *

John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington John Arthur Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, (born 21 October 1942) was Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (head of the Metropolitan Police Service) from 2000 until 2005. From 1991 to 1996, he was Chief Constable of Northumb ...

, whose career included head of the Metropolitan Police Service, and Chancellor of Northumbria University.

References

External links

GENUKI
(accessed: 13 November 2008)

(accessed: 20 November 2008) {{authority control Villages in Northumberland