Warden, Northumberland
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Warden 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 west 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 ...
. The
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and
South Tyne South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
meet near the village of Warden. There is a pleasant walk from the Boat Inn ater renamed to Boatside Innalong the bank of the South Tyne to the meeting of the waters. The Boat Inn was formerly the place of a ferry until the toll bridge was built across the river. The toll house still stands, but the old bridge was replaced in 1904 by a County structure. The
Newcastle and Carlisle Railway The Newcastle & Carlisle Railway (N&CR) was an English railway company formed in 1825 that built a line from Newcastle upon Tyne on Britain's east coast, to Carlisle, on the west coast. The railway began operating mineral trains in 1834 between ...
crosses the river by a strongly built iron bridge. Warden is dominated by the old
motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
, now tree covered, and higher still are the earthworks of a prehistoric fort. The church boasts one of the slender Anglo-Danish towers which are a feature of the Tyne valley. The churchyard appears oval in shape, which reinforces the notion of the great age of these Tyne parish centres. A carved stone stands close to the tower, but nothing more is claimed for it than being a 'market cross'. As, however, there is no record of a market here, inherently unlikely because of the proximity of Hexham market, a better case for its origin may be as one of the boundary crosses marking the sanctuary limits or 'frith' of St Wilfrid's church at Hexham. The socket of one such cross survived near the road at Acomb. From Warden one can see eastwards among the trees which rise on the northern slope of the valley the spire of the Church of St John Lee on high ground at Acomb. It commemorates the hermitage of St John of Beverley, sometime bishop of Hexham (689-705). The present church is no older than 1818-85. From High Warden, on the hillside, a path leads to a large fortified British camp crowning the hill, which gives a fine outlook over the surrounding country.


Governance

Warden 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
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 ...
.


Economy

Warden is situated on a triangle of land between the two Tynes. It had a water mill on the North Tyne and a paper mill on the South Tyne, which started in 1763 and still exists. A century ago a visitor described how the rags were converted into beautiful white paper. The mill employed 63 hands.


Religious sites

The church at Warden is dedicated to
St Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
, and has an Anglo Saxon tower dating back to the eleventh century, and built of Roman stone. Indications are that there was a church earlier than the tower, and in the post Conquest period, another church was added to the tower. The tower arch is built of Roman material, probably from
Chesters Roman Fort Cilurnum or Cilurvum was a fort on Hadrian's Wall mentioned in the ''Notitia Dignitatum''. It is now identified with the fort found at Chesters (also known as Walwick Chesters to distinguish it from other sites named Chesters in the vicinity) ...
. Transepts were added in the thirteenth century making the church cruciform in shape. There were alterations in the eighteenth century, and the chancel was rebuilt in 1889. In the chancel is a Norman grave-cover that is the best of its kind in the county. Its shape and tile decoration symbolise a house of the dead. There are a number of incised grave covers in the porch, and a Roman altar that has been carved with Saxon knot-work. It has been split and reversed, possibly "to empty out the devils." An 18th century horsing-stool stands at the church-gate. Three of the bells in the church were cast in 1878 by the Newcastle firm of Cox and Sons. There is also a Methodist church built in 1851. In appearance it resembles a barn rather than an ecclesiastical edifice.


References


External links


GENUKI
(Accessed: 28 November 2008) {{authority control Villages in Northumberland