Acomb is a village in the south of

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, England. The population at the 2001 Census was 1,184 increasing to 1,268 at the 2011 Census. It is situated to the north of

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and 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 nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administra ...

,Acomb, Northumberland Local History
not far from the junction of the

A69 road The A69 is a major northern trunk road in England, running east–west across the Pennines, through the counties of Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and Cumbria. Originally, the road started in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne then later near Bir ...

and

A6079 road List of A roads in zone 6 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the lar ...

. The name is Anglo-Saxon Old English ''acum'', 'at the oak trees'. The traditional pronunciation of the name is "Yeckam".

History

Some

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

cist In archeology, a cist (; also kist ; ultimately from ; cognate to ) or cist grave is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. In some ways, it is similar to the deeper shaft tomb. Examples occur ac ...

s have been discovered in this vicinity.

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

runs about 1 mile (1.5 km) to the NE of Acomb, where the site of

Chesters Roman Fort Cilurnum or Cilurvum was an ancient Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall at Chesters near the village of Walwick, Northumberland. It is also known as Walwick Chesters to distinguish it from Great Chesters fort and Halton Chesters. Cilurnum is i ...

is located.

Governance

Acomb is in the

parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

constituency of

Economy

In this area there was much mining and quarrying. The coal mine at Acomb in 1886 employed 200 workers and 51,000 tons of coal per annum were raised. It was good coking coal and 41 coke ovens were in use. At Fallowfield then still working was another lead mine, where the Romans had mined and quarried. In 1886 the mine employed 120 men, mining lead and

barites Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate (Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate) ...

Religious sites

The pleasing church of St John Lee on the hillside amid the trees is dedicated to

St John of Beverley John of Beverley (died 7 May 721) was an English bishop active in the kingdom of Northumbria. He was the bishop of Hexham and then the bishop of York, which was the most important religious designation in the area. He went on to found the town ...

, a local hermit and supposedly worker of miracles. There was a medieval church, but it was rebuilt in 1818 by Dobson and in 1885 enlarged by Hicks, so that it has a tower with spire — a landmark that can be seen from

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

and all around. In 1765 at St John Lee Church a most remarkable marriage was celebrated. The bridegroom was Robert Scott, a well-known Northumbrian piper. He was 90 years old and for 26 years he had moved about on crutches. His bride, Jean Middlemas, was only 25 years old and might be regarded as destined to be a nurse to an antique husband. But on his wedding day, he threw his crutches away and walked from the village of

Wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

, where he lived, to the church. He walked back again among a group of fellow pipers. At the conclusion of the marriage, they were regaled with cakes and ale. Was this a miracle by St John of Beverley?

References

External links

GENUKI
{{authority control Villages in Northumberland Civil parishes in Northumberland