Morpeth, Northumberland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009) |
Coordinates: 55°09′47″N 1°40′41″W / 55.163°N 1.678°W
| Morpeth | |
|
|
|
.png)  Morpeth shown within Northumberland |
|
| Population | 14,096 (2001 census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Unitary authority | Northumberland |
| Ceremonial county | Northumberland |
| Region | North East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MORPETH |
| Postcode district | NE61 |
| Dialling code | 01670 |
| Police | Northumbria |
| Fire | Northumberland |
| Ambulance | North East |
| European Parliament | North East England |
| UK Parliament | Wansbeck |
| List of places: UK • England • Northumberland | |
Morpeth is the county town[1] of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town. The town is a mile from the A1, which bypasses it. Since 1981, it has been the administrative centre of the County of Northumberland.[2] In the 2001 census the town had a population of 14,096. Nearby villages include Mitford and Pegswood.
Contents |
[edit] History
Morpeth grew up at an important crossing point of the River Wansbeck [3]. Following the Norman Conquest the town came into the possession of the de Merlay family, and a motte and bailey castle had been constructed by 1095 [3]. Newminster Abbey was founded by Ranulf de Merlay, lord of Morpeth as one the first daughter houses of Fountains in 1138[4]. The town became a borough by prescription. King John granted a market charter for the town to Roger de Merlay in 1199[5]. The market is still held on Wednesdays. The town was badly damaged by fire in 1215 during the First Barons' War [6]. In the thirteenth century a stone bridge was built over the Wansbeck, replacing the ford previously in use [3]. Morpeth Castle was built in the fourteenth century by Ranulph de Merlay on the site of an earlier fortress: only the gatehouse and parts of the ruined castle walls remain [6].
For some months in 1515-16 Margaret Tudor (Henry VIII's sister)and Queen Consort of Scotland lay ill at Morpeth, having been brought there from Harbottle Castle. She eventually reached London in May 1516.
Morpeth was described, in 1540, by the royal antiquary John Leland, as "long and metely well-builded, with low houses," and as "a far fairer town than Alnwick."
In 1552, William Hervey, Norroy King of Arms granted the borough of Morpeth a coat of arms. The arms were identical to those of Roger de Merlay, with the addition of a gold tower. In the letters patent, Hervey noted that he had included the arms of the "noble and valyaunt knyght"... "for a p'petuall memory of his good will and benevolence towardes the said towne "[7].
Morpeth received its first charter of incorporation from Charles II. The corporation it created was controlled by seven companies or trade guilds : the Merchant Tailors, the Tanners, the Fullers and Dyers, the Smiths, the Cordwainers, the Weavers and the Butchers.[6] This remained the governing charter until the borough was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835.
William Cobbett the famous radical journalist, author of Rural Rides stayed with Robert Blakey in 1832, during his speaking tour of the North East. Blakey enjoyed some eight hours of illuminating discussion with the great man.
Until the nineteenth century Morpeth had one of the main markets in northern England for live cattle [6]. The opening of the railways made transport to Newcastle easier, and the market accordingly declined [3].
Among historical landmarks in the town are a free-standing 17th-century clock tower, a grand town hall originally designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, a 13th-century chapel called The Chantry which is now the tourist information centre and Collingwood House the Georgian home of Admiral Lord Collingwood. Today the town and the county's history and culture is celebrated at the annual Northumbrian Gathering.
Morpeth's Deuchar Park, located at the top of Castle Bank, was formerly known as Mafeking Park, and was unofficially considered to be the smallest park in Britain.
At the foot of Dogger Bank is a pathway leading to a footbridge over the River Wansbeck. A pair of whalebones forms a gate onto the bridge; their origin is not known.
A nuclear bunker is located underneath the former council building at Morpeth County Hall near Loansdene.
Down Old Bakehouse Yard, which stretches westwards off Newgate Street, is a garden wall many of whose stones were taken from the ruins of nearby Newminster Abbey. Masons' markings can be seen on some of the stones.
In the cemetery of St Mary's Church near Loansdene can be found the grave of Emily Wilding Davison, the suffragette who famously threw herself under the King's horse during the Epsom Derby in 1913. Her gravestone bears the epitaph "Deeds not words".
Behind St Robert's Catholic Church near the town centre is a playing-field which was formerly an orchard. The stone wall on the north side of the field contains piping through which hot air was pumped to raise the temperature of the air and assist the growth of more exotic fruits such as peaches.
At the west side of the playing-field is a small summer-house built by the Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, who fought with Nelson in various naval engagements including Trafalgar. Lord Collingwood, whose house is nearby on Oldgate, built the summer-house as a place where he could sit in retirement and watch the River Wansbeck.
Morpeth's railway station is on the main east coast line which runs between London and Aberdeen. A non-passenger line still operates between Morpeth and Bedlington. Traces of various other lines remain, and some can be walked. One former line runs west from Morpeth to Scots Gap (from where there was a branch line to Rothbury), then west to Redesmouth, from where there was a northern branch to Scotland and a southern branch to Hexham.
The remains of a drift mine can be visited on the grounds of a farm at Shadfen just outside Morpeth; the mine closed in 1991 see map.
The historical layout of central Morpeth consists of Bridge Street and Newgate Street, with burgage plots leading off them (burgage plots are long strips of land behind a house, used as kitchen gardens). Traces of this layout remain: Old Bakehouse Yard off Newgate Street is a former burgage plot, as is Pretoria Avenue, off Oldgate.
Morpeth stands directly on what used to be the old coaching route between London and Edinburgh, and several old coaching inns are still to be found in the town, including the Queen's Head, the Waterford Lodge and the Black Bull.
On 6 September 2008, Morpeth suffered its worst flood since 1963. The flood defences were breached after a month's rainfall fell in 12 hours.[8]. An estimated 1,000 homes were affected[9].
[edit] Governance
Morpeth has two tiers of local government. The lower tier is Morpeth Town Council. Morpeth is a civil parish with the status of a town, and has a town council of 15 members. For the purposes of parish elections the town is divided into four wards: North Central, Kirkhill, Stobhill and South, each returning between three and five town councillors.[10]
The upper tier of local government is Northumberland County Council. Three county councillors are elected for the town of Morpeth.[11]
[edit] Transport
The A1 road provides a link to Edinburgh and Newcastle. Morpeth railway station has direct trains to London taking a little over three hours.
[edit] Education
The local state school – King Edward VI High School (Granted a grammar school charter in 1552 by King Edward VI) gained Beacon and Leading Edge status in 2003 and 2004 respectively. There is also two middle school within Morpeth built next to each other called Newminster and Chantry. A first school called Abbeyfields is located within Kirkhill, along with Goosehill First School, nearer the town centre. Children of Roman Catholic families in Morpeth normally attend St. Benet Biscop Catholic High School in the nearby town of Bedlington.
[edit] Sports
Sport is popular in the town: Morpeth Town A.F.C., Morpeth RUFC, the cricket, hockey and tennis club and the golf club all play competitively. The Morpeth Harriers cater for those wishing to compete in athletics. The town also offers opportunities to play sport on a non-competitive basis through facilities such as Carlisle Park, the common and the leisure centre.
Storey Park football field normally hosts Sunday League Matches. Morpeth FC football ground is located on Morpeth Common a five minute walk from Morpeth Golf Course.[citation needed]
From 1870-1959 the Morpeth Olympic Games were held.[citation needed]
[edit] Notable people
- James (Jim) Alder MBE, athlete, (born in Glasgow 1940)
- Emerson Muschamp Bainbridge 1817–1892, founder of Bainbridge Department Store in Newcastle upon Tyne, the first such store in the world (still the largest John Lewis outside London). Bainbridge lived at Eshott Hall, seven miles from Morpeth, from 1877.[12]
- Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham, 1849–1931, private secretary to Queen Victoria and George V. Born at Linden Hall, near Morpeth, June 18, 1849.[13]
- Robert Blakey 1795-1878, radical journalist and philosopher. Born in Manchester Street, Morpeth, May 18, 1795[14].
- Luke Clennell 1781—1840, engraver and painter born in Morpeth.
- John Davison, 1793–1863, theologian, author of Considerations on the Poor Laws . Born in Morpeth May 28, 1793.[15]
- William Elliott, Baron Elliott of Morpeth, Conservative politician, (born 1920)
- Thomas Gibson died 1562, printer and physician. Born in Morpeth.[16]
- John Cuthbert Hedley, 1837–1913, Benedictine monk and Roman Catholic Bishop of Newport. Born at Carlisle House, Morpeth, April 15, 1837[17]
- Edward Knott 1581-1656 Most important English Jesuit of his day.
- Robert Morrison 1782-1834, first Protestant missionary in China. Translator of the Bible into Chinese. Born at Buller's Green, Morpeth, January 5, 1782[18].
- John Peacock, c 1756-1817, piper, born in Morpeth.
- Katy Pullinger Television presenter.[citation needed]
- John Urpeth Rastrick, 1780–1856, railway engineer born in Morpeth January 26, 1780[19]
- Joe Robinson (1919–unknown), played for Blackpool F.C. in the 1948 FA Cup Final.
- William Turner, 1509/10–1568, ornithologist and botanist, born in Morpeth[20]
- Alan Weedy, born 1933, administrator for Northern California Cricket Association, born in Morpeth."Executives". Northern California Cricket Association. 2008. http://ncalcricket.org/aims_exec_2006.asp. Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
- Robert Whinham (1776 - 1861), nurseryman, bred the delicious red gooseberry Whinham's Industry around the 1830s. It became the mainstay of commercial jam production, sales of plants being described in 1888 by the Royal Horticultural Society as unprecedented in the Trade. About 200 tons per year were produced in Morpeth alone. Tens of thousands of plants were also sold to the U.S.A. The gooseberry was given the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1915 and 1993.
[edit] See also
- Morpeth railway station
- Rail accidents at Morpeth
- The Morpeth (Road Race)
- Morpeth Clock Tower
- Morpeth Town A.F.C.
- 2008 Morpeth Flood
[edit] References
- ^ Morpeth Herald, 24 March 2005 http://www.morpethherald.co.uk/news/The-title-belongs-to-Morpeth.979686.jp
- ^ Northumberland County Hall moved from Newcastle upon Tyne to Morpeth on April 21, 1981 (see notice in London Gazette issue 48579, dated April 10, 1981)
- ^ a b c d Local history - Morpeth (Northumberland), Keys To The Past, accessed April 18, 2008
- ^ [1]
- ^ [Public to get a say on future of historic Charter Market , Castle Morpeth Borough Council, accessed April 18, 2008]
- ^ a b c d Morpeth (St Mary), Samuel Lewis (editor), A Topographical Dictionary of England, 1848, British history Online, accessed April 18, 2008
- ^ A. C. Fox-Davies, The Book of Public Arms, 2nd edition, London, 1915
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/7606464.stm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7601742.stm
- ^ Councillors, Morpeth Town Council, accessed April 17, 2008
- ^ Northumberland County Councillors, accessed April 17, 2008
- ^ Anne Pimlott Baker, Bainbridge, Emerson Muschamp (1817–1892), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 24 April 2008
- ^ William M. Kuhn, Bigge, Arthur John, Baron Stamfordham (1849–1931), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 24 April 2008
- ^ Roger Hawkins, Blakey, Robert (1795–1878), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 24 April 2008
- ^ W. G. Blaikie, Davison, John (1777–1834), rev. Richard Brent, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2007, accessed 24 April 2008
- ^ I. Gadd, Gibson, Thomas (d. 1562), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 , accessed 24 April 2008
- ^ Alban Hood, Hedley, John Cuthbert (1837–1915), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 24 April 2008
- ^ R K Douglas, 'Morrison, Robert (1782–1834), rev. Robert Bickers, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2007, accessed April 23, 2008
- ^ G C Boase, Rastrick, John Urpeth (1780–1856), rev. M W Kirby, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed April 23, 2008
- ^ Whitney R D Jones, Turner, William (1509/10–1568), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed April 23, 2008
[edit] External links
- Northumbrian Gathering
- Morpeth RUFC
- Morpeth cricket, hockey and tennis club
- Morpeth Harriers
- Northumberland County Council
- King Edward VI High School, Morpeth
- GENUKI (Accessed: 10 November, 2008)
- Northumberland Communities (Accessed: 10 November, 2008)
|
||||||||||||||
