BELSAY LANDSCAPE
Civil parishes are established on a geographical basis. They were separated from church parishes in England in the 1860s. The civil parish of Belsay sits entirely within the National Character Area 12 ‘Mid Northumberland’[i] which describes its landscapes and cultural character. This is an important cultural landscape made up primarily of gently undulating farmland lying between the coastal plain to the east and the higher land of the sandstone hills the west. The majority of the soils are classified Grade 3, fertile, acidic loam with some clay and predominantly seasonally wet. The area has small seams of coal. Disused small quarries scattered throughout the parish provide evidence of the extraction of limestone and sandstone of the area, as does the remains of coal mining (shafts and shaft mounds) such as the post-medieval bell pits and associated spoil heaps in fields north-west of Bolam Hall. There are records of limekilns associated with lime extraction, probably for use on agricultural land, such as at Bygate, East Bitchfield farm, Park House farm and north of Bantam Wood. Marble was extracted at Park House farm. Clay pits were situated at Wallridge Moor and south of the A696 on the southern entrance to Belsay village where the remains of the Tilery can still be clearly seen from the road.
The fields of the parish are mostly characterised by a pre-modern enclosed form, with some modern format and ancient form across the parish.[ii] Some significant areas of medieval and post medieval ridge and furrow cultivation have been found. The current field patterns generally reflect the regular rectilinear arrangement of planned 18th and 19th-century enclosure which was undertaken by large landowners. Scattered within this general framework are features such as woodland plantations and parkland which are also a characteristic of Northumberland’s estate-managed landscapes. Much of the Belsay parish landscape today has been heavily shaped by estate management of its farming landscapes through the tenant farm system[iii]. Farmsteads have changed considerably as farm buildings have been altered and added. There is very little ‘unimproved’ land and there are two large areas classed as ‘recreational’ or ornamental park land. The parish has a number of small meandering rivers and their tributaries which enlarge as they flow towards the sea to the east. Some of these flow through riparian strips within farmland. The River Blyth runs across the parish west-east.
The land is a mixture of arable and permanent pasture, still under fairly traditional agricultural land management with arable cultivation increasing considerably since 1945. Field boundaries commonly consist of stone walls, post and wire fences and hedgerows although many hedgerows are now patchy and in poor condition, as is found commonly in much of Northumberland. There are small woodlands - mostly mixed - and shelterbelts – mostly coniferous or mixed. Large Oak and Ash trees exist along some of the country lanes. The ornamental parklands still associated with larger houses and estates have some significant venerable trees. However, there is little woodland generally in the parish. Particularly, very little new woodland planting and the larger woodland areas that do exist are linked with Bolam Lake, Shortflatt, Belsay Hall and Whalton Park. Important areas of ancient and semi-natural woodland are associated with Bantam Hill and the riparian strip along the Coal Burn.
Northumberland is notorious for a lack of open water. Within the parkland areas of Belsay parish there are areas of open water, which are considered important stepping stones for migrating birds, including at Belsay Hall, at Blackheddon Hall, and at Bolam Country Park. Almost the whole parish area is identified as potentially important as habitat for declining farmland birds such as Barn Owl, Curlew, Lapwing, Redshank, Snipe and Yellow Wagtail[i]. Most of the common mammal species are found in the parish with bat habitat of particular note. There is little information on other species such as insects and amphibians, and rare plants in the parish.
There are significant archaeological and historical sites, particularly ancient settlements, and former villages, notably in the landscape around Shortflatt hall, Belsay Hall, Harnham, Bolam, West Bitchfield and Middle Newham. The parish landscape is rich in historic features as attested by the many listings. These include grand halls and manor houses, agricultural outbuildings, byres and stables, bridges, ornamental follies, garden features and buildings, churches, headstones and tombs, cottages, garden and field walls, school buildings, public houses, ancient barrows, cairns, standing stones and the remains of many deserted settlements. The Roman ‘Devil’s Causeway’ (which probably pre-dates Hadrian’s Wall) runs on the western border of the parish. Place names provide indications of the significances and former uses of places, and the tracks, small roads, bridlepaths, rights of way and former mineral railway routes indicate how people and goods moved around the parish in past times as well as providing access today. The nearest major towns/larger villages are Ponteland (about 6 miles to the south-east) and the county town of Morpeth (about 9 miles to the north-east).
The pattern of rights of way and public access routes (footpaths and bridlepaths) are primarily quite long, based on old routes linking farmsteads. There are now no areas of public open space/woodlands or common land in the parish, however Bolam Lake Country Park is significant both inside and outside the parish for public access and for wildlife. The lake was created, and woodland planted between 1816-19 by John Dobson for the Reverend John Beresford (who became Lord Decies) who owned the land at that time. Dobson, who is more commonly recognised locally as an architect, demonstrated his skills as a landscape architect at Bolam. Frank Buddle Atkinson bought the Bolam estate in 1902, and the site has been owned and managed by Northumberland County Council since 1972. There is an active Friends of Bolam Lake group.
Endnotes and sources of information:
[1] Natural England. 2015. Natural Character Area Profile 12: Mid Northumberland. Catalogue Code: NE484 ISBN: 978-78367-041-3
[1] See Magic https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx
[1] Oakey, M. 2017. Belsay Awakes: Historic England Contribution Landscape Survey Report. Historic England. Research Report Series no. 48-2017 https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports/48-2017
[1] RSPB Bird Conservation Targeting Project (BCTP). See Magic https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx
BELSAY EARLY HISTORY[i]
The earliest trace of human occupation in the parish belongs to the Mesolithic period, a time before farming had been introduced. A number of worked flints belonging to this period have been found in the area of East Shaftoe Farm. These tools may have been used to hunt animals and birds or harvest wild plants. The first evidence for actual settlement comes from shortly after the Mesolithic in the early Neolithic period. The discovery of an occupation site of this period is very rare in Britain and unique in Northumberland. Some late Mesolithic finds were also made at the same site in Sandyford Quarry field nearby suggesting that people had been living at the site for a long time. Many flint tools of the Neolithic period have also been found at several sites in the parish, including East Shaftoe, Middleton Bank and Shortflatt.
In the Bronze Age people began to make objects out of metal as well as flint. This can be seen, most spectacularly in Belsay with the discovery of two bronze shields. Such objects are very rare, and they may have been buried for religious purpose. Other remains of Bronze Age religious practices can be found across the parish. Two standing stones have been found, one on Bygate Hill and one next to a burial cairn at East Shaftoe. The precise purpose of these monuments is not clear, but they are quite rare in Northumberland, and as such are of great importance. A number of Bronze Age burials have been found in the parish. A large barrow is known at Stob Hill, and another grave has been found at Bygate close to the site of a cairn. A number of Bronze Age pottery vessels and other items such as beads have also been found from near Belsay Castle, Black Heddon and West Bitchfield. These may well also have come from burials. Despite all this evidence of the Bronze Age no evidence for their houses or villages has been found in the parish. This may be because these settlements were often impermanent and difficult to identify.
The situation in the Iron Age is in complete contrast. Although there is little evidence for burial practices from this period in Belsay, there is good evidence for settlements in the form of cropmarks seen on aerial photographs. These have shown the presence of fortified enclosures near Bolam Hall, on Slate Hill and at Huckhoe. These were surrounded by one or more earth banks and ditches, which would have protected the buildings. Querns - stones used for grinding corn - have been found. These show clearly that crops, such as grain, were being grown.
The parish is not far north of Hadrian’s Wall but there is little evidence of Roman changes to the parish landscapes. The settlement at Huckhoe continued to be used and settlements became rectangular rather than oval enclosures as at Edgehouse and Low House. At least one Roman road ran north through the area. It is along such routes that the Roman pottery found at Bolam may have arrived. Following the end of Roman rule in Britain in the early fifth century there is very little evidence for any form of occupation until after the Norman Conquest (AD1066). However, we know there must have been some Anglo-Saxon occupation in the area as many of the place-names in the parish are of Old English origin. The parish Church of St Andrew at Bolam has a Saxon tower, belonging to 10th or 11th century. There are many Norman references in the parish. Henry I created the title ‘Baron of Bolam’ to rule over nearby villages and woodland. This family built a castle (near the current Bolam Hall), collected payments from villagers and provided a Norman presence on the borders for the next 140 years, until the last male heir died in 1206.
By the Middle Ages the parish was densely settled. As well as the village of Belsay itself there were a number of other named settlements, many of which must have had their origin in the earlier Anglo-Saxon period. The number of settlements suggests that the area must have been extensively farmed, allowing the land to support so many people. However, the area suffered from a period of warfare and many raids from Scotland. It was because of this that a number of fortified tower houses were built, including Belsay Castle. There was also a growth in the number of religious buildings in the medieval period. As well as the parish church, which was extensively added to at this time, there was also a chapel at Belsay Hall. A hospital, which would have been run by the Church to serve travellers, was also built in the 13th century.
During the period 1550-1750 there was considerable change in the landscapes. Land was enclosed, tenancies changed from customary tenure to leaseholds and people lived in scattered farmsteads rather than village settlements surrounded by open fields. This pattern of dispersed farm settlements remains in Belsay parish today[i].
BELSAY VILLAGE HISTORY AND PEOPLE
The original location of Belsay village was much nearer the castle and varied over time in both size and location. Documents show that during the 14th century it contained 30 enclosures and in 1666 it had 36 houses – approximately the same as today’s village. In the 18th century it consisted of 18 houses[i]. The village was moved completely and rebuilt in its familiar neoclassical style in the 1830s by Sir Charles Monck.
Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century Belsay Village had a number of shops including two confectionery shops, Anderson’s and Pickering's[ii]. Mr William Pickering had a motorcycle repair shop and later moved from the arcade to a purpose-built garage on the opposite side of the road, serving petrol and carrying out repairs for miles around. This garage was the only one between Cowgate, Newcastle, and Otterburn. Cuthbert Snowball ran the post office and telephone exchange along with his wife and family, and they also had a saddlery shop adjacent to the post office. Mary Nixon had a tea-room at the Pavilion, now known as Woodbine Cottage, next to the police house where Mr Douglas, the first police officer, took up residence in 1927. Travelling towards the village from the police house we come to Guidepost; here the joiner lived above his workshop and at the corner the blacksmith lived next door to his smithy. In the 1930s a new and imposing blacksmith's shop was built opposite to his residence, as befitted the talent of Edwin Creer, who was reputed to be the finest blacksmith in Northumberland. This building now houses the Blacksmith’s Coffee Shop.
The village school, built in 1870, replaced the old school house of the 1830s. The school was purpose-built to accommodate 150 pupils. Mr Firth was the headmaster and his wife the assistant. Up to the mid-1950s Sunday services by the vicar of Bolam were held in the school and regular dances and evening classes were well supported by local people from a wide area. The Women's Institute and Methodists continued to hold their meetings in the old school house (on Whalton Road) until 1960. Numbers of students in the school have varied over the past 50 years from around 25 pupils to the present 80. Target admissions to the school currently stand at 15 per year.
At the north end of the village there used to be a tollhouse, or gatehouse. Tolls were collected for traffic heading up the turnpike road towards Otterburn. Turnpike roads were established by Act of Parliament, generally for 21 years to repay the investment of establishing the road and pay for upkeep. Toll houses were often knocked down once this term ended. At Belsay there is a story of a local character who objected to the toll charge and simply jumped the toll gate on his horse rather than pay the charge. Also situated at this end of a village is Bank House, which was a branch of Lloyds bank for many years. The most recent changes to the village have been on Belsay Estate land; the conversion of the farm buildings around the former Castle Inn, a coaching inn at Woodhouse, at the northern end of the village, and the building of nine houses along the A696 opposite, and the alterations to the land and buildings at the southern end of the village to accommodate Belsay Woodland Burials and the estate office. Minor extensions have been carried out to the school to accommodate changes in Northumberland County Council education requirements.
In 1848 Wallridge was recorded as having four inhabitants. Today, it is a hamlet located three miles west of Belsay. It consists of a farm and cottages which range along a secondary road running parallel to the main Belsay to Ingoe route. To the north is Wallridge Moor and to the south are the woods of Birneys Plantation. Historically, the hamlet and surrounding area were a township in the ancient parish of Stamfordham and there is a site of a deserted medieval village to the north-west of the farm. Other farm settlements suggest that the origins of Wallridge were several farms rather than any clear village form. The name ‘Wallridge’ is said to mean ‘the ridge where the Welshman (or perhaps the ‘outsider’) lives’.[i]
Belsay Colliery, which operated from 1923-1930, was owned by Kirkheaton Colliery Co Ltd and situated to the north-west of Wallridge.[ii] Just before it closed there were 94 people working there, 59 below surface in the mine, and 35 on the surface. A 7½-mile branch line, known as the Wallridge Mineral Railway, ran from Belsay Colliery to Darras Hall station, then connecting with the South Gosforth and Ponteland railway. The train had six trucks, two passenger coaches and a guard’s van. For a short period an untimetabled passenger service ran the mile between Wallridge cottages and the colliery, but there is now little trace of the colliery or the branch line in the area.[iii]
Other settlements in the parish have grown and shrunk over time. An example is Bolam village first mentioned in documents in 1168 when the barony of Bolam was held by Gilbert de Bolam. It is recorded as a ‘town’ with its own market and the permission to hold fairs granted in 1301. Although it had started shrinking, probably as the land was turned into parkland during the 16th century, in 1820, there are still 90 inhabitants recorded. This was a large proportion of the wider parish which had a population of 595. During World War II Land Girls of the Timber Corps worked on Bolam estate. Stories from the time tell of the hard work on boggy land and the friendships that grew between the ‘Girls’ and the Italian Prisoners of War who were brought from the PoW camp at Ponteland to work alongside them[i].
HISTORY OF BELSAY HALL AND THE MIDDLETON FAMILY
‘In terms of both its architecture and its landscape feature, Belsay is one of the most important sites, not only in Northumberland, but in the whole country. It is in a sense an encapsulation of English history’[i].
This is quite a heritage! As far as we know, the earliest settlement is a bi-vallate, Iron Age hillfort atop Bantam Hill, northwest of the medieval castle and west of the current village. The fort is a promontory settlement, protected by steep, now wooded banks on three sides with ditches covering the gradual slope to the east. The area enclosed is 1.75 ha. Whilst the site was fully surveyed in 1986, no recorded excavation has taken place. It is a magical spot where landscape and history achieve a glorious fusion. Whether the camp was pre-Roman or contemporary with Roman occupation of the area, we can’t say.
The architectural historian Pevsner waxes equally enthusiastic about the medieval castle: ‘…one of the most impressive in Northumberland…’[ii] The tower house style makes it seem square, but it actually has two short projecting wings at the southwest and northwest covering a recessed entrance. The principal body of the tower comprises three large chambers, one on top of the other. There are marked similarities to Chipchase castle (about 12 miles to the west) and indeed the same mason’s marks have been identified at both. Like all of Belsay, it is constructed with squared ashlar blocks of local sandstone, a mellow buff tone with marked ferrous deposits. The roof line is marked by four rounded ‘bartizans’ (projecting turrets), with one, at the northwest corner being significantly larger.
Building the castle, as we see it, is credited to Sir John Strivelyn, [Trevelyan] (c1315-78), who held the manor during the time of King Edward III. Sir John was the first and last Baron of Belsay. He had gained the lands after they were confiscated by the Crown from the Middleton family. Sir John died without any sons to pass the title on to, but the lands passed back to the Middleton family through the marriage of his great niece, Christiana, to Sir John de Middleton.
The name ‘Middleton’ is Anglo-Saxon and may have originated from the Northumberland place name[iii]. Richard Middleton (died 1272) rose to become Lord Chancellor under King Henry III, and certainly held the manor by the last quarter of the thirteenth century. Quite how the place looked then we cannot say but an earlier hall almost certainly stood on the site of the castle with the medieval village clustered around. A re-located village cross still stands in a field just east of the castle. This remarkable survivor of the removed village has a large square base with tapering shaft reaching around 9 feet high.
So far so good, but these were dangerous times for all in Northumberland with allegiances changing constantly. It was Richard Middleton’s grandson, Sir Gilbert who went over to the dark, or rather the Scottish side during the reign of King Edward II. The Anglo-Scottish wars had begun in blood from 1296, and by 1314 Robert the Bruce had defeated Edward resoundingly at Bannockburn and instituted an era of ‘frightfulness’ or terror, throughout Northumberland. Everyone south of the border suffered badly. Local lords were often not strong enough to protect their lands and people, the king was utterly impotent to do anything about the situation and Scottish raids relentless. Many local knights made independent arrangements with the Scots. Sir Gilbert, (whose main base was Mitford), went one further and defected wholesale. His career as gentleman turned bandit extended to kidnapping the Bishop-elect of Durham for ransom but ended with his execution for treason in 1318, and attainder, which meant that his lands were confiscated by the Crown.
With the marriage between Sir John de Middleton and Christiana, the Middleton family fortunes seem to have been restored, besides the border needed all the strengthening forces it could get. There would be regular problems until the Union of the Crowns (England and Scotland) in 1603. During the fifteenth century and the internecine savagery of the Wars of the Roses, Sir John Middleton remained a fervent Yorkist, one who fought at St. Albans in 1455 and then 30 years later at the Battle of Bosworth Field, 1485.
The Union of England and Scotland brought a sea change in both life and landscapes, and Northumbrian gentry began building more elegant and comfortable wings onto their fortified tower houses. Thomas Middleton (died 1561) was no exception and a carved stone relief above the pleasing doorway on Belsay castle entrance which informs that: ‘Thomas Middleton and his wife Dorothy builded this house Anno 1614’. Almost a century later c.1711, a new Queen Anne wing was added and the whole thing was made over yet again in 1862. What remains is now a ‘controlled ruin’ – a roofless shell. The castle is, however, extremely well maintained and open to the public. Fantastic views of the surrounding landscape can be gained from the top of the tower.
In October 1662, Sir William Middleton was raised to a baronetcy. Three of his successors, the third, fifth and sixth baronets all sat as MPs for Northumberland. It was the sixth Baronet who, in 1799 assumed by Royal sign-manual the surname of Monck. This was in accordance with the testament of his maternal grandfather Lawrence Monck. Monck-Middleton’s successor, Sir Arthur, the seventh Baronet, who sat for Durham in Parliament, reverted to Middleton.
Sir Charles Monck, 6th Baronet undertook a ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe – an activity beloved of Georgian gentlemen of refinement and breeding. He studied architecture in Germany between 1804–1806. He was impressed by the wave of Neo-Classicism sweeping Prussia and by its manifestation in new structures such as the wonderfully florid Brandenburg Gate. Moving on to Athens, he encountered the esteemed antiquarian, Sir William Gell, who had published his influential treatise Troad a couple of years earlier. Such classical inspiration fuelled Monck’s desire to recreate that splendour of Golden Age Athens in distant, rather cooler Northumberland. Over 200 drawings and sketches by him survive, clearly showing the design for a Grecian vision for Belsay. There have been suggestions (unproven) that a young John Dobson may have collaborated on the project.
Monck was bold, his scheme is austere Doric rather than the more colourful Corinthian or Ionic styles favoured by contemporary classicists. Grange Park in Hampshire by William Wilkins (1804) was a shining example of this ‘… but Belsay [1807–1817] is very different … and very different in fact from all other Greek Doric houses in England’ [Pevsner again]. And it is, there is no other like it. Monck translated a severe and uncompromising classical interpretation and set it perfectly into an altogether different landscape. It is a masterpiece, superbly Athenian but austere, with proportions a perfect homage to its roots. We have to think Pericles would have approved!
One of the casualties of Monck’s grand vision was the old medieval village, which was replaced by the Quarry Garden. The ‘new’ village which currently lines the busy A696 road may have been built either at the same time as the hall or rather later after 1830. At the core of the village is one long terrace with those distinctive arcades, very Italianate in feel. Woodhouse, the original coaching inn, is dated 1836 and located at the northern end of the village on the road to Scotland. It is sadly no longer a pub since the Middletons espoused tee-totalism later in the nineteenth century. The Old School, down on Whalton Road, has a beam carved with the date 1829.
Sir Charles Monck died in 1867 at the impressive age of 88. He was succeeded by his grandson, 7th Baronet, Sir Arthur Middleton who was a keen plantsman importing many exotic varieties to grace both formal and quarry gardens, adding to their unique mix and enduring appeal. He reverted to the Middleton name and carried out new work to the old manor house to create additional staff accommodation. A tale is told of Sir Arthur that he insisted on all the main rooms in the hall, being heated to 70⁰F/21⁰C (classical designs don’t necessarily agree with a Northumbrian climate). He carried a thermometer in his waistcoat pocket to ensure this was constantly so. One member of staff was employed on a full-time basis to carry coals to keep the fires burning.
Overall, the twentieth century produced significant challenges and for decades after the war, (the place was occupied by the military for the duration), there was a steady and very marked decline in the condition of the buildings and estate. Like so many grand estates, spiralling costs, crippling death duties and the burden of constant, costly maintenance took their inevitable toll. It was only after 1980 when responsibility was shifted to the public sector that a remarkable renaissance began under the aegis of English Heritage. This continues today. Significant investment in major structural repairs and extensive conservation has taken place while 2024 saw the opening of a very exciting new children’s adventure playground at the rear of the castle stables. The stables themselves are now reimagined as a new coffee shop and learning area. Since 2005 the Belsay Estate lands have been run through various Trusts headed by Laura de Wesselow (née Middleton) while Belsay Hall & Gardens remains under the guardianship of English Heritage.
Endnotes and sources of information:
[1]See Keys to the Past https://keystothepast.info/search-records/results-of-search/results-of-search-2/site-details/?PRN=N12992
[1] Oakey, M. 2017. Belsay Awakes: Historic England Contribution Landscape Survey Report. Historic England. Research Report Series no. 48-2017 https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports/48-2017
[1] Gatehouse Gazetter. Belsay Castle. https://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/2408.html
[1] The village information is taken from: Northumberland Federation of Women's Institutes. 1994. The Northumberland Village Book. Countryside Books.
[1] Watson, G. 1970. Northumberland Place Names. Morpeth, Sandhill Press.
[1] Durham Mining Museum. Belsay Colliery http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/b110.htm
[1] Disused Stations http://disused-stations.org.uk/b/belsay_colliery/index.shtml
[1] Northumberland County Council. 2016. Bolam Lake: A history of the area of Bolam. Bolam@200 project. https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/NorthumberlandCountyCouncil/media/Neigbourhood-and-Local-Services/Parks%20and%20open%20spaces/Bolam%20Lake%20200years%20project/17957-Bolam-Interpretation-Booklet-A5-Print2-LR.pdf
[1] Pevsner Sir N. 1992. The Buildings of England – Northumberland. London, Penguin. p.166.
[1] Pevsner Sir N. 1992. The Buildings of England – Northumberland. London, Penguin. p.166.
[1] Roskell, J.S., Clark, L., and C. Rawcliffe. eds. 1993. The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1386-1421. Boydell & Brewer