The Northern Vicar Blog

My beloved wife is complaining. She receives an email every time I update this blog – and she has had six updates already today. I promise this is the last one today. I was going to spend a day off on the North York Moors Railway, but the weather is so grotty I have decided to stay here with a pile of railway dvds. My next film show is a Jubilee programme – see www.pontelandstmary.co.uk/activities/railway-films.html Having visited Holystone church I walked up to Lady’s Well, also known as St Ninian’s Well (NT953029). It is next to the Roman road that...

A fortnight later (28 April) we drove up towards Rothbury, but turned left, over beside Simonside, through the bustling metropolis of Great Tosson, then across a flood Coquet, and past Woodhouses Bastle. Sunday’s readings were sheep and shepherds, and Christ the cornerstone – so they got a few photos too. We continued north and turned into the village of Holystone (NT954027). Not easy to park. The church website http://coquetdaleanglican.org/holystone/ says that in the 19th century it was a much busier village with population up to about 200, and there was a resident doctor and headmistress until the school closed 40...

Having skidded back down the valley we came through the hamlet of Alwinton, crossed the River Alwin, and turned up to the church (NT924057). Up being the operative word. The have an excellent magazine (“Over the Bridges) and a new parish website is excellent. It has quite a lot about each church, and they have just started a blog. A parish of 180 square miles – one of the largest in England. http://coquetdaleanglican.org/alwinton/ is the main parish website; there is another for the concerts they hold there (which look wonderful) – http://www.alwintonconcerts.org/ Outside the church there is an open air...

On Saturday 14 April, having had the taste for roman forts, I decided to go to the next camp north of Bremenium, Chew Green (NT787086), on the Border, high up in the Coquet Valley. First stop was Thropton, where Pevsner makes no mention of an Anglican church. I found it – NU032024 – and it’s gorgeous. It was built in 1902 by public subscription on land donated by Lord Armstrong. Apparently the pews came from St Barnabas church, Thorneyford, Kirkley in the parish of Ponteland. I knew I had a chapel in my parish that is no longer in...

On Friday 13 April I had gone walking with Gordon and his walking group to see the roman fort at Bremenium and the tombs on the Dere Street (NY833986). The dating of the tomb fits in with Elsdon church tombstone of Rufinus the prefect of the 1st Cohort of Vardulli which was the garrison in the reign of Emperor Severus, about 200 AD. The whole career of Rufinus was put on his tombstone by his aristocratic wife Julia Lucilla. He died aged 48 years. High on the hillside, looking north to the Cheviots and the land north of the Empire,...

Easter was extremely good in both my churches. We were up 20% up on Easter Sunday in St Mary’s Ponteland, while they got 70 into Holy Saviour, Milbourne (how??). On Easter Monday we went for a drive and stopped in Hartburn (NZ090860). Pevsner describes it as “an intriguing church, with a pre-Conquest core, late C12 to early C13 tower, a chancel of the same date extended in the later C13.” Unfortunately it was locked – they are doing some building works, which could be a reasonable excuse. In the churchyard, which is high on the bank above the Wansbeck,...

  Last time I went to Tweedmouth I said they needed a decent noticeboard. Box ticked. This time I got inside. They have a task on their hands. The north transept has a large, redundant, organ (only installed in 1988), and the area round is a dumping ground for all sorts of things. A gallery at the back is another dumping ground. In the vestry a photo of “Vicar Henderson” takes pride of place – he was here from 1938 to 1981. The guidebook was hand-written and illustrated by The Reverend R.M. Robertston Stone in May 1998 and has been...

Back in February I didn’t even find Spittal. This time I did (I was following Matthew the Vicar!) – NU006516. 1870 with a later tower.   They made separate rooms out of the south aisle a few years ago, but need more space to do children’s activities in the church itself. It is a huge building, so all the heat disappears.     The East Window has an interesting representation of Holman Hunt’s “Light of the world”. Many years ago I used a poster of this while talking to Hannah and the children at Perry Church. The children went...

We were a bit naughty as we walked round the Priory without visiting the Visitors’ Centre and booking in – but we are English Heritage members so they didn’t loose any money. It did mean I didn’t buy a guidebook. “A glorious ruin” says Pevsner – is that enough history … yes, probably is. (I’m blogging on Good Friday evening, not an evening when Vicars are at their most exciting! We’re having an inspirational evening watching “The Ladykillers”, one of Ealing Studios’ finest). This is another Fenwick Lawson statue – Cuthbert (of course). I don’t like this one as...