Enjoy a glimpse of history about Carham in Northumberland, North East England, UK.
The Post Office Directory of Durham and Northumberland
by Kelly and Company
Published in 1879
CARHAM is a parish comprising the townships of CARHAM, DOWNHAM, LEARMOUTH, MINDRUM, MONEYLAWS, PRESSON, WARK, and the hamlets of HAGG, SHIDLAW, TITHEHILL, and WARK COMMON, in the Northern division of the county, west division of Glendale ward, Wooler county court district, Norham rural deanery, Lindisfarne archdeaconry and Durham diocese. Carham village is situated on the road from Berwick to Kelso, near the river Tweed, 7 miles south-west from Berwick-upon-Tweed, 5 from Cornhill, 3 from Coldstream (its post town), 17 from Wooler, and 1½ from the station (which is in Scotland) north-west, on the Kelso branch of the North Eastern railway. The church of St. Cuthbert, in a commanding situation close to the bank of the river Tweed, was erected in 1791, repaired and repewed in 1870; it consists of chancel and tower, porch and a bell-turret with 1 bell. The register dates from the year 1622. The living is a vicarage, yearly value £330 with residence and 5½ acres of glebe, in the gift of the heirs of Anthony Compton, esq. and held by the Rev. Arthur Blenkinsopp Coulson, B.A. of Exeter college, Oxford: the vicarage is a handsome residence, pleasantly situated in the village. Near the church are the remains of a monastery of Black Canons, which had been founded here subordinate to the priory of Kirkham, Yorkshire. In 1370 Sir John Lilburn was defeated near this place by the Scots, who were then returning from an incursion with many prisoners and a great train of cattle. Near to the village is a small streamlet called the March Burn, which here flows into the Tweed, and forms, for a short distance, the line of demarcation between the two kingdoms; the railway station is placed at this spot, on the Scotch border. The Hall, the seat of Mrs. Hodgson-Huntley, a short distance from the village, is a modern stone Elizabethan mansion, most delightfully situated in a park on the banks of the Tweed. The Earl of Tankerville, who is lord of the manor, Earl Grey, the heirs of Sir John Haggerston, Mrs. Hodgson-Huntley and Mrs. Hodgson-Hinde are the chief landed proprietors. The soil is loamy, and of very superior quality; the subsoil principally clay. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas, turnips and mangold-wurzel. The population in 1871, was 1,210; the acreage is 10,608 acres of land, and 104 of water; rateable value £21,171 19s. 6d.—Letters through Coldstream, which is the nearest money order and telegraph office.
DOWNHAM, 7 miles south-east from Carham, is a township and hamlet, consisting of one farm, in the occupation of Mr. Thomas Elliott, and owned by Earl Grey. The Earl of Tankerville is lord of the manor.
LEARMOUTH is a township.
LEARMOUTH, NEW or EAST, 3½ miles east, and 1½ south from Coldstream station, is a hamlet at the junction of four roads.
LEARMOUTH, OLD or WEST, 3 miles east, and 2 east from Wark station, is a hamlet, consisting of one farm in the occupation of Mr. John Lumsden, and the property of Earl Grey: it is said formerly to have been a populous village; an ancient burial-ground in the vicinity is the only remaining proof of this assertion. The Earl of Tankerville is lord of the manor.—Letters through Cornhill: Coldstream is the nearest money order office.
MINDRUM, or MINDRUM, 5 miles south-east, and 5 south-east from Wark station, 10 west-by-north from Wooler, is a township and hamlet, the property of the Earl of Tankerville, who is lord of the manor. Here are the remains of an ancient chapel.
MONEY LAWS, 5½ miles east, and 3 south-by-east from Coldstream station, is a township and hamlet. Sir John Haggerston is lord of the manor.
SHIDLAW, half a mile east from Carham, is a hamlet, consisting of one farm.
TITHEHILL, 2½ miles east, and 3 south from Coldstream station, is a hamlet.—Letters through Coldstream, which is the nearest money order office.
PRESSON, 2¾ miles east-by-south, and 2 south-east from Wark station, is a township and hamlet. The Earl of Tankerville is lord of the manor.—Letters through Coldstream.
HAGG is a hamlet 5 miles east, and 3½ south from Coldstream station.—Letters through Coldstream, which is the nearest money order and telegraph office.
Wark is a township and village of some 90 houses, situated on the road from Kelso to Cornhill, and on the south bank of the river Tweed, which here forms the boundary between England and Scotland, with a station on the North Eastern branch railway between Kelso and Tweedmouth; before the railway was formed, the inhabitants were chiefly carters and carted coals and lime, but now they are employed chiefly in agricultural pursuits. There are about 40 freehold properties in the village, the owners having a right to vote for Members of Parliament for the Northern division of the county: they are the descendants of the keepers of the old castle, and have all houses and portions of land, with a right to pasture cows on the common. There is a Court Leet held in the school-room every three years, Mr. Poynter of Alnwick being the steward of the Right Hon. Earl of Tankerville, lord of the manor. The village is very ancient-looking, being mostly composed of low thatched houses, built in a very irregular and confused form and position. To the west of the village are the ruins of the old castle: it was one of the strongest of the border castles, and was surrounded by two walls, parts of which are still standing, overlooking the Tweed; a high tower stood in the centre, part of which now forms the ruins; there are remains of a large staircase and keep. The inhabitants still adhere to the tradition that the Order of the Garter was instituted in the castle. A kame or hill takes its beginning at the east end of the village and extends past the castle towards Carham for about ¾ of a mile. About three hundred yards to the west of the castle is St. Giles' churchyard with the remains of the foundation of the church. The principal houses of the village are supposed to have stood to the west of the castle and St. Giles' church, and between the kame and the banks of the Tweed; it appears that the Tweed had divided at the west end of the kame and flowed on each side of the castle: at the ground to the south is a hollow of wet marshy land, which was crossed by a drawbridge; it is now drained by a large cut at the east of the village, called the Goat's Mouth; this is supposed to have been done by the enemy to reach the walls of the castle: the most decisive battle was fought to the west of the castle, the enemy coming by way of Carham: a hill about half a mile to the west of the village is called the Gallows Knowe or hill, where all the Scotch prisoners were hanged in view of the Scotch. SHIDLAW is a hamlet about a mile to the south-west of the village, so called on account of all the cattle being taken from within the walls of the castle in the morning, and shed or divided to the different owners. Wark boat house stands on the banks of the Tweed close under the ruins of the castle, where the water is crossed by a ferry boat. The Earl of Tankerville is lord of the manor.
WARK COMMON is a hamlet.
RAILWAY STATIONS:— Carham, William Colville, station master
Wark, Samuel Alexander, station master
584 CARHAM. NORTHUMBERLAND. [POST OFFICE
Carham.
Coulson Rev. Arthur Blenkinsopp, B.A. [vicar]
Henderson George, Shidlaw
Hodgson-Huntley Mrs. The Hall
Elliott Thomas, farmer, Downham
East Learmouth.
Beard George, blacksmith
Rouse Cecil, farmer
Hagg.
Thompson Alexander, farmer
Old Learmouth.
Lumsden John, farmer
Mindrim.
Botherwick Charles, farmer
Lynn Margaret (Mrs.), farmer & miller
Money Laws.
Logan John, farmer
Matthewson James, farmer
Shidlaw.
Henderson George, farmer
Tithehill.
Davidson Ellen (Mrs.), farmer
Presson.
Hogg William, farmer
Marshall James, farmer
Comments
Post a Comment