Acomb, Northumberland

Acomb is a village in the south of Northumberland, England.[2] The population at the 2001 Census was 1,184 increasing to 1,268 at the 2011 Census.[3] It is situated to the north of Hexham,[4] not far from the junction of the A69 road and A6079 road. The name is Anglo-Saxon Old English acum, 'at the oak trees'. The traditional pronunciation of the name is "Yeckam".[5]

For the suburb within the City of York, see Acomb, North Yorkshire.

Acomb

Acomb rooftops
Acomb
Location within Northumberland
Population1,184 (2001 census)[1]
OS grid referenceNY931664
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHEXHAM
Postcode districtNE46
Dialling code01434
PoliceNorthumbria
FireNorthumberland
AmbulanceNorth East
UK Parliament


History

Some Bronze Age cists have been discovered in this vicinity.[6] Hadrian's Wall runs about 1 mile (1.5 km) to the NE of Acomb, where the site of Chesters Roman fort is located.

Governance

Acomb is in the parliamentary constituency of Hexham.


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.[7]


Religious sites

The pleasing church of St John Lee on the hillside amid the trees is dedicated to St John of Beverley, 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, Hexham 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, 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?[7]


References
  1. "Office for National Statistics: Neighbourhood Statistics". Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  2. United Kingdom Ordnance Survey Map, NY, Landranger (2004)
  3. "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  4. Acomb, Northumberland Local History Archived 7 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  5. P. H. Reaney (1969). The Origin of English Place Names. Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 44–5. ISBN 0-7100-2010-4.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Rowland, T. H. (1994). Waters of Tyne (Reprint ed.). Warkworth, Northumberland, England: Sandhill Press Ltd. ISBN 0-946098-36-0.
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