Rothbury

The area around Rothbury was populated during the prehistoric period, as evidenced by finds dating from the Mesolithic period and later, although all the known finds are from beyond the outer edges of the modern town.[6] Sites include a cairnfield, standing stone and cup-marked rock on Debdon Moor to the north of the town,[7] a well-preserved circular cairn some 26 feet (8 m) in diameter,[8] a late Neolithic or Bronze Age standing stone,[9] and an extensive hillfort, covering an area 165 by 125 metres (541 by 410 ft) and associated cairnfield to the west of the town.[10] No evidence of the Roman period has been found, probably because the town was a considerable distance north beyond Hadrian's Wall.[11]

Fragments from an Anglo-Saxon cross, possibly dating from the 9th century, are the only surviving relics pre-dating the Norman conquest. They were discovered in 1849, when part of the church was demolished, and in 1856. They are now in the town church and the University of Newcastle Museum.[12]

The first documentary mention of Rothbury, according to a local history,[13] was in around the year 1100, as Routhebiria, or "Routha's town" ("Hrotha", according to Beckensall).[14] The village was retained as a Crown possession after the conquest,[15] but in 1201 King John signed the Rothbury Town Charter and visited Rothbury four years later,[16] when the rights and privileges of the manor of Rothbury were given to Robert Fitz Roger, the baron of Warkworth.[15] Edward I visited the town in 1291, when Fitz Roger obtained a charter to authorise the holding of a market every Thursday, and a three-day annual fair near St Matthew's Day, celebrated on 21 September.[16]

Rothbury was not particularly significant at the time, with records from 1310 showing that it consisted of a house, a garden, a bakehouse and a watermill, all of which were leased to tenants. When the line of Fitz Roger died out, the village reverted to being a crown possession, but in 1334 Edward III gave it to Henry de Percy, who had been given the castle and baronry of Warkworth six years earlier. Despite the Scottish border wars, the village rose in prosperity during the 14th century, and had become the village with the highest parochial value in Northumberland by 1535. Feuds still dominated local affairs, resulting in some parishioners failing to attend church because of them in the 16th century, and at other times, gathering in armed groups in separate parts of the building.[15]

Rothbury became a relatively important village in Coquetdale, being a crossroads situated on a ford of the River Coquet, with turnpike roads leading to Newcastle upon Tyne, Alnwick, Hexham and Morpeth. After it was chartered as a market town in 1291, it became a centre for dealing in cattle and wool for the surrounding villages. A market cross was erected in 1722, but demolished in 1827. In the 1760s, according to Bishop Pococke, the village also had a small craft industry, including hatters. At that time, the village's vicarage and living was in the gift of the Bishop of Carlisle, and worth £500 per year.

Rothbury has had a turbulent and bloody history. In the 15th and 16th centuries the Coquet Valley was a pillaging ground for bands of Reivers who attacked and burned the town with terrifying frequency. Hill farming has been a mainstay of the local economy for many generations. Names such as Armstrong, Charleton and Robson remain well represented in the farming community. Their forebears, members of the reiver 'clans', were in constant conflict with their Scots counterpart. The many fortified farms, known as bastle houses, are reminders of troubled times which lasted until the unification of the kingdoms of England and Scotland in 1603.

Bernard Gilpin making Peace among the Borders by taking down the Glove in Rothbury Church (painting by artist William Bell Scott and housed at Wallington Hall)

The theologian Bernard Gilpin known as the 'Apostle of the North', for his work in the in northern England during the Boder Reivers visited Rothbury there are two stories about Gilpin dealing with feuding reiver families in Rothbury the stories being first that that two rival gangs were threatening each other during his sermon. Realizing that they might break into fighting, Gilpin stood between them asking them to reconcile. They agreed as long as Gilpin stayed in their presence. Another story is that Gilpin observed a glove hanging in the church and ask the sexton about it. He told him that it was a challenge to anyone who removed it. Gilpin thus took the glove and put it in his pocket and carried on with his sermon, and no-one challenged him.[17]

Near the town's All Saints' Parish Church stands the doorway and site of the 17th-century Three Half Moons Inn, where the Jacobite rebel James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater stayed with his followers in 1715 prior to marching into a heavy defeat at the Battle of Preston in 1715.[18]

On the 16th June 1782 Methodist theologian John Wesley preached in Rothbury.[16]

Although Rothbury is of ancient origin, it was mainly developed in the Victorian era particularly after the arrival of the railway in 1870, which brought tourists to the surrounding hill country. Lord Armstrong, who built nearby Cragside in 1865, also had a major influence.

David Dippie Dixon was a historian from Rothbury prior to this he worked in his father's draper's shop called William Dixon and Sons set up in Coquetdale House what is now the Co-op. After William Dixion died it was renamed Dixon Bros.[16]

Rothbury is the site of Cragside, a Victorian country house built for the industrialist Sir William Armstrong, later Lord Armstrong of Cragside. The house was built as a "shooting box" (hunting lodge) between 1862 and 1865, then extended as a "fairy palace" between 1869 and 1900. The house and its estate are now in the possession of the National Trust and are open to the public. From 19 to 22 August 1884 the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and Princess Alexandra and their children (Albert Victor, 10, George later George V, 9, Louise, 7, Victoria, 6, Maud, 4) arrived by train at Rothbury Station to visit Cragside and Lord Armstrong. There was fireworks displays by Pain's of London.[16]

In 1919 an armed robbery at the Rothbury brewery took place resulting in the assault of a police constable, the event was referred to by a local newspaper as a "Wild West Drama". On 28 February 1919 at around 9:00 pm PC Francis Sinton walked past the Rothbury Brewery, which was closed for the night, on his patrol and upon hearing a noise he approached and as he did so he told a passer-by called James Curry to fetch the manager Mr Farndale. As PC Sinton approached, a man appeared from the brewery him and shot at him, only slightly missing him, the two began to tussle as a second man appeared from the brewery, this man hit PC Sinton over the head with an iron crowbar. Curry and Farndale arrived at the brewery finding PC Sinton on the ground injured and the assailants missing. Over the next few days a police search took place across Northumberland and the two perpetrators were found in Walbottle Dene, The perpetrators, despite being armed with a pistol, they gave themselves up. The men were Russian sailors Peter Klighe and Karl Strautin. They were found wearing clothes stolen from the Ashington Co-Op where they also broke into the safe. They were suspected of breaking into a number of safes across the region. They were charged with attempted murder and sentenced to penal servitude for 13 years. PC Sinton was awarded the King's Police Medal.[19]

On the night of August 23 and morning of the 24th 1993 a organised crime gang robbed the Rothbury post office of c15000 in cash, stamps and pension books. Armed with iron crowbars and dressed in camouflage and ski masks they cut the telephone wires blocked the main road with a stolen council van and threatened residents of Rothbury. The then MP for Rothbury liberal democrat Alan Beith used the event to sow that rural villages like Rothbury needed extra police cover to fight organized crime and Detective Inspector John Hope who is lead the investigation stated that too much of focus on cities lead to organized crime moving to rural villages he also said that improving roads for better access to rual villages for the police would help decrease crime and he said that the criminal justice system is was failing to convict people and that criminals knew they could escape punishment.[16][20]

Prince Charles the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and his wife Camilla Duchess of Cornwall visited Rothbury in 2006. Prince Charles reopened Jubilee Hall after it was refurbished the hall is Rothbury's village hall located in the centre of the village and originally built in 1897.[21][22][23] Prince Charles and Camilla also visited the local butchers Rothbury Family Butchers the owner, operator and founder of the butchers Morris Adamson said of the visit:[24]

“I talked to them for about 20 minutes about the business. It was almost surreal, staggering. They were both very well informed about the trade, and the Duchess really impressed me with her knowledge and enthusiasm. I put together for them a gift of Northumbrian lamb and specialist sausages and two days later they sent me a thank you letter from Clarence House saying how much they had enjoyed the visit and the meat. The Duchess told me in the shop that her son (Tom) was a food critic and she said she would recommend he should come up to see us in Rothbury to sample our speciality sausages. And Prince Charles congratulated us on keeping alive the traditions of the trade and providing meat that was sourced locally. He urged us to keep up the good work. It was amazing, really.”

In July 2010, Rothbury was the site of the 2010 Northumbria Police manhunt a major police manhunt for Raoul Moat, a murder suspect believed to be armed. The manhunt culminated in a stand-off between the police and Moat, which ended when Moat took his own life.

Rothbury is in the parliamentary constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The current representative is Anne-Marie Trevelyan of the Conservatives, who has been the local MP since 2015 [25][26][27] From 1973 until 2015, Rothbury's MP was Alan Beith of the Liberal Democrats since 1988 and the liberals prior to its dissolution.

Rothbury is served by the Northumberland County Council and represented by Councillor Steven Bridgett [28] First elected in 2008 as a liberal democrat and re-elected in 2013 & 2017 as an Independent, politically non-aligned member of Northumberland County Council.

Rothbury was in the European Parliament constituency of North East England represented by Labour yet changed to the Brexit party in 2019.

Rothbury is served by Northumbria Police and it has a single police station.

Rothbury has a fire station. The fire station moved and is currently located a few hundred metres from where the old one used to be situated.

The village is served by a doctors surgery [29] and a hospiatal called Rothbury Community Hospital yet the hospital closed to inpatients in September 2016 causing controversy [30] a local protest group called Save Rothbury Cottage Hospital was formed in opposition.[31][32][33]

Rothbury's shop are mainly independent shops with only two chain shops in the village these being supermarket Co-Op [40] and newsagents Mace [41] Indepdent shops are deli: Tully's,[42] butchers: Rothbury Family Butchers visited by Prince Charles and Camilla in 2006,[24][43] and Art Galleries: Crown Studio Gallery [44] and Coquetdale Art Gallery [45][46]

In Rothbury folklore Simonside Hills overlooking Rothbury has a mythical creature called a deaugar (Norse for 'dwarf'). It is said that the creature lures people at night by its lantern light towards bogs or cliffs in order to kill them.[47] Rothbury has a art gallery called Red Deaugar Art Gallery named after the creature.[48] There is also an annual 10 mile winter nighttime trail run in the Simonside Hills celebrating this folklore called The Duergar Nightcrawler

The Bedlington Terrier was originally named after Rothbury and known as the Rothbury or Rodbury Terrier however the name changed due to popularity of the breed by miners in the Northumberland pit village of Bedlington [49]

Rothbury holds a music festival every year called the Rothbury Traditional Music Festival it consists of traditional Northumberland folk music.[50] Robson Green did a documentary on the event for his Tales from Northumberland for the Season One Episode Five episode [51]

Lordenshaw Hill has the largest concentration of rock carvings in Northumberland. Over 100 panels have been recorded on the hill, the adjacent Whitton Burn and Garleigh Moor, in an area which covers less than 620 acres. The carved panels range from single cup-marked boulders to complex panels. There are many other interesting archaeological sites in this area, including a ditched Iron Age enclosure and an Early Bronze Age cairn.[52]

Half a mile to the south, Whitton Tower is an exceptionally well-preserved 14th-century pele tower.[53]

The market cross near the church, the current version of which was erected in 1902 and is known as "St Armstrong's Cross" as it was paid for by Lady Armstrong, widow of Lord Armstrong of Cragside.[54] Until 1965, Rothbury was the location of a racecourse, which had operated intermittently since April 1759, but seldom staged more than one meeting per year. The course was affected by flooding in the 1960s, and the last meeting was on 10 April 1965. The site is now used by Rothbury Golf Club.[55]

All Saints' Church incorporates materials from an ancient Anglo-Saxon place of worship

Rothbury's Anglican parish church building – All Saints' Church – dates from circa 1850, largely replacing but in parts incorporating the fabric of a former Saxon edifice, including the chancel, the east wall of the south transept and the chancel arch. The church has a font with a stem or pedestal using a section of the Anglo-Saxon cross shaft, showing what is reputed to be the earliest carved representation in Great Britain of the Ascension of Christ.[62]

Rothbury has a Bowling club it is a member of the Northumberland County Bowling Association (NCBA) and has a clubhouse and car park facility.

The club's establishment started in 1922 when a public meeting charied by Robert Donkin was held in the village hall Jubilee Hall to consider forming a recreation club for bowls, tennis and quoits this was Donkin saw it that Rothbury should a health resort yet reliance on the natural beauty surrounding Rothbury was not enough and that Rothbury needed social recreation too. It was arranged that a two-acre piece of land was to be leased from the Duke of Northumberland. It is believed that the formal establishment of the club was three years after the public meeting in 1925 with £500 provided by donations and subscriptions. They were separated into the Bowling and Tennis clubs in 1933 and have remained separate.

In the late 1960s the men's hut was replaced, and ladies were allowed to enter competitions. Between 1977 and 1988 the green was in very poor condition and membership was very low.

By 2000 a new pavilion and watering system were installed also talks had been going on about the bowls and tennis clubs building a new pavilion to serve both, under the umbrella of the Rothbury Recreation Club, returning to the objective of the first meeting in 1922 (quoits disappearing from popularity). Agreement was eventually achieved due in thanks to Ian Anderson and the clubhouse was officially opened in 2000 by the then MP for Rothbury liberal democrat Alan Beith .[63][64][65][66][67][68]

Rothbury has a tennis club.[69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76]

Rothbury has its own football club Rothbury FC the club is in Division One of the Northern Football Alliance.[77][78]

The Boy and the Bus (2014) a short film at 23 minutes directed by Simon Pitts and written by Rod Arthur and featuring actors Ali Cook and Tracey Wilkinson was filmed in Rothbury .[79]

Thrum Mill where episode Silent Voices (Season 2 Episode 2) of ITV crime drama Vera was filmed

Vera a ITV crime drama had an episode that was filmed in Rothbury this being Darkwater (Season 8 Episode 4) at Simonside Hills and Silent Voices (Season 2 Episode 2) at Thrum Mill with line producer Margaret Mitchell saying [80][81][82][83][84]

“We arrived very early in the morning, on an October day when it was very misty. The sun was rising and shone through the water – that was particularly beautiful. It’s a great place for walking. When you’re here, you’re completely struck by the expansive land, the light and the skies. You can see the vast panorama of countryside, the light just fills your eyes. It’s incredible.”