Bellingham, Northumberland

Bellingham
Bellingham Bridge
Bellingham  Bellingham shown within Northumberland
Population	1,334 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference	NY835835
Unitary authority	Northumberland
Ceremonial county	Northumberland
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HEXHAM
Postcode district	NE48
Dialling code	01434
Police	Northumbria
Fire	Northumberland
Ambulance	North East
EU Parliament	North East England
UK Parliament	Hexham
List of places UK England Northumberland

Coordinates: 55°08′42″N 2°15′14″W / 55.145°N 2.254°W

Bellingham /ˈbɛlɪndʒəm/^[2] is a village in Northumberland, to the north-west of Newcastle upon Tyne and is situated on the Hareshaw Burn at its confluence with the River North Tyne.

Features

Famous as a stopping point on the Pennine Way trail it is popular with walkers and cyclists. Nearby is the Hareshaw Linn, a waterfall and the site of early coke blast furnaces.^[3]

The village's local newspaper is the Hexham Courant. There is also an 18 hole golf course which was established in 1893.^[4]

Until 1966 Bellingham had a railway station, seen here in 1962

The Heritage Centre is the local museum.^[5] It has exhibitions on the Border Counties Railway, the Border reivers, mining, farming, the photography of W P Collier, and the Stannersburn Smithy. It has a database of local family names and one of old photographs. It also holds special exhibitions of historical or artistic interest, and readings and performances by poets, storytellers, musicians and dancers.

Hole Farm and Bastle

St Cuthbert's

The Grade-I listed St Cuthbert's Church (13th-century, substantially reconstructed in the early 17th century) is described as 'almost unique in England'^[6] owing to its stone barrel vault, which runs the length of the Nave and extends into the South Transept. Three miracles connected with the mediaeval cult of St Cuthbert, are recorded in the twelfth century Libellus^[7] of Reginald of Durham.

Within the churchyard is "The Long Pack", purportedly the grave of a burglar who attempted to infiltrate a local house by hiding in a beggar's pack, but was discovered after he suffered an ill-timed coughing fit, and was promptly run through with the sword of the house's proprietor.

Adjacent to the church is St Cuthbert's Well, known locally as "Cuddy's Well", an ancient holy well.

From 1735 the parish rectors at Bellingham were under the patronage of the Governors of Greenwich Hospital. The Governors stipulated that the rectors were to be graduates of Oxford or Cambridge and naval chaplains. Bellingham Rectory was one of six such rectories in the Simonburn area.^[8]

Sports

The village football team competes in the Tyneside Amateur League First Division.^[9]

Landmarks

Two miles north-east at Hole Farm is the sixteenth century Hole Bastle, a well-preserved example of a bastle house.

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches north to the Scottish Border with a total population of 4,074.^[10]

See also

• St Cuthbert's Well

References

1. "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 26 June 2015.
2. US dict: bĕl′·ĭn·jəm
3. Hareshaw Linn
4. Bellingham Golf Club
5. Bellingham Heritage Centre
6. Tomlinson, W W, 1888. Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland
7. "Little Book of Miracles of the Blessed Cuthbert Performed in Recent Times"
8. The others being Falstone, Greystead, Thorneyburn, Wark and Simonburn. Information in Bellingham Parish Church visited 2013.
9. Tyneside Amateur League Division One: League Table Archived March 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
10. "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 26 June 2015.

External links

• Hexham Courant.
• The Pennine Way Site
• GENUKI (Accessed: 1 November 2008)
• Northumberland Communities (Accessed: 1 November 2008)