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Norham in Durham County England History and GeographyNORHAM, otherwise NORHAMSHIRE, a parish forming a detached portion of the county palatine of DURHAM, comprising the chapelry of Cornhill, and the townships of Duddo, Felkington, Grindon, Horncliffe, Loan-End, Longridge, Norham, Norham-Mains, Shores-wood, Thornton, and Twizel, and containing 3906 inhabitants, of which number, 901 are in the township of Norham, 7 miles (S.W. by W.) from Berwick upon Tweed. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Northumberland, and diocese of Durham, rated in the king's books at £15. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The church, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, and built about 840, is principally in the Norman style of architecture, but it comprises only a part of the original edifice, the chancel and the east end having been demolished. It had anciently three chantries, in honour of St. Cuthbert, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and St. Nicholas, and had the privilege of sanctuary for thirty-seven days. The remains of Ceolwulph, a lineal descendant of Ida, and King of Northumberland, were brought from Lindisfarne and buried here, where also Gospatric, Earl of Northumberland, was interred. There is a place of worship for Independents. A free school, with a house for the master, was erected by subscription in 1809, and is endowed with about twenty acres of land allotted on enclosing the common, and producing an annual income of £36. The doctrine of Christianity is stated to have been first preached to the Northumbrians, by the Scottish missionaries, at Norham. On the establishment of a see for Northumbria, this place was given to Aidan, the first bishop, and continued in the possession of his successors until the time of Bishop Barnes, who alienated his rights to the crown: the bishops exercised a special jurisdiction throughout the district, having their sheriff, coroner, justices, and other civil officers, their court of exchequer, gallows, &c. By charter of Bishop Pudsey, the inhabitants enjoyed very extensive privileges. Being situated on a pass, or ford, on the river Tweed, called Ubbanford, on the borders of England and Scotland, Norham was frequently the scene of rapine and bloodshed, and the place of meeting between the nobility and principal individuals of the two kingdoms for settling the affairs relative to the border. Bishop Flambard, in 1121, probably erected the first regular fortress, which, having been enlarged and strengthened by succeeding prelates, was, when well garrisoned, deemed almost impregnable. David I., King of Scotland, however, in 1138, took and destroyed the town and castle, after a spirited resistance; but they were restored, in 1154, by Bishop Pudsey, who built the present great tower of the castle. Various treaties between the Scots and King John were arranged here, and, in 1215, that monarch, in consequence of the defection of the Northumbrian barons, and their having sworn homage to the Scottish king, Alexander II., laid siege to the castle, which held out successfully for forty days, when he was obliged to withdraw his forces. In 1318, it was unsuccessfully besieged by the Scots, who, however, were more fortunate in an attack in 1322, when they obtained possession of it, but were soon afterwards obliged to abandon it, having for ten days resisted an assault of Edward II. Soon after the accession of Edward III., they stormed the castle with success, but did not long retain it. The town was plundered and burnt, in 1355, by a party of Scottish troops, under the command of Sir William Ramsay; and the castle, in 1498, was besieged by the Scottish monarch, but the Earl of Surrey advancing to the relief of the garrison, the assailants were compelled to retire. A short time prior to the battle of Flodden Field they again invested the fortress, which fell into their possession through information given by a deserter from the garrison. The remains of this strong edifice occupy the summit of a steep rocky eminence impending over the bed of the river, and so near that portions have been washed away by the stream: the keep, or main tower, with its vaults and prisons entire, is the principal part, and is constructed of a soft red freestone. About two miles below Norham, on the banks of the river, two urns, containing human bones, were found in a gravel pit, called the Crooks, near which are the pedestals of two ancient crosses, also an artificial eminence, probably a barrow, surrounded by stone steps. At New Waterford the Tweed is crossed by a chain bridge, the first of the kind erected in England: it was commenced in August 1819, and opened July 26th, 1820, having been completed at an expense of not more than £5000, to which the trustees added £1050 above the estimate of the engineer: the extreme length of the suspension chains, from the point of junction on each side of the river, is five hundred and ninety feet, and from the abutments four hundred and thirty-two; the height of the bridge from the surface of the river, twenty-seven feet; and its width sufficient to allow two carriages to pass between the foot-paths: the weight of the chains, plat-form, &c., is about one hundred and sixty tons. Here is a considerable salmon fishery; and two annual fairs are held on the second Thursday in May, and the third Thursday in October: a market was formerly held at Norham, but it has been long discontinued. The learned Dr. George Carlton, successively Bishop of Llandaff and Chichester, was born here. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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