Bamburgh St.Aidan's (+ a little walk)

We spent Christmas in Seahouses this year. My son, having wisely begun a relationship with a lass from the village whose family run a number of holiday cottages, well, we were offered a two-night freebie. So why not. So a big thank you to Hannah and her parents Bryan and Caroline.

On Christmas Day itself we embarked on another leg of our North-East coast walk. Angie wasn't feeling too well, so we kept it to a modest stretch between Bamburgh and Waren Mill, then back across country to Bamburgh. Here are a few snaps:

Bamburgh Castle, of course

Stag Rock

Info panel, Waren Mill (click to enlarge)

Heading back

After we got back we had a quick scout around St.Aidan's Parish Churchyard. The light was starting to go, but we quickly checked out the Grace Darling Memorial (more later) and had a look inside the crypt, which is accessed from the outside of the church. Here's a couple of pictures of the interior:

Crypt viewing platform

Ossuary

Interesting to note that the remains of the many unearthed skeletons in the nearby Anglo-Saxon cemetery were placed in the crypt/ossuary a few years ago. Anyway, the fading light forced us back to the car, and thence to our mountainous Christmas Dinner. 

Next morning (Boxing Day) we were supposed to be heading home fairly sharpish. However, I was keen to have another quick look at the church and churchyard to see what was what, and was somewhat overwhelmed by what I found. I left Angie in the car (still a bit poorly, and keen to get home) with the promise that I'd be back in "ten minutes or so". It was more like half an hour, really, which didn't please her - but I could have spent hours there. 

Anyway, I got the customary photo of Grace Darling's Memorial, the nearby burial site itself (about 40 yards to the south) and a few snaps of the church interior...

The original stone effigy that once graced the outdoor memorial 

St. Aidan's Shrine

Tomb of the mysterious medieval knight

The forked beam over the font - Aidan was supposedly leaning against this when he died in 651AD (though it wasn't in the ceiling at the time!)

There are loads of booklets and leaflets to buy, too, so take some cash with you if you do decide to pay the place a visit. And don't forget the crypt!

And that was about it. On Christmas Eve night we'd visited The Victoria Hotel in Bamburgh and The Black Swan in Seahouses (very nice they both were, too) - which all helped us to familiarise ourselves with a corner of the North-East which we didn't really know very well.

Very nice indeed. Get yourself up there ASAP.

An Appeal: Local History Bookshops.

If you're like me you're always on the lookout for local history books, whatever your geographical area of interest. This was never much of a problem a couple of decades or so ago when there seemed to be loads of second-hand bookshops around. Now there are virtually none, with charity-based concerns filling the ever-widening gap in the market. And these are usually poor affairs, with fiction books dominating the sparsely-populated shelves of disorganised outlets. Oxfam and Amnesty International have shops dedicated to books, of course, but, oh, how we all miss the old-fashioned book dealers of yesteryear!

Obviously, the internet - eBay and Amazon, primarily - is now the main option when it comes to sourcing old tomes, and a few second-hand bookshops have there own websites, too. But things are pretty desperate for us bookworms, so I thought I'd dedicate a section of my blog to trying to compile a list of all our options - both online and offline! 

So can you help?

What we're looking for is websites and shops who stock local history books pertaining to the North-East of England. I am really only especially knowledgeable about Newcastle and immediate area, but would love to learn of more options from anywhere in the region. I will include shops, large and small, who sell new books (Waterstones, etc.), as well as the second-hand dealers - so get thinking and contact me either via the comments below or at micksouthwick @ blueyonder.co.uk (without the gaps!).

And a little description of the shops would be nice, too! (including those below, actually, as I haven't been to most of them).

Here's what I have so far...

Keel Row Books, North Shields

Barter Books, Alnwick

The Next Chapter, Bellingham

Books for Amnesty, Newcastle

Cogito Books, Hexham

Bookwyrm, Durham City

Forum Books, Corbridge

Accidental Bookshop, Alnwick

The Bound, Whitley Bay

Blackwell's, Newcastle

Berrydin Books, Berwick

Humford Mill Books, Morpeth

Head Bookshop, Darlington

BDC Antiquarian Booksellers, Darlington

Jeremiah Vokes, Darlington

Needful Things, Hartlepool

Book Corner, Saltburn

Oliver's Bookshop, Whitley Bay

St. Oswald's Hospice Bookshop, Gosforth

Tyne Bridge Publishing, Newcastle City Library

The Drake Bookshop, Stockton

The Guisborough Bookshop

Darlington Lions Club Bookshop

Tynedale Hospice at Home Bookshop, Hexham

Oxfam Bookshops at:

Darlington

Durham City

Hexham

Jesmond

Newcastle

Waterstones branches at:

Darlington

Durham City

Hexham

MetroCentre

Middlesbrough

Morpeth

Newcastle

Sunderland

Yarm

WHSmith branches at:

Alnwick

Berwick

Darlington

Durham City

Hartlepool

MetroCentre

Middlesbrough

Morpeth

Newcastle

Stockton

Online:

eBay

Amazon

Abe Books

Oxfam Online

World of Books

When I've got together what I think is a pretty comprehensive list I shall dedicate a tab of my blog to the cause. Thanks for any help you can offer!

 

Ouseburn Heritage

For those of you with even a passing interest in the Ouseburn area of Newcastle, then you really need to spend an hour or three on the Ouseburn Trust website. The organisation has been around for nearly 30 years (I remember a certain amount of interaction with it when I ran The North-Easterner Magazine during 1994-2004), and it strives to bring to the public's attention the sheer existence of this uniquely interesting corner of the city as well as suggesting ways in which it can be protected and enhanced.

In the pre-internet days the organisation made itself heard primarily through its Ouseburn Heritage magazine. I remember this well, and most of the old articles therein can be accessed via their present-day website. There are also links to many, many other articles concerning the area - including, of course, a regular blog.

There are walks and talks to involve yourself with, including info on the famous Victoria Tunnel. It really is a fantastic effort. I have no direct connection with the Ouseburn, but regularly dip into the website for pure entertainment's sake. Oh, and if you still don't really know your way round this curious little valley then this website will force you into a proper real-life visit ... and there's lots of pubs down that way, too!

The First Official Boat Race on the Tyne

Anyone who knows anything about the history of sport on Tyneside will be aware of the great nineteenth century tradition of boat-racing. Huge crowds would gather on the banks of the river to cheer on the likes of Harry Clasper, Robert Chambers and James Renforth against the world’s best rowers – and usually beat them – in big-money events. But when exactly did it all begin?

Well, rather than rattle on about it myself, I thought I'd point you towards an excellent online article I read recently entitled The First Official Boat Race on the Tyne. It's a fine effort by Ian Whitehead, and relates to an event which occurred a little over 200 years ago ... and led to what you might call a 'boat-load' of controversy!

Check the piece out here. 

And whilst I'm referring you to articles about Newcastle and its environs, can I ask you all to let me know of anything you yourself may pick up along the way which you think may be of interest to us local history fans? As long as it relates to Newcastle or the North-East in general then I'll take a look and pass it on to the rest of you. You may, in fact, have written an article yourself which you'd like to publicise.

I'm going to start putting together a list of relevant articles on one of this blog's supplementary pages in the bar above, so do get in touch at micksouthwick @ blueyonder.co.uk (without the gaps) if you can help out.