Morpeth
Morpeth Northumberland Travel and Tourism Information
The River Wansbeck at Morpeth © Ian Britton/freefoto.com
Perhaps it was a masterpiece of branding by locals who didn’t welcome visitors. Certainly it would stop many in their medieval tracks if they realised the name Morpeth meant murder path.
The town with the deadly name is now an attractive haven for commuters and wildlife. It stands on a loop of the Wansbeck, a picturesque river that has proved volatile in recent years, seriously flooding parts of the town.
Along its south bank is Carlisle Park, which in summer 2011 was accredited by Visit England for the 10th time. The name is a reminder of the family who donated the land, the Howards, who were lords of Morpeth and later Earls of Carlisle.
Famous sons of Morpeth include the Father of English Botany William Turner, who is commemorated with a herb garden in Carlisle Park. In the 16th century he was the first Englishman to describe and record plant species. His herball was written in English to be read by non-academic people.
Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood fired the first shot at the Battle of Trafalgar and took command after Nelson was killed. Baron Collingwood was born in Newcastle but lived in Oldgate at Morpeth, calling his garden overlooking the river his quarterdeck. It is now the site of St Robert’s RC Church. He said: “Whenever I think how I am to be happy again, my thoughts carry me back to Morpeth.”
Suffragette Emily Davison, who lived a few miles away at Longhorsley, is buried in the graveyard of St Mary’s Parish Church. She died in 1913 after being trampled at the Derby by the King’s horse Anmer while demanding votes for women.
An adopted Morpethian was Robert, abbot of Newminster, who successfully defended himself against an accusation of “excessive familiarity with a pious woman” and was eventually declared a saint.A mile west of Morpeth are the remains of Newminster Abbey, founded in 1138 by white-robed Cistercian monks from North Yorkshire’s Fountains Abbey. It would have been built in similar splendid style. Its lands extended miles west to the source of the Wansbeck, near the Roman road Dere Street, today’s A68.
The Chantry, Morpeth © Ian Britton/freefoto.com
The frugal Cistercians kept sheep here for wool, not meat, and believed in learning from Nature as much as from books. All their abbeys were dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, as is Morpeth’s 14th century parish church. The abbey was ruined by Henry VIII and then generations of local people who carried away stones.
Unlike other Northumberland market towns, Morpeth is predominantly built of brick, which became the norm here after a fire in the late 17th century destroyed dozens of small houses. Its Clock Tower in Oldgate, thought early 17th century, is distinctive as freestanding belfries are extremely rare in England.
Next to the river and beside bustling Telford Bridge, the Chantry dates from 1296 in the reign of Edward I, Hammer of the Scots. Here prayers were said for the dead and for benefactors of the chapel. It became the King Edward VI Grammar School by royal charter in 1552 and is now a craft showroom, shop, tourist information centre and bagpipe museum.
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