Humshaugh () is a parish near
Hexham
Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administra ...
in
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
, England. The village had a population of 622 in the
2011 census, and is just north of
Chollerford
Chollerford is a village in Northumberland, England, approximately four miles (seven km) north of Hexham (via the A6079 road) on the B6318, the Military Road, not far from Hadrian's Wall. There is a roundabout in the village where the B6318 a ...
, which is located near Chesters Fort (
Cilurnum
Cilurnum or Cilurvum was a fort on Hadrian's Wall mentioned in the ''Notitia Dignitatum''. It is now identified with the fort found at Chesters (also known as Walwick Chesters to distinguish it from other sites named Chesters in the vicinity) ...
) on
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...
and is about 21 miles west of
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
. The village of Humshaugh lies just off the military road running from Newcastle to
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...
which was built by
General Wade
Field Marshal George Wade (1673 – 14 March 1748) was a British Army officer who served in the Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession, Jacobite rising of 1715 and War of the Quadruple Alliance before leading the construction of barra ...
during the
1745 Jacobite rebellion. Other nearby villages include
Low Brunton and
Walwick. Humshaugh is usually pronounced Humz-hoff, although some genuine locals have been heard calling it Humz-haff.
The paper mill near Humshaugh, on the
River North Tyne close to
Barrasford
Barrasford is a village in Northumberland, England. It is situated to the north of Hexham, on the North Tyne. Barrasford is an ancient village that lies within the shadow of Haughton Castle. The village is notable for being the location of a B ...
, among other mills in various rural locations around England, was used during the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
to make the paper that was used to print fake French money in a bid to flood France with the forged notes, which was intended to cause a marked
devaluation
In macroeconomics and modern monetary policy, a devaluation is an official lowering of the value of a country's currency within a fixed exchange-rate system, in which a monetary authority formally sets a lower exchange rate of the national curre ...
of the currency.
It is also attributed as the site of the first official
Scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, secti ...
camp, held in August 1908, a year after the more famous
experimental camp on
Brownsea Island
Brownsea Island is the largest of the islands in Poole Harbour in the county of Dorset, England. The island is owned by the National Trust with the northern half managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Much of the island is open to the public and ...
. Humshaugh was a large Parish, before sub division, and the Scouts took the train to Chollerford, the nearest station to Humshaugh, and walked up through Walwick and the woods to the site, which is known as Look Wide! The actual site is on land belonging to Park Shields Farm (grid reference NY 885 697), near to
Fourstones
Fourstones is a village in Northumberland, England. The village lies on the north bank of the River South Tyne about west of Hexham.
Landmarks
Newbrough and Fourstones are on the Stanegate Roman road, built in AD 71, which runs ...
, and is now marked by a cairn commemorating the event.
Etymology
The name is recorded in 1279 as "Hounshale" and seems to come from
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...
''Hūnes halh'' = "Hūn's nook of land".
Scouting
First official Scout camp
While Brownsea Island was the site of the experimental camp run by Baden-Powell in 1907, Humshaugh hosted what is recognised as the first official Scout camp from 22 August to 4 September 1908. The difference between the two camps is that the 1907 event was not attended by any invested members of Scouting, since there was no movement at the time. The Humshaugh camp had 30 invested
Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts may refer to:
* Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement.
* Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement.
* An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are t ...
from around the United Kingdom who were members of recognised Scout Troops who followed the Scout Method and Scout Law as developed by Baden-Powell and published in his ''
Scouting for Boys
''Scouting for Boys: A handbook for instruction in good citizenship'' is a book on Boy Scout training, published in various editions since 1908. Early editions were written and illustrated by Robert Baden-Powell with later editions being extens ...
''.
Build-up
The camp was advertised in the first issue of ''
The Scout'' magazine in April 1908. The magazine asked the question "Who of you would want to spend a fortnight under canvas with a Troop of other boys, and under the care of General Baden-Powell?", which was met with great enthusiasm by the members of the fledgling movement. However, there was a catch – there were only thirty places available for Scouts on the camp, and they were to be selected by a voting system. Each issue of the magazine included a coupon which was to be sent back to the publisher with the name of a Scout being nominated to attend the camp.
This voting scheme was not the choice of Baden-Powell, but rather that of the magazine's publisher,
C. Arthur Pearson, and many consider the idea to be a cynical marketing scheme designed to increase the sales of the magazine. Baden-Powell himself wrote "There is something in it which I fear will put off some readers of the better sort".
However, this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the Scouts themselves. Lists were published in each issue, building up to the event, allowing Scouts to see who was in the top fifty nominees. When the voting had closed, the first placed Scout, F. D. Watson, had gained nominations from over 29,000 "friends".
Baden-Powell personally awarded the top fifty nominees a special edition "Scout" camera, along with a free copy of ''Scouting for Boys'' to the next fifty.
Participants
The thirty nominated participants became known as the "Gallant Thirty". They were divided into five Patrols, and joined by a further six Scouts who were invited by Baden-Powell himself, including his own nephew,
Donald Baden-Powell (who was also a participant of the Brownsea Island camp).
A number of adults also participated in the camp, many of whom were to become key figures in the Scout Movement in the years following the camp:
*
Percy Everett
Sir Percy Winn Everett (b. 22 April 1870 Rushmere, Ipswich – 23 February 1952 Elstree) was an editor-in-chief for the publisher C. Arthur Pearson Limited and an active Scouter who became the Deputy Chief Scout of The Boy Scouts Association.T.C. ...
– was an editor in the employ of Pearson, and also attended the Brownsea Island camp
*
Victor Bridges
Victor Bridges (real name Victor George de Freyne, 14 March 1878 – 29 November 1972) was a prolific English author of detective and fantasy fiction, and also a playwright and occasional poet.
Life
Born on 14 March 1878 at Clifton, Bristol, Vic ...
– became Secretary of the Scout Movement in its early years
* W. B. Wakefield – one of the first two Scout Inspectors, and donated the land which was to become
Great Tower Scout Camp
*
Eric Sherbrooke Walker – the other of the first Scout Inspectors
* Henry Holt – became the
Quartermaster
Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...
of the Scout Movement, and started what became the
Scout Shop
*
Captain Dennis Colbron Pearse was Assistant Commandant. Late he was instrumental in the formation of the local Scouting committees which were to become the
District
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...
and
County
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
organisations. In 1922 he moved to
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
, Australia, and was involved in Scouting
there.
* J. L. C. Booth
It is also believed that there were two instructors from the United States, but very few details are known about these participants.
Programme
The camp participants visited many local sites of interest, including
Haughton Castle
Haughton Castle is a privately owned country mansion and Grade I listed building, situated to the north of the village of Humshaugh on the west bank of the North Tyne. It is around north of the market town of Hexham, Northumberland.
It was bu ...
,
Hexham Abbey
Hexham Abbey is a Grade I listed place of Christian worship dedicated to St Andrew, in the town of Hexham, Northumberland, in the North East of England. Originally built in AD 674, the Abbey was built up during the 12th century into its curre ...
, and
Walwick Grange. They also spent time exploring the nearby stretches of Hadrian's Wall.
However, much of the programme was based around the
gully
A gully is a landform created by running water, mass movement, or commonly a combination of both eroding sharply into soil or other relatively erodible material, typically on a hillside or in river floodplains or terraces. Gullies resemble lar ...
in which the camp was sited, and saw many of the Scout games and Scoutcraft activities which Baden-Powell and his fellow instructors had developed for the Movement.
Centenary commemoration
In August 2008 Jamboree 2008 was held at a campsite close to Carr Edge, and was attended by groups from the
Baden-Powell Scouts' Association
The Baden-Powell Scouts' Association (''B-PSA'') is a worldwide youth organisation originating in the United Kingdom, with friendly relationships with similar traditional scouting organisations in various countries. Baden-Powell Scouting focuses ...
, a Scout group from Portugal and members of
The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was fo ...
. This event included the several features of the original camp, including a visit to
Hexham Abbey
Hexham Abbey is a Grade I listed place of Christian worship dedicated to St Andrew, in the town of Hexham, Northumberland, in the North East of England. Originally built in AD 674, the Abbey was built up during the 12th century into its curre ...
and other local attractions.
On 22 August these Scouts retraced Baden-Powell's route from the former Fourstones railway station to the Carr Edge site, where a commemorative service was held (pictured).
Scouting's Sunrise
In 2007, Scouts from
Ingleborough
Ingleborough () is the second-highest mountain in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It is one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks (the other two being Whernside and Pen-y-ghent), and is frequently climbed as part of the Three Peaks walk. A large part o ...
and
Settle
Settle or SETTLE may refer to:
Places
* Settle, Kentucky, United States
* Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England
** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district
Music
* Settle (band), an indie rock band from Pennsylvania
* ''S ...
used the site to mark the
centenary of the Scouting movement. They held a ceremony for Scouting's Sunrise on 1 August.
Governance
An
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to ...
in the same name exists. This ward stretches north almost to
Bellingham and south almost to
Acomb with a total population taken at the 2011 census of 4,568.
Famous residents
Eric Boswell, composer of the Christmas song "
Little Donkey
Little Donkey is a popular Christmas carol, written by British songwriter Eric Boswell in 1959, which describes the journey by Mary the mother of Jesus to Bethlehem on the donkey of the title.
The first version to chart was by Gracie Fields, fol ...
" and many other popular and folk songs, lived in Humshaugh from 1985 to 2009 and often played organ for services at St Peter's Church.
Kevin Whately
Kevin Whately (born 6 February 1951) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Neville "Nev" Hope in the British comedy drama '' Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'', Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the crime dramas '' Inspector Morse'' 1987–2000 an ...
, actor famous for playing
Lewis
Lewis may refer to:
Names
* Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Music
* Lewis (musician), Canadian singer
* "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
, grew up in Humshaugh.
See also
References
External links
Northumberland Communities
{{authority control
Baden-Powell Scouts' Association
The Scout Association
Villages in Northumberland