Mitford is a village in the Wansbeck parliamentary constituency, 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, about west of Morpeth.

History

Although the foundation of Mitford is unknown, it was a barony during the Anglo-Saxon era. At the time of the Norman Conquest, the lord of the manor was John, labelled John de Mitford. He died in 1070 leaving a daughter, Sybilla, as his sole heir. William the Conqueror gave the heiress as bride to one of his knights, Sir Richard Bertram, who thus acquired the barony. At that time the territory stretched from Chopwell south of the River Tyne to an area in the Coquet Valley west of Rothbury. Around 1110 Mitford was granted a Market Charter, one of the first granted north of the River Tyne. It was earlier, and at one time a far greater market place for local people, than the market at Morpeth which did not receive a charter until 1199. Morpeth's market soon grew in prominence and Mitford fell from grace. This historic status of the two market town led to a folk rhyme: :::''Mitforde was Mitforde when Morpeth was none,'' :::and Mitforde shall be Mitforde when Morpeth is gone.''

Governance

The village lies within the Longhorsley Division of Northumberland County Council, represented since May 2013 by Cllr Glen Sanderson (Conservative) (2008–13 by Cllr David Towns, also Conservative) and the Wansbeck parliamentary constituency (Ian Lavery MP, Labour). The Boundary Commission unveiled proposals to transfer the village into the Hexham parliamentary constituency but the plans were abandoned when the reorganisation of constituency boundaries was halted by the government.

Landmarks

Mitford Castle Mitford Castle is an English castle dating from the end of the 11th century and located at Mitford, Northumberland. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed building, enlisted on 20 October 1969. The castle is also officially on ...

was built in timber in the 11th century by William Bertram, and his son Roger was given permission to rebuild in stone in 1166. By 1323 was no longer used. Today it is in ruins, and has recently undergone a major programme of structural support works.

Religious sites

The ancient church of St Mary Magdalene was rebuilt in 1875, but has preserved its Norman south

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

and 13th-century

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

. The church is believed to have the oldest bell in the

Diocese of Newcastle The Diocese of Newcastle is a Church of England diocese based in Newcastle upon Tyne, covering the historic county of Northumberland (and therefore including the part of Tyne and Wear north of the River Tyne), as well as the area of Alston Moo ...

cast no later than about 1150.

Fiction

In ''Light from Heaven'', the last instalment of American author

Jan Karon Jan Karon is an American novelist who writes for both adults and young readers. She is the author of the ''New York Times''-bestselling Mitford novels, featuring Father Timothy Kavanagh, an Episcopal priest, and the fictional village of Mitford. H ...

's contemporary Christian "Mitford Years" novel series (which is set in a fictional town in western

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

bearing the same name), the series' setting and the Mitford of this article become "sister Ovillages."

Notable people

The

Mitford family The Mitford family is an aristocratic English family, whose principal line had its seats at Mitford, Northumberland. Several heads of the family served as High Sheriff of Northumberland. A junior line, with seats at Newton Park, Northumberland ...

held the Manor from Norman times. The ruins of their

Manor House A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

stand on the eastern side of the

River Wansbeck The River Wansbeck runs through the county of Northumberland, England. It rises above Sweethope Lough on the edge of Fourlaws Forest in the area known locally as The Wanneys (Great Wanney Crag, Little Wanney Crag; thus the "Wanneys Beck"); runs ...

. In about 1823 they abandoned the old Manor House for a new mansion house,

Mitford Hall Mitford Hall is a Georgian mansion house and Grade II* listed building standing in its own park overlooking the River Wansbeck at Mitford, Northumberland. It was built in 1828 by the Mitford family to a design by architect John Dobson, to rep ...

, which was designed by the famous Northern architect, John Dobson, and which was built on the opposite bank of the river and surrounded by woodland and a small deer park. The engraver James Thomson (1788–1850) was born in the village.'Obituary: Mr. James Thomson', ''

The Art Journal ''The Art Journal'' was the most important British 19th-century magazine on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title ''Art Union Monthly Journal'' (or ''The Art Union''), the first issue of 7 ...

'', January 1851, p. 30.

References

External links

GENUKI
(accessed: 21 November 2008) Villages in Northumberland {{Northumberland-geo-stub