Kirkwhelpington is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the English county of

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

about northeast of

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 ...

. It is on 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"); run ...

alongside the A696 trunk road between Otterburn and

Ponteland Ponteland ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is northwest of Newcastle upon Tyne. Built on marshland near St Mary's Church and the old bridge, most marshland has now been drained to make way for housing. In the ind ...

History

Kirkwhelpington has medieval origins and is an abortive market town. The lord,

Gilbert de Umfraville Gilbert de Umfraville (died 1245) was a 13th-century English baron. Gilbert was the eldest son of Richard de Umfraville, Lord of Redesdale. He succeeded his father as Lord of Redesdale and Baron Prudhoe from November 1226 at his seat of Prudhoe ...

, obtained a

market charter A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

from King Henry III but lost its privileges on the grounds of non-usage. He had a bridge built over the Wansbeck to improve its communications.

Economy

There was a mine at Kirkwhelpington (Lead ore).

Landmarks

The Memorial Hall was built in 1924 as a memorial to the men of the village and district who gave their lives in the First World War. Money for this was raised locally with the Duke of Northumberland donating the land. The Post Office is now in the hall and the weekly activities include a Youth Club, Toddler Group, and a Bowls Club. The monthly meetings include the Parish Council, The Royal British Legion Women's Section, and an Art Club. The village school was built in 1858 and closed in 1972. Northumberland County Council Education Committee used the premises as a

Girl Guide Girl Guides (or Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) are organisations within the Scout Movement originally and largely still for girls and women only. The Girl Guides began in 1910 with the formation of The Girl Guides ...

holiday centre. This has now been converted to a private house. The Methodist Church was built in 1870 and closed in 1995/96. It was bought by a villager and is now used for exhibitions of paintings and other art work. Sweethope Loughs are two freshwater lakes almost in length, west of Kirkwhelpington, and a renowned fishing location stocked with large rainbow trout. Sweethope Lough boasts good access to those anglers with disabilities, and annually hosts The Viscount Devonport Sweethope Challenge for Disabled Anglers.

Religious sites

St Bartholomew, a thirteenth-century (or earlier) building, with its low, broad

Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

tower and long nave and chancel, was altered in the fifteenth century and then in 1896. Excavations have revealed that the building originally had aisles and transepts. There are two fourteenth-century bells, a seventeenth-century font (which rests on the reversed capital of a fourteenth or fifteenth-century pier) and a mahogany pulpit from 1797. The glass includes work by Heaton, Butler and Bayne (1909 and 1914).

Exhibitions etc

The Kirkwhelpington and District Show is held on the first Saturday in September every year. This is an exhibition of horticultural and craft work with home baking and children's exhibits. On one of the Sundays during July six or seven local gardens are open to the public in aid of charity.

Notable people

*The celebrated antiquary John Hodgson wrote his ''History of Northumberland'' during his incumbency between 1823 and 1834. *The distinguished engineer and inventor Sir Charles Parsons is buried here with his wife Lady Katherine Parsons (there is a memorial to them in the church). They lived at Ray Demesne, as did their daughter Rachel Parsons. *

John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington John Arthur Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, (born 21 October 1942) is a former Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (head of the Metropolitan Police Service), having served from 2000 until 2005. From 1991 to 1996, he was Chief ...

, whose career included head of the Metropolitan Police Service, and Chancellor of Northumbria University.

References

External links

GENUKI
(accessed: 13 November 2008)

(accessed: 20 November 2008) {{authority control Villages in Northumberland