Milfield is a village in

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 ...

, England about northwest of Wooler. The A697 road passes through the village.

History

Milfield is the likely location of the

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

n royal settlement of Maelmin.

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

tells us that a residence was built at Maelmin to supersede

Edwin of Northumbria Edwin (; c. 586 – 12 October 632/633), also known as Eadwine or Æduinus, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from around 616 until his death. He was the second monarch to rule bo ...

's residence of Ad-Gefrin at Yeavering. Evidence of a high-status Anglo-Saxon settlement at Milfield strongly suggests that this is the location of Maelmin, because of its proximity to Yeavering. ''Maelmin'' has been identified as a Brittonic place name with a probable meaning of 'decayed edge', though other Brittonic etymologies are also possible.Bethany Fox,
The P-Celtic Place-Names of North-East England and South-East Scotland
, ''The Heroic Age'', 10 (2007)

On Milfield Plain, which is part of the bed of the prehistoric Lake of Glendale, was fought one of the many battles between Scots and English. In the month before the Battle of Flodden, some Scots, under Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home, were returning from a raid into England where they had burnt several villages. Laden with booty which they had "lifted", Home's men were surprised by a band of English under Sir William Bulmer of Brancepeth in County Durham. The Durham men were victorious and for long years afterwards the Scots name for the road through Milfield was "The Ill Road". Many years after the rout of Home's men, General Monk waited at Milfield with his forces before his momentous march south which brought about the Restoration. During the Second World War, an air training unit operated from the nearby RAF Milfield.

Notable people

One of Northumberland's most notable daughters, Josephine Grey, the social reformer, was born at Milfield House, about six miles from Wooler. This woman, who did so much valuable work in the nineteenth century to combat the social evils of the day, is more generally known by her married name of

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

. A

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

was named after her at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

and a residency block there was named Milfield in honour of her birthplace. At the end of her long life she returned to her beloved Northumberland and is buried in Kirknewton churchyard under the shadow of

Yeavering Bell Yeavering Bell is a twin-peaked hill near the River Glen in north Northumberland, England, to the west of Wooler, and forming part of the Cheviot Hills. The summit, above sea level, is encircled by the wall of a late-prehistoric hillfort, a ...

References

External links

Northumberland Communities
(Accessed: 27 November 2008) {{authority control Villages in Northumberland Northumberland places with etymologically Brittonic names