Northumberland

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Northumberland
Ceremonial county
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 55°10′N 2°00′W / 55.167°N 2.000°W / 55.167; -2.000Coordinates: 55°10′N 2°00′W / 55.167°N 2.000°W / 55.167; -2.000
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	North East
Established	Ancient 12th century
Time zone	UTC±00:00 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01:00 (British Summer Time)
Members of Parliament	List of MPs
Police	Northumbria Police
Ceremonial county
Lord Lieutenant	Jane Percy, Duchess of Northumberland
High Sheriff	Thomas Fairfax of Mindrum [1] (2020–21)
Area	5,013 km2 (1,936 sq mi)
• Ranked	6th of 48
Population (mid-2019 est.)	320,274
• Ranked	44th of 48
Density	64/km2 (170/sq mi)
Ethnicity	95.4% White British
Unitary authority
Council	Northumberland County Council
Executive	Conservative (council NOC)
Admin HQ	Morpeth
Area	5,014 km2 (1,936 sq mi)
• Ranked	1st of 326
Population	322,434
• Ranked	36th of 326
Density	64/km2 (170/sq mi)
ISO 3166-2	GB-NBL
ONS code	00EM
GSS code	E06000057
NUTS	UKC21
Website	Unitary authority council
Largest city	Blyth, Northumberland

Northumberland (/nɔːrˈθʌmbərlənd/^[2]) is a historic county, ceremonial county and unitary authority in Northern England. The latter has a headquarters at Morpeth and borders east Cumbria, north County Durham and north Tyne and Wear. The historic county town is Alnwick.^[3] It and the historic county of Durham are traditionally known together as Northumbria.

It is west of the North Sea, a path runs 103 kilometres (64 mi) long its coastline in the county.^[4] Lying south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Northumberland has been the site of a number of historic battles. The county is noted for its undeveloped landscape of high moorland, now largely protected as the Northumberland National Park. Northumberland is the least densely populated ceremonial county in England, with only 62 people per square kilometre.

County administration included Newcastle upon Tyne until 1400. The city became a county corporate, the early system was simular to the present system of unitary authorities which later became ceremonial.^[5] The historic county expanded in the Tudor period, annexing Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1482, Tynedale in 1495, Tynemouth in 1536, Redesdale around 1542 and Hexhamshire in 1572.^[6] Islandshire, Bedlingtonshire and Norhamshire were incorporated into the historic county in 1844.^[7] The Borough of North Tyneside and City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland County Hall officially moved from the city to Morpeth on 21 April 1981,^[8] were created with ceremonial and administrative duties transferred to Tyne and Wear in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The North of Tyne Combined Authority was established on the 2 November 2018, covering the counties historic borders.^[9]

Name[]

The name of Northumberland is recorded as norð hẏmbra land in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, meaning "the land north of the Humber". The name of the kingdom of Northumbria derives from the Old English Norþan-hymbre meaning "the people or province north of the Humber",^[10] as opposed to the people south of the Humber Estuary.

History[]

The land has long been an English frontier zone, with it being currently bordered to the north by Scotland. Northumberland has a rich prehistory with many instances of rock art, hillforts such as Yeavering Bell, and stone circles such as the Goatstones and Duddo Five Stones. Most of the area was occupied by the Brythonic-Celtic Votadini people, with another large tribe, the Brigantes, to the south.

During Roman occupation of Britain, most of the present county lay north of Hadrian's Wall. It was controlled by Rome only for the brief period of its extension of power north to the Antonine Wall. The Roman road Dere Street crosses the county from Corbridge over high moorland west of the Cheviot Hills to Melrose, Scottish Borders (Latin: Trimontium). As evidence of its border position through medieval times, Northumberland has more castles than any other county in England,^[11] including those at Alnwick, Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh, Newcastle and Warkworth.

Later, the region of present-day Northumberland formed the core of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia (from about 547), which united with Deira (south of the River Tees) to form the kingdom of Northumbria in the 7th century. The historical boundaries of Northumbria under King Edwin (reigned 616–633) stretched from the Humber in the south to the Forth in the north. After the battle of Nechtansmere its influence north of the Tweed began to decline as the Picts gradually reclaimed the land previously invaded by the Saxon kingdom. In 1018 its northern part, the region between the Tweed and the Forth (including Lothian that contains present-day Edinburgh), was ceded to the Kingdom of Scotland.

Northumberland is often called the "cradle of Christianity" in England because Christianity flourished on Lindisfarne—a tidal island north of Bamburgh, also called Holy Island—after King Oswald of Northumbria (reigned 634–642) invited monks from Iona to come to convert the English. A monastery at Lindisfarne was the centre of production of the Lindisfarne Gospels (around 700). It became the home of St Cuthbert (about 634–687, abbot from about 665), who is buried in Durham Cathedral.

Bamburgh is the historic capital of Northumberland, the royal castle from before the unification of the Kingdoms of England under the monarchs of the House of Wessex in the 10th century.

The Earldom of Northumberland was briefly held by the Scottish royal family by marriage between 1139–1157 and 1215–1217. Scotland relinquished all claims to the region as part of the Treaty of York (1237). The Earls of Northumberland once wielded significant power in English affairs because, as powerful and militaristic Marcher Lords, they had the task of protecting England from Scottish retaliation for English invasions.

Northumberland has a history of revolt and rebellion against the government, as seen in the Rising of the North (1569–1570) against Elizabeth I. These revolts were usually led by the Earls of Northumberland, the Percy family. Shakespeare makes one of the Percys, the dashing Harry Hotspur (1364–1403), the hero of his Henry IV, Part 1. The Percys were often aided in conflict by other powerful Northern families, such as the Nevilles and the Patchetts. The latter were stripped of all power and titles by the victorious Parliamentarians after the English Civil War of 1642–1651. After the Restoration of 1660, the county was a centre for Roman Catholicism in England, as well as a focus of Jacobite support. Northumberland was long a wild county, where outlaws and Border Reivers hid from the law. However, the frequent cross-border skirmishes and accompanying local lawlessness largely subsided after the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England under King James I and VI in 1603.^[12]

Northumberland played a key role in the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century on. Many coal mines operated in Northumberland until the widespread closures in the 1970s and 1980s. Collieries operated at Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth, Choppington, Netherton, Ellington and Pegswood. The region's coalfields fuelled industrial expansion in other areas of Britain, and the need to transport the coal from the collieries to the Tyne led to the development of the first railways. Shipbuilding and armaments manufacture were other important industries before the deindustrialisation of the 1980s.

Northumberland remains largely rural, and is the least-densely populated county in England. In recent years the county has had considerable growth in tourism. Visitors are attracted both to its scenic beauty and its historical sites.

Archaeology[]

Nearly 2000-year-old Roman boxing gloves were uncovered at Vindolanda in 2017 by the Vidolanda Trust experts, led by Andrew Birley. According to the Guardian, being similar in style and function to the full-hand modern boxing gloves, these two gloves found at Vindolanda look like leather bands date back to 120 AD. It is suggested that, based on their difference from gladiator gloves, warriors using this type of gloves had no purpose to kill each other, and that the gloves probably were used in a sport for promoting fighting skills. The gloves are currently displayed at Vindolanda's museum.^[13]

Physical geography[]

Northumberland has a diverse physical geography. It is low and flat near the North Sea coast and increasingly mountainous toward the northwest. Being in the far north of England, above 55° latitude, and having many areas of high land, Northumberland is one of the coldest areas of the country. However, the county lies on the east coast, and has relatively low rainfall, with the highest amounts falling on the high land in the west.^[14]

Approximately a quarter of the county is protected as the Northumberland National Park, an area of outstanding landscape that has largely been protected from development and agriculture. The park stretches south from the Scottish border and includes Hadrian's Wall. Most of the park is over 240 metres (790 feet) above sea level. The Northumberland Coast is also a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). A small part of the North Pennines AONB is also in the county.

Natural England recognises the following natural regions, or national character areas, that lie wholly or partially within Northumberland:^[15]

• North Northumberland Coastal Plain
• Cheviot Fringe
• Cheviot Hills
• Northumberland Sandstone Hills
• Mid Northumberland
• Tyne Gap and Hadrian's Wall
• Tyne and Wear Lowlands

Geology[]

The Cheviot Hills, in the northwest of the county, consist mainly of resistant Devonian granite and andesite lava. A second area of igneous rock underlies the Whin Sill (on which Hadrian's Wall runs), an intrusion of Carboniferous dolerite. Both ridges support a rather bare moorland landscape. Either side of the Whin Sill the county lies on Carboniferous Limestone, giving some areas of karst landscape.^[16] Lying off the coast of Northumberland are the Farne Islands, another dolerite outcrop, famous for their bird life.

The Northumberland Coalfield extends across the southeast corner of the county, from the River Tyne as far north as Shilbottle. There were smaller scale workings for coal within the Tyne Limestone Formation as far north as Scremerston.^[17][18][19] The term 'sea coal' likely originated from chunks of coal, found washed up on beaches, that wave action had broken from coastal outcroppings.

Ecology and environment[]

There is a variety of notable habitats and species in Northumberland including: Chillingham Cattle herd; Holy Island; Farne Islands; and Staple Island. Moreover, 50% of England's red squirrel population lives in the Kielder Water and Forest Park along with a large variety of other species including roe deer and wildfowl.^{[citation needed]}

Green belt[]

Northumberland's green belt is in the south of the county, surrounding Cramlington and other communities along the county border, to afford a protection from the Tyneside conurbation. The belt continues west along the border, past Darras Hall, and on to Hexham, stopping before Haydon Bridge. Its border there is shared with the North Pennines AONB. There are also some separated belt areas, for example to the east of Morpeth. The green belt was first drawn up in the 1950s.

Economy and industry[]

Northumberland's industry is dominated by some multi-national corporations: Coca-Cola, MSD, GE and Drager all have significant facilities in the region.^[20]

Tourism is a major source of employment and income in Northumberland. In the early 2000s the county annually received 1.1 million British visitors and 50,000 foreign tourists, who spent a total of £162 million.

Coal mining in the county goes back to Tudor times. Coal mines continue to operate today; many of them are open-cast mines. Planning approval was given in January 2014 for an open-cast mine at Halton Lea Gate near Lambley.^[21]

A major employer in Northumberland is Hexham-based Egger (UK) Limited.^[22][23]

Pharmaceuticals, healthcare and biotechnology[]

Pharmaceutical, healthcare and emerging medical biotechnology companies form a very significant part of the county's economy.^[24] Many of these companies are part of the approximately 11,000-worker^[25] Northeast of England Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC) and include Aesica Pharmaceuticals,^[26] Arcinova, MSD, Piramal Healthcare, Procter & Gamble, Shire Plc (formerly SCM Pharma),^[27] Shasun Pharma Solutions,^[28] Specials Laboratory,^[29] and Thermo Fisher Scientific. The cluster also includes Cambridge Bioresearch, GlaxoSmithKline, Fujifilm Dyosynth Biotech, Leica Bio, Data Trial, High Force Research, Non-Linear Dynamics, and Immuno Diagnostic Systems (IDS). The towns of Alnwick, Cramlington, Morpeth, Prudhoe all have significant pharmaceutical factories and laboratories.^[30]

Newcastle University and Northumbria University are the leading academic institutions nearby. The local industry includes commercial or academic activity in pre-clinical research and development, clinical research and development, pilot-scale manufacturing, full-scale active pharmaceutical ingredient/intermediate manufacturing, formulation, packaging, and distribution.^[31]

Education[]

Northumberland has a completely comprehensive education system, with 15 state schools, two academies and one independent school. Like Bedfordshire, it embraced the comprehensive ideal with the three-tier system of lower/middle/upper schools with large school year sizes (often around 300). This eliminated choice of school in most areas: instead of having two secondary schools in one town, one school became a middle school and another became an upper school. A programme introduced in 2006 known as Putting the Learner First has eliminated this structure in the former areas of Blyth Valley and Wansbeck, where two-tier education has been introduced. Although the two processes are not officially connected, the introduction of two tiers has coincided with the move to build academy schools in Blyth, with Bede Academy and in Ashington at Hirst. One response to these changes has been the decision of Ponteland High School to apply for Trust status.

Cramlington Learning Village has almost 400 pupils in each school year, making it one of the largest schools in England. The Blyth Academy in southeast Northumberland can hold 1,500 students throughout the building. Astley Community High School in Seaton Delaval, which accepts students from Seaton Delaval, Seaton Sluice and Blyth, has been the subject of controversial remarks from politicians claiming it would no longer be viable once Bede Academy opened in Blyth, a claim strongly disputed by the headteacher. Haydon Bridge High School, in rural Northumberland, is claimed to have the largest catchment area of any school in England, reputedly covering an area larger than that encompassed by the M25 motorway around London.

The county of Northumberland is served by one Catholic high school, St Benet Biscop Catholic Academy in Bedlington, which is attended by students from all over the area. Students from Northumberland also attend independent schools such as the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle.

Demographics[]

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (September 2018)

At the Census 2001 Northumberland registered a population of 307,190,^[32] estimated to be 309,237 in 2003,^[33] The 2011 census gave a population of 316,028.^[34]

In 2001 there were 130,780 households, 10% of which were all retired, and one third were rented. Northumberland has an ethnic minority population at 0.985% of the population, compared to 9.1% for England as a whole. In the 2001 census, 81% of the population reported their religion as Christianity, 0.8% as "other religion", and 12% as having no religion.^[35]

Being primarily rural with significant areas of upland, the population density of Northumberland is only 62 persons per square kilometre, giving it the lowest population density in England.

Politics[]

Northumberland County Council[]

Northumberland is a unitary authority area and is the largest unitary area in England. The County Council is based in Morpeth.

Like most English shire counties Northumberland had until April 2009 a two-tier system of local government, with one county council and six districts, each with their own district council, responsible for different aspects of local government. These districts were Blyth Valley, Wansbeck, Castle Morpeth, Tynedale, Alnwick and Berwick-upon-Tweed. The districts were abolished on the 1 April 2009, the county council becoming a unitary authority.

Elections for the new unitary authority council first took place on 1 May 2008. The County Council elections in 2017 returned the following results:

County Council Election 2021: Northumberland
Conservatives	Labour	Liberal Democrats	Independents	UKIP	Green	Turnout
47,645	31,038	8,549	9,063	N/A	5,285	104,188

Overall Council seats as of 2021
Conservative	Labour	Independents	LibDem	UKIP	Green	Total
34 (1)	21 (3)	7 (0)	3 (0)	0 ()	2 ()	47

House of Commons[]

Northumberland is represented by four UK Parliamentary constituencies: Berwick-upon-Tweed, Blyth Valley, Wansbeck and Hexham. The 2019 General Election produced the following results:

General Election 2019 : Northumberland
Liberal Democrats	Labour	Conservative	Christian Peoples Alliance	Green	Brexit	Turnout
17018 + 855	57567 - 16665	83663 + 6764	178 did not stand in 2017 election	3,673 - 3,167	6535 new party	103677

Overall numbers of seats as of 2019
Labour	Conservative
1 Ian Lavery	3 Anne-Marie Trevelyan Guy Opperman Ian Levy

• 

  Ian Lavery Labour MP (Wansbeck)

• 

  Anne-Marie Trevelyan Conservative MP (Berwick upon Tweed)

• 

  Guy Opperman Conservative MP (Hexham)

• 

  Ian Levy Conservative MP (Blyth Valley)

2016 European Union Referendum[]

On 23 June 2016, Northumberland took part in the UK-wide referendum on the UK's membership of the EU. In Northumberland a majority voted to leave the European Union. At Westminster constituency level the only area in Northumberland to vote Remain was Hexham.

EU Referendum 2016 : Northumberland
Leave	Remain	Majority	Turnout
96,699 54.11%	82,022 45.89%	14,677 8.22%	178,721

Culture[]

Northumberland has traditions not found elsewhere in England. These include the rapper sword dance, the clog dance and the Northumbrian smallpipe, a sweet chamber instrument, quite unlike the Scottish bagpipe. Northumberland also has its own tartan or check, sometimes referred to in Scotland as the Shepherd's Tartan. Traditional Northumberland music has more similarity to Lowland Scottish and Irish music than it does to that of other parts of England, reflecting the strong historical links between Northumbria and the Lowlands of Scotland, and the large Irish population on Tyneside.

The border ballads of the region have been famous since late mediaeval times. Thomas Percy, whose celebrated Reliques of Ancient English Poetry appeared in 1765, states that most of the minstrels who sang the border ballads in London and elsewhere in the 15th and 16th centuries belonged to the North. The activities of Sir Walter Scott and others in the 19th century gave the ballads an even wider popularity. William Morris considered them to be the greatest poems in the language, while Algernon Charles Swinburne knew virtually all of them by heart.

One of the best-known is the stirring "Chevy Chase", which tells of the Earl of Northumberland's vow to hunt for three days across the Border "maugre the doughty Douglas". Of it, the Elizabethan courtier, soldier and poet Sir Philip Sidney famously said, "I never heard the old song of Percy and Douglas that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet". Ben Jonson said that he would give all his works to have written "Chevy Chase".

Overall the culture of Northumberland, as with the North East of England in general, has much more in common with Scottish Lowland culture than with that of Southern England. One reason is that both regions have their cultural origins in the old Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria, a fact borne out by the linguistic links between the two regions. These include many Old English words not found in other forms of Modern English, such as bairn for child (see Scots language and Northumbrian dialect).^[36][37] The other reason for the close cultural links is the clear pattern of net southward migration. There are more Scots in England than English people north of the border. Much of this movement is cross-county rather than distant migration, and the incomers thus bring aspects of their culture as well as reinforce shared cultural traits from both sides of the Anglo-Scottish border.

Whatever the case, the lands just north or south of the border have long shared certain aspects of history and heritage; it is thus thought by some that the Anglo-Scottish border is largely political rather than cultural.^[37][38]

Attempts to raise the level of awareness of Northumberland culture have also started, with the formation of a Northumbrian Language Society to preserve the unique dialects (Pitmatic and other Northumbrian dialects) of this region, as well as to promote home-grown talent.^[36][37]

Northumberland's county flower is the bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum) and her affiliated Royal Navy ship is her namesake, HMS Northumberland.

Flag[]

Northumberland has its own flag, which is a banner of the arms of Northumberland County Council. The shield of arms is in turn based on the arms medieval heralds had attributed to the Kingdom of Bernicia (which the first County Council used until it was granted its own arms). The Bernician arms were fictional but inspired by Bede's brief description of a flag used on the tomb of St Oswald in the 7th century.^[39]

The current arms were granted to the county council in 1951, and adopted as the flag of Northumberland in 1995.^[40]

Sport[]

Football[]

A precursor of modern football is still seen in the region at some annual Shrove Tuesday games at Alnwick.^[41] In 1280 at Ulgham near Morpeth Northumberland, records show that Henry of Ellington was killed playing football when David Le Keu's knife went into Henry's belly and killed him.^[42][43] Organised football teams as we know today did not appear until the 1870s. Newcastle United Football Club was formed in 1892 by uniting Newcastle West End FC with Newcastle East End.^[44]

Newcastle United were first division champions three times in the early 20th century, reaching the FA Cup Final three times before winning it at the fourth attempt in 1910.^[45] Today top quality professional football remains in Northumberland. In 2017 - 18 season Newcastle United is a Premier League team. St James' Park in Newcastle is a first class football venue, often used for international games at all levels. Blyth Spartans A.F.C. have had success and public attention through Football Association Cup runs.

Notable associated footballers[]

There are many notable footballers from the county, pre Second World War and immediate post war greats were George Camsell and Hughie Gallacher, these were described in the "Clown Prince of Football" by Len Shackleton. The author played for Newcastle United and Northumberland County Cricket Club. Shackleton’s book was controversial when it was first published because chapter 9, named "The Average Director's Knowledge of Football", was produced as a blank page.^[46] Notable players after the Second World War included Joe Harvey, Jackie Milburn,^[47] Brian Clough^[48] and Newcastle's Bobby Moncur who led his team to win the Inter City Fairs Cup in 1969.^[49]

Two of Jackie Milburn’s nephews from Ashington, Bobby Charlton and Jackie Charlton are perhaps the two most significant players for England.^[50][51] Bobby joined Manchester United and Jackie Leeds United both contributing much to the success and history of their respective clubs. They both became permanent fixtures in Alf Ramsey's 1966 England World Cup winning team.^[52] Malcolm Macdonald was a successful Newcastle player of the 1970s. Great national players who played at Northumberland clubs in the 1980s and 1990s include Peter Beardsley, Paul Gascoigne, Chris Waddle and Alan Shearer. Shearer remains the highest scoring player in Premier League history with 260 goals in 441 appearances.^[53]

Horse racing[]

Early races were held at Newcastle's Killingworth Moor from 1632 before moving to the Town Moor. The 'Pitmen's Derby' or Northumberland Plate was held from 1833 and moved to Gosforth in 1882.^[54] Modern day horse racing still takes place at Newcastle Racecourse.^[55]

Golf[]

Golf is a Scottish import to many countries but it is said to have been played in this region by St Cuthbert on the dunes of the Northumberland coast. The oldest club in Northumberland was at Alnmouth, founded in 1869, it is the fourth oldest in the country and is now Alnmouth Village Club and a 9 hole links course.^[56]

There is one old links courses at Goswick. It is a James Braid design masterpiece which is widely acknowledged as a classic Northumberland links course^[57] so much so, that the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) chose Goswick as a regional qualifier for the Open Championship for five years from 2008.

During the English Civil War of 1642–1651, King Charles played 'Goff' in the Shield Fields suburb of Pandon during his imprisonment in the town.^[58]

Today inland golf courses are abundant in the county,^[59]

The county has a professional golfer who has played in many professional golf tour events: Kenny Ferrie from Ashington who has won events on the prestigious European Tour.

Other[]

The annual Great North Run, one of the best known half marathons in which thousands of participants run from Newcastle to South Shields. In 2013 the 33rd Great North Run had 56,000 participants most of whom were raising money for charity.

Media[]

Having no large population centres, the county's mainstream media outlets are served from nearby Tyne and Wear, including radio stations and television channels (such as BBC Look North, BBC Radio Newcastle, Tyne Tees Television and Metro Radio), along with the majority of daily newspapers covering the area (The Journal, Evening Chronicle). It is worth remembering however that although Northumberland, like many administrative areas in England, has been shorn of its geographical regional centre, that centre—Newcastle upon Tyne—remains an essential element within the entity we know as Northumberland. Newcastle's newspapers are as widely read in its Northumbrian hinterland as any of those of the wider county: the Northumberland Gazette, Morpeth Herald, , Hexham Courant and the News Post Leader.

Lionheart Radio, a community radio station based in Alnwick, has recently^[when?] been awarded a five-year community broadcasting licence by Ofcom. Radio Borders covers Berwick and the rural north of the county.

Notable people[]

Born in Northumberland[]

Ashington was the birthplace of three famous footballers: Bobby and Jack Charlton, born in 1937 and 1935 respectively, and Jackie Milburn, born in 1924. In 1978 the international cricketer Steve Harmison was born in the same town.

Mickley was the birthplace of Thomas Bewick, an artist, wood engraver and naturalist born in 1753, and Bob Stokoe, a footballer and F.A. Cup-winning manager (with Sunderland in 1973) born in 1930.

Other notable births include:

• Thomas Addison, the physician who first described Addison's Disease, born at Longbenton in 1793
• George Airy, Astronomer Royal and geophysicist, born at Alnwick in 1802
• Alexander Armstrong, comedy actor and presenter, born at Rothbury in 1970
• Allan Boardman (1937-2018), British physicist^[60]
• Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, landscape and garden designer, born at Kirkharle in 1715
• Josephine Butler, social reformer, born at Milfield in 1828
• Basil Bunting, poet, born at Scotswood-on-Tyne in 1900
• Eric Burdon, singer and leader of The Animals and War, born at Walker-on-Tyne in 1941
• Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, naval commander at the Battle of Trafalgar, born at Newcastle upon Tyne in 1748
• Grace Darling, sea-rescue heroine, born at Bamburgh in 1815
• Pete Doherty, musician, born at Hexham in 1979
• Bryan Donkin, engineer and industrialist, born at Sandhoe in 1768
• Wilfrid Wilson Gibson, poet, born at Hexham in 1878
• Daniel Gooch, engineer and politician, born at Bedlington in 1816
• Sir Alistair Graham (1942–), trade unionist and civil servant
• Tom Graveney, former England cricketer and President of the Marylebone Cricket Club 2004/5, born in Riding Mill in 1927.
• Robson Green, actor and singer, born at Hexham in 1964
• Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, British Prime Minister, born at the family seat of Howick Hall in 1764
• William Hewson,^[61] British physician, the "Father of Haematology", at Hexham, 14 Nov 1739
• Jean Heywood, actress, born at Blyth best known for Our Day Out and All Creatures Great and Small.
• Marie Lebour (1876–1971), British marine biologist
• Robert Morrison (1782-1834), Protestant missionary and sinologist
• Richard Pattison, climber, born in Ashington in 1975
• Matt Ridley, peer, science writer, and businessman, and son and heir of the 4th Viscount Ridley
• John Rushworth (1793–1860), historian, born at Acklington Park, Warkworth
• George Stephenson, pioneering railway engineer, born at Wylam in 1781
• Trevor Steven, footballer born in Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1963
• Percival Stockdale, poet and slave-trade abolitionist, born 1736 in Branxton, Northumberland
• Ross Noble, stand-up comedian, born and raised in Cramlington in the 1970s and 1980s
• Hugh Trevor-Roper (1914–2003), Oxford historian, born at Glanton
• William Turner, ornithologist and botanist born at Morpeth in 1508
• Sid Waddell, sports commentator and children's television screenwriter, born at Alnwick in 1940
• Veronica Wedgwood (1910–1997), historian, usually published as C. V. Wedgwood
• N. T. Wright, Anglican theologian and author, former Bishop of Durham, born in Morpeth in 1948
• Kevin Whately, actor, born in Humshaugh, near Hexham in 1951
• Billy Younger (1940–2007), footballer

Linked with Northumberland[]

• William Armstrong, engineer and inventor, born at Newcastle in 1810, built Cragside, one of the first houses powered by hydroelectric technology, near the town of Rothbury in Northumberland.
• Thomas Burt, one of the first working-class members of parliament and was secretary of the Northumberland Miners' Association in 1863
• Matthew Festing, 79th Grand Master, the Order of Malta.
• Kitty Fitzgerald (born September 25, 1946) is an Irish born writer living in Northumberland.
• Allan Holdsworth, guitarist, originated from Newcastle upon Tyne before moving to California.
• Mark Knopfler, guitarist and frontman of Dire Straits, was raised in his mother's hometown of Blyth, Northumberland.
• Charles Algernon Parsons, inventor of the steam turbine while living in Wylam, Northumberland
• Henry 'Hotspur' Percy (1365–1403), borders warlord and rebel
• Billy Pigg, a 20th-century musician who was vice-President of the Northumbrian Pipers Society
• Alan Shearer footballer, lives in Ponteland.
• Gordon Sumner, better known by his stage name of Sting, a schoolteacher turned musician was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1951
• Algernon Charles Swinburne, a poet raised at Capheaton Hall
• Kathryn Tickell, a modern-day player of the Northumbrian smallpipes
• J. M. W. Turner, Thomas Girtin and John Cotman all painted memorable pictures of Northumberland. Turner always attributed Norham Castle as the foundation of his fame and fortune.
• Jonny Wilkinson, English rugby player, currently lives in rural Northumberland.

The site [1] contains exhaustive detailed entries for notable deceased Northumbrians.

Settlements[]

Parishes[]

NOTE: New parishes have been added since 2001. These are missing from the list.

Parishes of Northumberland^[62]

Name	Population (2001)	Former district/borough
Acklington	467	Alnwick
Acomb	1,184	Tynedale
Adderstone with Lucker	195	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Akeld	82	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Allendale	2,120	Tynedale
Alnham	99	Alnwick
Alnmouth	562	Alnwick
Alnwick	7,767	Alnwick
Alwinton	71	Alnwick
Amble	6,044	Alnwick
Ancroft	885	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Bamburgh	454	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Bardon Mill	364	Tynedale
Bavington	99	Tynedale
Beadnell	528	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Belford	1,055	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Belsay	436	Castle Morpeth
Bewick	69	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Biddlestone	88	Alnwick
Bowsden	157	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Branxton	121	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Brinkburn	200	Alnwick
Callaly	150	Alnwick
Capheaton	160	Castle Morpeth
Carham	347	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Cartington	97	Alnwick
Chatton	438	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Cornhill-on-Tweed	318	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Craster	342	Alnwick
Cresswell	237	Castle Morpeth
Denwick	266	Alnwick
Doddington	146	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Earle	89	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Easington	139	Berwick-upon-Tweed
East Chevington	3,192	Castle Morpeth
Edlingham	196	Alnwick
Eglingham	357	Alnwick
Ellingham	282	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Ellington and	2,678	Castle Morpeth
Elsdon	205	Alnwick
Embleton	699	Alnwick
	72	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Felton	958	Alnwick
Ford	487	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Glanton	222	Alnwick
Harbottle	235	Alnwick
Hartburn	198	Castle Morpeth
	220	Alnwick
Haydon Bridge	2,184	Tynedale
Hebron	679	Castle Morpeth
Heddon-on-the-Wall	1,518	Castle Morpeth
	322	Alnwick
Hepple	139	Alnwick
Hepscott	898	Castle Morpeth
Hesleyhurst	30	Alnwick
Hexham	11,829	Tynedale
	90	Alnwick
Holy Island	162	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Horncliffe	374	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Ilderton	94	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Ingram	148	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Kilham	131	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Kirknewton	108	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Kyloe	323	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Lesbury	871	Alnwick
Lilburn	106	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Longframlington	979	Alnwick
Longhirst	446	Castle Morpeth
Longhorsley	798	Castle Morpeth
Longhoughton	1,442	Alnwick
Lowick	559	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Lynemouth	1,832	Castle Morpeth
Matfen	495	Castle Morpeth
Meldon	162	Castle Morpeth
Middleton	136	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Milfield	243	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Mitford	431	Castle Morpeth
Morpeth	13,833	Castle Morpeth
Netherton	194	Alnwick
Netherwitton	272	Castle Morpeth
Newton-by-the-Sea	242	Alnwick
Newton on the Moor and Swarland	822	Alnwick
Norham	536	Berwick-upon-Tweed
North Sunderland	1,803	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Nunnykirk	138	Alnwick
Ord, Northumberland	1,365	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Pegswood	3,174	Castle Morpeth
Ponteland	10,871	Castle Morpeth
Prudhoe	11,500	Tynedale
Rennington	305	Alnwick
Roddam	77	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Rothbury	1,740	Alnwick
Rothley	136	Alnwick
Shilbottle	1,349	Alnwick
	163	Berwick-upon-Tweed
Snitter	114	Alnwick
Stamfordham	1,047	Castle Morpeth
Stannington	1,219	Castle Morpeth
	510	Castle Morpeth
Thropton	409	Alnwick
	340	Alnwick
and	218	Castle Morpeth
Ulgham	365	Castle Morpeth
	361	Castle Morpeth
Warkworth	1,493	Alnwick
Whalton	427	Castle Morpeth
Whittingham	406	Alnwick
and Tosson	223	Alnwick
Widdrington	158	Castle Morpeth
Widdrington Station and Stobswood	2,386	Castle Morpeth
Wooler	1,857	Berwick-upon-Tweed

Although not on this list, the population of Cramlington is estimated at 39,000.

Historic areas[]

Some settlements that is part historic county of Northumberland now fall under the county of Tyne and Wear:

Tyne and Wear	Killingworth, Longbenton, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Shields, Tynemouth, Wallsend, Whitley Bay

See also[]

• Northumbria
• Duke of Northumberland
• List of Lord Lieutenants of Northumberland
• List of High Sheriffs of Northumberland
• Custos Rotulorum of Northumberland – List of Keepers of the Rolls
• Northumberland (UK Parliament constituency) – Historical list of MPs for the Northumberland constituency
• Kielder Forest Star Camp
• List of people from Northumberland
• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Northumberland
• List of places of interest and tourist attractions in Northumberland
• Northumberland Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
• Anglo-Scottish border

Notes and references[]

Bibliography[]

• Sharp, Thomas (1937). Northumberland and Durham – a Shell Guide. B.T. Batsford.
• Tomlinson, W.W. (1968) [1888]. Comprehensive guide to the county of Northumberland. Trowbridge: Redwood.
• Thompson, Barbara; Norderhaug, Jennifer (2006). Walking the Northumberland Dales: Hadrian's Wall Country. Sigma Press. ISBN 1-85058-838-4.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northumberland.

• Northumberland at Curlie
• Northumberland County Council
• Visit Northumberland – The Official Visitor Site
• Enjoy Northumberland
• Images of Northumberland at the English Heritage Archive