History of Belsay Parish

The earliest evidence of human activity in the parish dates to the Mesolithic period, before farming was introduced. Worked flints from this time have been found around East Shaftoe Farm, likely used for hunting animals, birds, and gathering wild plants.

Evidence of more permanent settlement appears in the early Neolithic period. A rare occupation site from this era has been discovered in Northumberland, located at Sandyford Quarry field, alongside further Mesolithic finds, suggesting long-term use of the area. Additional Neolithic flint tools have been found across the parish, including at East Shaftoe, Middleton Bank, and Shortflatt.

During the Bronze Age, metalworking began alongside continued use of flint. Notable discoveries include two rare bronze shields found in Belsay, possibly placed as ritual deposits. Other signs of Bronze Age activity include standing stones at Bygate Hill and near a burial cairn at East Shaftoe. Burial sites such as the barrow at Stob Hill and a grave at Bygate, along with pottery and artefacts found near Belsay Castle, Black Heddon, and West Bitchfield, suggest widespread burial practices. However, no clear evidence of Bronze Age settlements has yet been found, likely because they were temporary and leave little trace.

In the Iron Age, evidence shifts towards settlement rather than burial. Cropmarks visible from aerial photography show fortified enclosures at Bolam Hall, Slate Hill, and Huckhoe. These sites were defended by earth banks and ditches, and finds such as quern stones confirm agriculture, including grain production.

Although the parish lies close to Hadrian’s Wall, Roman influence appears limited. The settlement at Huckhoe continued in use, and building layouts evolved into more rectangular enclosures, such as at Edgehouse and Low House. A Roman road likely passed through the area, bringing Roman pottery found at Bolam.

After the end of Roman rule in the early 5th century, evidence of occupation becomes scarce until after the Norman Conquest in 1066. However, Anglo-Saxon presence is indicated by Old English place-names, and the Saxon tower of St Andrew’s Church at Bolam dates to the 10th or 11th century.

In the Norman period, Henry I created the title “Baron of Bolam” to oversee surrounding settlements and woodland. The baronial family built a castle near present-day Bolam Hall, collected local dues, and maintained control of the area until the male line ended in 1206.

By the medieval period, the parish was densely settled, with Belsay and several other villages indicating extensive farming. However, repeated border raids from Scotland led to the construction of fortified tower houses, including Belsay Castle. Religious life also expanded, with additions to the parish church, a chapel at Belsay Hall, and a 13th-century hospital for travellers.

Between 1550 and 1750, major landscape changes took place. Land was enclosed, tenancy systems shifted to leasehold arrangements, and settlement patterns changed from nucleated villages to scattered farmsteads. This dispersed pattern remains characteristic of Belsay parish today.

History of Belsay Village

The original location of Belsay village was closer to the castle, and its size and position changed over time. Records show that in the 14th century the village contained around 30 enclosures, and by 1666 there were 36 houses—broadly similar to the modern village. In the 18th century, however, this had reduced to just 18 houses. The village was later completely relocated and rebuilt in its familiar neoclassical style in the 1830s by Sir Charles Monck.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Belsay had a range of local businesses. These included two confectionery shops, Anderson’s and Pickering’s. Mr William Pickering also ran a motorcycle repair shop and later moved to a purpose-built garage across the road, where he sold petrol and carried out repairs for a wide area. This was the only garage between Cowgate in Newcastle and Otterburn.

Cuthbert Snowball operated the post office and telephone exchange with his family, alongside a saddlery shop next door. Mary Nixon ran a tea room at the Pavilion (now Woodbine Cottage), near the police house, where the village’s first police officer, Mr Douglas, moved in 1927.

Further along the village, the joiner lived above his workshop near Guidepost, while the blacksmith lived beside his smithy. In the 1930s, a new blacksmith’s shop was built opposite the residence for Edwin Creer, who was regarded as one of the finest blacksmiths in Northumberland. This building is now home to the Blacksmith’s Coffee Shop.

The village school, built in 1870, replaced an earlier 1830s schoolhouse and was designed for up to 150 pupils. Mr Firth served as headmaster, with his wife as assistant. Until the mid-1950s, Sunday services led by the vicar of Bolam were held there, alongside dances and evening classes attended by people from a wide area. The Women’s Institute and Methodist groups continued to meet in the old schoolhouse on Whalton Road until 1960. School numbers have varied over time, from around 25 pupils in some periods to about 80 today, with current admissions set at around 15 per year.

At the north end of the village once stood a tollhouse on the turnpike road towards Otterburn. These toll roads were established by Act of Parliament to fund road construction and maintenance. Tollhouses were often demolished once the toll period ended. Local tradition tells of a man who refused to pay and instead jumped the toll gate on horseback.

Nearby, Bank House served for many years as a branch of Lloyds Bank. More recently, the village has seen changes on Belsay Estate land, including the conversion of farm buildings around the former Castle Inn, redevelopment at Woodhouse (a former coaching inn at the northern end of the village), the construction of nine houses along the A696, and the creation of Belsay Woodland Burials and estate offices at the southern end. Minor school extensions have also been made to meet changing education requirements.

To the west, Wallridge was recorded in 1848 as having just four inhabitants. Today it is a small hamlet consisting of a farm and scattered cottages along a secondary road between Belsay and Ingoe, bordered by Wallridge Moor and Birneys Plantation. Historically, it was part of Stamfordham parish, and a deserted medieval village lies nearby. The name “Wallridge” is thought to mean “ridge where the Welshman (or outsider) lives.”

Belsay Colliery operated between 1923 and 1930 and was located north-west of Wallridge. Owned by Kirkheaton Colliery Co Ltd, it employed 94 people shortly before closing—59 underground and 35 on the surface. A 7½-mile mineral railway, known as the Wallridge Mineral Railway, linked the colliery to Darras Hall station and the wider rail network. A short, untimetabled passenger service once ran between Wallridge cottages and the colliery, but little evidence of the mine or railway remains today.

Other settlements in the parish have also risen and declined over time. Bolam, first recorded in 1168 when held by Gilbert de Bolam, was once a thriving settlement with its own market and fairs granted in 1301. Although it began to decline—likely as surrounding land became parkland—it still had around 90 inhabitants in 1820, a significant proportion of the parish population of 595 at the time.

During the Second World War, members of the Women’s Land Army and Timber Corps worked on the Bolam estate. Accounts from the period describe the hard conditions of working on boggy land, as well as friendships formed between the women and Italian prisoners of war brought from Ponteland camp to work alongside them.

History of Belsay Hall and the Middleton Family

“In terms of both its architecture and its landscape feature, Belsay is one of the most important sites, not only in Northumberland, but in the whole country. It is in a sense an encapsulation of English history.”

Belsay’s heritage is exceptional. The earliest known settlement is the Iron Age bi-vallate hillfort on Bantam Hill, northwest of the medieval castle and west of the present village. This promontory fort is protected by steep wooded banks on three sides, with ditches across the more gradual eastern slope. It encloses an area of approximately 1.75 hectares. Although surveyed in 1986, it has not been excavated, and its precise dating—pre-Roman or contemporary with Roman occupation—remains uncertain.

The medieval castle at Belsay has also been widely praised. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner described it as “one of the most impressive in Northumberland.” The structure is a tower house with two short projecting wings and a recessed entrance. Internally, it consists of three main chambers stacked vertically. It shares similarities with Chipchase Castle, including matching mason’s marks. Built from local squared sandstone ashlar, it is distinguished by four rounded bartizans, one of which—at the northwest corner—is notably larger.

Construction of the castle is attributed to Sir John Strivelyn (Trevelyan) (c.1315–1378), who held the manor during the reign of Edward III and became the first and last Baron of Belsay. The estate had previously been confiscated from the Middleton family. Sir John died without a male heir, and the property later returned to the Middletons through the marriage of his great-niece Christiana to Sir John de Middleton.

The Middleton name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is likely linked to local place-names in Northumberland. Richard Middleton (d.1272), who served as Lord Chancellor under Henry III, held the manor by the late 13th century. An earlier hall almost certainly stood where the castle now lies, surrounded by a medieval village. A surviving village cross, relocated to a field east of the castle, remains a tangible link to this earlier settlement.

The 14th century was a turbulent period in Northumberland due to ongoing Anglo-Scottish conflict. Richard Middleton’s grandson, Sir Gilbert Middleton, aligned himself with the Scots during the reign of Edward II. Following the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, border raids devastated the region. Middleton’s actions escalated to rebellion and ransom-taking, including the kidnapping of the Bishop-elect of Durham. He was executed for treason in 1318, and his lands were forfeited to the Crown.

The Middleton estates were later restored through marriage alliances, and the family re-established itself at Belsay. Sir John Middleton remained a committed Yorkist during the Wars of the Roses, fighting at the First Battle of St Albans (1455) and later at Bosworth Field (1485).

After the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the region became more stable, and fortified homes were adapted into more comfortable residences. Thomas Middleton (d.1561) is recorded as rebuilding the house in 1614, as noted by a carved inscription at the castle entrance. Later additions included a Queen Anne wing around 1711, and further alterations in 1862. The castle is now a carefully preserved roofless shell open to the public, offering extensive views from its tower.

In 1662, Sir William Middleton was created a baronet. Several later baronets served as Members of Parliament for Northumberland. In 1799, the sixth baronet adopted the surname Monck by royal licence, in accordance with his maternal grandfather’s will, before the name later reverted to Middleton.

Sir Charles Monck, the 6th Baronet, undertook a Grand Tour of Europe, studying architecture in Germany and Italy between 1804 and 1806. Influenced by Neo-Classical design—particularly in Prussia and Athens—he developed a vision to recreate a Grecian-style estate in Northumberland. His surviving sketches demonstrate his commitment to a strict Doric interpretation, rather than the more ornate classical styles popular elsewhere in Britain. Construction of Belsay Hall (1807–1817) reflects this vision and is widely regarded as a unique example of Greek Revival architecture in the country.

One consequence of this transformation was the removal of the original medieval village, which was replaced by what is now the Quarry Garden. The present village along the A696 was developed in the early 19th century, possibly alongside or shortly after the hall. Its distinctive terraced arcades give it an Italianate character. Woodhouse, the former coaching inn at the northern end, dates from 1836. The Old School on Whalton Road bears the date 1829.

Sir Charles Monck died in 1867 at the age of 88. He was succeeded by his grandson, Sir Arthur Middleton, who restored the family name and continued development of the gardens, introducing many exotic plant species. He also undertook alterations to the old manor house for staff accommodation. Anecdotes describe his insistence that all principal rooms be heated to 21°C, with a staff member employed full-time to maintain fires and monitor temperature.

During the 20th century, the estate faced significant decline, particularly after wartime military occupation. Like many large estates, it was affected by rising costs, death duties, and maintenance demands. From the 1980s, responsibility shifted to the public sector, and restoration began under the care of English Heritage. Today, Belsay Hall and Gardens are conserved and open to the public, with continued investment in restoration and visitor facilities, including the conversion of the stable block into a café and learning space and the addition of a new adventure play area in 2024.

Since 2005, parts of the wider estate have been managed through trusts led by Laura de Wesselow (née Middleton), while Belsay Hall itself remains in the guardianship of English Heritage.

Endnotes and sources of information:

[1]See Keys to the Past https://keystothepast.info/search-records/results-of-search/results-of-search-2/site-details/?PRN=N12992

[1] Oakey, M. 2017.  Belsay Awakes: Historic England Contribution Landscape Survey Report. Historic England. Research Report Series no. 48-2017 https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports/48-2017

[1] Gatehouse Gazetter.  Belsay Castle.  https://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/2408.html

[1] The village information is taken from: Northumberland Federation of Women's Institutes. 1994. The Northumberland Village Book. Countryside Books. 

[1] Watson, G. 1970. Northumberland Place Names. Morpeth, Sandhill Press.

[1] Durham Mining Museum. Belsay Colliery http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/b110.htm

[1] Disused Stations http://disused-stations.org.uk/b/belsay_colliery/index.shtml

[1] Northumberland County Council.  2016. Bolam Lake: A history of the area of Bolam. Bolam@200 project. https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/NorthumberlandCountyCouncil/media/Neigbourhood-and-Local-Services/Parks%20and%20open%20spaces/Bolam%20Lake%20200years%20project/17957-Bolam-Interpretation-Booklet-A5-Print2-LR.pdf

[1] Pevsner Sir N. 1992. The Buildings of England – Northumberland. London, Penguin. p.166.

[1] Roskell, J.S., Clark, L., and C. Rawcliffe. eds. 1993. The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1386-1421. Boydell & Brewer