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Northumberland
Flag of Northumberland.svg
Flag
Arms of Northumberland County Council.svg
Coat of arms
Northumberland UK locator map 2010.svg
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
Largest town Blyth
Ceremonial county
Lord Lieutenant Jane Percy, Duchess of Northumberland
High Sheriff Colonel James Royds (2022-23)
Area 5,013 km2 (1,936 sq mi)
 • Ranked 6th of 48
Population (2005 est.) 311,400
 • Ranked 44th of 48
Density 62/km2 (160/sq mi)
Ethnicity 95.4% White British
Unitary authority
Council Northumberland County Council (member of North of Tyne Combined Authority)
Executive  
Admin HQ Morpeth
Area [convert: needs a number]
 • Ranked of 326
Population 322,434
 • Ranked 36th of 326
Density [convert: needs a number]
ISO 3166-2 GB-NBL
ONS code 00EM
GSS code E06000057
ITL UKC21

Northumberland is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county are Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle and Hadrian's Wall.

It is bordered by land on three sides; by the Scottish Borders region to the north, County Durham and Tyne and Wear to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The fourth side is the North Sea, with a 103 kilometres (64 mi) along its coastline. to the east. A predominately rural county with undeveloped landscape of high moorland, it largely protected made up of the Northumberland National Park. The area has been the site of a number of historic battles with Scotland.

History

Long Crag summit
Long Crag summit

Northumberland originally meant 'the land of the people living north of the River Humber'. The present county is the core of that former land, and has long been a frontier zone between England and Scotland. During Roman occupation of Britain, most of the present county lay north of Hadrian's Wall, and was only controlled by Rome for the brief period of its extension north the Antonine Wall. The Roman road Dere Street crosses the county from Corbridge over high moorland west of the Cheviot Hills into present Scotland to Trimontium (Melrose). As evidence of its border position through medieval times, Northumberland has more castles than any other county in England, including those of Alnwick, Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh, Newcastle and Warkworth.

Northumberland has a rich prehistory with many instances of rock art, hillforts such as Yeavering Bell and stone circles like 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.

Later, the region of present-day Northumberland formed the core of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia (from ca. 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, although in 1018 its northern part, between the Tweed and the Forth (including Lothian, the region which contains 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. Lindisfarne saw the production of the Lindisfarne Gospels (ca. 700) and it became the home of St Cuthbert (ca. 634–687, abbot from ca. 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 invasion.

Northumberland has a history of revolt and rebellion against the government, as seen in the Rising of the North (1569–1570) against Elizabeth I of England. 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 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.

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.

As of 2015 Northumberland remains largely rural, and is the least-densely populated county in England. In recent years the county has had considerable growth in tourism due to its scenic beauty and the abundant evidence of its historical significance.

Physical geography

ShepherdPhysical1926Northumberland
Physical geography of Northumberland and surrounding areas
N NE England SRTM

Northumberland has a diverse physical geography. It is low and flat near the North Sea coast and increasingly mountainous toward the northwest. 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. Lying off the coast of Northumberland are the Farne Islands, another dolerite outcrop, famous for their bird life.

There are coal fields in the southeast corner of the county, extending along the coastal region north of the river Tyne. The term 'sea coal' likely originated from chunks of coal, found washed up on beaches, that wave action had broken from coastal outcroppings.

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. It has an average annual temperature of 7.1 to 9.3 °C, with the coldest temperatures inland. However, the county lies on the east coast, and has relatively low rainfall, between 466 and 1060 mm annually, with the highest amounts falling on the high land in the west. Between 1971 and 2000 the county averaged 1321 to 1390 hours of sunshine per year.

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 (800 feet) above sea level. The Northumberland Coast is also a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

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

Ecology

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.

Demographics

At the 2001 UK Census Northumberland registered a population of 307,190, estimated to be 309,237 in 2003, The 2011 UK Census gave a population of 316,028.

In 2001, there were 130,780 households, 10% of the population were retired, and one-third rented their homes. Northumberland has an ethnic minority population at 0.985% of the population, far lower compared to the average of 9.1% for England as a whole. In the 2001 UK Census, 81% of the population reported their religion as Christianity, 0.8% as "other religion", and 12% as having no religion.

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.

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 and Northern English 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 Northumbria). 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.

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.

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

Flag

Flag of Northumberland
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 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.

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

People

GeorgeStephenson
George Stephenson was born in Northumberland

Famous people born in Northumberland

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

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

Other notable births include:

  • Thomas Addison, a physician born at Longbenton in 1793
  • George Airy, an astronomer and geophysicist born at Alnwick in 1802
  • Alexander Armstrong, a comedy actor born at Rothbury in 1970
  • Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, landscape and garden designer born at Kirkharle in 1715
  • Josephine Butler, social reformer born at Milfield in 1828
  • Basil Bunting, a 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, Ist Baron Collingwood born at Newcastle upon Tyne in 1748
  • Grace Darling, a heroine born at Bamburgh in 1815
  • Pete Doherty, a musician born at Hexham in 1979
  • Bryan Donkin, an engineer and industrialist born at Sandhoe in 1768
  • Wilfrid Wilson Gibson, a poet born at Hexham in 1878
  • Daniel Gooch, an engineer and politician born at Bedlington in 1816
  • Sir Alistair Graham (1942–), noted public figure
  • Tom Graveney, former England cricketer and President of the Marylebone Cricket Club 2004/5, born in Riding Mill in 1927.
  • Robson Green, an 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, British physician, "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
  • Matt Ridley, a journalist, writer, and businessman, and son of Viscount Ridley
  • John Rushworth (1793–1860), an historian born at Acklington Park, Warkworth
  • George Stephenson, an engineer born at Wylam in 1781
  • Trevor Steven, footballer born in Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1963
  • Percival Stockdale, poet and abolitionist
  • Ross Noble, a stand-up comedian born and raised in Cramlington in the 1970s and 1980s
  • Hugh Trevor-Roper (1914–2003), an historian, born at Glanton
  • William Turner, ornithologist and botanist born at Morpeth in 1508
  • Sid Waddell, a sports commentator and children's television screenwriter born at Alnwick in 1940
  • Veronica Wedgwood (1910–1997), an historian, usually published as C. V. Wedgwood
  • The Rt Rev Dr N. T. Wright, Anglican theologian and author, born in Morpeth in 1948
  • Gordon Dodds (1941–2010), Provincial Archivist of Manitoba and author, born in Wideopen
  • Kevin Whately, actor born in Humshaugh, near Hexham in 1951.
  • Richard Pattison, climber born in Ashington in 1975.

Famous people linked with Northumberland

Algernon Charles Swinburne sketch
Algernon Charles Swinburne, the poet, was raised in Northumberland

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

Settlements

Parishes

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

Parishes of Northumberland
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 Linton 2,678 Castle Morpeth
Elsdon 205 Alnwick
Embleton 699 Alnwick
Ewart 72 Berwick-upon-Tweed
Felton 958 Alnwick
Ford 487 Berwick-upon-Tweed
Glanton 222 Alnwick
Harbottle 235 Alnwick
Hartburn 198 Castle Morpeth
Hauxley 220 Alnwick
Hebron 679 Castle Morpeth
Heddon-on-the-Wall 1,518 Castle Morpeth
Hedgeley 322 Alnwick
Hepple 139 Alnwick
Hepscott 898 Castle Morpeth
Hesleyhurst 30 Alnwick
Hollinghill 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
Shoreswood 163 Berwick-upon-Tweed
Snitter 114 Alnwick
Stamfordham 1,047 Castle Morpeth
Stannington 1,219 Castle Morpeth
Thirston 510 Castle Morpeth
Thropton 409 Alnwick
Togston 340 Alnwick
Tritlington and West Chevington 218 Castle Morpeth
Ulgham 365 Castle Morpeth
Wallington Demesne 361 Castle Morpeth
Warkworth 1,493 Alnwick
Whalton 427 Castle Morpeth
Whittingham 406 Alnwick
Whitton 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 which were historically part of the county now fall under the county of Tyne and Wear:

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

Surnames

Most common surnames in Northumberland at the time of the United Kingdom Census of 1881, by order of incidence:

  1. Thompson
  2. Smith
  3. Brown
  4. Robson
  5. Bell
  6. Scott
  7. Wilson
  8. Hall
  9. Taylor
  10. Armstrong

Economy and industry

Northumberland's industry is dominated by some multinational corporations: Coca-Cola, MSD, GE and Drager all have significant facilities in the region.

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.

A major employer in Northumberland is Hexham-based Egger (UK) Limited.

Pharmaceuticals, healthcare and biotechnology

Pharmaceutical, healthcare and emerging medical biotechnology companies form a very significant part of the county's economy. Many of these companies are part of the approximately 11,000-worker Northeast of England Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC) and include Aesica Pharmaceuticals, Arcinova, MSD, Piramal Healthcare, Procter & Gamble, Shire Plc (formerly SCM Pharma), Shasun Pharma Solutions, Specials Laboratory, and Thermo Fisher Scientific. The cluster also includes Cambridge Bioresearch, GlaxoSmithKline, Fujifilm Diosynth 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.

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.

Sport

Football

A precursor of modern football is still seen in the region at some annual Shrove Tuesday games at Alnwick. 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. 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.

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. 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. Notable players after the Second World War included Joe Harvey, Jackie Milburn, Brian Clough and Newcastle's Bobby Moncur who led his team to win the Inter City Fairs Cup in 1969.

Two of Jackie Milburn’s nephews from Ashington, Bobby Charlton and Jackie Charlton are perhaps the two most significant players for England. 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. 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.

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. Modern day horse racing still takes place at Newcastle Racecourse.

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.

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 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.

Today inland golf courses are abundant in the county,

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 Cricket Pavilion, Bamburgh, Northumberland - geograph.org.uk - 1945900
A cricket ground in Bamburgh

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.

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.

Notable people

GeorgeStephenson
George Stephenson was born in Northumberland

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
  • 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, British physician, the "Father of Haematology", at Hexham, 14 November 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, 5th Viscount Ridley, peer, science writer, and businessman
  • 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

Algernon Charles Swinburne sketch
Algernon Charles Swinburne, the poet, was raised in Northumberland

The site [2] contains exhaustive detailed entries for notable deceased Northumbrians.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Northumberland para niños

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Northumberland Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.