Timeline of Northumbria and Northumberland facts for kids

Welcome to a journey through time! This page tells the story of Northumbria and Northumberland, two important historical regions in England. Northumbria was once a powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom, and Northumberland is a county in the north-east of England today. Let's explore the key events that shaped their history.

Early Kingdoms (500s-600s)

• 559 - Ida of Bernicia becomes the first known King of Bernicia, ruling from 547 to 559.
• 588 - Ælla of Deira was the first king of Deira. He ruled from 560 until his death in 588.
• 604 - Aethelfrith brings together Bernicia and Deira. This creates the kingdom of Northumbria.
• 613 - Æthelfrith fights in the Battle of Chester.
• 625 - Paulinus becomes the Bishop of York.
• 634 - The Lindisfarne Priory is started by an Irish monk named Saint Aidan.
• 634/642 - Oswald of Northumbria brings all of Northumbria back together.
• 638 - Oswald's forces capture the Gododdin hillfort at Edinburgh.
• 664 - The Synod of Whitby takes place. This meeting decides how the church in England will be run.
• 664 - A plague spreads across the British Isles, reaching as far north as Lastingham.
• 674 - Hexham Abbey is built.
• 685 - Northumbria loses a battle to the Picts at Battle of Dun Nechtain. This stops their expansion north.
• 687 - Cuthbert, a very important saint for Northumbria, dies. He lived as a hermit on Inner Farne Island.

Viking Raids and Changes (700s-800s)

• 709 - Acca is made Bishop of Hexham.
• 715 - Eadfrith creates the famous Lindisfarne Gospels.
• 731 - Bede writes his important book, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, at Jarrow.
• 735 - Alcuin of York is born. He later becomes a key figure in Europe under Charlemagne.
• 793 - Vikings attack Lindisfarne. This is one of the first major Viking raids in England.
• 794 - Vikings also raid Jarrow.
• 827 - Northumbria accepts Egbert of Wessex as their main ruler.
• 865 - Northumbrians, led by Aelle II, defeat Ragnar Lodbrok's Viking raiders.
• 866 - The "Great Heathen Army" of Vikings conquers and settles York and southern Northumbria.
• 867 - Aelle II and Osberht join forces but are defeated at the Battle of York.

Shaping the English Kingdom (900s-1000s)

• 915 - Ealdred I of Bernicia and Constantine II of Scotland are defeated by Vikings at the first Battle of Corbridge.
• 927 - The Earldom of Northumbria is created by King Athelstan.
• 937 - Athelstan defeats a combined Norse-Celtic army in the battle of Brunanburh.
• 947/48 - Eric Bloodaxe becomes King of Northumbria.
• 952/54 - Eric Bloodaxe is King of Northumbria again.
• 954
  • Edinburgh is lost to the Scottish king Indulf.
  • Eadred of Wessex makes Northumbria a permanent part of the English Kingdom.
• 993 - Bamburgh Castle is destroyed by the Vikings.
• 995 - Monks from Lindisfarne start a new settlement in Durham.
• 1013 - Uhtred the Bold, a powerful leader in Northumbria, submits to Sweyn Forkbeard.
• 1018 - Lothian is lost to Malcolm II, the King of Scots.
• 1041 - Eadwulf, a leader from Bamburgh, is killed by Siward.
• 1065 - The name Northumberland is first written down in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
• 1069 - William I (William the Conqueror) harshly puts down opposition in Northumbria. This event is known as the Harrying of the North.
• 1072 - William I marches through Northumbria into Scotland with a large fleet.
• 1080 - Normans build a fort on the Tyne. This place becomes known as Newcastle.
• 1089 - The county of Northumberland is officially created.
• 1091 - The Cathedral Church of St Nicholas is founded.
• 1095 - Prudhoe Castle is built around this time.
• 1096 - Construction begins on Alnwick Castle.

Castles and Conflicts (1100s-1200s)

• 1121 - Construction begins on Norham Castle.
• 1135 - Brinkburn Priory is founded around this time.
• 1137 - Newminster Abbey is founded near Morpeth.
• 1139 - Matilda gives the northern part of Northumberland to David I of Scotland.
• 1143 - A castle is built at Northallerton.
• 1150 - Warkworth Castle is built around this time.
• 1157 - Henry II takes Northumberland back from Scotland.
• 1160 - A castle is built at Norham.
• 1174 - While attacking Alnwick, William I of Scotland is captured and imprisoned in Newcastle.
• 1177 - The Castle, Newcastle is built.
• 1216 - King John orders the destruction of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
• 1237 - The Treaty of York sets the northern border of England and Northumberland county.
• 1240 - Hulne Priory is founded.
• 1250 - Haughton Castle is built around this time.
• 1296 - English forces attack Berwick-upon-Tweed before defeating the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar.
• 1297 - Scots led by William Wallace burn Hexham, Corbridge and Ryton.

Wars and Plagues (1300s-1400s)

• 1314 - The county is severely damaged by Robert the Bruce.
• 1322 - Dunstanburgh Castle is built.
• 1330 - A Peel tower is added to Featherstone Castle.
• 1333 - Edward III, while attacking Berwick-upon-Tweed, defeats the Scots at the Battle of Halidon Hill.
• 1346 - Scottish forces attack Hexham before being defeated at the Battle of Neville's Cross.
• 1349 - The terrible Black Plague arrives.
• 1370 - Belsay Castle is built around this time.
• 1377 - Henry Percy becomes the first Earl of Northumberland.
• 1388 - The Battle of Otterburn takes place.
• 1402 - The Battle of Humbleton Hill is fought.
• 1403 - Henry "Hotspur" Percy is killed at Shrewsbury in a battle against Henry IV.
• 1450 - Dilston Castle is built around this time.
• 1464 - The Battle of Hedgeley Moor takes place.
• 1482 - Berwick-upon-Tweed is captured by England for the last time.

New Eras and Challenges (1500s-1600s)

• 1500 - Bishop Ridley, who was killed for his beliefs in 1555, is born.
• 1513 - English forces defeat invading Scots at the Battle of Flodden Field.
• 1549 - John Knox becomes a minister in Berwick-upon-Tweed.
• 1551 - John Dudley becomes the first Duke of Northumberland.
• 1569 - The Earl of Northumberland rebels against Elizabeth I in the Rising of the North.
• 1572 - The area of Hexham is added to Northumberland.
• 1597 - A Plague outbreak kills 340 people in Newcastle.
• 1603 - The crowns of England and Scotland are united under James I.
• 1606 - James I moves Border Reivers to Ireland.
• 1640 - Scottish Covenanters defeat English forces in the Battle of Newburn.
• 1649 - Some women are accused and executed in Newcastle.

Industry and Modern Times (1700s-1900s)

• 1707 - The Act of Union joins the Scottish government with that of England and Wales.
• 1715 - Capability Brown, a famous landscape designer, is born in Kirkharle.
• 1745 - There is little support in Northumberland for Bonnie Prince Charlie during the second Jacobite rising.
• 1761 - Troops in Hexham shoot 40 miners protesting against being forced into the army.
• 1781 - George Stephenson, a pioneer of railways, is born in Wylam.
• 1782 - The 5th Regiment of Foot is named the 5th (The Northumberland) Regiment of Foot.
• 1800 - Bewick publishes his book British Birds.
• 1819 - The Newcastle Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry is formed.
• 1829
  • Stephenson's Rocket wins the Rainhill Trials, showing the power of steam trains.
  • The Natural History Society of Northumbria is founded.
• 1838 - Grace Darling bravely rescues survivors from a shipwreck off the Farne Islands.
• 1844 - The North British Railway begins operating.
• 1853 - A Cholera outbreak kills 1,500 people in Newcastle.
• 1854 - The North Eastern Railway is officially created.
• 1877 - Rutherford College of Technology is founded.
• 1936 - Two hundred men march from Jarrow to London to protest about unemployment.
• 1940 - Spitfires from RAF Acklington intercept German bombers near the Farne Islands.
• 1963 - The University of Newcastle upon Tyne becomes a separate university.
• 1966 - An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease affects farms in Northumberland.
• 1974 - The county of Tyne and Wear is created.

See also

• History of Northumberland