Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial county and unitary district in the North East of England. It borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south and Tyne and Wear to the south east, as well as having a border with the Scottish Borders council area to the north, and a North Sea coastline of outstanding natural beauty with a walking track almost 102 kilometres long. Since the creation of Tyne and Wear in 1974, the county council has been located in Morpeth, situated in the east of the county.

As the kingdom of Northumbria under King Edwin, the region's historical boundaries stretched from the Humber in the south to the Forth in the north. The historic boundaries of the county cover a different area, including Newcastle upon Tyne, the traditional county town, as well as Tynemouth and other settlements in North Tyneside, areas administered by Tyne and Wear since 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The historic boundaries of the county are sometimes taken to exclude Islandshire, Bedlingtonshire and Norhamshire (collectively North Durham), exclaves of County Durham which were incorporated into Northumberland in 1844.

Being on the border of Scotland and England, Northumberland has been the site of many battles. The county is noted for its undeveloped landscape of high moorland, a favourite with landscape painters, and now largely protected as a National Park. Northumberland is the most sparsely populated county in England, with only 62 people per square kilometre.

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

History

The area was once part of the Roman Empire and as Northumberland it was the scene of many wars between England and Scotland. As evidence of its violent history, Northumberland has more castles than any other county in England, including the castles of Alnwick, Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh and Warkworth.

The region of present-day Northumberland once formed the core of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia, which was later united with Deira south of the River Tees to form Northumbria. Northumberland is often called the "cradle of Christianity" in England, because it was on Lindisfarne, a tidal island north of Bamburgh, also called Holy Island, that Christianity flourished when monks from Iona were sent to convert the English. Lindisfarne was the home of the Lindisfarne Gospels and Saint Cuthbert, who is buried in Durham Cathedral.

Bamburgh is the historic capital of Northumberland, the "royal" castle from before the unification of England under one monarch. In contemporary times, although Northumberland County Council's offices are in Morpeth, Alnwick and Morpeth contest which of the two is the county town.

The lords of Northumberland once wielded significant power in English affairs because, as the Marcher Lords, they were entrusted with protecting England from Scottish invasion.

Northumberland has a history of revolt and rebellion against the government, as seen in the Rising of the North in Tudor times. These revolts were usually led by the then Dukes of Northumberland, the Percy family. Shakespeare makes one of the Percys, the dashing Harry Hotspur, the real hero of his Henry IV, Part 1.

The county was also a centre for Roman Catholicism in England, as well as of Jacobite feelings after the Restoration. Northumberland became a sort of 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.

Northumberland played a key role in the industrial revolution. Coal mines were once widespread in Northumberland, with collieries at Ashington, Ellington and Pegswood The region's coalfields fuelled industrial expansion in other areas of the country, 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.

Today, Northumberland is still largely rural. As the least populated county in England, it commands much less influence in British affairs than in times past. 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

The physical geography of Northumberland is diverse. 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 Whin Sill (on which Hadrian's Wall runs), an intrusion of carboniferous Dolerite. Both ridges support a rather bare moorland landscape. Either side of 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, mostly falling in the west on the high land. 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.

Ecology

There are a variety of notable habitats and species in Northumberland including: Chillingham Cattle herd; Holy Island; Farne Islands; and Staple Island.

Economy and industry

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Northumberland at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Year	Regional Gross Value Added	Agriculture	Industry	Services
1995	2,585	130	943	1,512
2000	2,773	108	831	1,833
2003	3,470	109	868	2,494

Northumberland has a relatively weak economy amongst the counties and other local government areas of the United Kingdom. The county is ranked sixth lowest amongst these 63 council areas. In 2003 23% of males and 60% of females were earning less than the Council of Europe's decency threshold. As of May 2005 unemployment is at 2.3%, in line with the national average. Between 1999 and 2003 businesses in the county grew 4.4% to 8,225, making 0.45% of registered businesses in the UK.

A major source of employment and income in the county is tourism. The county annually receives 1.1 million UK visitors and 50,000 foreign tourists who spend a total of £162million in the county..

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 - as instead of having two secondary schools in one town, one school became a middle school and another became an upper school; in individual towns everyone will go to the same school. A controversial 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. These changes have been the focus of much controversy. One response to these changes ahs 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. Blyth Community College situated in south east Northumberland is able to hold 1500 students throughout the building. Astley Community High School which is situated in Seaton Delaval and accepts students from Seaton Deleval, 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 High School, which is attended by students from all over the area. Students from Northumberland also attend notable independent schools in Newcastle such as the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle

Demographics

At the Census 2001 Northumberland registered a population of 307,190, estimated to be 309,237 in 2003. In 2001 there were 130,780 households, 10% of which were all retired, and one third were rented. Northumberland has a very low ethnic minority population at 0.985% of the population, compared to 9.1% for England as a whole. 81% of the population reported their religion as Christianity, 0.8% as another 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.

Politics

Northumberland is a unitary local 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 1 April 2009, the county council becoming a unitary authority.

Elections for the new unitary authority council took place on 1 May 2008.

Northumberland is represented in the House of Commons by four Members of Parliament, of whom one is a Conservative, one is a Liberal Democrat and two are Labour.

Northumberland is included within the North East England European Parliament constituency which is represented by 4 Members of the European Parliament.

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 sounds similar to Lowland Scottish music, reflecting the strong historical links between Northumbria and the Lowlands of Scotland.

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 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 in common with Scottish Lowland culture than each has with the rest of their respective countries. Firstly both regions have their cultural origins in the old Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria, this is borne out by the linguistic links between the two regions, which 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 the Anglo-Scottish border.Whatever the case, the lands just north or south of the border have long had a common history due to their common Northumbrian heritage and thus it is thought by many 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.

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 mediæval heralds had attributed to the Kingdom of Bernicia (which the first County Council used until it received a regular grant of 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.

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 whereas 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, Berwick Advertiser, Hexham Courant and the News Post Leader.

Lionheart FM, a community radio station based in Alnwick, has recently been awarded a five-year community broadcasting license by OFCOM. Radio Borders covers Berwick and the rural north of the county.

People

Famous people born in Northumberland

Ashington was the birth place of the three famous footballers Bobby and Jack Charlton in 1937 and 1935 respectively; and Jackie Milburn previously in 1924. The basketballer Alan Hoyle was born here in 1983 whilst in 1978 Steve Harmison, an international cricketer was born here.

Mickley was the birth place of Thomas Bewick, an artist, wood engraver and naturalist in 1753 and Bob Stokoe, a footballer, F.A. Cup winning manager in 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Gordon Sumner, better known by his stage name of Sting, a school teacher turned musician was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1951
• Hugh Trevor-Roper, an historian born at Glanton in 1914
• William Turner, ornithologist and botanist born at Morpeth in 1508
• C. V. Wedgwood, an historian born in 1910
• Sid Waddell, a sports commentator and childrens television screenwriter born at Alnwick in 1940
• Eric Burdon, singer and leader of The Animals and War born at Walker-on-Tynein 1941

Famous people linked with 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.
• Ross Noble, a stand-up comedian raised in Cramlington in the 1970s and 1980s
• 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.
• Conrad Sidey architect, lives in Forest Hall.
• Algernon Swinburne, a poet raised at Capheaton Hall
• Kathryn Tickell, a modern-day player of the Northumbrian smallpipes
• Turner, Thomas Girtin and John Cotman all painted memorable pictures of Northumberland. Turner always tipped his hat towards Norham Castle as the foundation of his fame and fortune.
• Jonny Wilkinson, English rugby player, currently lives in rural Northumberland.

The site [9487] 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
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

See also

• Anglo-Scottish border
• Duke of Northumberland
• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Northumberland
• List of places of interest and tourist attractions in Northumberland
• List of people from Northumberland by occupation
• Northumbria
• Northumberland Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear

External links

• Northumberland County Council
• Visit Northumberland - The Official Visitor Site
• Enjoy Northumberland

Notes and references

1. http://www.northumberlandcoastaonb.org/media/Publications/01%20-%20Part%201%20-%20Management%20Plan%20-%20Introduction.pdf
2. http://www.ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=Northumberland+Coast+Path
3. Long, B. (1967). Castles of Northumberland. Newcastle, UK: Harold Hill.
4. Northumberland National Park Authority, n.d. " The topology and climate of Northumberland National Park."
5. Met Office, 2000. " Annual average temperature for the United Kingdom."
6. Met Office, 2000. " Annual average rainfall for the United Kingdom."
7. Met Office, 2000. " Annual average sunshine for the United Kingdom."
8. Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
9. includes hunting and forestry
10. includes energy and construction
11. includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
12. Northumberland County Council, 2003 "Northumberland in context.". MS Word, HTML (Google)
13. Northumberland InfoNet, 2005. " Unemployment Statistics."
14. Northumberland InfoNet, 2004. " Key Statistics: Businesses." (PDF)
15. Northumberland InfoNet, 2004 " Key Statistics: Tourism." (PDF)
16. Office for National Statistics, 2003. " Update on 2001 Census figures." (PDF)
17. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2003. " Local Government Finance Settlement 2005/06." (PDF)
18. Office for National Statistics, 2001. " KS07 Religion: Census 2001, Key Statistics for local Authorities."
19. http://www.northeastengland.talktalk.net/GeordieOrigins.htm
20. http://www.northumbriana.org.uk/langsoc/about.htm
21. Northumbrian Language Society
22. http://www.lowlands-l.net/english.php
23. Bede's Ecclesiatical History of the English People, Book III, Ch. 11: "And to furnish a lasting memorial of the royal saint, they hung the King's banner of purple and gold over his tomb."
24. http://web.archive.org/web/20050624074238/http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/vg/flag.html
25. Office for National Statistics: Neighbourhood Statistics

Bibliography

Tomlinson, W. W. (1888). Comprehensive guide to the county of Northumberland (reprinted 1968). Trowbridge, UK: Redwood.Barbara Thompson, Jennifer Norderhaug (2006). "Walking the Northumberland Dales: Hadrian's Wall Country". Sigma Press. ISBN 1850588384, 9781850588382