Heddon-on-the-Wall Local History Society
  • Home
  • Calendar
  • Introduction
  • Where are we?
  • History Map
  • Timeline
    • Prehistoric
    • AD43 to 1599
    • 1600 to 1799
    • 1800 to 1899
    • 1900 to 1999
    • 2000 to 2099
  • Heddon's History
    • Prehistory
    • Hadrian's Wall >
      • Vallum excavation (1893)
      • Hadrian's Wall excavation 1926
      • Wall ditch, Bays Leap (1958)
      • Hadrian’s Wall: Archaeological research by English Heritage 1976-2000
      • Throckley & Heddon entanglements
      • WallWatch
      • English Heritage (2020)
      • Wardell-Armstrong Archaeolgy Reports
      • Historic England Archives
    • Six townships >
      • 1 Heddon township >
        • Heddon in the Middle Ages
        • Common Land
        • Middle Marches
        • Tithe Award
        • St Andrew's Church >
          • Stained Glass Windows
          • Churchyard
          • Monuments of church & churchyard (1991)
          • Monuments Page 2
          • Vicars of Heddon
        • Village property
        • Heddon Hall >
          • Sale of Heddon Hall 2012
        • Heddon Banks Farm
        • Frenchman's Row
        • Methodist Church >
          • Heddon Methodist Church Centenary 1877-1977
        • Men's Institute
        • Women's Institute
        • Welfare Field
        • Knott Memorial Hall
        • Memorial Park
        • Schools
        • River Tyne
        • Coal Mining
        • Quarrying
        • Water Supplies
        • Transport
        • Waggonway & Railway
        • Occupations from 1800
        • Miscellaneous
      • 2 West Heddon township
      • 3 East Heddon township
      • 4 Houghton & Close House township >
        • Close House
      • 5 Eachwick township
      • 6 Whitchester township
    • Rudchester
  • People
    • Sir James Knott
    • Cadwallader J. Bates
    • Richard Burdon
    • Hugh Sinclair (Tim) Swann
    • George Clark
  • Old Photos
    • Postcards
    • Old photos 1
    • Old photos 2
    • Old photos 3
    • Old photos 4
    • Old photos 5
    • Old photos 6
    • Old Photos 7
  • Old News
    • Community News
    • Letter from the Emigrant Clergy of Frenchman's Row (1802)
    • Alleged Brutal Murder at Heddon-on-the-Wall (1876)
    • Sad boat accident at Ryton (1877)
    • Coronation tree (1902)
    • 65 Years on a Ferry Boat (1929)
    • Come claim your kiss at Heddon (1953)
    • The Swan (1972)
    • Heddon WI (1987)
    • Church House (1966)
    • Happy return (1993)
    • Hexham Courant (1997)
    • Butterfly Garden (1999)
    • Foot & Mouth (2001)
    • Remembrance Day (1996)
    • Remembrance Day (2016)
    • RAF at Ouston (2007)
    • Close House Golf Course (2009)
    • Heddon pupils celebrate British heritage (2011)
    • Roman Wall Forge (2011)
    • Diamond Jubilee (2012)
    • Auction of Bronze Statue, Close House (2012)
    • Heddon WI (2012)
    • Puffing Billy Festival (2013)
    • Heddon Village Show (2014)
    • View of the North (2014)
    • The Wall at Heddon (2014)
    • Heddon Village Show (2015)
    • War veterans singing send-off (September 2015)
    • Anglo-Saxon history (2014)
    • Heddon WI at 100 (2017)
    • Hadrian's Wall discovery (2019)
    • Tulip Mews (2020)
    • Mike Furlonger
    • Hadrian's Wall 1900 Festival
  • Memories
    • Olive White
    • Betty Cockburn
    • Betty Cockburn - miscellaneous information
    • Isabel Snowdon
    • William & Winnie Watson
    • Edith Ward
    • Mark Parker
    • Jack Lawson
    • Winnie Spoor
    • P Reay
    • Mr and Mrs Hall
    • Peter Chapman
    • Elizabeth Elenora Eames
    • Harry Murray
  • Other documents
    • Mackenzie (1825)
    • Bates (1886) >
      • Early & Roman
      • Townships
      • Heddon Church
      • Heddon & Houghton
      • Whitchester
      • Eachwick
      • West & East Heddon
      • Records
      • Addenda
      • Appendix A
    • History, Topography & Directory of Northumberland (Bulmer's) - 1886
    • History of Northumberland (1930)
    • Collingwood Bruce (1853)
    • Whellan (1855)
    • Post Office Directory (1879)
    • Prominent people in Heddon
    • Place names
    • Ad Murum
    • Archived documents
    • Thomas Bewick's History of British Birds (1826)
    • Census data 1801-1991
    • Historical Records 1888-1890
    • Knott Sale of Village Property (1924)
    • Extracts from Parish Council Records
    • Local colliery records
    • Blackburn (1938)
    • Clark (c.1963)
    • History of Church (1968)
    • Boundary Commission Report 1984
    • Village Atlas 2022
  • Walks
    • Walks 2
  • Blog
  • Contact us
  • Links
  • What's new
  • Site search
  • Past & Present
  • Photo of the Month
  • Place Name Studies
    • Meas & Meres
    • OS Name Books: Elsdon
    • OS Name Books: Allendale
    • OS Name Books: Cheviot Hills
    • OS Name Books: Other Parishes
  • Heddon 3D landscape

Whitchester township
from an article by George Clark


Whitchester appears to have been a much more important place in the past than we now can imagine. Before Rudchester was united with the Heddon parish (formerly it was in Ovingham parish and transferred in 1892), Whitchester was only joined to the rest of the parish by a narrow strip of land on its east side where there is a cairn and a farm house called Turpin's Hill (Hall), deriving its name from the family of Turpin who long held Whitchester. The 'chester' in the name of the township was an earthwork now obliterated by ploughing about a quarter of a mile to the north of the Roman Wall.

Whitchester was held by the Craudens from the Bolbec barony, but there was however, early in the 13th century a family bearing the local name, 'Wytchester' or 'Whichestre'.

A law suit began in 1242 and lasted for nearly a century between Sibil, heiress of the Craudens, and her heirs, the Turpins, against Robert of Whitchester and his heirs, the Reads of Close House, over the ownership of the township. During the long feud that resulted, Martin Turpin killed John Rutherford of Rudchester in 1545. The Rutherfords took the Read's side in the feud. A pardon was granted to Martin Turpin on 20 March 1645.

Upon the failure of male heirs of the Turpins, Whitchester passed in 1583 into the hands of Nicholas Howburn whose mother was Isobel, daughter of Nicholas Turpin. In 1607, Thomas Howburn sold the Manor of Whitchester to Sir William Fenwick. His son later sold it to Ralph Read. In 1656, the property was conveyed to Sir Thomas Widdrington from whom it passed by the marriage of his daughter Ursula to the family of Lord Windsor.

After many more transactions, Ralph Riddell of Cheeseburn Grange purchased part of the estate in 1824 and another part in 1842. From him, Loudside descended to Mr Riddell Blount and is now owned by Major P Riddell and farmed by A.E. Thompson. Another part of Whitchester belonged in 1825 to Mr Thompson and was bought from him was bought by the Johnsons. Spearman Johnson was owner in 1841, William Lee Johnson in 1894. It was later purchased by William Hall who died in 1925 leaving it to Mr R Hall.

High Seat, that part of Whitchester south of the Military Road was bought early in the 19th century by Mr Dobson of Harlow and is described in the 1828 Directory as:
John Dobson, Victualler, Crown & Thistle, High Seat, Whitchester.
It is now the residence of Colonel L.Y. Gibson.

Near a cairn on the farm of Turpin's Hill, now owned by J.B. Spearman, a stone chest was found in 1771. It contained nothing more than a quantity of ashes and burnt bones. In 1795 another of these chests was found in the same cairn which contained two urns and copper coins of Domitian, Antonius Pius and Faustina; they were lodged at Eachwick but their current whereabouts are unknown.

Iron Sign, now in the possession of G. Noble, was an old inn and a halting station for stage coaches. In 1851 we read:
William Hind, Victualler, Ironside Inn, Whitchester.
These stage coaches, endowed with patriotic names, passed through Heddon parish in their journeyings. The 'True Britain' started out at 7am from Newcastle in its journey to Carlisle, the Mail Coach at 7:30am, both returning the following day.The 'British Queen' coach plied daily between Hexham and Newcastle and the numerous carts carrying ore from the lead mines were a familiar sight,


Archaeological Research Services Archaeological Evaluation at Iron Side Farm (2007)
Iron Sign is not shown on Armstrong’s 1769 map of Northumberland but is clearly visible on Fryer’s 1820 map of Northumberland. The first edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1860 shows Iron Sign as a public house named ‘The Crown and Thistle’. The name Iron Sign does not appear again until the second edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1897.
Picture
Fryer’s 1820 Map of Northumberland, Iron Sign Farm is shown in red
Picture
First edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1860. The site of Iron Sign Farm is shown in red and labelled ‘The Crown and Thistle’

A correspondent told me (2011) that a certain Thomas Burn is recorded in the 1841 census as a publican (Crown & Thistle Inn), and again in 1851 as Innkeeper. John Burn (died 1892) and his mother Ann (died 1861), who have a gravestone in St Andrew's churchyard [83],  were members of his family , John being his brother and Ann their mother.  They are all listed in the 1841 census as living at 'C & Thistle, Whitchester'.  Thomas is listed as the publican,  who is married with three children; his brother, John, a joiner, and mother, Ann, listed as 'Ind', presumably denoting independent means. They are all listed again in the 1851 census as living at Iron Sign,  Thomas Burn, the publican, living with his wife Ann, his brother John, and mother, Ann.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.