There are two lodge houses on the Military Road in Heddon village. The most prominent is the one almost opposite the Three Tuns, at the road junction, which is the former lodge house to Bay's Leap Farm. This was a substantial property north of the Military Road but the original farm was completely destroyed by open-cast coal mining in the 1960s. The modern farm and farmhouse were re-constructed on in-filled land further to the east.
 Heddon on the Wall from Bay's Leap Farm. |  Bay'sLeap Lodge and Village Pond, Heddon on the Wall. |
Bay's Leap Farm before opencast mining.
The last house on the left as you leave Heddon on the Wall walking west (as many now do on the Hadrian's Wall National Trail) is North Lodge, or 59 Military Road. Just after this building the road turns sharply right, a modern detour to take it over the A69 dual carriageway. The original line of the General Wade's Military Road, built on the line and foundations of Hadrian's Wall, is regained after another sharp turn to the left, at the bottom of the hill below Rudchester.
 North Lodge, Military Road, Heddon on the Wall. |  North Lodge, Military Road, Heddon on the Wall. |
Although quite a small house, it was owned for a time by a Mrs Murray who ran it as a Bed & Breakfast, café and shop, selling sweets and cigarettes. It was for a while a mystery to me as it now has no apparent function or geographical location at the entrance to an estate.
 North Road Café, Heddon on the Wall. |  Mrs Murray, North Lodge, Heddon on the Wall. |
North Lodge lies between Hadrian's Wall near the location of turret 12b, which is now under the surface of the modern road, and the Roman vallum to its south. A Roman carved stone was found here in 1932, when repairing a garden wall. It shows the head of a person in a hood pointing to part of an inscription 'Cl[audius] P..... ' dating to the 2nd or 3rd century AD. Although it resembles the ordinary centurial inscriptions of the wall, there is no centurial symbol, and the pointing figure is unique. The stone is now held by Vindolanda Museum.
North Lodge was originally built as a lodge for Close House presumably providing a short cut to the mansion for travellers on the Military Road saving them having to enter the village. The line of the original drive is no longer clear on the ground, and doesn't correspond to the current line taken by the footpath, but the 1865 1:10560 OS map shows its line running south-west below and to the north of Houghton Farm, emerging on the Hexham Road almost opposite the current Close House driveway entrance but with no lodge shown. There is a small building with the name Buckhorns shown on the map near this position, on the north side of the road,
Heddon North Lodge on Greenwood's Map of Northumberland (1828).
 Heddon North Lodge on 1865 1:10560 OS map |  Heddon North Lodge on 1899 1:10560 OS map |
By 1899, Buckhorns and the drive way from North Lodge are no longer shown, and the lodge house at the head of the current driveway to Close House is now depicted, on the south side of the Hexham Road, west of Houghton. This lodge still guards the current entrance to Close House estate. The function of North Lodge appears to have no longer been required.
As mentioned above, North Lodge was once operated as a shop and café. Interestingly, there has been a recent application to convert the Bay's Leap Lodge from a dwelling house to a café.
As mentioned above, North Lodge was once operated as a shop and café. Interestingly, there has been a recent application to convert the Bay's Leap Lodge from a dwelling house to a café.
RSS Feed
