Scremerston

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Scremerston
Northumberland
Scremerston Town Farm. - geograph.org.uk - 284672.jpg
Scremerston Town Farm
Location
Grid reference: NU005495
Location: 55°44’17"N, 1°59’35"W
Data
Post town: Berwick-Upon-Tweed
Postcode: TD15
Dialling code: 01289
Local Government
Council: Northumberland
Parliamentary
constituency:
Berwick-upon-Tweed

Scremerston is a village in northern Northumberland, on the North Sea coast about three miles south of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Scremerston sits beside to the busy A1 road, the main north/south trunk road between Newcastle upon Tyne to the south, and Edinburgh to the north, by way of Berwick.

History

The lands at Scremerston were historically held by the Radcliffe family, Earls of Derwentwater. In 1716 though James, the last earl, was attainted for his support of the previous year's Jacobite rebellion, and the lands were granted to the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital. At the end of the nineteenth century the sole landowners are given as the Lords of the Admiralty.

Geological variations in this area allowed many seams to develop, some two feet thick, and were among the earliest coal formations in Britain. There were extensive collieries and manufactories of lime, bricks and tiles around Scremerston, and this, as well as agriculture, were the mainstays for employment for people in the area.

The soil is rich in clay, perfect for the making of bricks and tiles. Crops such as wheat, beans, barley, oats and turnip were grown. The parish is largely agricultural, but the influence of mining is responsible for the growth of the township, though today all of those mines have been closed.

The population for 1851 is given as 1,152 people though by 1891 it had fallen to 890.

Parish church

The parish church is St Peter's. It was consecrated in 1842 and built in the early English style.

There was also formerly a Primitive Methodist chapel built in 1886 at a cost of nearly £400.

About the village

The Devil's Causeway passes the village less than a mile to the west. This Roman road starts at Port Gate on Hadrian's Wall, north of Corbridge, and extends fifty-five miles northwards across Northumberland to the mouth of the River Tweed at Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Sports

  • Rugby: Berwick RFC, which plays in the Scottish leagues, is based at Scremerston.

Outside links

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about Scremerston)