Riding Mill
| Riding Mill | |
| Northumberland | |
|---|---|
 St James Church, Riding Mill | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NZ015615 |
| Location: | 54°56’53"N, 1°58’41"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Riding Mill |
| Postcode: | NE44 |
| Dialling code: | 01434 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Northumberland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Hexham |
Riding Mill is a village in Northumberland, near Hexham and to the west of the county's great city, Newcastle upon Tyne. It is served by Riding Mill railway station.
The only remaining village pub is 'The Wellington' as the two others have closed (The Railway and The Broomhaugh). Until 2006 there was a Post Office on the main road. Bobby's General Stores remains open for business.
Riding Mill is notable as the location of Riding Mill pumping station. Up until here the water released from Kielder Water uses the River Tyne but at Riding Mill it is pumped to the city and over the County Durham hills to the towns at the mouth of the River Tees.
Outside the village in the direction of Hexham stands Hollin Hill Terrace, a clutch of eight Victorian dwelling. They are a fine example of Victorian architecture, believed to have been built after 1850.
History
Mackenzie (1825) wrote — The Riding Mill is built upon a mountain brook called Dipton Burn – which it was often hazardous to pass, but in 1822 a good bridge was built across it. It is eighty feet in length and twenty-eight feet in breadth.
In recent times the road from the south coming into Riding Mill was a notorious traffic hazard because of the steep slope and the bends. A safety pit of small stones was constructed to halt vehicles that got out of control. The hill was also difficult to climb the other way, but a new road bypasses Riding Mill.[1]
About the village
The mill existed in mediæval times and was granted to the monastery at Blanchland. It was a good source of profit because all the monastery's tenants had to bring their corn to be ground here and hand querns were forbidden by law. Since crossing the burn was difficult a pack horse bridge was constructed 1599-1600. In recent times the mill has been converted into a residence, but its appearance has been kept. The 18-foot water wheel was of the overshot type and a dam 500 yards above the mill retained the water for its use.[1]
The large house opposite became the Wellington Hotel. It is a handsome structure and carries the date 1660 above the door. The letters are considered to be the initials of Thomas Errington and his wife Ann Carnaby. T.B. has come about by the Boultflour family living here; they were millers and probably altered the E into a B.[1] The house gained some notoriety by its association with witchcraft. Anne Armstrong, the witch finder, lived at Birchesnook. In 1673 she accused Anne, wife of Thomas Baites of Morpeth, a tanner, of frequenting witches' meetings at Riding Bridge-end, where she danced with the devil. She also claimed to have seen Anne Forster of Stocksfield, Anne Dryden of Prudhoe and Lucy Thompson of Mickley, supping with theire proctector which they called their god in the Riding house. But the charges were dismissed at the Morpeth Quarter Sessions, the magistrates not being impressed with the evidence.[1]
Other significant buildings include Oaklands Manor,[2] Wentworth Grange, Underwood Hall, and former vicarage The Glebe.
Transport links
Riding Mill is linked to Newcastle and the A1 by the A695 which passes through the village. The A68 road lies about a mile to the east, linking Riding Mill to Jedburgh (Roxburghshire) and Darlington (County Durham).
The village is served by Riding Mill railway station on the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, also known as the Tyne Valley Line. The line was opened in 1838, and links the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in Northumberland with Carlisle in Cumberland. The line follows the course of the River Tyne through Northumberland.
Miscellany
- Robert Smith Surtees, the Victorian novelist and founder of the hunting magazine "The Field" born at The Riding (cottage)
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Riding Mill) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Rowland, T. H. (1994). Waters of Tyne (Reprint ed.). Warkworth, Northumberland, England: Sandhill Press Ltd. ISBN 0-946098-36-0.
- ↑ Manor Riding Mill - British Listed Buildings
