82-473: Brinkburn Priory is a former monastery built, starting in the 12th century, on a bend of the River Coquet , about 4 miles (6 km) east of Rothbury , Northumberland, England. The priory church survived the dissolution of the monasteries because it was also a parish church. After decline in the post-dissolution centuries the church was restored in the 19th century. It is a grade I listed building in
164-515: A Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat station, which houses two lifeboats, a Shannon-class all-weather boat propelled by water jets, and a D-class inflatable boat for inshore work. The crew have received 18 awards for gallantry between them, including the first ever awarded for a rescue by an inshore boat. Finally the river enters the North Sea , almost opposite Coquet Island , located 1 mile (1.6 km) out to sea. For most of England,
246-537: A frith stool , a 7th/8th century cathedra or throne. For a little while around that time it was the seat of a bishopric . In the year 875 Halfdan Ragnarsson the Dane ravaged the whole of Tyneside, and Hexham Church was plundered and burnt to the ground. About 1050, one Eilaf was put in charge of Hexham, although as treasurer of Durham, he probably never went there. Eilaf was instructed to rebuild Hexham Church, which then lay in utter ruin. His son Eilaf II completed
328-620: A grade II* listed structure. Another large dam provided the water supply for Guyzance Mill, on the west bank of the river. The main building has three storeys, and the undershot water wheel is located inside the building, although it may have been external when first built. Some of the machinery and the stones remain in situ. The East Coast Main Line crosses the river on a railway viaduct with nine arches, designed in Robert Stephenson and completed in 1849 or 1850. The river passes over
410-400: A bridge dating from the 16th century crosses it. Built as a packhorse bridge, it was made wider in 1759 by William Oliphant, a mason from Rothbury, to accommodate vehicles, and was further widened in the 20th century, when the parapets were removed and a concrete deck constructed on top of the original structure. Unlike many bridges, the earlier phases have not been concealed by later work. It is
492-637: A corn mill which was mentioned when Holystone Nunnery was dissolved in 1539, and Holystone Walk Mill, both of which are shown on a map dating from 1765. A fulling mill at Caistron was the other mill on the Coquet mentioned in the Newminster Chartulary, and there was at least one mill at Tosson, as a corn mill was documented in 1290 and 1436, but a fulling mill was mentioned in 1622. There were four mills at various times in Rothbury. Debdon Mill
574-491: A number of small villages and hamlets, and feeds one of the lakes created by extraction of gravel that form the Caistron Nature Reserve, before reaching the town of Rothbury , where it is crossed by a grade II listed bridge. Below the town is Thrum Mill , a Grade II-listed water mill. It loops around Brinkburn Priory , founded in the 1130s for Augustinian Canons , and its associated mill. At Felton it
656-459: A parish church. Parts of the original buildings were incorporated into a manor house, which was occupied intermittently until 1953, after which it was given to the Ministry of Public Building and Works. Both the church and the house are now managed by English Heritage and are open for public viewing. Nearby is Brinkburn Mill, built in the 18th century, but re-using medieval masonry. A cottage for
738-513: A permanent exhibition and visitor centre, telling the story of the Abbey's history. There has been a church on the site for over 1300 years since Etheldreda , Queen of Northumbria, made a grant of lands to St Wilfrid , Bishop of York , c.674 AD. Of Wilfrid's Benedictine abbey, which was constructed almost entirely of material salvaged from nearby Roman ruins, the Saxon crypt still remains; as does
820-450: A scheduled monument and a grade II listed structure. Below Rothbury is a velocity-area gauging station, which measures the river's flow. Its accuracy is enhanced by a mill weir further downstream, and it has been used to collect flow data since 1972. The mean flow between 1972 and 2005 was 201 cubic feet per second (5.69 m /s), but the maximum flow during this period was 9,382 cu ft/s (265.7 m /s) on 1 April 1992. Just to
902-608: A second-hand organ from Carlisle Cathedral dating from 1804. It was installed in Hexham by Nicholson of Newcastle and opened on 19 October 1865. In 1905 this was rebuilt by Norman and Beard with Sir Frederick Bridge of Westminster Abbey as the consultant. In 1974 a new instrument by Lawrence Phelps of Pennsylvania was installed. It is a two manual 34-stop mechanical action instrument. Hexham Abbey Boys' Choir consists of boys' and men's voices and sings choral evensong on Wednesdays in addition to morning and evening services on
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#1732780639762984-465: A source of power, as a number of mills have been constructed along its length. One of the earliest was on Hepden Burn, a tributary in the upper reaches, which was mentioned in the early 13th century, but was not subsequently developed, due to unrest in the area. Archaeological investigation between 2010 and 2013 revealed one of the few unaltered medieval mill sites in Britain, and pushed the development of
1066-498: A tributary that joins the Coquet above Warkworth Mill site. Grange Mill was near the medieval village of Low Buston, and Houndean Mill was just to the east of the railway bridge over the burn. The earliest known reference to the River Coquet is found in the 8th century Ravenna Cosmography , where it is known as Coccuueda . Bede referred to Cocuedi fluminis . This can be roughly translated to 'Red River', perhaps reflecting
1148-657: A venue for concerts, notably the Brinkburn Festival which was directed by Paul McCreesh . The manor house , which utilises part of the vaulted undercroft to the monks' dining hall, presents a nineteenth-century appearance. It is a grade II* listed building. Brinkburn Mill , once part of the Priory precinct, was rebuilt in the nineteenth century. It was refurbished in 1990 by the Landmark Trust . The locally renowned "Brinkburn" on Brinkburn Road, Darlington
1230-431: A woollen mill in 1791, and becoming derelict in 1884. From 1915, it was used to manufacture a white pigment called Hydrate of Alumina, and became one of the first factories in the country to be powered by hydroelectric power when a Gilkes water turbine was fitted into the millrace. The factory closed in 1930 when its lease was not renewed following pollution of the river. The mill building was converted into flats in 1968. At
1312-536: A year. Mean flow between 1963 and 2005 was 303 cubic feet per second (8.58 m /s), with a high of 12,913 cu ft/s (365.7 m /s) on 1 April 1992. Just to the west of Warkworth the river passes over a large weir, beyond which the water is tidal. The weir is bypassed by a fish pass, consisting of a series of pools with small jumps between them. The fish pass was refurbished in 2013 after lying derelict for 20 years, to prevent harm to salmon, sea trout and eels, which were being injured while trying to negotiate
1394-527: Is a grade I listed structure, and there is a Roman road which passed through the well enclosure and then crossed the Coquet on its way from High Rochester fort to the River Aln . There was a fourth suspension bridge near Hepple , made of iron with a 90-foot (27 m) span, which cost £30 when it was constructed. By the time the river reaches Hepple bridge, which consists of modern steel beams resting on piers dating from around 1874, it has dropped below
1476-428: Is also part of the original estate. The principal survival of the medieval priory is the large late 12th century church. It consists of a nave and north aisle of six bays, a crossing with a low tower, transepts of two bays with vaulted eastern chapels, and a three-bay aisleless chancel. Except for the south-west corner, which was rebuilt in 1858, the masonry of the church has survived from the original construction. While
1558-483: Is crossed by two bridges, one dating from the 15th century, and its replacement, built in 1927, both of which are listed structures. Below the bridges is a sewage treatment works, built in the 1990s. At Brainshaugh, the river passes over a large horseshoe dam, built in 1775 by the engineer John Smeaton to power an iron and tin works, which later became a woollen mill, and subsequently one of the first factories to be powered by hydroelectricity. Before it reaches Warkworth ,
1640-421: Is grade II listed because it is one of the earliest bridges of its type produced by the company. Beyond the bridges, a new sewage treatment works was built on the north bank, after it was authorised in 1991. It was designed to discharge 19,000 cubic feet (539 m ) of treated effluent to the river each day, and replaced old inefficient works at Felton, Longframlington, Swarland and Thirston. Near Brainshaugh,
1722-471: Is no evidence from early Ordnance Survey maps for further mills above Rothbury, there were two mills at Alwinton in 1623, one of which may have been a fulling mill, as a fulling mill was confiscated from Sir Edward Widdrington in 1654. Widdrington also lost a corn mill and a fulling mill at Harbottle, which were sold in 1655, but later recovered following the Restoration . There were two mills at Holystone,
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#17327806397621804-399: Is one at Linbriggs, a second a short distance below Linbriggs and a third at Harbottle. The Holystone Burn joins the Coquet at Holystone . The village has a Holy Well, with a rectangular stone tank dating from Roman times, but the fact that Bishop Paulinus baptized around 3000 Northumbrians there in the year 627 is now thought to be based on a misreading of the writings of Bede . The well
1886-476: Is one of the most significant Roman finds in Britain. It can be found in the Abbey in front of a blocked doorway at the foot of the Night Stair. Flavinus was a Roman cavalry officer who died aged 25 in the first century. The slab is thought to have once stood near the fort of Coria near Corbridge and was brought here as a building stone in the 12th century. The slab was laid face-upward in the foundations of
1968-448: The fulling of wool. This process, which removed grease and other impurities from the woollen fabric and knitted the fibres together to form a denser product, was a manual one until the 12th century, with the cloth put into tubs and trampled by foot, before it was washed in a stream. The fulling mill used a rotating shaft with cams to raise and drop mallets onto the cloth, which was immersed in tubs. The Newminster Chartulary, which records
2050-467: The 14th and early 15th centuries. It was abandoned by 1567, but remains one of the best preserved and elaborate monuments of its type in the British Isles, and is a grade I listed structure. On the tidal section, a loop to the north encloses the centre of Warkworth, including its medieval castle and church. Below Warkworth is Amble half-tide weir, which maintains water levels through Warkworth when
2132-522: The 1750s Thomas Sharp , Archdeacon of Northumberland , tried to effect repairs to the ruin. Although there was considerable support for the project, work was called off after a dispute between the owner William Fenwick and the Vicar of Felton . In the 19th century the Cadogan family, owners of Brinkburn, revived the plans for the restoration of the church and work began in 1858. The roof was completed in
2214-403: The 330-foot (100 m) contour. It turns to the north-east, and then passes the hamlet of Caistron, where there are two large lakes caused by extraction of sand and gravel, which started in 1956. The largest lake covers 50 acres (20 ha), and is managed as a nature reserve and fishery. Traffic from the quarry crossed a curious bridge, which consists of large metal tubes laid onto the bed of
2296-588: The 8th century. The water quality of the non-tidal river is good ecologically, and only in the final tidal section is the water affected by run-off from agricultural land, reducing the quality to moderate. The river, which is about 56 miles (90 km) in length, rises in the Cheviot Hills close to the 1,440-foot (440 m) contour, to the east of Grindstone Law and to the north of Ravens Knowe. The border between England and Scotland follows it briefly, before turning northwards at Chew Green , where there are
2378-817: The Coquet Cottage . This and other poems, some in the Scottish dialect, were published in 1828. Copies of this very rare book are in the British Library and also in the Duke of Northumberland's library at Alnwick Castle. The Environment Agency measure the water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at
2460-501: The Coquet just below Smeaton's weir. Hazon Mill was near the hamlet of Hazon, and was documented in the 16th century. Morwick Mill, on the outskirts of Warkworth, was a corn mill first documented in 1284. The weir is still extant, and the modern map shows a mill cottage, but not the mill itself. Warkworth Mill was one of the earliest on the river, as the rent from it was used to provide a light in St Cuthbert's shrine in 1214, and this
2542-685: The Domesday Book which was produced in 1086 provides the first comprehensive survey of mills, but the Domesday survey did not cover Northumberland or County Durham , and so documentary records for the Coquet are not available from that period. The first known records are from the 12th century, when water mills were normally owned by the Lord of the Manor or by Religious establishments. While most mills were used for grinding corn, they were also employed in
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2624-560: The Parish Eucharist & Choral Evensong on the third Sunday of the month. The girls also sing with the boys on the fourth Sunday of the month and girls' voices also sing evensong on Thursdays. The choir began in September 2001 and is divided into junior & senior choristers aging from 7–18. The choir has toured to Dublin (2007), Paris (2009), Hanover (2011), Berlin (2012) and several other places. Hexham Abbey Chamber Choir
2706-461: The UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and mercury compounds, none of which had previously been included in the assessment. [REDACTED] Media related to River Coquet at Wikimedia Commons Hexham Abbey Hexham Abbey is a Grade I listed church dedicated to St Andrew , in
2788-517: The activities of a Cistercian abbey near Morpeth lists two fulling mills on the Coquet, including one between Rowhope Burn and Hepden Burn. This is thought to have been on the Hepden Burn, a tributary which was known as Barrow Burn in 1866, and the mill site is now known as Barrowburn. Archaeological investigation of the site was carried out between 2010 and 2013 by members of Coquetdale Community Archaeology. As some time between 1226 and 1245,
2870-486: The breast-shot water wheel back by three centuries. Although most of the mills were used for grinding corn, some were used for fulling of wool, and that at Brainshaugh for an industrial process. The earliest was at Warkworth, the rent from which was used to provide a light in St Cuthbert's shrine in 1214. The earliest known reference to the River Coquet is found in the Ravenna Cosmography , which dates from
2952-470: The building of the monastic church was commenced. The architectural style has been described as "transitional" (i.e. between Norman and Gothic). Although the Priory acquired lands in Northumberland and Durham over the years it was never particularly wealthy. Little is known of the early history of the priory, although it is known that it survived some difficult times. In fact, as late as 1419 it
3034-427: The care of English Heritage . Little survives of the other monastic structures, on the site of which a manor house, just south of the church, now stands. Brinkburn was founded by William Bertram, Baron of Mitford , in the reign of Henry I as an Augustinian priory . The exact date is not known but cannot have been later than 1135, as Henry died that year. About 1180 or so, Brinkburn became an independent house, and
3116-471: The cloister and was rediscovered in 1881. In 1833 a hoard of approximately 8000 stycas were discovered whilst a grave was being dug in the Campey Hill area close to the north transept. The Hexham Hoard was concealed circa 850. It was composed of coins from the reigns of Eanred , Aethelred II and Redwulf , as well as coins of two archbishops Eanbald and Wigmund . In 1865 the Abbey acquired
3198-486: The cohorts and detachments made this under the command of …. . The words erased are of great interest: after the Emperor Geta was murdered by his brother Caracalla , an edict was made at Rome ordering that whenever the two names appeared in combination that of Geta was to be erased. This so-called damnatio memoriae was carried out, but so poorly that the name can still be read. The first diocese of Lindisfarne
3280-534: The condition of the country being too unsettled. A period of disorder followed the Danish devastations, after which Hexham monastery was reconstituted in 1113 as a priory of Austin Canons , which flourished until its dissolution under Henry VIII. Meantime the bishopric had been merged in that of Lindisfarne, which latter see was removed to Chester-le-Street in 883, and thence to Durham in 995. The tombstone of Flavinus
3362-472: The county of Northumberland , England , discharging into the North Sea on the east coast at Amble . It rises in the Cheviot Hills on the border between England and Scotland, and follows a winding course across the landscape ("Coquetdale"). The upper reaches are bordered by the Otterburn Ranges military training ground, and are crossed by a number of bridges built in the 20th century. It passes
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3444-669: The east is Thrum Mill , a grade II listed three-storey mill building dating from the 18th and 19th centuries the restoration of which was featured in the Channel 4 television programme The Restoration Man . From 1870 the Rothbury Branch of the Northumberland Central Railway ran along the south bank of the river on its final approach to Rothbury . Passenger services ceased in 1952 and goods services were withdrawn in 1963. The river continues through
3526-399: The eastern end of the site is Factory Bridge, consisting of three segmental arches, which was built of rock-faced stone in 1865. Some railings were added in the 20th century. Further downstream near Guyzance are the ruins of Brainshaugh Priory, which was established by Richard Tison around 1147 for Premonstratensian nuns. The community had disbanded by 1500, but the chapel remains, and is
3608-421: The ford was replaced by a bridge around 1896, since the bridge and a weir just downstream of it appears on the 1897 map, but a ford appears on the 1895 map. The bridge was rebuilt in 1920 using concrete beams, with six spans and parapets with latticework. The upper Coquet above Alwinton is crossed by a number of bridges, all dating from a bridge-building programme in the 20th century, as prior to 1928, fords were
3690-439: The hamlet of Pauperhaugh , where there is a bridge with three segmental arches and a weir on the downstream side. It then loops around a finger of land, which was given by its owner, William Bertram lord of Mitford, to Augustinian canons between 1130 and 1135, who founded Brinkburn Priory . After the dissolution of the monasteries, the main building was derelict until 1858, when it was re-roofed and partly rebuilt, to be used as
3772-463: The incumbency of Canon Edwin Sidney Savage , who came to Hexham in 1898 and remained until 1919. This mammoth project involved re-building the nave, whose walls incorporate some of the earlier church, and the restoration of the choir. The nave was re-consecrated on 8 August 1908. The church was recorded as Grade I listed in 1951. In 1996 an additional chapel was created at the east end of
3854-408: The late 16th century they built a manor house just south of the priory church, on the site of some of the other priory buildings. Services continued to be held at Brinkburn, and the church was retained in a fair state of repair till the end of the 16th century. In 1602 it was reported to be in a state of decay, and at some point before 1700 the roof collapsed and regular services were abandoned. In
3936-401: The main means of crossing the channel on this section. Linbriggs Bridge was the first of the new bridges, and consists of a concrete arch spanning a 70-foot (21 m) gorge. Subsequent bridges were built with flat decks, and the programme was completed in 1968, when Mackendon Bridge was opened. The 1897 Ordnance Survey map shows three suspension bridges carrying footpaths over the river. There
4018-456: The main weir. On the south bank is Warkworth Water Treatment Works, which takes 9.2 million imperial gallons (42 Ml) of water from the river each day to supply potable water to 92,000 customers in Alnwick , Morpeth , Ashington and the surrounding areas. A £2.2 million upgrade to the plant was completed in 2015. On the north bank below the weir is a cave hermitage, which dates from
4100-449: The miller was added around 1830. The wheel and stones remain, although it is now used as holiday accommodation. After passing through Weldon, where there is a mill and a three-arched bridge dating from 1760, which is thought to have been designed by the engineer John Smeaton , the Coquet is crossed by the A1 road . As it approaches Felton , there is a dam, from which a long rock-cut leat on
4182-407: The monks of Newminster Abbey were granted a licence to erect a fulling mill at Barrowburn. They also built dykes to mark the boundaries of the land they had been given. It is not clear how long the mill was operational, as there are no further documentary records, and the area was turbulent with Scottish incursions in the 14th century, which may have contributed to its demise, but the site of the mill
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#17327806397624264-523: The north and Tindale Law to the south, the river turns to the south. The area to the south of the river forms part of the Otterburn Ranges , which has been used as a military training ground since 1911. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence, and public access is restricted. The Deerbush Burn joins the Dumbhope Burn before they join the Coquet, and the river turns to the south-east, to be joined by Croft Sike and Pathlaw Sike, draining boggy areas to
4346-406: The north bank supplied Felton corn mill. This was first mentioned in the 13th century, but the present building dates from the 18th and 19th centuries. An undershot water wheel drove four sets of stones, used for milling corn, while a second breast-shot wheel drove an oat mill, with two sets of stones, a rotary kiln and a pearl barley machine. There was once a sawmill powered by a third wheel. The site
4428-433: The north choir aisle; named St Wilfrid's Chapel , which offers a place for prayer or quiet reflection. A high-profile wedding in the same year saw West Sussex socialites, Joanna and Richard Britton, married in the Abbey with their first-born son, Joshua, returning a year later for his christening service. Four of the stained glass windows in the Abbey are the work of Jersey-born stained glass artist Henry Thomas Bosdet who
4510-411: The north door is in elaborate late Romanesque style, most of the ornament is refined, in the manner of contemporary work at Hexham Priory and Byland Abbey , freely mixing rounded and pointed arches. The use of stone vaulting and the three-storey elevation mark the church out as a high-status building. The remains of the domestic buildings are much less extensive. They formerly stood round a cloister to
4592-587: The post-medieval alterations to the precinct, a cartshed and other outbuildings survive attached to the mill, while there is a stable-block of c .1810 to the west. More enigmatic is a tunnel of c .1800 east of the church, likely a grotto or folly. The church was used for the scenes of Edmund Blackadder's consecration at Canterbury Cathedral in the episode "The Archbishop" of the first series of Blackadder in 1983. [REDACTED] Media related to Brinkburn Priory at Wikimedia Commons River Coquet The River Coquet / ˈ k oʊ k ə t / runs through
4674-439: The quantity and varieties of invertebrates , angiosperms and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail. The water quality of the River Coquet system was as follows in 2019. The reasons for the tidal section being less than good are physical modification of the channel and run-off of nutrients from agricultural land. Like most rivers in
4756-474: The red porphyritic pebbles found here in large numbers. Alternatively, a recent emerging theory proposes the river took its name in the Anglo-Saxon period after an area of land between the Coquet and river Wansbeck called the "Cocwudu" meaning "cock wood", with the river therefore taking its name via a process of back-formation. The area provides the background to William Gibson's poem The Sailor or
4838-500: The remains of Roman camps on the north bank of the river, the course of Dere Street , locally named as Camelspath, crosses the river, and there are the remains of the medieval village of Kemylpethe. The river continues in a north-easterly direction, where it is joined by Fulhope Burn, Buckham's Walls Burn, Blind Burn and Gable Burn, before it reaches Carshope plantation. It turns to the east, to be joined by Carlcroft Burn, Rowhope Burn and Hepden Burn, and after passing between Barrow Law to
4920-452: The river passes over a horseshoe dam, built in 1775 by John Smeaton for John Archbold of Acton and Edward Cook of Brainshaugh. It is built of squared stone, and was repaired and modified in 1926. The downstream face is vertical, and the water falls 8 feet (2.4 m). The curved dam has a radius of 170 feet (51.8 m) and supplied a mill race to the south of the river. This originally powered an iron and tin foundry, subsequently converted to
5002-481: The river passes over another dam, which is now part of the intake works for Warkworth Water Treatment Works, which supplies drinking water to some 92,000 customers in the region. Below the dam the river is tidal, and Warkworth Castle is built in a loop of the Coquet. The river reaches the sea at Warkworth Harbour in Amble, where there is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat station. The river has been used as
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#17327806397625084-436: The river, above which the roadway has been constructed. The river channel has been engineered to make way for the quarrying, as it looped further to the south in 1925, and to the north-east of the first lake is a second smaller lake, fed by the river. Water supply to the upper lake is from Bickerton Burn. The river continues to the south of Thropton where Wreigh Burn joins from the north, and passes through Rothbury , where
5166-546: The second and fourth Sundays of the month. The choir has made two CDs in recent years and has toured to Paris (2007), Rome (2009), Hanover (2011), Berlin (2012), Antwerp (2014) and Tallinn (2015), in addition to several tours within Great Britain. Several past members of the choir have gone on to win choral/organ scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge colleges. The choir has appeared on BBC Songs of Praise . Hexham Abbey Girls' Choir consists of girls and men and sings for
5248-453: The site was never developed subsequently, and is one of very few medieval mill sites to be excavated in Britain. Barrow Mill was a corn mill located upstream of Alwinton, and was first documented in 1712. It is shown with a large weir, a sluice feeding a mill race, and an exit leat on an 1895 map, but only the buildings are shown by 1897. It was built on lands owned by Holystone Priory, and appears to have been disused by 1887. Although there
5330-464: The south of the church. Adjoining the south transept are the ruins of the slype , a vaulted passage leading to the canons' cemetery. Of the south range the vaulted undercroft to the refectory now supports the post-Reformation manor house, externally now Gothick and neo-Tudor work of 1810 and 1830–37. The interior has been heavily altered, but still retains the medieval lavatorium and nineteenth century plasterwork and an iron staircase. Nothing survives of
5412-555: The south, while Usway Burn and Wholehope Burn drain hilly areas to the north. When it reaches the hamlet of Linbriggs, it is joined by the Ridlees Burn and turns to the east. At the village of Alwinton , the Barrow Burn, Hosedon Burn and River Alwin all converge, and the Coquet continues in a south-easterly direction through Harbottle , where there is a Neolithic enclosure and several Bronze Age cairns. At Sharperton ,
5494-506: The space of a year, and the stained glass windows had been inserted by 1864. The church, however, was not furnished until 1868. Brinkburn Priory today is a sympathetic 19th-century restoration of the mediæval original. The tombstone of Prior William, Bishop of Durham (died 1484) was found during the reconstruction, as was the original altar stone with five crosses. The latter is still preserved along with an ancient font. Religious services are still occasionally held here. It has also been
5576-579: The stones used are of Roman workmanship and many are carved or with inscriptions. One inscription on a slab, partially erased, is: IMP •CAES •L •SEP • • • PERTINAX •ET •IMPC • • AVR •ANTONINV • • • • VS • • • • • • • • • • • • •HORTE • • • VEXILLATION • • • • • FECERVNT SVB • • • • • Translated, this means The Emperor Lucius Septimus Severus Pius Pertinax and his sons the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius Augustus and Publius Geta Caesar
5658-411: The tide is low, but is submerged at high tide. It has a central notch and a fish pass near the southern bank. In 2018, the flow through the notch was decreased, and that down the fish pass increased, as fish tended to use the notch, where they were caught in large numbers by seals. Below the weir the channel widens to form Warkworth Harbour, with the town of Amble on the south bank. There is a marina and
5740-592: The town of Hexham , Northumberland , in the North East of England . Originally built in AD 674, the Abbey was built up during the 12th century into its current form, with additions around the turn of the 20th century. Since the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537, the Abbey has been the parish church of Hexham. In 2014 the Abbey regained ownership of its former monastic buildings, which had been used as Hexham magistrates' court , and subsequently developed them into
5822-481: The weir of Morwick Mill, and a little further downstream is Morwick gauging station, which has been collecting data since 1963. It uses velocity area technology, and there is a 112-foot (34 m) wide concrete weir, which dates from 1973. The station replaced one at Guyzance, and while the measurements are good for most of the year, they are briefly inaccurate when the Morwick Mill weir is drained and flushed once
5904-411: The west range, if indeed one existed. The church and cloister stood within an extensive walled precinct which contained the buildings needed to sustain a monastic community. Except for some fragments of the mill incorporated in the 18th-19th century structure east of the church, these have vanished above ground, leaving the precinct as a wooded area. Parts of the precinct wall and gateway also survive. Of
5986-534: The work, probably building in the Norman style. In Norman times, Wilfrid's abbey was replaced by an Augustinian priory . The current church largely dates from c.1170–1250, built in the Early English style of architecture. The choir, north and south transepts and the cloisters, where canons studied and meditated, date from this period. The east end was rebuilt in 1858. The Abbey was largely rebuilt during
6068-563: Was a woollen mill on the Debdon Burn, and was first documented in 1762. It was shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1879, but not on that of 1897. East Mill was a corn mill of unknown date, located just upstream from the site of Thrum Mill. Thrum Mill itself is known to have existed before 1841, while Little Mill dates from 1827, and was located just below the confluence with Whitton Burn. Both were corn mills. Brinkburn Mill, which
6150-479: Was commissioned by the Abbey. The east window was the first project and was installed about 1907. Two smaller windows followed and the large west window was installed in 1918. The crypt is a plain structure of four chambers. Here were exhibited the relics which were a feature of Wilfrid's church. It consists of a chapel with an ante-chapel at the west end, two side passages with enlarged vestibules and three stairways. The chapel and ante-chapel are barrel-vaulted . All
6232-440: Was identified by Dippie Dixon in 1903. The archaeological investigations found the remains of a wheel pit for a breast-shot water wheel , and a wooden structure in the river bed which was probably part of a sluice. The wheel was unusual, since documentary evidence for breast-shot wheels begins in the 16th century, but the finds push their history back by three centuries. The unrest in the area may have had unexpected consequences, as
6314-521: Was merged into the Diocese of York in 664. York diocese was then divided in 678 by Theodore of Tarsus , forming a bishopric for the country between the Rivers Aln and Tees , with a seat at Hexham and/or Lindisfarne. This gradually and erratically merged back into the bishopric of Lindisfarne . Eleven bishops of Hexham followed St. Eata, of which six were saints. No successor was appointed in 821,
6396-423: Was operational until 1970, but was subsequently converted into homes, and the wheels were broken up. At Felton, the river turns to the north-east, and is crossed by two bridges. The first dates from the 15th century, and has three arches. It was widened in the 19th and 20th centuries, but was disused after 1927, when a new concrete bridge by Considere Constructions, also with three spans, was built to replace it. It
6478-474: Was operational until 1970, and another just below the bridge, of which there is no trace. Smeaton's dam at Guyzance fed the iron and tin works, which was later converted to a woollen mill, producing blankets. Guyzance Mill was a corn mill further downstream, which may have been used as a fulling mill in its early days. It is first attested to in 1336. There was also a corn mill on the Hazon Burn, which joins
6560-403: Was owned by Brinkburn Priory , was documented in 1535, and although its main function was grinding corn, it may also have been used to generate electricity in the 20th century. Wheldon Mill was another corn mill first documented in 1668. It was just upstream of Wheldon Bridge, and the downstream mill race rejoined the river below the bridge. At Felton, there is a mill upstream of the bridges, which
6642-683: Was raided and robbed. Brinkburn Priory was dissolved in 1536 after Parliament enacted the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries Act . The "lesser monasteries" were those with an income of less than £200 per annum, and Brinkburn fell into this category as in 1535 the priory's value had been recorded as £69 in the Valor Ecclesiasticus . After the dissolution the estate was mainly owned by the Fenwick family , and in
6724-429: Was still the arrangement in 1400. Two mills were recorded at the site in 1567 and 1607, while the last record of rents being collected was in 1855. The building was damaged by fire in 1860, and was probably not used afterwards. A number of buildings remain, although not the mill building, while the weir has been incorporated into the intake works for Warkworth Water Treatment Works. There were also two mills on Grange Burn,
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