Bellingham

Bellingham lies on the North Tyne in Northumberland, where Hareshaw Burn descends from the moors to join the river. The surrounding country combines valley pasture, heather moor and small cultivated patches. The river provided fish, water and a route through the northern uplands, while the moors supplied grazing and peat.

Angles settled the site, and the name probably means the home of Billa's people. The village lay within the border country disputed and raided during the medieval wars between England and Scotland. In the twelfth century, the de Bellingham family held land here and built a motte and bailey castle. The earthworks survive near the town, though the castle itself disappeared.

St Cuthbert's Church was consecrated in 1180. Its stone barrel-vaulted roof and massive slabs provided protection against the frequent fires of border warfare. The church became the religious centre of a wide parish, while markets, mills and inns served drovers and travellers crossing the moors. Bellingham developed as a small market town of the North Tyne valley, a place whose stone buildings and defensible church grew from the practical demands of the border.