Bothal Lady Chapel

When looking at old mapping of the South East of the county a prominent feature that stands out to me is Lady Chapel.

Armstrong 1769

This is on the north bank of the River Wansbeck about one-and-a-half miles east of Morpeth and the same distance west of Bothal. It is marked on most of the early cartographic surveys from Speed's map of 1610 through to the present-day Ordnance Survey mapping. In 1610 Speed labels the feature as New Chapel and uses an icon to indicate a settlement at the location, but even by the time Armstrong surveyed the county in 1769 the chapel was "in ruins".

Speed 1610

The reason it stands out so clearly is that it resides alone in such a remote location. It is a difficult and lengthy walk to the nearest settlement, which made me question was the chapel once part of a small monastic community, or did it serve a once-important deserted medieval settlement, or did it have another function which justified its existence?

A site visit was obviously desirable. Parking up at Bothal Mill I walked for one mile on the footpath running alongside the River Wansbeck. It is a very picturesque and pleasant walk and interpretation boards along he route describe the various features and wildlife that can be encountered here.

The site can be easily missed. Not much appears to be left of the feature until a closer inspection is made. The first indication that I had arrived at the site was an inscribed stone marked "1887 Jubilee Well" with some scattered stones and a column that was at one time part of the structure. Close by is the first 2-3 courses of a tiny rectangular building (21 x 12 ft). Stone blocks lie in piles beside this ruinous building, evidence of the most recent decay and damage to the structure. It was, however, clearly the chapel that I had been searching for.

Jubilee Well 1887

Remains of Lady Chapel

Quarry Face Engravings

There is evidence of quarrying in numerous places along the riverbank. These small quarries are very likely the source of the raw material for the construction of the chapel. One quarry face only a few metres from the site of the chapel is most interesting. It has various Latin inscriptions and a much-weathered coat of arms engraved into it.

Various walking guides and a geocaching site on the internet suggested this chapel, and later 19th century features, were associated with the Bothal estate and the Ogle family, who were landholders here during medieval and early-modern times. However, they did not cite their sources. I suspected that the information was derived from the definitive "Bothal Observed" written by Roland Bibby and published in 1973. I obtained a copy to see what had been written about the site.

The village of Bothal is now somewhat off the beaten track and not well known. In medieval times, however, it was the centre of an important baronial estate. The grand castle, which was the residence and status symbol of the lords of the manor, still exists, as does an elegant parish church.

In "Bothal Observed"  Bibby gives evidence to support his theory that Lady Chapel, which would have been a colloquial version of "Chapel of our Lady", was, in fact, a chantry. A chapel can be a dedicated room within a building for the purpose of worship, a separate building which is subsidiary to the main parish church, or the place of worship for a non-conformist denomination. The online Catholic Encyclopedia had this description of a chantry, which matches the criteria for Lady Chapel being a chantry:

These differ from other interior chapels only in being erected and endowed for the celebration of Masses of requiem, in perpetuity, for some individual soul, generally that of the founder himself. Special priests were usually appointed to serve them, and were called "chantrypriests". It was not until the thirteenth century that such chapels became common, and by that time, most of the available space in the churches had been already occupied, hence we find chantry chapels stowed away in corners and odd places. Being intended for private, not public, Masses, they were frequently smaller than other chapels.

The evidence for the founding of the chantry comes from a stone heraldic shield present on the chapel in 1774, when an antiquarian surveyed the structure. Various other antiquarians and historians, during the early 19th century, write of the shield being located in the courtyard of Bothal Castle, obviously removed from the chapel at some stage. It has since been built into the Gatehouse of the castle.

Francis Grose Drawing 1772

The shield consists of the arms of Ogle and Bertram quartering Kirkby. The Bertrams were the original holders of Bothal, their tenure beginning in the 12th century. During the 15th century Bothal passed into the ownership of the powerful Ogle family, by marriage through the Bertram maternal line. The Ogles base was at Ogle Castle near Ponteland.

It was Robert Ogle IV, 1st Lord Ogle, who married a Kirkby. It was their grandson, Owen Ogle, however, who inherited the Bothal manor when the last of the Bertrams died. This was somewhere between 1472-88. It is his arms that are presumed to be displayed on the heraldic shield. Bibby writes:

... I imagine that the Lady Chapel represents a foundation by Owen Ogle to commemorate his gaining the barony.

This was just an educated guess, of course. It was more usual for the provision of a chantry to be made in a benefactors will. But at present there is no further evidence to date the structure more accurately. Late 15th century will suffice. The architectural features that Bibby describes from 18th century drawings do not contradict a late 15th century construction.  He summarises:

... a simple rectangular building with a gabled, stone roof, a handsome triple window at the east end and behind the altar, a plain south window a south door and a west door...

There was also the possible evidence of buttresses at each end of the south wall.

If the chapel was a chantry then it would have had a short existence, being dissolved under the 1547 Act of Parliament, a continuance of the dissolution of the monastic sites. The building, being so far from habitation, would have been left to decay. However, it was still being described as "New Chapel" by Speed in 1610 and by the botanist Turner in 1549. Bibby thinks that this is another indication of the late foundation of the chapel.

No further evidence seems to exist of the chapel. But here is another mystery? Photographs taken of the site in Victorian times, and by Tomlinson in 1910, show a near complete structure, not in ruins as should be expected. The photos also do not match the structural drawings of the 18th century.

Chapel in Late 19th-Early 20th Centuries

The conclusion was that the chapel had been restored at sometime during the 19th century. The features on the quarry face associated with the site give a clue to this restoration. The heraldic shield carved into the rock is the arms of the Mulcaster family. Also inscribed into the rock are the words RM fecit, AD1857 and Fidelis Servus, which translates as faithful servant, although weathering of the rock has made this slightly illegible and may not be accurate.

This coincides with a Richard Mulcaster becoming curate of Bothal in 1856. Mystery solved! But why did he restore the chapel. Was it just as a folly? No record seems to exist of any use it was put to and with the creep of overgrown vegetation and tree roots the chapel soon started to crumble again.

Jubilee Well in its Heyday

Mulcaster could also have been involved in the construction of nearby Jubilee Well 1887, which is really a spring, created for the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession. Photographs show that this was once an elaborate and ornamental structure, featuring the coat of arms of... Mulcaster.

Bedlington Wagonways

I often walk along the southern banks of the River Blyth from the site of the old Bates colliery to Furnace Bridge at Bebside. At low tide on the other side of bank are the visible, but incomplete, remains of wooden poles sticking out of the mud. One set is near the mouth of the Sleekburn, the other near the A189 road bridge. The anaerobic conditions, being submerged for long periods, have no doubt aided their preservation.

Remains of a Linear Wooden Structure at Mouth of Sleekburn

Wooden Structure River Blyth North Bank Opposite Kitty Brewster

A first guess would be that they supported some kind of jetty. But what was their exact purpose? During which period were they used? And what did they look like when operational?

I looked first at the Ordnance Survey mapping of the 1850-60s which indicated the lines of wagonways terminating at the wooden structures. Clearly the structures were jetties, or staithes, for the unloading of cargo onto boats. The wagonways were already labelled as disused on the 1st edition mapping.

1st Ed OS Map c1860 Showing Old Wagonways Marked in Yellow (click to enlarge)

The line of the two wagonways lead to what is labelled as Bedlington Colliery. The wagonway then extends from Bedlington Pit first North and then West towards Netherton.

The wagonway that terminates near the A189 (Spine Road) road bridge heads in north-westerly direction, for a few hundred metres, before turning sharply northwards at the terraced housing of Puddlers Row, which no longer exists.

Greenwood's Map of Northumberland 1828

Greenwood's 1828 map of Northumberland does not indicate that there was a wagonway from Bedlington Pit to the mouth of the Sleekburn. In fact, the Bedlington pit labelled on the 1st edition Odnance Survey map of c.1860 was Bedlington A Pit, which according to the Durham Mining Museum website was opened in 1838. The Sleekburn wagonway must therefore post-date 1838. It was clearly a short-lived utility only finding useful service during the 1840-50s. Wagonways were the early railways that carried horse-drawn wagons. The rails were constructed from wood.

A major mineral railway line is shown on the 1860 mapping running roughly North to South and passing the Bedlington A Pit. The line is still in use today. The construction of this line would have made the transport of coal easier, quicker and less expensive than shipping via the River Blyth. The Sleekburn wagonway would have been quickly rendered obsolete.

The wagonway near the Spine Road bridge was presumably also rendered obsolete by the new railway. But it had a longer history. So when was this wagonway constructed and why?

The Sites and Monuments record, as published on the www.KeystothePast.info website, indicates that the wagonway was shown on a map dating from 1787 running from a pit called Bedlington to the north bank of the River Blyth. It also appears on a map of the Hirst Head Estate dated 1837.

Not having been able to see the map I do not know where the pit would be. Presumably though it was somewhere on the wagonway route as indicated on Greenwood's 1828 map and a small-scale primitive venture. Possibly it was at the site of what was to become Bedlington A pit.

The River Blyth is where the wagonway terminates at this point. At the lowest point of the tide the river is reduced to no more than a trickle. Greenwoods map indicates that in 1828 this location was actually a fording point on the river. Mapping also indicated that the wagonway ran through a small tunnel before emerging out onto the river bank. The Sites and Monuments record also indicated that the tunnel still exists and was recently consolidated.

A site visit revealed that an interpretation display board had been erected by the local authority at the mouth of the boarded up tunnel, which is also inaccessible due to the overgrown vegetation.  This is what it revealed:

The tunnel in front of you is part of a wagonway that linked the Engine Pit (at Choppington) to coal staithes on the River Blyth. A branch line ran from here to the nearby Bedlington Ironworks (by Furnace Bridge). The wagonway was the first in the world to be built with Bedlington-made malleable iron rails... Malleable iron rails were used all over Britain notably on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825.

Overlooking the Tunnel onto the line of the Wagonway looking towards the River

Even at high tide the larger sea-worthy vessels would have been unable to navigate this far upstream to the jetties. We can speculate that the reason the owners of Bedlington A pit went to the expense of constructing a wagonway to the mouth of the Sleekburn, further downstream, was that the water was deeper for longer periods, allowing for longer operation times. A nearby block of terraced housing named Keelman's Row is shown on the 1st Edition OS mapping and could be a clue as to how the transport system worked. There was also a Keelman's Row much further downstream in Blyth.

Keelmen formed a large and well-known section of the population of Newcastle in the 18th century. This is from Wikipedia:

They were known as a close-knit group of aggressive, hard-drinking men. John Wesley, after visiting Newcastle, described them as much given to drunkenness and swearing [Wikipedia]. 

The keels were vessels of narrow draught that were loaded with coal and then taken downstream to the larger collier boats where the cargo was offloaded to be transported by sea: a skilled operation. The colliers were unable to travel upstream as far as the Newcastle collieries: the river at this time was too shallow. According to the Keelman article on Wikipedia: "By 1700 there were 1,600 keelmen working on the Tyne in 400 keels".

John Wallace, in his 19th century "History of Blyth" only gives the briefest of a mention to the use of keels on the River Blyth:

In 1598 keels were used in the river Blyth, as by the inventory of the effects of Robert Widdrington in that year it is stated that he owned half a coal keel at Cowpen.

The use of keel boats on the Blyth is not well documented elsewhere either. Clearly there was only a small fraction of the amount of keelmen working on the Blyth as compared to the Tyne. The harbour at Blyth was not developed until the 1850s. Prior to this time the amount of ships able to use the harbour was limited.

A closer study of the jetty, or staithes, structure indicates some remains of a feature, attached to the main structure by way of a swivel, which indicates a more sophisticated mechanism than is obvious at first glance. It is possible that the staithes may have been improved and expanded when it also began to be used by the nearby ironworks.

Closer view of the Staithes Structure

Farms to Let

This advert was placed in the Newcastle Courant during 1798 by Colonel Ogle of Causey Park, near Morpeth in an effort to attract new tenants to his farms at Burradon, which is about six miles north of Newcastle.

To be LET by Proposals - And entered on at May-day next, TWO compact farms, at Burradon... The said farms adjoin each other, and will be let together or separate  according to the highest and approved offer. The East Side Farm, now in the possession of  Mr James Charlton, contains 260 acres; and the West Side Farm, in the possession of Mr John Lumsden, contains 274; making together 534 acres of rich arable, meadow and pasture land; with good houses and convenient Out-buildings on each farm. - The tenants will send a person to shew (sic) the Premises... NB This will be no more advertised.

Having studied Burradon's history to a certain extent this advert immediately struck me as curious. Why were long-standing tenants both wanting to give up their tenancies at the same time? John Lumsden, who occupied the West Farm, had been a tenant farmer since at least 1767. The Charlton family, occupiers of East Farm, had been resident as farmers since at least 1734. It seems, however, they did move on as in 1806 Thomas Spraggon and Thomas Bell are listed as tenants on the Land Tax returns.

Without further evidence we can only speculate as to what was happening. However I recently discovered the published diaries of William Brewis of Mitford, near Morpeth. William was a tenant farmer and a man of some social standing within the community. He kept his diaries from 1833 until his death in 1850 at the age of 72. The diaries have been transcribed by Joan Foster and Dr Michael Smith, edited by Hilary Kristensen and published by Wagtail Press. William was an overseer of the poor, magistrate and High Constable for the West Division of Northumberland. He writes of chairing meetings at parliamentary elections.

Location of William and Robert Brewis' Farms, Mitford (click to enlarge)

The diaries are of great value to historians for the insight William gives, and his outspoken views, on national as well as local affairs. He talks of the campaigning in local elections, the excessive allowance being granted to the "German" Prince Albert, the Reform Bill, repeal of the Corn Laws, chartists, his relationship to Sir Matt Ridley, and his hunting activities, and walking to Blyth for a fortnight's holiday every summer.

Most importantly he gives great detail of the struggle that farmers in the area were having at the time.  This was a time of transition in England, technologically and socially. There had been a rapid shift from agriculture being the largest industry and employer to that of extraction and factory production. The weather at the time was exceptionally wet and cold, with snow lying on the ground often for weeks at a time, farms were not as productive as in former times and landlords were were being inflexible and unrealistic in the high rent-charges they still continued to demand.

These extracts from the diaries give some illustration of this:

Jan 1833 - State of country most alarming. Only half prices for wheat. Price of land must come down by one half.
A great number of farms to let all over the county and really the prices are so very bad that the farming interest is not worth following. 

Apr 1833 - The markets grow daily worse. I do not know what will become of the county without the landlords take it into consideration. If not the game must be up. 

21 May 1833 - [William paid his half yearly rent to the landlord's new steward on this day. He seems to have been more conscientious than his contemporaries and complains of being tricked by the steward and not having enough capital left to pay for lime needed to spread on the fields] Therefore I have been left in the lurch which is a great shame when times are so bad, all gentlemen are making handsome returns and I pay out of my own pocket for other gentleman property. 

Dec 1833 - To be let on May Day 1835 belonging to the Dean of Kirkley Savile Ogle esq... [William then goes on to list fourteen farms in need of new tenants in the Kirkley area to the west of Morpeth. And note the landowner was a member of the Ogle family who also owned Burradon] 

Jan 1834 - A great number of farms all over the county to let. I think there should be a premium for bad lands given for industrious tenants. 

11 Jan 1834 - Rain! I never saw a greater continuance of wet weather. 

Week 7 1838 - Six weeks of snow and really it becomes serious. I do not know what will be done if it continues any longer. 

Aug 1838 - Rain, rain, rain forever! The fruits of he earth will never come to perfection. 

Week 51 1839 - Land is letting just as high as ever. So ends the year 1839 which I am sorry to say has proved the worst I ever saw. 

1846 - [A valuation of his farm was undertaken. Newton Park was the nearby farm tenanted by his brother] We have all taken again at high rents. Newton Park was in the papers to be let by proposals. A prospective tenant withdrew his £273 per annum at the last minute. [His brother retained the farm at £235 but only for one year. William does not mention the usual duration of the lease on the farms he mentions in the diaries. Earl Grey, in the north-east of the county let his farms on a twenty-one year lease basis, which offered a sufficient incentive for farmers to invest in improving their holding allowing enough time to see a return on their investment in capital and labour. The Duke of Northumberland on his vast estates did not offer a formal tenure arrangement, but it was customary to re-let the farms automatically on a yearly basis, which Prof Norman McCord has argued did not lead to a marked improvement in farming efficiency.] 

June 1846 - [The Repeal of the Corn Law was passed which ended the high tariff on imported corn and allowed for free trade. It also caused a great agitation which split the Tory party] ...The prices of corn is expected to fall and it is likewise expected that the land must be taken at 30% lower and that the landlords must submit they have been enjoying much more rent than they were intitled (sic) to...

 21 Dec 1846 - Newton Park Farm has been offered to let by proposals which day passed on Tuesday last and no offers was made... They then applied to my brother Robert to retake, not saying at what rent. 

Jan 1847 - The farms are all unlet and are all advertised since the snow. The gentleman are justly served because they have been robbing the country since 1815, the termination of the French War. Sir Charles Monck, Belsay, has never had a bid for his and I hope that he will have to farm them himself. Newton Park is given up at the reduced rent of £200 (the effect of free trade). 

Feb and Mar 1847 - The farms are still appearing in the newspapers and cannot be let. [Earl Grey quitted a long-standing tenant who didn't have the capital in reserve to carry on] Seldom are any of his lordships farms are advertised as he lets 21 years leases with an offer at the end of that time if the tenant survives. [William writes that farms were being let in a "shabby state" obviously not much improved in recent times]

According to Norman McCord, in North East England: The Region's Development 1760-1960, at the end of the 18th century North East England was an important centre of agricultural development and regarded as a place where farming was superior to most parts of England. However, a large amount of the good reputation enjoyed was based around the work of the Culley brothers, who were hugely successful innovators based in the north of the county. McCord states:

...fertile soils of North Northumberland such as Millfield Plain were much more susceptible to improvement by existing techniques [than the] boulder clay of SE Northumberland.

The Times, in 1851, published an account of south-eastern Northumberland which dispelled a few myths that Northumberland was uniform in its superior farming:

It must surprise many who have hitherto been led to consider the agriculture of Northumberland as a model for the rest of the kingdom, to learn that a great portion of the county, extending from near Newcastle-on-Tyne on both sides of the railway as far north as Warkworth, is as little drained and as badly farmed as any district we have yet seen in England, and that the occupiers of the small farms can only eke out a scanty subsistence by careful parsimony and by employing no labour except that of themselves and their families.

Does anything of what we have learned from the 1830s help in understanding what was happening in 1798 Burradon. At this time England was preparing for the impending war with France.  Fourteen men between the ages of 15 and 60 are listed on a muster roll of 1798 as residing at Burradon with four carts and eight horses available. The landlord Col Ogle died in 1804 to be replaced by a namesake. A map and survey of the lands was produced in this year.

Was it the economic conditions or a dispute between landlord and tenant that was the catalyst for the change of tenants? Perhaps all three parties involved felt they were getting too old to carry out improvements and innovations needed to remain competitive in the rapidly changing farming environment?