<< Our Photo Pages >> St Cuthbert's Church, Beltingham - Early Christian Sculptured Stone in England in Northumberland
Submitted by Anne T on Wednesday, 17 September 2014 Page Views: 5285
Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: St Cuthbert's Church, Beltingham Alternative Name: Saxon Cross BeltinghamCountry: England County: Northumberland Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone
Nearest Town: Hexham Nearest Village: Bardon Mill
Map Ref: NY789639
Latitude: 54.969269N Longitude: 2.33112W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
Internal Links:
External Links:
Early Christian Sculptured Stone in Northumberland
The tiny village of Beltingham sits 2km south east of Bardon Mill and 16km west of Hexham. Understood to be originally the stonghold of a Viking called Boltr, the church sits above the ravine of Beltingham Burn and near the South Tyne, making it an easily defensible spot.
The shaft of a Saxon cross sits at the east end of the church. Dated circa AD680, it is described in the church guide as a 'station cross'. The site is believed to be one of the places St. Cuthbert preached at and was an overnight resting place for his body.
The oldest known wooden building on the site is believed to date from AD980 to AD990, although the current church was built c1500 and restored in 1663 by Major John Ridley, with further restoration work being carried out in both 1812 and 1884. The current building is the only Perpendicular style church in Northumberland.
The churchyard, situated next to the tiniest village green, also contains three ancient yew trees, one believed to be 2,000 years old. Today this tree is supported and contained by iron bands.
At the west end of the church there is a Roman altar. Inside the church are windows by Kempe, a 12th century grave slab, a depressed arch (no keystone) and two windows celebrating the survival of Maud Bowes Lyon who was pulled out of a ditch in one after a car crash in one of the first Rolls Royces in 1904. (The Bowes Lyon family still have associations with the area, having owned nearby Ridley Hall, and have a family plot in the church yard).
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.
Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
The above images may not be of the site on this page, they are loaded from Geograph.
Please Submit an Image of this site or go out and take one for us!
Click here to see more info for this site
Nearby sites
Click here to view sites on an interactive OS mapKey: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed
Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)
To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.
Turn off the page maps and other distractions
Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
904m E 83° Allen Banks Rock Art (NY7980064010)
2.7km NNW 338° Long Stone (Barcombe Hill)* Ancient Cross (NY77896646)
3.0km NNW 348° Barcombe Hill Settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement (NY78306682)
3.1km NW 323° Vindolanda Roman Fort* Stone Fort or Dun (NY7705266352)
3.2km SSW 204° East Steel Farm* Modern Stone Circle etc (NY776610)
3.8km ENE 63° Tony's Patch 1* Rock Art (NY8228165572)
4.0km NW 305° Smith's Shield Milestone* Marker Stone (NY7561766242)
4.3km N 6° Housesteads Mound* Misc. Earthwork (NY79386815)
4.4km NNW 334° Hadrian's Wall* Misc. Earthwork (NY770679)
4.5km N 6° Housesteads Tumulus* Artificial Mound (NY7938268330)
4.7km NW 309° The Sill* Museum (NY7527566896)
4.7km ENE 57° Joicey Shaft Cairn* Round Barrow(s) (NY8286966437)
4.7km ENE 57° Joicey Shaft b* Rock Art (NY8287266469)
4.8km ENE 57° Joicey Shaft a* Rock Art (NY8291066485)
4.8km NW 323° Hadrian's Wall - Milecastle 39* Stone Fort or Dun (NY76066773)
4.8km N 355° Hadrian's Wall - Milecastle 37* Stone Fort or Dun (NY78506869)
4.9km N 1° Housesteads Roman Fort* Stone Fort or Dun (NY78986880)
5.2km SSE 156° High Shaw Farm (Staward) Rock Art (NY8098959165)
5.7km NNW 346° Greenlee Lough A* Rock Art (NY7751669468)
6.0km NNW 349° Ridley Common* Stone Circle (NY77756977)
6.0km NNW 348° Ridley Common Enclosure* Ancient Village or Settlement (NY77676979)
6.1km N 352° Greenlee Lough B* Rock Art (NY7806069988)
6.5km NE 35° West Howden Hill* Ancient Village or Settlement (NY82666925)
6.6km N 7° Queen's Crags Cup Marked Boulders* Rock Art (NY79717042)
6.8km WNW 291° Mare and Foal* Standing Stones (NY72536633)
View more nearby sites and additional images