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A previously unknown deed of the mid-twelfth century significantly changes our understanding of the foundation of the leper hospital at Harehope (Northumberland), which belonged to the Knights of St Lazarus. The deed prompts a reexamination of the introduction of the order of St Lazarus to England. A rereading of contemporary evidence allows parallels to be drawn with the introduction of the order to France, clarifies the founding role of Roger de Mowbray, and opens the possibility that the order’s first establishment in England was at Harehope rather than at Burton Lazars in Leicestershire. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 2008 the remains of a chain pump were recovered from the wreck of the third-rate man-of-war Northumberland, which sank on the Goodwin Sands in the English Channel, during the Great Storm of November 1703. Chain pumps were vital equipment and integral to the safety of the ship. Historical evidence is mined for comparative material, and the recovery, conservation strategy, study and recording of this artefact using X-ray and CT scanning are discussed. Information gleaned, hitherto absent from the historical and archaeological record, includes details of the pump's chain, hook and swivel, valves and roller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Northumberland, a third-rate man-of-war was lost with all hands during the Great Storm of 26-27 November 1703 on the Goodwin Sands-famously known as 'the ship swallower'. It was rediscovered in 1980 by local divers following the location of a sister ship, the Stirling Castle. Since, the primary concern has been to record exposed structural remains, ordnance and artefacts, and interpret the wreck formation of the site. This paper describes the results of this work, and discusses in particular the size of the keel, the use of chocks, and standardization of ordnance in the Restoration Navy through reference to comparable ship-finds and historical records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manorial courts remained important institutions of local government and legal culture well into the early modern period, yet there are few detailed studies of their operation. In northern England, where customary tenure and common land often survived late, and where the development of rival institutions associated with the parish and county took longer than the South, these small local assemblies had a particularly important role to play in government. This article looks in detail at the operation of one such court, that of Dilston in Northumberland. Dilston’s manorial court remained very active up until the Civil War, both as a local administrative and regulatory body and as a small-claims court. Its records are especially unusual in that they combine lists of bylaws, prosecutions, and civil litigation with lists of tenants, subdivided into two types of tenure. This not only allows a very detailed picture to be drawn of the workings of the court, but also of the ways in which individuals within the local community used it. Overall, the court seems to have met community needs for regulation and dispute resolution effectively, though there are signs of decay by the time of Charles I.

Following the English northern rebellion of 1569, several high profile rebels crossed the border to Scotland. One of their number, the earl of Northumberland, was captured and incarcerated by the Scots until 1572. This article explores the hitherto neglected impact of Northumberland's presence in Scotland upon Scottish domestic politics, demonstrating the extent to which Anglo- Scottish diplomatic negotiations were contingent upon the satisfaction of a range of domestic Scottish interests. Paramount among these was the need felt by leading Scots such as John Erskine, earl of Mar and then regent, and James Douglas, earl of Morton, to satisfy their kin and dependants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enclosure of commons and open fields was carried out by many different methods over a long period of time. Traditionally, enclosure methods have been thought to have replaced one another chronologically, unity of possession being replaced by agreements, which were in turn replaced by Acts of Parliament in the mid-eighteenth century. Recent research has however revealed the continuing importance of non-parliamentary methods in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In light of this it is necessary to examine the reasons behind the selection of a particular method of enclosure, which will be attempted in this paper. It is found that the most formal, and thus most expensive, methods were used only when necessary in order to avoid conflict or legal ambiguity, or where specific local problems required them. Less formal methods were preferred where the circumstances were appropriate. Parliamentary enclosure was used as a particularly formal type of enclosure in the most complex or contentious situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

William Heron had a poor contemporary reputation as a grasping and arbitrary sheriff. For twelve years, he held important positions in the North- East, as sheriff, then also as keeper of key castles and justice of the forests. The Chancery and Exchequer records show that, even by the standards of his time, he was unusually dishonest. Henry III’s government required sheriffs to squeeze more revenue from the counties; sheriffs like Heron added to the pressure by their corruption and greed. Such behaviour helped to fuel the popular discontent which found expression at the time of the movement of baronial reform and rebellion, which began in 1258. Unpublished documents, including the particulars of the sheriff’s account for 1258–59, show how the county community was exploited to provide the county farm and profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing focus of interest in ponds over the last two decades arose largely because of concerns at the loss of ponds in intensively developed landscapes. In the UK, pond numbers declined from approximately 800,000 in the nineteenth century to 200,000 by the 1980s. Since then pond numbers have started to increase. The focus on overall pond numbers overlooks the importance of the history and origins of different pond types. This study combines a detailed map based audit of pond numbers in south-east Northumberland, UK, recorded at seven time intervals since the mid-nineteenth century with a survey of contemporary plant communities in ponds with known and distinct histories to examine changes to numbers of ponds and communities associated with ponds with different origins. 222 ponds were recorded in the study area in the mid-nineteenth century, 257 in 2005/08. However, only 23 of the original ponds had survived with substantial losses and gains at all the map survey dates linked to changed land use from agriculture to coal mining then development of nature reserves and golf courses. Contemporary ponds on nature reserves, golf courses and subsidence ponds supported rather different plant communities to each other, with non-native invasives in golf and nature reserve sites, whilst individual reserves differed from one another perhaps due to intentional planting. Surviving old farm ponds were usually degraded. The results show that the history of ponds in a region can create an important cultural biodiversity which pond conservation strategies should incorporate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

John Stirling was very much a part of the English elite who fought in the mid-fourteenth-century wars of Edward III. In two respects, however, his career is of singular interest: the rewards for his military service came in the form of land in northern England, and he was unique in being Edward III's only Scottish captain. By tracing his career and the rewards it brought, an insight can be gained into the military service of these war-torn years as well as detailing the life of Stirling himself. His origins unknown, Stirling fought for Edward Balliol and Edward III before entering directly into English service. He participated in many campaigns and provided substantial mixed retinues. Two marriages to Northumberland heiresses provided a northern landed power base which further Crown grants built upon. Stirling invested the profits he made by purchasing further land and engaging in building works to enhance his status, all centred in the North. A powerful lord of the English realm, the life of John Stirling provides a vivid glimpse of the service and rewards of Edward III's military captains and the incorporation of a Scotsman into English noble society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intersection of geological and human histories in a northern Pennine landscape, covering the metalliferous mining areas of County Durham, Cumbria and Northumberland (formerly the counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland) known as the Northern Pennine ore field. On 11 December 1998 Bob and Joe Forster worked the final shift on the 260 East Level at Frazer's Hush fluorspar mine in the Vale of Rookhope, County Durham. In July 1999 the long history of hard-rock mining in the Northern Pennines ended with the closure of the Firestone Dib (decline) at Groverake Mine a half-mile east of Frazer's Hush. In an area now designated a landscape of outstanding natural beauty and granted European geo-park status in 2003 the residue of this industrial heritage is all that remains of an extraordinary convergence of geological and human histories. The specific focus of this article relates to the extensive history of metalliferous mining that has taken place in the region possibly since the Romano-British period, having a documented history from the twelfth century and which actively ceased on the last day of July 1999. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of the article "Spiritual kinship, godparenthood and proofs of age of heirs to Northumberland estates, 1401-1472," by J. Garrett, which appeared within the journal "Northern History," volume 49, is presented.

The article reflects the purpose of the journal as to publish work on the history of the seven historic northern counties of the United Kingdom, namely Cheshire, Durham Cumberland, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland, and Yorkshire. The venue and the time of the next colloquium to be organized by the committee of the journal is also mentioned.