New Books: Northumberland Viewpoints
by Stan Beckensall
Review by Prof. John Walker
This book has something for everyone who knows and loves Northumberland and would like to know more.
The author’s ‘Viewpoints’ can be found on the ground, in the air and in his personal knowledge and enthusiasm for the geology, archaeology, agricultural, industrial and social history of the region. These themes are interwoven throughout the book as he views aspects of the valleys of the South Tyne, Aln and the Tweed and castles from Thirlwell on the bank of the Tipalt burn in the west to Norham in the north.
In Tynedale, the story of the girl who was hanged in Haltwhistle Market Place in the 16th century because she fell in love with a lad from the wrong side of the Border, contrasts with the description of the mining of Barium Carbonate, known as Witherite named after Dr. W. Withering at Settlingstones some two centuries later.
The Aln Valley provides further contrasting stories, that of the Prendwick Kirn Dance exemplifying farming life of a bygone age compared with the health hazards of living in Alnwick Town in the middle of the 19th century where poverty, filth and disease were rife.
The castle’s of the county’s estates receive their due attention and the photograph of Alnham Castle Hill emphasises the value of taking to the air to view what may be known but can only be seen from above.
These and other photographs in black and white complement the narrative. Those in colour are a delight.
City and County
May 2011
