Blanchland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blanchland
Blanchland shown within Northumberland
OS grid reference	NY965504
District	Tynedale
Shire county	Northumberland
Region	North East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CONSETT
Postcode district	DH8
Dialling code	01434
Police	Northumbria
Fire	Northumberland
Ambulance	North East
European Parliament	North East England
UK Parliament	Hexham
List of places: UK • England • Northumberland

Coordinates: 54°50′53″N 2°03′18″W / 54.848, -2.055

Blanchland is a delightful model village in Northumberland, England, right on the County Durham boundary with picturesque houses, set against a backdrop of deep woods and open moors.

Located near the Derwent Reservoir, it provides excellent facilities for sailing and fishing. This village boasts a fine array of different retail outlets including: The Post Office, Blanchland Stores, Gallery Upstairs, The White Monk Tea Rooms, and Get Ahead Hats.

Blanchland as we see it was formed out of the mediaeval abbey by Lord Crewe the Bishop of Durham. The Lord Crewe Arms has a vast fireplace where 'General' Tom Forster hid during the 1715 Jacobite rising. The hotel is reputedly haunted by the ghost of his sister, Dorothy.

W. H. Auden stayed at the Lord Crewe Arms with Gabriel Carritt at Easter 1930, and later remarked that no place held sweeter memories. Blanchland may have been the model for the village in which was set the opening and closing scenes of Auden and Isherwood's play The Dog Beneath the Skin (1935).

Another celebrated poet Philip Larkin used to dine at the hotel when staying with Monica Jones in Haydon Bridge. In July 1969, Benjamin Britten and Sir Peter Pears stayed at the Inn.

With a population of 140, its unspoilt qualities make it a frequent setting for period films, set in the 18th century, such as those based on the novels of Catherine Cookson.