Haydon Bridge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Haydon Bridge | |
  Haydon Bridge shown within Northumberland |
|
| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| District | Tynedale |
| Shire county | Northumberland |
| Region | North East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HEXHAM |
| Postcode district | NE47 |
| Dialling code | 01434 |
| Police | Northumbria |
| Fire | Northumberland |
| Ambulance | North East |
| European Parliament | North East England |
| UK Parliament | Hexham |
| List of places: UK • England • Northumberland | |
Haydon Bridge is a village in Northumberland, England, with a population of about 2000. Its most distinctive features are its two bridges crossing the River Tyne, one the picturesque original bridge for which the village was named, now restricted to pedestrian use, and a modern bridge which now carries the A69 road. The modern village is divided in two by the Tyne, whereas the old village (Haydon) was to the north, on the hill overlooking the river; all that remains is an old Norman church now reduced in size from the original, which used stone taken from nearby Roman constructed Hadrian's Wall. The A686 road terminates at its junction with the A69 just outside the village, linking Haydon Bridge with Alston and Penrith.
John Martin (painter); the painter of biblical destruction, was born in Haydon Bridge at East Land Ends. His dramatic "The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah" can be seen in the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne.
[edit] History
Some of the earliest recorded history of the vicinity relates to Hadrian's wall, which crosses Northumberland in a generally east-west direction. Hogan calls this structure "most impressive monument built by the Romans in Britain".[1] The military strength of the wall was not sufficient to repel a major invasion force, but sentinel coverage was intended to interdict small bands of people who had the intent to disrupt civil settlements and damage and property of the settled province of Brittania.[2]
[edit] Modern culture
At 1A Ratcliffe Road is the cottage once owned by Monica Jones. There she and Philip Larkin would spend holidays. One of his better-known later poems Show Saturday is dedicated to the 1973 Bellingham Show, which they attended. They also went to the tar barrel ceremony in Allendale, and dined at Blanchland. It was a record of Tommy Armstrong's 'Trimdon Grange Explosion' which Larkin heard at the cottage that prompted him to write his own late poem The Explosion. [3]
'John Clarke's Newsagents' for years has been a fixture of the local community and the shop where Philip Larkin used to buy the Telegraph and the Observer[2]. The village also boasts four pubs: The Railway, The Anchor, The General Havelock and Haydon Bridge's Working Men's Club. There are two schools: Shaftoe Trust First School and Haydon Bridge High School.
Very recently, the 'old foundry' as locals called it (based on its earlier use as an ironworks established in 1843) was demolished to make way new accommodation specifically for past and present Haydon Bridge residents. The new flats are modern comfortable buildings that still manage to fit in with the rest of the beautiful surroundings of the village.
For many years the village has been the only one on the main A69 road in Northumberland without a bypass. Recently permission was granted and a bypass is currently under construction, due to finish in spring/summer 2009.
Haydon Bridge railway station is situated on the Tyne Valley Line.
[edit] References
- ^ C.Michael Hogan (2007) Hadrian's Wall, ed. A. Burnham, The Megalithic Portal
- ^ Stephen Johnson (2004) Hadrian's Wall, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc, 128 pages, ISBN 0713488409
- ^ [1] Myer's Literary Guide
