Morpeth ~ part 2 ~ July 2022

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After we visited Carlisle Park We walked back to the town for a lunch break before going on to our next venue. I took a few shots of the cottages and features along the way.

13 Castle Square is an early 19th C house, now a Grade II listed building. It’s locally known as Appleby House after the former Mayor Alfred Appleby who owned the building and bequeathed it to a charity on his death. For a time from 1988 it was converted into flats but from 2006 it was changed to office accommodation. It’s now in the hands of TMP Wealth management.

Appleby House
TMP

I saw this little pebble-dashed cottage on the walk to the river, not sure if it’s a ‘historic’ building, but I loved the ivy growing around it and the messy front garden. Needs some TLC I think!

Needy House

Mathesons is an ancient seed nursery. Founded in the 18th century, Mr Thomas Matheson trained in Edinburgh and took over the business on his father’s death in 1878. The last 2 brothers in the family died in 1970 and 1974 with crippling death duties to be paid and the nursery was no more. The building has 2 little corbel bearers with dates on the corbels, and a carved stone lintel with Matheson’s name and business. It’s since been a mobility centre (2013) and is now a funeral business.

Mathesons.
Corbel bearers

9 Tower Buildings is home to 19 companies, and to a chimney with a triple turreted tower.

chim-chim-cheroo

Morpeth Clock Tower looks as if it’s been there since Medieval times, but that’s because it was constructed sometime between 1604 and 1634 out of recycled Medieval stone thought to come from a gatehouse that previously stood at the west end of Oldgate. However, it is more likely to have been built out of stone from the nearby ruined Newminster Abbey which was dissolved in 1537. In 1706 it got a peal of 6 bells at the request of Major General Edmund Maine, MP for Morpeth, they’d been originally destined for the parish church in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, but a couple of years previously the people of Berwick had neglected to elect him to be their MP, so when Morpeth did, he donated the bells to them instead and a new Belfry was added to the tower. This gave rise to the curious local saying that “Berwick Bells are heard in Morpeth”. The bells fell into disrepair, as everything does, but were recast and hung in a new frame in 1951 to commemorate the Festival of Britain. The bells are rung at 8pm everyday; marking the evening curfew in years gone by. The tower is a Grade II Listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Morpeth Clock Tower

Couldn’t find out anything about the 2 statues on the top..

..however in October 1715 an attempt was made by James Stuart to to regain the throne of England, Ireland and Scotland, from Hanoverian George I, for the House of Stuart. James Stuart had his greatest support in Scotland and by early October his army had virtual control of this country. The Jacobites marched south but were eventually defeated at Preston on 12-14 November by Government forces. At the same time a diversionary rising was also occurring in Northumberland with the 3rd Earl of Derwentwater being at the forefront of the rebels. On October 10th the Northumberland Jacobite rebels gathered and were re-inforced by the Pesky Scots, but it all came to naught anyway. I think maybe the statues on the clock tower are something to do with that, but that’s just me speculationing. If anyone else knows, leave a comment please!

The Court House in Morpeth was built in 1822, and designed by John Dobson in the style of a medieval castle. It was originally part of a larger complex, incorporating the County Gaol for Northumberland. The detention wings and other early 18th century prison buildings were demolished at the end of the 19th century, when a new police station was built. The Court House remained in use as a Magistrates Court and County Court until 1980, when they transferred to Bedlington. The building was converted to luxury rental apartments called Morpeth Court. It is Grade II listed on the National Heritage List for England.

Court House

Lastly a glimpse into Packhorse Yard off Newgate Street, and that’s the lot!

Packhorse Yard.

So stay tooned, as next time we’ll be looking at Herterton Country Garden!

all pictures are embiggenable with a click 😊

55 thoughts on “Morpeth ~ part 2 ~ July 2022”

  2. Ooof yeah, that bell tower rings a bell! (soz!) I do remember having seen it though many years ago…

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    Liked by 1 person

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  3. Seems like a delightful place. Lots of money in Morpeth? The first place you show is owned by a wealth management company you say, and the court house is luxury rentals. Costs a lot to maintain those old buildings.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Depends on who you talk to.

      https://www.ilivehere.co.uk/morpeth-is-it-really-as-posh-as-the-posters-make-it-look-no.html

      https://www.theguardian.com/money/2011/jul/01/lets-move-morpeth-northumberland

      and from crimerate.com…
      Morpeth is among the top 5 most dangerous small towns in Northumberland, and is among the top 20 most dangerous overall out of Northumberland’s 163 towns, villages, and cities. The overall crime rate in Morpeth in 2021 was 80 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares poorly to Northumberland’s overall crime rate, coming in 13% higher than the Northumberland rate of 69 per 1,000 residents.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Yikes! That first link is scary.

        “Is this town really as posh as the posters make it look? The answer is no. Morpeth is a horrible place to live. By day the town centre is full of stuck up posh twats. But by night it’s full of drunks that walk up and down the high street just looking for a fight.”

        Good thing you made it a day trip. Seems like there’s a nice part of town and a lot of very bad parts. Lots of cities going that way.

        Liked by 2 people

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  4. Amazing – bricklayers and stonemasons of old were the real deal! That Packhorse Yard looks like a fascinating place to explore, the sort of place one might be able to purchase a wand or a cape 😉

    Liked by 2 people

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          1. SECOND APPEAL: Right, well since I am ‘Edward Stuart’ as in Charles Edward Stuart, I will be restored to my rightful place on the throne. YOU can help by DONATION to become a GOLD LEVEL SUPPORTER of my CAUSE! OWN THE ENGLISH LIBS! GIVE NOW!

            Like

          1. Right, well since I am ‘Edward Stuart’ as in Charles Edward Stuart, I will be restored to my rightful place on the throne. YOU can help by DONATION to become a GOLD LEVEL SUPPORTER of my CAUSE! OWN THE ENGLISH LIBS! GIVE NOW!

            Liked by 1 person

  9. The picture at the very top that shows an overall view of the downtown area looks like a place I could handle. Nice little town.
    Of course, after those links in the comments, I’d have to carry my stave and a couple of army knives, but hey, what’s a good carve up with a bunch of drunks, right? 😉

    And Dix IS pesky. At least on my blog this morning about Ty Burrellll….

    Liked by 1 person

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  19. Pingback: Film Friday ~ Morpeth & Herterton Gardens – fragglefilm

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