Mitford, Northumberland

Mitford
Mitford
Population	431 (2001 census)
OS grid reference	NZ175860
Unitary authority	Northumberland;
Ceremonial county	Northumberland;
Region	North East;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MORPETH
Postcode district	NE61
Police	Northumbria
Fire	Northumberland
Ambulance	North East
UK Parliament	Wansbeck;
	List of places UK England Northumberland

Mitford is a village in the borough of Castle Morpeth in the Wansbeck parliamentary constituency, in Northumberland, England, about 2 miles (3 km) west of Morpeth.

History

Mitford was once a far greater market place for local people. Morpeth's market soon grew in prominence and Mitford fell from grace. This historic status of the two market town led to a folk rhyme:

Mitforde was Mitforde when Morpeth was none,

and Mitforde shall be Mitforde when Morpeth is gone.

Governance

The village lies within the Longhorsley Division of Northumberland County Council, represented since May 2013 by Cllr Glen Sanderson (Conservative) (2008 - 2013 by Cllr David Towns, also Conservative) and the Wansbeck parliamentary constitency (Ian Lavery MP, Labour). The Boundary Commission unveiled proposals to transfer the village into the Hexham parliamentary constituency but the plans were abandoned when the reorganisation of constituency boundaries was halted by the government.

Landmarks

Mitford Castle was built in the 11th century by William Bertram but by 1323 was no longer used. Today it is in ruins, and has recently undergone a major programme of structural support works.

Religious sites

The ancient church of St Mary Magdalene was rebuilt in 1875, but has preserved its Norman south arcade and 13th century chancel. The church is believed to have the oldest bell in the Diocese of Newcastle cast no later than about 1150.^[2]

Fiction

In Light from Heaven, the last instalment of American author Jan Karon's contemporary Christian "Mitford Years" novel series (which is set in a fictional town in western North Carolina bearing the same name), the series' setting and the Mitford of this article become "sister Ovillages."

Notable people

The Mitford family held the Manor from Norman times. The ruins of their Manor House stand on the eastern side of the River Wansbeck. In about 1823 they abandoned the old Manor House for a new mansion house, Mitford Hall, which was designed by the famous Northern architect, John Dobson, and which was built on the opposite bank of the river and surrounded by woodland and a small deer park.

References

^ Office for National Statistics: Neighbourhood Statistics
^ Purves, Geoffrey (2006). Churches of Newcastle and Northumberland. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Tempus Publishing Limited. p. 67. ISBN 0-7524-4071-3.

External links

GENUKI (accessed: 21 November 2008)

This Northumberland location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Office for National Statistics: Neighbourhood Statistics

[Purves-2] Purves, Geoffrey (2006). Churches of Newcastle and Northumberland. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Tempus Publishing Limited. p. 67. ISBN 0-7524-4071-3.

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