|
|
 Log in |
Register
|
|
Tyne and Wear: Latest Posts |
Previous 10 | Showing 21-30 of 58 posts. Most recent first | Next 10 
Old Hartley (Standing Stone / Menhir) — Images (click to view fullsize) |
|
Posted by Hob6th May 2004ce |
Penshaw Hill (Hillfort) — Links |
The Internet Sacred Text ArchiveThis version of the tale of the Lambton Worm, from Edwin Sidney Hartland's 1890 English Fairy and Other Folk Tales also makes no mention of Penshaw Hill. It is notable for the poem it contains, in which the worm's death is described: I have never encountered this particular version anywhere else. |
Posted by TomBo23rd April 2004ce |
Penshaw Hill (Hillfort) — Miscellaneous |
| The North East England History Pages Website states that Penshaw Hill can be "seen clearly from parts of west Durham, North Tyneside and as far south as the Stang Forest in Teesdale". |
Posted by TomBo 23rd April 2004ce |
Penshaw Hill (Hillfort) — Links |
Jake's RidesA view from the top of Penshaw. |
Posted by TomBo 23rd April 2004ce |
Hasting Hill (Round Barrow(s)) — Links |
Jake's RidesA photograph of Hasting Hill. |
Posted by TomBo 23rd April 2004ce |
Penshaw Hill (Hillfort) — Links |
Northumberland Grid For LearningYou've not heard the tale of the Lambton Worm until you've heard it. Every child in the north-east knows it because of the famous song, written by C.M. Leumane in 1867 for a pantomime that was performed in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, at the Tyne Theatre. This website features a recording of the song, as sung by the children of Stobhillgate First School, in Morpeth, Northumberland. Spoken versions of the song's lyrics are also available, in both the Northumbrian and the Geordie accent, as well as standard English. These files are fairly large, and take some time to download, so you'll need to be patient. I should point out that the storytellers in the spoken versions have drastically slowed down the fast pace of their natural speech in order to make it easier for non-natives to understand. Also bear in mind that the website is an educational resource for schools, and so is aimed at children. This means that the tale is illustrated with cartoon-style animations, and also that the song can only be heard a verse at a time. Although this can be slightly annoying, the site is still well worth investigating, if you've never heard the tale of the Lambton Worm (or the true pronunciation of the name Penshah!). |
Posted by TomBo 23rd April 2004ce |
Dewley Hill Round Barrow (Barrow Cemetery) — Fieldnotes |
|
This is a very poorly monument. It's been got at by Victorian robbers, it's got rabbits and badgers and the plowing seems to be getting closer each year. Some kerbstones are still there, yet some of them are being dragged into the plough soil. The badgers clean their straw fairly regularly, so the heaps of earth may contain artefacts. It's on land belonging to Crescent farm so best to ask there. If you don't have a metal detector and no spades, they're O.K. about interested visitors. They also have some intruigingly weathered stones in their drive. You can see it from Ponteland Rd, if you can't get across plowed fields. You can also get there via the number 21 bus from Newcastle if you don't have a car. There's also a councils dump at Dewley House which has many many lovely "Did I used to be part of a site?" stones, lined up for inspection. |
Posted by Hob 2nd October 2003ce |
Dewley Hill Round Barrow (Barrow Cemetery) — Images |
 
|
Posted by Hob 2nd October 2003ce |
Old Hartley (Standing Stone / Menhir) — Folklore |
|
According to the Pub Barstaff, the bluestone directly in front of the Deleval Arms is not the original, but was placed as a decoy to prevent drunken locals damaging the original, which has been dumped in the beer garden at the back of the pub. It's also said that the correct spelling is 'Blewstone' and that this refers to the stone's original status as the 'ancient saxon oath stone' that was previously in the centre of the now demolished village of Hartley. The immediate area is dripping with macabre folklore regarding the Deleval family, who had a reputation for madness, wild parties and witch-burning. According to 'County Folklore Vol IV, Northumberland', 1904, by MC Balfour, this stone was known as the witches obelisk. It had a variation of an old common theme which said that if you were to run round it seven times without stopping, 'The Witch' would appear. Here's the text on display in the Deleval Arms Hotel: "The Blue whinstone at the Old Hartley, near the entrance to the Deleval Arms Hotel, once marked the centre of the village of Old Hartley. A number of these large stones can be seen at various places on the Northumberland coast. It is generally supposed that they rolled down during the ice age when the ice moved from west to east at the time of the great thaw. In the early English and Saxon periods, they were called 'Moot Stones' and were used as a meeting place by the 'Wittan', a council of Village elders who gathered to formulate the laws and dispense justice. During Norman times these stones were used as markers for castles and boundaries. "Ye large Blew Stone marked ye site of Warkworth Castle" and at Mokseaton, "Ye Boulder Stone was a large "Blew Stone" near ye burn". The Old Hartley Blue Stone marked the centre of the village and stood near the Blacksmith's shop, it was here that the villagers would meet before setting out on a journey. At the time of the black death in 1348 it was thought that if one touched the stone they would be immune from the plague. Over the years the stone became a symbol of good fortune and it was said to become a citizen of Old Hartley you had first to kiss the Blue Stone. The Story goes that William Carr, the Hartley Samson, who was born at the Hartley Old Engine, and who was in his prime was the strongest man in all England, used to demonstrate his strength by lifting the stone and carrying it under his arm. When the old village was demolished in 1940, the stone was buried in the path leading from the Blacksmith's shop to the PM chapel and when the new road was planned, Mr Wesley Dickinson removed the stone for safe keeping. When the roadworks were completed in 1973, the Whitley Bay Borough Council replaced the stone as near as possible to it's original position." According to C.T. Trechmann in 1913, the area immediately to the east of the stone yielded evidence of prehistoric flintworking. Whilst this proves nowt about the age of the stone, the concentration of flints opposite St Mary's island was in direct contrast with the paucity of similar evidence between this area and the mouth of the Tyne. 'Notes on Neolithic Chipping Sites in Northumberland and Durham' (Transactions Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle, 2, IV pt. 1, p. 81) |
Posted by Hob 18th September 2003ce |
Previous 10 | Showing 21-30 of 58 posts. Most recent first | Next 10 
Top of page