Heddon on the Wall

Heddon is a village of about a thousand people, that has been occupied for at least the last 2000 years. The Romans built Hadrian's Wall which passes right through the village, in 122AD, and originally it was right under where the picture was taken and to the right of the pub. A long piece of the wall still exists in the village and is maintained by English Heritage. It is listed as a site of world importance.

This wide area shewn above, used to be the village pond until it was filled in during the mid 20th Century. If you look at the village website you can see some very old pictures of this very spot over the years, it is really interesting to see the changes.

George Stephenson "father of the railways" and builder of many other engineering wonders was born in a house visible from my own. Sir John Knott founder of the Prince Line was a major force in the village in the turn of the 19th/20th centuries

Extract from the Parish of Heddon Magazine April 1898

This consists of the six townships of Heddon on the Wall, East &West Heddon, Eachwick, Houghton and Close House. It has been shewn with great probability by C. J. Bates, Esq., that the first named of these, is the place referred to in the history of the Venerable Bede under the appellation of "Ad Murum". If this be correct, Heddon must have been a place of some note, as the seat of Oswy, King of Northumbria. Here were baptized, by Finan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, two Saxon princes, Penda of Mercia, and Seigbert of Essex; "...so that this spot has the honour of being the spiritual birthplace of two southern princes, both of whom became the means of introducing Christianity into their own Dominions."

If a church existed here in those early days (the middle of the 7th century), it was most likely built of wood and covered with thatch.

The present church stands on an eminence 425 feet above sea level. The Eastern portion is evidently of Ancient date and architecturally very interesting. It is divided into two parts by a well-cut zig-zag arch, curiously flattened in the centre. The Eastern bay of the Chancel is covered by a groined roof, and is one of the very few specimens of this kind of architecture now left in the north of England.

This Chancel was erected, it is supposed, about 1120, and at first, constituted the whole church. It would appear however, that, towards the year 1200, an enlargement became necessary, and a Nave was built, with, in the first instance, a north aisle only. After some years, the south aisle was added, and the existing chancel arch and south windows are of the same date. About 45 years ago (1853) the church was further enlarged to its present dimensions. The church is well worthy of a visit by those who are interested in ancient ecclesiastical architecture, and also by those who like to see the proofs of the long existence of the Church of our land.

SAINT ANDREW'S CHURCH

(Extracts taken from an article written by the Rev. J. P. Senior)

The parish church of Saint Andrew's has been added to over the years. Some of the building dates back to about 680 AD, when Northumbria was a separate kingdom.

THE SAXON CHURCH

The oldest parts of Saint Andrew's are still visible in some of the walls of the chancel behind the choir stalls. Though much repaired, experts date them at 600 - 800 AD.

From the outside of the church, looking at the south wall of the chancel there is a blocked doorhead, (A on the plan) with a semi-circular doorhead in solid stone, a good clue to Saxon architecture. A corner of the nave of the old Saxon church is built up alternately of short stout stones and long stones on end (B on the plan). This is certainly ancient and is Saxon 'long and short work'.

Also from the outside of the church, looking at the east gable of the south aisle, (C on the plan) you can see two sloping lines showing former roof levels. From the inside of the church you can see the aforementioned blocked doorhead, with a slightly different head. About one metre above it there is a large stone on end that . This marks the position of a typically Saxon window (E on the plan).

There is a similar stone in the north wall. Over the vestry door is another semi-circular doorhead (F on the plan).

The dedication to Saint Andrew is a further clue of an early date. Andrew was the favourite saint of Wilfrid, bishop of Hexham. Five churches on Tyneside were dedicated to him:

Hexham Abbey (674)
Corbridge (676)
Bywell
Newcastle
Heddon

Probably all are contemporary.

This early Saxon church would have been small and narrow, like the present choir space area, with a nave only half the present length, and a semi-circular apse at the east end.

The Saxon church stood for about 500 years.

THE LATE NORMAN CHURCH

Shortly after the foundation of Blanchland Abbey, in 1165, the monks were given land around Heddon by Walter de Bolbec, and became responsible for it's church.

Further extension work was carried out. The eastern apse disappeared, and in it's place was built the present sanctuary. In the arch between choir and sanctuary the crossed vaults (H on the plan) are supported on short pillars at their four corners, these form a stone canopy over the 'holy of holies'.

In the north wall is an original Norman window (J on the plan). The stone cross displayed below it is probably an early 11th Century grave cross. The much larger windows to east and south are later insertions. There is probably part of the lid of a stone coffin set in the sill if the second window on the south side (K on the plan). It was found under the floor of the church in 1937.

Having completed the sanctuary, the builders turned to the nave, adding first the north aisle, with the inner surface of each arch plain (L on the plan). This was followed by the south aisle, with the inner surface of each arch ribbed (M on the plan). As the chancel arch is also ribbed, this must have been built about the same time as the south aisle, possibly because an earlier arch had collapsed.

The extension was completed by the addition of the third bay of the nave, bringing the west wall of the church to the line (R on the plan). One reference dates the porch at 1392, so the extension must have taken about 200 years to complete.

The internal appearance of the church would then, be very similar to what it is today, except that the rooves of the aisles would be much lower, and the windows tiny or non-existent.

Though much of the work would be financed locally, and done with local labour, a great deal is owed to the 'white canons' of Blanchland. Their contribution is acknowledged by the inclusion of a picture of the abbey church (now Blanchland parish church) in the Saint Andrew's window at the west end of the south aisle (S on the plan).

After the dissolution of the monastery at Blanchland, in 1539, the right of choice of vicars of Heddon passed to the Crown and subsequently to the Lord Chancellor, who is the present patron.

A list of vicars from 1296 is displayed in the porch. Registers from 1656 are in the custody of the County Records Office. Gravestones in the churchyard go back to 1724.

MORE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

The next major work was the insertion of new windows in the north aisle in 1839. This is the only date on the building (Q on the plan). Over the three windows are the initials of the vicar, J. A. Blackett. Between 1841 and 1845 the fourth bay was added to the nave. This involved removal of a wooden musician's gallery with vestry beneath, which stood at the back of the third bay - a slanting mark of the original staircase can be seen on the pillar (P on the plan).

The present vestry was built about 1866. Further improvements between 1873 and 1877 included the staining of the east window, provision of a new altar, choir stalls and pulpit, and the installation of the organ, built by Bevington & Son of Soho, Birmingham. A new organ chamber was built between the north aisle and the vestry.

The east window enlarged in 1841 and stained in 1873, is a Jesse window, a family tree in glass, showing the decent of David and Solomon, and ultimately our Lord from Jesse, the old man at the foot of the middle lancet.

A note by the Rev Boulker showed that on one occasion, in July 1893, the attendance at the church had been 231 seated, 24 in the choir , and 60 children with 51 seats unused.

The remaining stained glass is of interest, not only for it's quality, but because all thirteen windows were stained at one time (1921) by the gift of Sir James Knott. Twenty-nine saints and others are depicted, all in similar style. To achieve this uniformity seven stained glass windows were removed: the memorial inscriptions and the saints depicted were incorporated in the new designs.

In 1910 gas lighting was installed in the church to replace the existing oil lamps. The gas lamps were replaced with electric lighting given by the Robinson family in 1936, in memory of Colonel Ernest Robinson of Heddon Hall..

In 1937 the church was refloored, refurbished, reseated and a new central heating boiler was installed. This proved to be a larger job than originally anticipated due to subsidence and dry rot. The pews, from Newcastle Cathedral, were given by Lady Elizabeth Knott in memory of her husband . A new boiler, which could be fired by either coke or oil, was installed in 1959.