Jenny's Lantern is an area of moorland in north Northumberland, England, taking its name from an 18th-century 'eye-catcher' folly sited towards the top of a small promontory hill above the River Aln. Situated on the southern slope of the Jenny's Lantern area is an Iron Age hillfort, overbuilt by and adjoined to a larger and very well preserved Romano-British stone-built settlement and field system. It partially collapsed during a storm in November 2021.
The Jenny's Lantern area is a small south-facing hill or promontory rising to 144 metres (472 ft) above the Aln valley's 50 metres (160 ft) floor, 1.32 miles (2.12 km) north-east of Bolton and 2.7 miles (4.3 km) south of Eglingham, villages in north Northumberland. Confusingly, the site is 0.66 miles (1.06 km) north-east of a completely distinct Jenny's Lantern Hill. The site is immediately south of the boundary of Bewick and Beanley Moors SSSI.
Jenny's Lantern, or Jenny of the Lantern, is the reputed Northumbrian name for Will-o'-the-wisp, a form of atmospheric ghost lights associated with leading travellers to dangerous places. [1] A legend ascribed to this Jenny's Lantern tells of a shepherd who, one night, is drowned in a bog whilst following a lantern lit by his wife Jenny to guide his return from the inn at Eglingham. [2]
An 18th-century folly, presumably built by the Bolton estate, is sited towards the top of the Jenny's Lantern area; it takes the form of a ruined shepherd's cottage, rectangular in plan with door and windows on the south wall, a complete westerly wall, but stepped and ruined towards the east wall. Historic England describe it as an eye-catcher and speculate that the design is based on the nearby Crawley Tower, situated 3.2 miles (5.1 km) to the west, a 14th-century tower house modified in the 18th century as an eye-catcher for the Shawdon estate. [2] [3] The local penchant for follies extended to the dominant landowner, Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland who commissioned the Ratcheugh Observatory before 1770, [4] and whose 1781 Brizlee Tower [5] sits roughly opposite, across the Aln, from Jenny's Lantern. [6]
During a severe storm on the night of 27 November 2021, the folly partially collapsed.[ citation needed ]
Jenny's Lantern hillfort is an Iron Age defended settlement, undated, but falling within a style dating from circa 700BCE to 100CE. The fort is situated on the 135 metres (443 ft) elevation contour and is of multivallate form, delineated by twin 5 metres (16 ft) wide ramparts, the inner being up to 0.6 metres (2 ft 0 in) high and the outer up to 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) high, separated by a 6 metres (20 ft) ditch, and forming an oval of 100 metres (330 ft) by 68 metres (223 ft) with the long axis orientated NE-SW, and entrance-ways at the north-east and south-west extents. [7] [8]
The Jenny's Lantern site is circa 2.4 miles (3.9 km) east of the Devil's Causeway, a major north-south Roman road; and 2.6 miles (4.2 km) north-north-east of the Roman fort at Learchild. The Jenny's Lantern hillfort, and the area to its east, preserve the remains of a supposed Romano-British settlement. Remains of at least 15 stone-founded circular huts of from 4 metres (13 ft) to 6 metres (20 ft) diameter are evident, three within the fort and the remainder in a series of seven embanked enclosures outside it. A field system delineated by rubble and boulder boundaries is found to the south and east of the enclosures. A lacrymatory was discovered at the site in 1824, and a quern-stone in 1885. Historic England note that the "Iron Age defended settlement, Romano-British settlement and its field system south and east of Jenny's Lantern are extensive and particularly fine examples of their types" and note that survival of Romano-British field systems is rare, making the Jenny's Lantern site especially valuable. [8] [7]
The hillfort and settlement site has been placed on the Heritage at Risk Register, as its condition is found to be "generally unsatisfactory with major localised problems"; bracken is identified as the principal cause of vulnerability. [9]
Alnwick is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116.
Hulne Park is the only one remaining of the three parks that once surrounded Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, providing wood and meat for the Percy family, the Dukes of Northumberland. The park is walled, and was landscaped by Capability Brown.
Alnham is a hamlet and civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is about 14 miles (23 km) west of Alnwick, about 6 miles (9.7 km) from Scotland and is located on the south of a small tributary of the River Aln. The village stands on uneven ground, sloping from south to north, at the foot of the southern outliers of the Cheviot Hills. The River Aln flows eastward through the village from its source in the Cheviot Hills down to the coast. The layout of the village appears to have been dictated by the river. The estimated population taken at the 2011 Census was around 245.
Bolam is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Belsay in the county of Northumberland, England. The village is about 20 miles (32 km) north-west of Newcastle upon Tyne, near Bolam West Houses. In 1951 the civil parish had a population of 60. On 1 April 1955 it was merged into Belsay.
Brizlee Tower is a Grade 1 listed folly set atop a hill in Hulne Park, the walled home park of the Duke of Northumberland in Alnwick, Northumberland. The tower was erected in 1781 for Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, and commands extensive views over North Northumberland and the Borders.
Eglingham is a village in Northumberland, England, situated about 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Alnwick and 10 miles (16 km) from Wooler. It lies in the sheltered valley of the Eglingham Burn, a tributary of the River Aln, about 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level, in a rural conservation area set amongst rolling countryside, within 5 miles (8 km) of the Cheviot Hills. The village is surrounded by mainly arable farmland, moorland and woodland, including an arboretum and some commercial forestry.
Humbleton Hill is a hill in Northumberland, England, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Wooler.
Bewick and Beanley Moors is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in north Northumberland, in the north-east of England. The moors are asserted to be of national importance by Natural England for the extent, quality and diversity of upland types including heaths, fens, wet grassland, flushes, mires and blanket bogs, together creating an extensive mosaic habitat supporting an exceptional community of amphibians. The moors are important, too, for their relict juniper woodland and scrub.
Warbstow Bury is an Iron Age hillfort about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west of the village of Warbstow, in Cornwall, England. It is a scheduled monument.
Chalbury Hillfort is an Iron Age hillfort about 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of the village of Bincombe, in Dorset, England. It is a scheduled monument.
Cadson Bury is an Iron Age hillfort about 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of Callington, in Cornwall, England.
Bury Walls is an Iron Age hillfort about 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of Weston-under-Redcastle, in Shropshire, England. It is a scheduled monument.
Ratcheugh Observatory is a late 18th-century folly on a prominent crag between Alnwick and Longhoughton in north Northumberland, England. Commissioned by Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, the castellated Observatory incorporates a viewing tower with prospects of Alnwick and its castle, and of the North Sea coast at Boulmer.
The Martin Down Enclosure is an archaeological site on Martin Down, near the village of Martin, in Hampshire, England. It is near the boundaries with Dorset and Wiltshire.
Thundersbarrow Hill is an archaeological site in West Sussex, England. It is on a chalk ridge, aligned north-west to south-east, on the South Downs north of Shoreham-by-Sea.
Maiden Bower is an Iron Age hillfort near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. The site, which also has traces of a Neolithic causewayed enclosure, is a scheduled monument.
Shaftoe Crags Settlement is an archaeological site in Northumberland, England, about 8 miles (13 km) west of Morpeth. The site at Shaftoe Crags, with remains dating from the Iron Age and Romano-British periods, is a scheduled monument.
Slate Hill Settlement is an archaeological site in Northumberland, England, near the village of Bolam and about 7 miles (11 km) west of Morpeth. The site, a defended settlement dating from the Iron Age, is a scheduled monument.
Castle Knowe, also known as Clinch Castle, is the site of an Iron Age hillfort in Northumberland, England, about 1 mile south-east of the village of Ingram. It is a scheduled monument.
Huckhoe Settlement is an archaeological site in Northumberland, England, near the village of Bolam and about 7 miles (11 km) west of Morpeth. The site shows occupation, in at least four phases, dating from the early Iron Age to the post-Roman period. It is a scheduled monument.