Thropton

Last updated

Thropton
Hamlet
Thropton Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 927958.jpg
View of Thropton from the east bank of Wreigh Burn, a tributary of the River Coquet to the west bank where the majority of the village stands.
Thropton - geograph.org.uk - 780400.jpg
Looking southeast along the B6341
Northumberland UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Thropton
Location within Northumberland
Population458 (2011 census)
OS grid reference NU027023
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town MORPETH
Postcode district NE65
Dialling code 01669
Police Northumbria
Fire Northumberland
Ambulance North East
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Northumberland
55°18′50″N1°57′29″W / 55.314°N 1.958°W / 55.314; -1.958

Thropton is a hamlet in Northumberland, England, located on the River Coquet, and its tributary Wreigh Burn. [1] [2] With a population of 780 (2021 census) it is situated 1.9 miles (3.1 km) west of the village of Rothbury connected by the B6431 [3] [4] near the junction of the Wreigh Burn and the River Coquet. In the hamlet is a stone bridge over the Wreigh Burn which was built in 1811. Thropton is on the edge of Northumberland National Park, and the surrounding area north and south of the hamlet consists of haughs, and also to the south on the opposite side of the Coquet lies Simonside Hills, a hill range that has many crags dotted along it. [5] Thropton was known in the past as Tattie-toon, a reference to the fertility of the soil in the surrounding area.

Contents

Amenities

The post office closed in approximately 2018, likewise the small village shop in which it was located, and the adjacent vehicle repair garage closed in November 2020 and reopened in 2022. In November 2022 a SPAR opened in Thropton, the shop has a floor area of 3,000 sq. ft. and has a four-pump forecourt operated by Shell. [6] [7] [8] [9] The neon Shell sign has caused a row over light pollution due to Thropton being on the edge of Northumberland National Park which is a dark-sky preserve, however a poll on a community Facebook page [10] showed that 98% [11] to 99% [12] of residents did not think the sign was a problem . The row has been reported by the national media, including an article in The Telegraph [11] and a mention on Jeremy Vine . [13] Thropton has two pubs: the Cross Keys (currently closed) and the Three Wheat Heads, a 300-year-old coaching inn.

There is a small Church of England church, a Roman Catholic church and a Plymouth Brethren Church.

Landmarks

Great Tosson Tower Great Tosson Tower House - geograph.org.uk - 826183.jpg
Great Tosson Tower

A little over a mile to the south of the village are the ruins of Great Tosson Tower, a pele tower probably built in the late fifteenth century and later used as part of a system of watch towers designed to curb the activities of the Border Reivers. [14] [15] A short distance from Great Tosson is Tosson lime kiln, designed by architect George Reavell in 1888, disused and restored in appearance by Northumberland National Park Authority. The site has a small car park and picnic site, and has fine views across the valley to Thropton main village and Rothbury. An information board at the site relates how a cow once fell down inside it.

Thropton SPAR is the main shop and petrol station in the village.

Geography

Thropton has the B6431 running though, with the majority of the hamlet based along the road. Thropton also had two C roads, the C176 road from Thropton to Netherton via Snitter connects to the B6341, and is connected to the C178 running from Thropton to Whittingham via Cartington. [16] [17]

Culture

On the third Saturday in September Thropton holds its annual village show. The show is in field on next to the junction of the C176 road from Thropton to Snitter, and the C178 from Thropton to Cartington. leading from Thropton to Netherton. Alongside local trade and craft stalls, the show also has a Northumbrian pipe band, and fell race where runners run to and up the Simonside Hills and back. The village show started in 1915 and 2015 the centenary was celebrated.

The Coquetdale Music Centre is also present in the village occupying a former United Reform Church. It is managed by the Coquetdale Music Trust. It hosts year round music events and also has a recording studio complex.

Transport

Thropton is the terminus for the X14 Thropton - Rothbury - Morpeth bus which is a lifeline to the rural community, with many services continuing towards Newcastle upon Tyne. It is currently operated by Arriva Northumbria and was formerly operated by Go North East. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rothbury</span> Market town in Northumberland, England

Rothbury is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the River Coquet. It is 14 miles (22.5 km) north-west of Morpeth and 26 miles (42 km) north of Newcastle upon Tyne. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 2,107.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alnwick District</span> Former district in England

Alnwick was a local government district of Northumberland, England. Its council was based in the town of Alnwick and the district had a population of 31,029 according to the 2001 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Coquet</span> River in Northumberland, England

The River Coquet runs through the county of Northumberland, England, discharging into the North Sea on the east coast at Amble. It rises in the Cheviot Hills on the border between England and Scotland, and follows a winding course across the landscape ("Coquetdale"). The upper reaches are bordered by the Otterburn Ranges military training ground, and are crossed by a number of bridges built in the 20th century. It passes a number of small villages and hamlets, and feeds one of the lakes created by extraction of gravel that form the Caistron Nature Reserve, before reaching the town of Rothbury, where it is crossed by a grade II listed bridge. Below the town is Thrum Mill, a Grade II-listed water mill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berwick-upon-Tweed (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885–2024

Berwick-upon-Tweed was a parliamentary constituency in Northumberland represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2015 until its abolition for the 2024 general election by Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartington</span> Human settlement in England

Cartington is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Thropton, in Northumberland, England. It is about 11 miles (18 km) south west of Alnwick, and about 2 miles (3 km) north west of Rothbury. In 2019 it had an adult population of 95, after having returned a population of 97 in 2001.

Clifton is a hamlet in Northumberland, in England. The population is between 20 and 30. It is situated a short distance to the south of Morpeth, on the A1. It forms a trio with Hepscott and Glororum, a series of farms founded by the Brown brothers at the end of the 19th century. However, Clifton as a habitation stretches back earlier. In the 12th century lands were held at Clifton, under Roger de Merlay, by William of Clifton. There was a coaching inn here dating from the 17th century.

The Simonside Hills are a hill range in Northumberland, England near the town of Rothbury. Most of the hills are around 300–400 metres (980–1,310 ft) high and are popular spots for hikers in the area. The highest point is Tosson Hill at 440 metres (1,444 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A1068 road</span> Road in northern England

The A1068 is a road in northern England that runs from Seaton Burn in North Tyneside to Alnwick in Northumberland. The section between Ellington and Alnmouth is signposted as part of the Northumberland Coastal Route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coquet Stop Line</span>

The Coquet Stop Line, which ran from Amble in Northumberland up the valley of the River Coquet, formed part of the defences constructed to meet the threat of a Nazi invasion during the Second World War. It was intended to slow the advance of the German army from the north to give time for a field army to assemble on the Tyne Stop Line around 30 miles to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barrow Burn</span> Hamlet in Upper Coquetdale in the county of Northumberland, England

Barrowburn is a hamlet in Upper Coquetdale in the county of Northumberland, England. It comprises a working farm with associated buildings and two holiday lets. One of the holiday lets is the Old School House, which closed as a school in the 1970s. The settlement is situated by the River Coquet, at its confluence with Barrow Burn (stream), after which the settlement is named. There is a road bridge over the Coquet and a ford over the burn here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hepple</span> Human settlement in England

Hepple is a small village and parish in rural Northumberland, 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Rothbury, which provides most of its local services. It is on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, and lies on the bank of the river Coquet, at a location which was on the Coquet Stop Line, of which a pillbox remains. It is on the road between Rothbury and Otterburn. The village contains a church, village hall and post office.

David Dippie Dixon was an English local historian and writer on his native Northumberland.

Archie Dagg was a shepherd and traditional fiddler, piper and composer from central Northumberland. He was born at Linbriggs, in Upper Coquetdale, and except for his time in the Army at the end of the First World War, lived all his life in that region. In the late 1930s, he was a member of the English Sheepdog Trials Team; when competing with them in Scotland, he would play Scottish tunes on the Northumbrian smallpipes, and found he would get a steady supply of free drams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northumberland Sandstone Hills</span> Natural region in England

The Northumberland Sandstone Hills are a major natural region in the English county of Northumberland. The hills form distinctive skylines with generally level tops, northwest facing scarps and craggy outcrops offering views to the Cheviots further west.

The geology of Northumberland in northeast England includes a mix of sedimentary, intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks from the Palaeozoic and Cenozoic eras. Devonian age volcanic rocks and a granite pluton form the Cheviot massif. The geology of the rest of the county is characterised largely by a thick sequence of sedimentary rocks of Carboniferous age. These are intruded by both Permian and Palaeogene dykes and sills and the whole is overlain by unconsolidated sediments from the last ice age and the post-glacial period. The Whin Sill makes a significant impact on Northumberland's character and the former working of the Northumberland Coalfield significantly influenced the development of the county's economy. The county's geology contributes to a series of significant landscape features around which the Northumberland National Park was designated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harwood Forest</span>

Harwood Forest is a 3,527 hectares conifer plantation located to the south of Rothbury in North Northumberland, England, and managed by Forestry England.

The geology of Northumberland National Park in northeast England includes a mix of sedimentary, intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks from the Palaeozoic and Cenozoic eras. Devonian age volcanic rocks and a granite pluton form the Cheviot massif. The geology of the rest of the national park is characterised largely by a thick sequence of sedimentary rocks of Carboniferous age. These are intruded by Permian dykes and sills, of which the Whin Sill makes a significant impact in the south of the park. Further dykes were intruded during the Palaeogene period. The whole is overlain by unconsolidated sediments from the last ice age and the post-glacial period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rothbury Community Hospital</span> Hospital in Northumberland, England

Rothbury Community Hospital in Rothbury, Northumberland, England, is managed by the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

References

  1. "Wreigh Burn". Co-Curate.ncl.ac.uk. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  2. "Wreigh Burn from Netherton Burn to Coquet | Catchment Data Explorer". environment.data.gov.uk. UK Government . Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  3. "Driving directions from Thropton, Morpeth to Rothbury, Morpeth" (Map). Google Maps . Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  4. FreeMapTools. Distance Between Thropton, UK and Morpeth, Northumberland UK (Map). Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  5. UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Thropton Parish (E04010870)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  6. "HAL39477 - SPAR West End Garage". SPAR. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  7. "SPAR Thropton". Visit Northumberland. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  8. Smith, Ian (22 November 2022). "New Spar store and petrol station set to open in Thropton". Northumberland Gazette . Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  9. "New community SPAR store with a local flavour and a petrol station set to open its doors in Thropton". Northumberland Gazette . Promoted by James Hall & Co Ltd. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.{{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  10. "Rothbury & Coquetdale". Facebook . Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  11. 1 2 Reporters, Telegraph (22 January 2023). "Northumberland's dark skies ruined by bright lights of new service station, residents say". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  12. Lindsay, Kali (21 January 2023). "Furious residents claim petrol station lights ruin 'famous' Northumberland sky". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  13. Vine, Jeremy (24 January 2023). Jeremy Vine (Radio). BBC Radio 2.
  14. Tosson Tower at Pastscape
  15. Tosson Tower at Northumberland National Park Website Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  16. Adopted Highways (Map). Thropton, Northumberland, England, GBR: ArcGIS . Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  17. "Northumberland Council (Class III roads) - Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki". www.sabre-roads.org.uk. SABRE (The Society for All British and Irish Road Enthusiasts) . Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  18. "X14 Newcastle to Thropton | Bus route and timetables". www.arrivabus.co.uk. Arriva. 26 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021.