Cornhill-on-Tweed

Cornhill-on-Tweed
Cornhill-on-Tweed Location within Northumberland
Population	347 (2011 census)
OS grid reference	NT865395
Unitary authority	Northumberland
Ceremonial county	Northumberland
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CORNHILL-ON-TWEED
Postcode district	TD12
Dialling code	01890
Police	Northumbria
Fire	Northumberland
Ambulance	North East
UK Parliament	Berwick-upon-Tweed

Cornhill-on-Tweed is a small village and civil parish in Northumberland, England about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east of Coldstream, Scotland. The hamlets of West Learmouth and East Learmouth are located to the south and west of the village respectively.

History

Cornhill on Tweed was part of the Norham and Islandshires district, an exclave of the County of Durham until united with Northumberland in 1884. It had been part of the Bishopric of Durham since it was gifted to Lindisfarne Abbey by King Oswald of Northumbria in 634.

The earliest documented references to the village are in The History and Antiquities of the County of Durham where a William de Cornale is mentioned in 1239. A Henricus de Cornale is mentioned in the Durham Tithe Rolls in 1306. By 1328 the village ownership was split between the Heron and Grey families. Sir Robert Grey of Cornhill, the son of Sir Thomas Grey of Castle Heaton, died in 1334 leaving a manor, half of a corn mill, half of a fishery, a brewery and a maltings to his son, also Robert. This Robert died in 1338. His heir was his 2 year old daughter Maria. Because of her minority the land reverted to the Bishopric until her son, Robert Swinhoe reached his majority in 1382. In 1385 as part of the hUndred Years War, a Franco-Scottish force under the command of Jean de Vienne along with his allies the Earls of Douglas, March and Fife destroyed Wark and Cornhill Castles. Cornhill Castle was situated a mile north-west of the village and was probably a motte and bailey in the Norman pattern. Subsequent references to a Cornhil Tower in 1415, 1496 and 1541 are attributed by English Heritage to the Castle site. However Dodds in Bastions and Belligerents and Tomlinson in a Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland contend that the Castle was never rebuilt and the refereces to Cornhill Tower relate to the site of Cornhill House. It is known that Cornhill Tower was built by William Swinhoe between 1385 and 1415 and that Cornhill House was the home of the Swinhoes up till the 17th century. It seems unlikely that the Tower would have been built remotely from the family home. The Swinhoe family were paid by the crown to maintain a garrison force for the defence of the border consisting of 20 horsemen. Cornhill was in the path of James IV's invading army on its way to the Battle of Flodden and Cornhill Tower was knocked about a bit in passing. The Swinhoe family were Catholic and supported the Pilgrimage of Grace against Henry VIII but escaped retribution. From 1543 the Cornhill garrison played an active part in the Rough Wooing cross border raids into Scotland. In 1548, following the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, Cornhill Tower was attacked and looted by a Franco-Scottish Force under the command of Andre de Montalembert, Seigneur de Esse relieving the house of its store of salted salmon. In 1557 the Tower, now surrounded by a defensive barmkin wall, was again attacked by a Franco-Scottish army, this time opposing the rule of Mary I. During the attack William Swinhoe was killed and the garrison taken prisoner. In 1569 the Swinhoes were once more in rebellion against the Crown supporting the Northern Earls Rebellion against Elizabeth I. Again they were able to escape royal retribution. Gilbert Swinhoe of Cornhill was the High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1642 at the outbreak of the English Civil War and raised the posse comitatus in support of the King. Gilbert and his son James took an active part of the fighting with Gilbert perishing in the Tower of London following arrest. After the war James was fined for his part in the conflict and it is likely that the Cornhill estates were sold to the Foster family in 1651 to pay the penalty. The Foster family were another of the landed gentry families of North Northumberland and owned the Cornhill estates till 1763 at which point they passed to the Collingwoods. The Collingwood family were to remain in possession of the Cornhill Estate through to 1975 at which point the last Collingwood, John HF Collingwood, died and the estate was slit up. During their tenure the Collingwood Hotel was built and the war memorial at the entrance to Corhill House was erected

Cornhill Castle mound

Religion

In the center of the town lies St Helen's Church, part of the parish of Cornhill-on-Tweed. Its sister churches are in Carham and Branxton. A church has resided on the site since Saxon times. Local legend has it that in 1840, when the Church was enlarged, an 8 ft man was found buried under the nave.

Transport

Cornhill-on-Tweed lies at a junction of the A697 and A698 roads - the latter linking to Berwick-upon-Tweed, the nearest significant town, some 13 miles (21 km) away.

Education

The Cornhill School was built in 1837 and closed in 2012. Pupils from the village now attended schools nearby.

See also

• Cornhill Branch
• Campfield Kettle Hole and Barelees Pond - Sites of Special Scientific Interest 0.7 miles (1.1 km) south, and 0.95 miles (1.53 km) south-east of Cornhill.
• Heaton Castle, an historic small castle, the remains of which now form part of a large farmhouse called "Castle Heaton".

External links

Media related to Cornhill-on-Tweed at Wikimedia Commons

• The official Cornhill-on-Tweed Parish Website
• Cornhill Social History including Buildings, Agriculture, Railways, Families, Businesses, School, Parish Registers and gravestone inscriptions
• GENUKI (Accessed: 21 November 2008)