1.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
2.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
3.
River Tyne
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The River Tyne /ˈtaɪn/ is a river in North East England and its length is 73 miles. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers, the North Tyne and the South Tyne and these two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed The Meeting of the Waters. The North Tyne rises on the Scottish border, north of Kielder Water and it flows through Kielder Forest, and passes through the village of Bellingham before reaching Hexham. The South Tyne rises on Alston Moor, Cumbria and flows through the towns of Haltwhistle and Haydon Bridge, hadrians Wall lies to the north of the Tyne Gap. Coincidentally the source of the South Tyne is very close to the sources of the two great rivers of the industrial north east namely the Tees and the Wear. The South Tyne Valley falls within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - the second largest of the 40 AONBs in England, to the east of Gateshead and Newcastle, the Tyne divides Hebburn and Jarrow on the south bank from Walker and Wallsend on the north bank. Jarrow and Wallsend are linked underneath the river by the Tyne Tunnel, finally it flows between South Shields and Tynemouth into the North Sea. The Tyne Rivers Trust measure the whole Tyne catchment as 2,936 square kilometres, the River Tyne is believed to be around 30 million years old. The largest coal staithes were located at Dunston in Gateshead, Hebburn and Tyne Dock, the dramatic wooden staithes at Dunston, built in 1890, have been preserved, although they were partially destroyed by fire in 2006. And to this day in 2016 Tyne Dock, South Shields is still involved with coal, the tidal river is now managed by the Port of Tyne Authority. Nothing definite is known of the origin of the designation Tyne, nor is the known by that name until the Saxon period. There is a theory that Tīn was a word that meant river in the local Celtic language or in a language spoken in England before the Celts came, there is also a river Tyne that rises in Midlothian in Scotland and flows through East Lothian into the North Sea. The River Vedra on the Roman map of Britain may be the Tyne, the late Thomas John Taylor supposed that the main course of the river anciently flowed through what is now Team Valley, its outlet into the tidal river being by a waterfall at Bill Point. His theory is not far from the truth, as there is evidence that prior to the last Ice Age, Ice diverted the course of the Wear to its current location, flowing east the course of the Tyne) and joining the North Sea at Sunderland. Sculpted by David Wynne, the bronze figure incorporates flowing water into its design. The Environment Agency is currently working with architects and cultural consultancy xsite, in collaboration with Commissions North, the Tyne Salmon Trail will serve as a celebration of the river, its heritage and its increasingly diverse ecosystem. FINS, REFLECTION and JOURNEY were the first 3 cubes to be launched in December 2007 from a family of 10, each cube is inspired by the textures, changing colours, movement and journey of the salmon. With each offering a modern day keepsake to take away, in the form of a designed Bluetooth message, for three days, between 18–20 July 2008, a temporary bamboo artwork was installed over the Tyne close to the Gateshead Millennium Bridge
4.
Cumbria
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Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbrias county town is Carlisle, in the north of the county, the county of Cumbria consists of six districts, and in 2008 had a population of just under half a million. Cumbria is one of the most sparsely populated counties in the United Kingdom, a large area of the south east of the county is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park while the east of the county fringes the North Pennines AONB. Much of Cumbria is mountainous, and it contains every peak in England over 3,000 feet above sea level, with Scafell Pike at 3,209 feet being the highest point of England. An upland, coastal, and rural area, Cumbrias history is characterised by invasions, migration, notable historic sites in Cumbria include Carlisle Castle, Furness Abbey, Hardknott Roman Fort, Brough Castle and Hadrians Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. D. Based on inscriptional evidence from the area, the Roman civitas of the Carvetii seems to have covered portions of Cumbria, the names Cumbria, Cymru, Cambria, and Cumberland are derived from the name these people gave themselves, *kombroges in Common Brittonic, which originally meant compatriots. In the Early Middle Ages, Cumberland formed the core of the Brittonic kingdom of Rheged, for the rest of the first millennium, Cumbria was contested by several entities who warred over the area, including the Brythonic Kingdom of Strathclyde and the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria. Most of modern-day Cumbria was a principality in the Kingdom of Scotland at the time of the Norman conquest of England in 1066, in 1092 Cumberland was invaded by William II and incorporated into England. There were at least three sieges of Carlisle fought between England and Scotland, and two sieges during the Jacobite risings. In particular, the west-coast towns of Workington, Millom and Barrow-in-Furness saw large iron and steel mills develop, Kendal, Keswick and Carlisle all became mill towns, with textiles, pencils and biscuits among the products manufactured in the region. Later, the childrens writer Beatrix Potter also wrote in the region and became a major landowner and its strategic authority is Cumbria County Council. Local papers The Westmorland Gazette and Cumberland and Westmorland Herald continue to use the name of their historic county, other publications, such as local government promotional material, describe the area as Cumbria, as do the Lake District National Park Authority and most visitors. Cumbria is the most northwesterly county of England, the northernmost and southernmost points in Cumbria are just west of Deadwater, Northumberland and South Walney respectively. Kirkby Stephen and St Bees Head are the most easterly and westerly points of the county, at 978 metres Scafell Pike is the highest point in Cumbria and in England. Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, the Lancaster Canal runs from Preston into South Cumbria and is partly in use. The Ulverston Canal which once reached to Morecambe Bay is maintained although it was closed in 1945, the Solway Coast and Arnside and Silverdale AONBs lie in the lowland areas of the county, to the north and south respectively. Cumbria is bordered by the English counties of Northumberland, County Durham, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, the boundaries are along the Irish Sea to Morecambe Bay in the west, and along the Pennines to the east
5.
Northumberland
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Northumberland is a county in North East England. The northernmost county of England, it borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham and Tyne and Wear to the south, to the east is the North Sea coastline with a 64-mile long distance path. The county town is Alnwick although the county council is in Morpeth, the northernmost point of Northumberland and England is at Marshall Meadows Bay. The county of Northumberland included Newcastle upon Tyne until 1400, when the city became a county of itself, Northumberland expanded greatly in the Tudor period, annexing Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1482, Tynedale in 1495, Tynemouth in 1536, Redesdale around 1542 and Hexhamshire in 1572. Islandshire, Bedlingtonshire and Norhamshire were incorporated into Northumberland in 1844, Tynemouth and other settlements in North Tyneside were transferred to Tyne and Wear in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. Lying on the Anglo-Scottish border, Northumberland has been the site of a number of battles, the county is noted for its undeveloped landscape of high moorland, now largely protected as the Northumberland National Park. Northumberland is the most sparsely populated county in England, with only 62 people per square kilometre, Northumberland originally meant the land of the people living north of the River Humber. The present county is the core of that land, and has long been a frontier zone between England and Scotland. During Roman occupation of Britain, most of the present county lay north of Hadrians Wall, the Roman road Dere Street crosses the county from Corbridge over high moorland west of the Cheviot Hills into present Scotland to Trimontium. Northumberland has a rich prehistory with many instances of art, hillforts such as Yeavering Bell and stone circles like the Goatstones. Most of the area was occupied by the Brythonic-Celtic Votadini people, with another large tribe, later, the region of present-day Northumberland formed the core of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia, which united with Deira to form the kingdom of Northumbria in the 7th century. Lindisfarne saw the production of the Lindisfarne Gospels and it became the home of St Cuthbert, bamburgh is the historic capital of Northumberland, the royal castle from before the unification of the Kingdoms of England under the monarchs of the House of Wessex in the 10th century. The Earldom of Northumberland was briefly held by the Scottish royal family by marriage between 1139–1157 and 1215–1217, Scotland relinquished all claims to the region as part of the Treaty of York. The Earls of Northumberland once wielded significant power in English affairs because, as powerful and militaristic Marcher Lords, Northumberland has a history of revolt and rebellion against the government, as seen in the Rising of the North against Elizabeth I of England. These revolts were led by the Earls of Northumberland, the Percy family. Shakespeare makes one of the Percys, the dashing Harry Hotspur, after the Restoration of 1660, the county was a centre for Roman Catholicism in England, as well as a focus of Jacobite support. Northumberland was long a wild county, where outlaws and Border Reivers hid from the law, however, the frequent cross-border skirmishes and accompanying local lawlessness largely subsided after the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England under King James I and VI in 1603. Northumberland played a key role in the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century on, many coal mines operated in Northumberland until the widespread closures in the 1970s and 1980s
6.
Tynemouth
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Tynemouth is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England at the mouth of the River Tyne. The modern town of Tynemouth includes North Shields and Cullercoats and had a 2011 population of 67,519 and it is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough, including North Shields, in its own right. It had a population of 17,056 in 2001, the population of the Tynemouth ward of North Tyneside was at the 2011 Census 10,472. Its history dates back to an Iron Age settlement and its position on a headland over-looking the mouth of the Tyne continued to be important through to the Second World War. Its historic buildings, dramatic views and award-winning beaches attract visitors from around the world, the heart of the town, known by residents as The village, has popular coffee-shops, pubs and restaurants. It is an area with comparatively expensive housing stock, ranging from Georgian terraces to Victorian ship-owners houses to 1960s executive homes. It is represented at Westminster by the Labour MP Alan Campbell, the headland towering over the mouth of the Tyne has been settled since the Iron Age. The Romans may have occupied it as a station, though it is north of the Hadrians Wall frontier. In the 7th century a monastery was built there and later fortified, three kings are reputed to have been buried within the monastery, Oswin, King of Deira, Osred II, King of Northumbria, and, for a time, Malcolm III, King of Scots. Three crowns still adorn the North Tyneside coat of arms, the queens of Edward I and Edward II stayed in the Castle and Priory while their husbands were campaigning in Scotland. King Edward III considered it to be one of the strongest castles in the Northern Marches, after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, Edward II fled from Tynemouth by ship. A village had long established in the shelter of the fortified Priory. This led to a dispute between Tynemouth and the more powerful Newcastle over shipping rights on the Tyne which continued for centuries, prince Rupert of the Rhine landed at Tynemouth in August 1642 on his way to fight in the English Civil War. Tynemouth has a very moderated oceanic climate influenced by its position adjacent to the North Sea. As a result of this, summer highs are subdued and according to the Met Office 1981–2010 data around 18 °C, as a consequence of its marine influence, winter lows especially are very mild for a Northern English location. Sunshine levels of 1515 hours per annum are in the range for the coastal North East. In the late 18th century, sea-bathing became fashionable in Tynemouth from its east-facing beaches, King Edwards Bay and Tynemouth Longsands are very popular with locals and tourists alike. Priors Haven is a beach within the mouth of the Tyne
7.
South Shields
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South Shields is a coastal town at the mouth of the River Tyne, England, about 4.84 miles downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne. Historically in County Durham, the town has a population of 75,337 and it is part of the metropolitan borough of South Tyneside which includes the towns of Jarrow and Hebburn. South Shields is represented in Parliament by Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck, the first evidence of a settlement within what is now the town of South Shields dates from pre-historic times. Stone Age arrow heads and an Iron Age round house have been discovered on the site of Arbeia Roman Fort, the Roman garrison built a fort here around AD160 and expanded it around AD208 to help supply their soldiers along Hadrians Wall. Divisions living at the fort included Tigris bargemen, infantry from Iberia and Gaul, the fort was abandoned as the Roman Empire declined in the 4th century AD. Many ruins still exist today and some structures have been rebuilt as part of a modern museum, there is evidence that the site was used in the early post-Roman period as a British settlement. It is said in local folklore that a Viking ship was wrecked at Herd Sands in South Shields in its attempts to disembark at a cove nearby, other Viking ships were uncovered in South Shields Denmark Centre and nearby Jarrow. The current town was founded in 1245 and developed as a fishing port, the name South Shields developed from the Schele or Shield, which was a small dwelling used by fishermen. Another industry that was introduced, was that of salt-panning, later expanded upon in the 15th century, polluting the air, at the outbreak of the war in 1642, the North, West and Ireland supported the King, the South East and Presbyterian Scotland supported Parliament. In 1644 Parliaments Scottish Covenanter allies, in a battle, seized the town and its Royalist fortification. They also seized the town of Newburn, in the 19th century, coal mining, alkaline production and glass making led to a boom in the town. The population increased from 12,000 in 1801 to 75,000 by the 1860s, bolstered by migration from Ireland, Scotland. These industries played a part in creating wealth both regionally and nationally. Shipbuilding, previously a monopoly of the Freemen of Newcastle, became another prominent industry in the town, during World War I, German Zeppelin airships bombed South Shields in 1916. Later during World War II, the German Luftwaffe repeatedly attacked the town and caused damage to industries which supported the war effort. Particularly, a shelter in the market place of South Shields. Later controversially removed and the bodies interred elsewhere, in the 21st century, the local economy primarily includes port-related, ship repair and offshore industries, manufacturing, retail, the public sector and the ever-increasing role of tourism. This is illustrated by the new multi-million haven centre, dunes centre and seaside improvements in the coastal area, South Shields is situated in a peninsula setting, where the River Tyne meets the North Sea
8.
Bywell
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Bywell is a village in Northumberland, in England. It is situated on the bank of the River Tyne opposite Stocksfield. Bywell means bend in the river, Bywell is situated on a bend on the River Tyne. That is how the village got its name, Bywell is in the parliamentary constituency of Hexham. An electoral ward of the name exists. This ward stretches east to Wylam with a population of 4,534. Bywell Hall is a house of 1766 by James Paine. Bywell Castle is a tower built in the early 15th century for Ralph Neville. There are two churches in Bywell, st Andrews Church is situated near Bywell Hall and has a fine tower of the Anglo Saxon period, considered to be the best in the county —55 feet high and about 15 square feet. Part of a cross is another reminder of the early period and it was very much enlarged in the thirteenth century in a time of local prosperity. In the nineteenth century it was restored, and a lot of medieval grave covers were built into the walls of the church very attractively. The thirteenth century font was where Robert Surtees, the sporting novelist was baptized and he was born at the Riding on August 26,1806. There are monuments to Fenwicks of Bywell and Bacons of Styford, st Andrews Church is now redundant to requirements and is preserved as part of our heritage. The vicarage was demolished in 1852, and Mr Beaumont gave land for building another at Riding Mill, st Peters Church is different in situation, among the trees and close to the river. It has a medieval tower, and the church was extended in the thirteenth century. A close examination of the stonework will reveal features of the Saxon period, there is a tide dial on the south wall. The north chantry or chapel was for years used as a school. One lancet window is a memorial to the curate Henry Parr Dwarris, there is a monumental brass to Wentworth Canning Blackett Beaumont, Viscount Allendale, born at Bywell Hall in 1860
9.
River
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A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of water, small rivers can be referred to using names such as stream, creek, brook, rivulet, and rill. There are no official definitions for the term river as applied to geographic features. Many names for small rivers are specific to geographic location, examples are run in parts of the United States, burn in Scotland and northeast England. Sometimes a river is defined as being larger than a creek, but not always, Rivers are part of the hydrological cycle. Potamology is the study of rivers while limnology is the study of inland waters in general. Extraterrestrial rivers of liquid hydrocarbons have recently found on Titan. Channels may indicate past rivers on other planets, specifically outflow channels on Mars and rivers are theorised to exist on planets, a river begins at a source, follows a path called a course, and ends at a mouth or mouths. The water in a river is confined to a channel. In larger rivers there is also a wider floodplain shaped by flood-waters over-topping the channel. Floodplains may be wide in relation to the size of the river channel. This distinction between river channel and floodplain can be blurred, especially in areas where the floodplain of a river channel can become greatly developed by housing. Rivers can flow down mountains, through valleys or along plains, the term upriver refers to the direction towards the source of the river, i. e. against the direction of flow. Likewise, the term describes the direction towards the mouth of the river. The term left bank refers to the bank in the direction of flow. The river channel typically contains a stream of water, but some rivers flow as several interconnecting streams of water. Extensive braided rivers are now found in only a few regions worldwide and they also occur on peneplains and some of the larger river deltas. Anastamosing rivers are similar to braided rivers and are quite rare
10.
North East England
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North East England is one of the nine regions of England that are classified at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, the region is home to three large conurbations, Teesside, Wearside, and Tyneside, the latter of which is the largest of the three and the eighth most populous conurbation in the United Kingdom. The city of Durham is the county town of County Durham, other large settlements in the region include Darlington, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, South Shields, Stockton-on-Tees and Washington. The region is hilly and sparsely populated in the North and West. The highest point in the region is The Cheviot, in the Cheviot Hills, Peters Church in Monkwearmouth, Sunderland and St. Pauls in Jarrow also hold significant historical value and have a joint bid to become a World Heritage Site. The area has a strong religious past, as can be seen in such as the Lindisfarne Gospels. The work of the 7th-century Cuthbert, Bede and Hilda of Whitby being hugely influential in the church and are still venerated today. Bede is regarded as the greatest Anglo-Saxon scholar and his best known work is The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. This body of work is thought to have been done in honour of Cuthbert, British history changed forever that day and three hundred years of Viking raids, battles and settlement were to persist until William the Conqueror defeated King Harold at Hastings in 1066. The last independent Northumbrian king from 947–8 was Eric Bloodaxe who died in battle at the Battle of Stainmore, Westmorland, after Eric Bloodaxes death, all England was ruled by Eadred the grandson of Alfred the Great and so began the machinery of national government. Today the Viking legacy can still be found in the language and place names of Northeast England, the name Newcastle comes from the new castle built shortly after their conquest in 1080 by Robert Curthose, William the Conquerors eldest son. North East England has a climate with narrower temperature ranges than further south in England. Met Office operates several stations in the region. The stations nearest significant urban areas are Durham, Stockton-on-Tees and Tynemouth, the warmest summers in the region are found in Stockton-on-Tees and the Middlesbrough area with a 1981-2010 July average high of 20.4 °C. The summers on the coastlines are clearly cooler than in the southern and central inland areas. Moving further inland, frosts during winter gets more common due to the higher elevation and these companies are members of the Northeast of England Process Industry Cluster. The early chemical industry in this region was however primarily Tyneside based and associated with the manufacture of soap and glass. The most important chemical activity in the 18th and 19th centuries was the manufacture of alkali to make soap, what came out of the industrial revolution was a period when the Northeast of Englands economy was dominated by iron and steel, coal mining and shipbuilding
11.
Hexham
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Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. In 2011, it had a population of 11,829, Newcastle upon Tyne is about 25 miles to the east. Hexham Abbey originated as a monastery founded by Wilfrid in 674, the crypt of the original monastery survives, and incorporates many stones taken from nearby Roman ruins, probably Coria or Hadrians Wall. The current Hexham Abbey dates largely from the 11th century onward, other notable buildings in the town include the Moot Hall, the covered market, and the Old Gaol. He was buried at Hexham in the church. Her wæs Alfwald Norðhymbra cyning ofslægen fram Sigan on. viiii, kalendas Octobris,7 heofonlic leoht wæs lome gesewen þær þær he ofslægen wæs,7 he wæs bebyrged on Hagustaldesee innan þære cyrican. The name of Hexham derives from the Old English Hagustaldes ea, in 1312, Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, demanded and received £2000 from the town and monastery in order for them to be spared a similar fate. In 1346 the monastery was sacked in an invasion led by King David II of Scotland. In 1464 during the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Hexham was fought somewhere to the south of the town, the defeated Lancastrian commander The Duke of Somerset was executed in Hexham market place. Until 1572, Hexham was the centre of the former Liberty or Peculiar of Hexhamshire. In 1715, James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater, raised the standard for James Francis Edward Stuart in Hexham Market place, the rising, however, was unsuccessful, and Derwentwater was captured and beheaded after the Battle of Preston. In 1761, the Hexham Riot took place in the Market Place when a crowd protesting about changes in the criteria for serving in the militia was fired upon by troops from North Yorkshire Militia, fifty-one protesters were killed, earning the Militia the soubriquet of The Hexham Butchers. Hexham was used in the Borders as a euphemism for Hell, hence the term To Hexham wi’ you an’ ye’r whussel. Recorded in 1873, and the popular expression Gang to Hexham, hexham-birnie is derived from the term and means an indefinitely remote place. Hexhams architectural landscape is dominated by Hexham Abbey, the current church largely dates from c. 1170–1250, in the Early English Gothic style of architecture, the choir, north and south transepts and the cloisters, where canons studied and meditated, date from this period. The east end was rebuilt in 1860, the abbey stands at the west end of the market place, which is home to the Shambles, a Grade II* covered market built in 1766 by Sir Walter Blackett. At the east end of the market stands the Moot Hall. The Moot Hall is a Grade I listed building, and was used as a courthouse until 1838, the Moot Hall now houses the Council offices of the Museums Department, though not open to the public any relevant enquiries can be made on the first floor
12.
Kielder Forest
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Kielder Forest is a large forestry plantation in Northumberland, England, surrounding Kielder village and the Kielder Water reservoir. It is the largest man-made woodland in England with three-quarters of its 250 square miles covered by forest, the majority of the forest lies within the Border Forest Park, with the southern tip known as Wark Forest lying within Northumberland National Park. The forest is owned and managed by the United Kingdoms Forestry Commission, during the 1930s, the Ministry of Labour supplied men from among the ranks of the unemployed. Many came from the communities and shipyards of North East England. They were housed in one of a number of instructional centres created by the Ministry, most of them on Forestry Commission property, by 1938, the hutted camp in Kielder is now under Kielder Water. Numerous purpose-built villages were constructed for workers families, including Stonehaugh. The Forestry Commission, funded from the purse, purchased land across the country with the brief of establishing a strategic reserve of timber for the nation. This single objective held sway until the 1960s, Kielder today remains state-owned and its development from a single-objective plantation to a multi-purpose forest mirrors the development of plantation forestry across the United Kingdom. Many archaeological remains can be found within the forest and are an important cultural link to the turbulent history of the area. The name Kielder Forest is often applied to the area of hills. The group of hills merges into the Cheviots to the north-east but is generally well-defined on other sides and it reaches a maximum height of 602 m at Peel Fell and also contains the Marilyns of Sighty Crag and Larriston Fells. These hills, despite not being high, are particularly remote owing to the scarcity of settlement in the region. Indeed, Sighty Crag is the furthest hill in England from a road, sitka spruce covers 75% of the planted area, this species thrives in the damp conditions afforded by northern Britain. Other species include Norway spruce and lodgepole pine, which cover 9% of the area each, the remainder is made up of Scots pine, larch, Douglas-fir, and broadleaves including birch, rowan, cherry, oak, beech, and willow. 475,000 cubic metres of timber is harvested annually to supply local sawmilling, chipboard, pulp, most of this volume comes from clearfelling areas, an increasing percentage however is sourced from stands harvested under continuous cover silviculture systems. Clear felled areas are replanted with a mix of coniferous and broadleaf species, opportunities are also taken to increase the proportion of open space. As with all Forestry Commission woodlands timber is certified under the Forest Stewardship Council scheme. The forest contains a number of sites of scientific interest
listen) is a river in North East England and its length (excluding tributaries) is 73 miles (118 km).[1] It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.
