Matfen
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Template:Use British English Template:Short descriptionScript error: No such module "Infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Matfen is a village and a civil parish in Northumberland, England, near the town of Hexham and the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is an example of a 19th-century planned estate village. It was the birthplace of the 7th Premier of British Columbia, William Smithe. In 2001 it had a population of 495.
History
Matfen is a few miles north of Hadrian's Wall. About halfway between the two there is a prehistoric standing stone called Stob Stone, adjacent to Standing Stone Farmhouse. The stone is about seven feet high and decorated with cup marks.[1]
The place-name Matfen is first attested in the Pipe Rolls for 1159, where it appears as Matefen. The name means Matta's fen.[2] The civil parish was formed in 1955 from East Matfen, Fenwick, Ingoe, Kearsley, Ryal and West Matfen.[3]
Landmarks
Matfen Hall now houses a hotel and country club. The Grade II* listed building was built about 1828 by Sir Edward Blackett to replace an earlier, 17th-century house.[4]
The Devil's Causeway passes the village less than Script error: No such module "convert". to the west. The causeway is a Roman road, which starts at Port Gate on Hadrian's Wall, north of Corbridge, and extends Script error: No such module "convert". northwards across Northumberland to the mouth of the Tweed at Berwick-upon-Tweed.[5]
Notable people
- Thomas Bates (1775–1849), an eminent stockbreeder, was born in Matfen.
- William Smithe (1842–1887), the 7th premier of British Columbia, was born in Matfen.
- Lorna Hill (1902–1991), a writer of over 40 books for children, was the wife of the rector of Matfen.
References
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- ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Northumberland, p. 387.
- ↑ Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, p. 318.
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External links
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