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Mitford

Mitford is a village in Northumberland, about 3 km west of Morpeth. It is located by the confluence of the River Font and River Wansbeck. The ruins of Mitford Castle, built in the 11th century by William Bertram, overlook the River Wandsbeck opposite the village. Mitford had a thriving market during the middle ages. The Church of St. Mary Magdalene dates from the 12th century.

Mitford is a village in the borough of Castle Morpeth in the Wansbeck parliamentary constituency, in Northumberland, England, about 2 miles west of Morpeth.

History

Mitford was once a far greater market place for local people. Morpeth's market soon grew in prominence and Mitford fell from grace. This historic status of the two market town led to a folk rhyme:

:::Mitforde was Mitforde when Morpeth was none,

:::and Mitforde shall be Mitforde when Morpeth is gone.

Governance

The village lies within the Longhorsley Division of Northumberland County Council, represented since May 2013 by Cllr Glen Sanderson (Conservative) (2008 - 2013 by Cllr David Towns, also Conservative) and the Wansbeck parliamentary constitency (Ian Lavery MP, Labour). The Boundary Commission unveiled proposals to transfer the village into the Hexham parliamentary constituency but the plans were abandoned when the reorganisation of constituency boundaries was halted by the government.

Landmarks

Mitford Castle was built in the 11th century by William Bertram but by 1323 was no longer used. Today it is in ruins, and has recently undergone a major programme of structural support works.

Religious sites

The ancient church of St Mary Magdalene was rebuilt in 1875, but has preserved its Norman south arcade and 13th century chancel. The church is believed to have the oldest bell in the Diocese of Newcastle cast no later than about 1150.

Fiction

In Light from Heaven, the last instalment of American author Jan Karon's contemporary Christian "Mitford Years" novel series (which is set in a fictional town in western North Carolina bearing the same name), the series' setting and the Mitford of this article become "sister Ovillages."

Notable people

The Mitford family held the Manor from Norman times. The ruins of their Manor House stand on the eastern side of the River Wansbeck. In about 1823 they abandoned the old Manor House for a new mansion house, Mitford Hall, which was designed by the famous Northern architect, John Dobson, and which was built on the opposite bank of the river and surrounded by woodland and a small deer park.

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Northumberland River Wansbeck Mitford Parish, 1855 Historic Buildings and Monuments in Mitford Civil Parish Spital Hill, Mitford Mitford Civil Parish River Font Church of St. Mary Magdalene Drinking fountain Foss Bridge Mitford Bridge, over the River Font Mitford Castle Mitford Hall Old Manor House Pillbox near Spittal Hill Farm Pillbox, Adders Haugh Pillbox, near Mitford Castle Plough Inn

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Church

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The Foss Bridge & Mitford Castle

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Mitford Castle

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River Font
- The Font is a river in Northumberland which flows from Fontburn Reservoir and past Netherwitton. It is a tributary to the River Wansbeck, which it joins at Mitford.

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River Wansbeck
- Overview About the River Wansbeck The Wansbeck is a river in Northumberland, which rises above Sweethope Lough on the edge of Forelaws Forest and discharges into the North Sea at …

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Mitford Parish, 1855
- Extract from: History, Topography, and Directory of Northumberland...Whellan, William, & Co, 1855. MITFORD PARISH   MITFORD, a parish partly in the west division of Morpeth Ward, and partly in the …

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Spital Hill, Mitford
- Overview Map Street View Spital Hill (aka Spittal Hill) is part of the village of Mitford in Northumberland, located on the east banks of the River Font, opposite the main …

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