Northumberland Timeline
A work in progress:
- 20th March 687; death of St Cuthbert, regarded as the patron saint of northern England
- 793 AD; the first Viking raid on Britain, at Lindisfarne (Holy Island)
- 1018 (?1016); Battle of Carham - Anglo Scottish battle at Carham upon Tweed
- 13th November 1093; Battle of Alnwick in which Malcolm III of Scotland was killed.
- 13th July 1174; Battle of Alnwick and capture of William the Lion by the English.
- 30th March 1296: captute of Berwick by the English in the "First Scottish War of Independence".
- 19th July 1333; Battle of Halidon Hill - Anglo-Scottish battle near Berwick upon Tweed
- 5th August 1388; Battle of Otterburn- Anglo-Scottish battle fought near Otterburn
- 9th September 1513; Battle of Flodden, Anglo-Scottish battle fought near Branxton
18th Century
- 1728: completion of Seaton Delaval Hall
- 1748: building of Wylam Wagonway to transport coal from Wylam Colliery to Lemington.
- 11th August 1753; Thomas Bewick, famous for his wood block engravings, born in Cherryburn
- 9th March 1761; Hexham Riots - over 50 killed in protests over the 1761 Militia Act
- 13th March 1764; birth of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, at Howick; Prime Minister 1830-34.
- 1775: the Lion Bridge at Alnwick built by John Adam, now Grade 1 Listed.
- 13th July 1779; birth of William Hedley, a leading industrial engineer and manager of Wylam Colliery.
- 9th June 1781; George Stephenson, "Father of the Railways", born in Wylam.
- 1785: Chollerford Bridge built by Robert Mylne, replacing an earlier bridge damaged in the flood of 1771.
- 22nd December 1786; Timothy Hackworth, locomotive engineer, born in Wylam.
- 1788; building of the High Light (lighthouse) in Blyth.
- 19th July 1789: renowned artist John Martin born in Haydon Bridge
19th Century
- 25th December 1806; a violent storm caused the River Aln to change its course around Alnmouth.
- 1807: Hartford Hall built, near Bedlington
- 1813; Puffing Billy built for Wylam Colliery, the oldest surviving steam locomotive.
- 1813; completion of Linden Hall, a country house at Longhorsley.
- 24th November 1815; birth of Grace Darling in Bamburgh
- 22nd November 1830; Charles, 2nd Earl Grey becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain.
- 18th June 1838: official opening of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway.
- 7th September 1838; Grace Darling and her father rescued survivors of the Forfarshire wrecked off the Farne Islands.
- 15th September 1839: widespread floods in Northumberland.
- 1841; Coquet Lighthouse built on Coquet Island by Trinity House.
- 31st July 1845; Act of Parliament for the Newcastle & Berwick Railway; Robert Stephenson appointed as chief engineer.
- 1848: the first annual Slaley Show held in August.
- 5th July 1849; birth of William Stead in Embleton, pioneer journalist and editor of the Nothern Echo.
- 29th August 1850; the Royal Border Bridge at Berwick was officially opened by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
- 7th Nov 1852: opening of the Alston to Haltwhistle branch of the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway
- 25th November 1861; Charles Dickens performs at the King's Arms Assembly Rooms, Berwick.
- 16th January 1862: 204 miners killed in a disaster at Hartley Colliery.
- 19th of October 1869; first competition at the newly established Alnmouth Golf Club won by the club secretary Captain Walker.
20th Century
- 1903: opening of the museum at Chesters Roman Fort
- 5th October 1907; opening of Stannington Sanatorium, the UK's first tuberculosis sanatorium especially for children.
- 1909: Ellington Colliery opened by the Ashington Coal Company.
- 14th April 1915; Zeppelin L9 dropped bombs on Blyth during World War 1.
- 1916: opening of the Royal Flying Corps Station, Southfields (later RAF Acklington).
- 1917: building of Roberts Battery in Old Hartley
- 18th May 1918; Blyth Spartan Ladies F.C. won the Munitionettes Cup final
- 16th May 1928; official opening of the Royal Tweed Bridge by the Prince of Wales.
- 5th October 1928; first meeting of the Northumbrian Pipers' Society
- 16th November 1937: opening of the Wallaw Cinema in Blyth
- 1987: Hadrian’s Wall was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- 1989: opening of Heatherslaw Light Railway, Etal, Northumberland.
21st Century
- 1st October 2001; first phase of the Alnwick Garden opened to the public.
- 26th January 2005; closure of Ellington Colliery, the last operating deep coal mine in the North East.
- 28th February 2005; official opening of the Poison Garden at Alnwick Garden.
- 17th August 2007; "Couple" sculpture by Sean Henry installed on the breakwater at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.
- 6th September 2008; Floods in Morpeth requiting over 400 people to be evacuated.
- 14th March 2009; reopening of the refurbished Blyth Market Square.
- 1st May 2010; opening of Seaton Delaval Hall to visitors, following its purchace by the National Trust.
- 29th August 2012: the ladform sculpture Northumberlandia was officially opened by Princess Anne.
