Elsdon Church of St Cuthbert (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Elsdon.
In the historic county of Northumberland.
Modern Authority of Northumberland.
1974 county of Northumberland.
Medieval County of Northumberland.

OS Map Grid Reference: NY93649328
Latitude 55.23371° Longitude -2.10144°

Elsdon Church of St Cuthbert has been described as a Fortified Ecclesiastical site although is doubtful that it was such.

There are major building remains.

This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*.

Description

Parish church. C12, C14 and C16 or early C17. Restored 1837 and again in 1877 by F.R. Wilson. Random rubble and squared stone with Welsh slate roof.
Nave with bellcote, aisles, transepts with west aisles, chancel and vestry.
Nave: C19 south porch and flanking C19 Decorated windows. Low buttress in south-west corner probably part of cut-back walls of earlier wider aisles. West end has large C19 window in projecting walling which rises to support bellcote. Low flanking buttresses are remnants of former tower (cf interior).
Transepts: the aisles are later additions (see the C14 angle buttress with roll mouldings, now embedded in the north wall). C19 south window with jambs of original window to left.
Chancel: C14 priest's door and three C14 windows, each of different pattern. East end C19.
Gabled roofs with cross finials. Elaborate bellcote of c.1720 with 2 tiers of ball finials and stone spirelet.
Interior: In west wall a high blocked tower arch with hoodmould of heavy square section - probably C12 re-set as pointed arch. 4-bay nave arcades; C12 west responds. Elsewhere C14 arches with octagonal piers and moulded capitals; 2nd south pier has foliage carving in the capital; double-chamfered arches. Transept piers are square with chamfered edges, the stops carved with tracery or figures; double-chamfered arches dying into the imposts - the outer order dying much higher than the inner. Similar chancel arch. Transept arcades similar to nave. Very narrow aisles and transept aisles with quadrant tunnel vaults and very thick outer walls; probably a C16 or C17 rebuilding. Corbels for roof timbers of earlier aisles visible below vaults.
C14 sedilia in chancel. Trefoiled piscina in south transept. Medieval grave covers in chancel south window, 2 in south transept, above south door, south aisle west window, 4 in north transept. Roman tombstone in north aisle. False hammer-beam roofs by F.R. Wilson. Cartouche of 1741 to William Brown. (Listed Building Report)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1155072
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 19750.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) N9768.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Northumberland National Park
  Northumberland Cam Photos on line
  Wikipedia entry
Books
- Harrison, Peter, 2004, Castles of God (Woodbridge; Boydell Press) p. 67
  Brooke, C.J., 2000, Safe Sanctuaries (Edinburgh; John Donald) p. 121-4
  Pevsner, N. et al, 2002, Buildings of England: Northumberland (Penguin) p. 267
  Taylor, G.N., 1970, The Story of Elsdon (Newcastle: Frank Graham)
  Hodgson, J.C., 1827, History of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne; John Hodgson) Part 2 Vol. 1 p. 88-96 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Quiney, A., 1976, 'Elsdon' The Archaeological Journal Vol. 133 p. 175-6
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- The Archaeological Practice Ltd., 2004, 'Elsdon Northumberland an archaeological and historical study of a border township' Northumberland National Park Historic Village Atlas (The Northumberland National Park Authority)
  RCHME, 1995. Elsdon Tower, Elsdon, Northumberland. Historic building report

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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