Parish Church of St. Mungo, Simonburn,

Visitor Notes

Parish Church of St. Mungo, Simonburn,

Northumberland

Welcome to this ancient Parish Church where we, who worship here

week by week, hope you will find not only beauty, peace and interest

but also a sense of the presence of God.

We are glad that you have come to visit this Church and hope that the

information within these covers will aid the enjoyment of your visit,

and that, if you care to purchase a copy of the notes, or buy a copy of

Canon Ward Davis's booklet 'The Great Parish', you will have

something to help your memory of this holy place in the future.

Over the years there have been huge changes to the fabric and

ornaments of this Church, and its precise history has, for at least 150

years, been a matter of debate between historians and archaeologists.

Whilst some care has been taken in revising these notes, in light of

recent information and 'theory', do not be surprised if you find some

inconsistencies in what you read about this Church. Each year we

learn more about its long history.

The centrefold of this booklet contains a ground plan of the Church,

and the back cover details our pattern of Sunday Services.

Michael Thompson, Rector

Parish Church of St. Mungo, Simonburn - Visitor Notes

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Contents

History ................................................................................................... 3

The Building .......................................................................................... 4

The Old Parish and former Rectory ...................................................... 7

Acknowledgement ............................................................................... 12

Extracts from 'The English Parsonage' by Anthony Bax .................... 13

Medieval Sepulchral Monuments ........................................................ 14

Incumbents of Simonburn ................................................................... 18

Services at St. Mungo's ........................................................................ 20


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History

This Ancient Church is known as the Mother Church of the North

Tyne. Until 1811 there was only one parish, that of Simonburn,

covering 260 square miles, where there are now seven - Falstone,

Greystead, Thorneyburn, Bellingham, Wark, Simonburn and

Humshaugh. This is why such a small community has such a large

church.

The parish church of Bellingham is also very ancient, but in the days

of 'The Great Parish' it was a chapel-of-ease to St. Mungo's. Similarly

there was a chapelry of Falstone within the 'Great Parish' and the

present Church of St. Peter at Falstone occupies the site of earlier

buildings. More anciently there was a chapelry of Wark and another

of Haughton.

The Roman Wall from Chesters to Sewing Shields still forms the

approximate southern boundary of the parish, and Simonburn Parish

now extends from Teppermoor in the east to Stonefolds, within Wark

Forest, to the west. This long tract, mostly old 'moss-trooper' country,

is still sparsely inhabited, though the eastern part, lying between

Humshaugh and Wark, is a rich example of typical English

countryside.

In 'The King's England' under 'Northumberland' occurs this entry:

“Simonburn's spacious church is one of the best in

Northumberland - a 13th

century building, partly rebuilt in 1762

by Robert Newton and his son William, architect of the Old

Assembly Rooms in Newcastle. The chancel was restored in

1863 by Anthony Salvin.”

Salvin was one of the foremost architects practising in the mid 19th

century.

There has, however, been a church on this site since very early times,

possibly ever since the 7th

or late 6th

century, when Kentigern or

'Mungo' (his nickname meaning 'Gentle') was forced to leave his

bishopric in Glasgow by a new, non-Christian King of Strathclyde.


4

He stayed awhile in Carlisle before travelling south to seek shelter

with his friend St. Asaph in Wales. It is quite probable at this time

that Mungo penetrated the wild hilly country along the Roman Wall as

far as Simonburn.

The Building

No doubt the first church of St. Mungo was only a humble wooden

construction, but it appears that a stone church was built soon after,

for there are carved stone relics of the Anglian period preserved in the

masonry of the church porch, including a Saxon cross-shaft which was

discovered at the time of the church's last restoration in 1877, among

the stones released by the fall of the old chancel arch.

The present building is of typical Early English design, with north and

south aisle and a long chancel. At one time there was a tranceptal

chapel on the south side called 'The Toddy Chapel' which was

demolished in the Georgian rebuilding. (Research in 2008 has

brought into question the notion that this South Eastern Chapel

actually extended South of the South Aisle wall.) The architectural

layout (a good form of Gothic) dates from about 1260, when there was

a spirit of great activity in church building in Northumberland, before

it was thrown back for more than a century by Edward I's desolating

wars in his effort to gain the overlordship of Scotland.

The church has the special feature, shared with several ancient

churches in this diocese, of a very long chancel (exactly two-thirds of

the length of the nave) pierced with lancet windows; it is very similar

to Haltwhistle Church, though less lofty. On the south side of the

chancel is a beautiful doorway and a low-sided window of elaborate

workmanship. A peculiarity of this church is the gradual descent from

west to east.

On the south side of the sanctuary is a massive double piscina (ie: a

pair of sinks for the ablutions and cleansing of the chalice), the rare

double form showing it to be of not later than 13th

century date. On

the north side opposite stood a fine 17th

century oaken armchair for the

use of the Bishop when attending Divine service (now kept in secure

storage).


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At the entrance of the chancel, on the heads of the pillars, there are

two carved faces - on the south that of St. Catherine (to whom at one

time there was dedicated a chantry near the south-east corner of the

nave). On the north pillar is St. Mungo himself, patron saint of the

parish.

There are memorials to the two leading families of the parish; on the

north side those of the Allgood family, on which side also is the

Nunwick (Allgood) family pew; on the south side are the Ridley

memorials and family pew. In the north aisle is a marble wall

monument in memory of Mrs R.L. Allgood with a relief showing the

Spirit of Faith standing on the Rock of Ages, dramatically, and

unusually lit from above by a narrow skylight. This monument was

the work of Matthew Noble, who also carved the statue of the Prince

Consort on the Albert Memorial in Manchester.

On the North Wall of the Chancel there is a memorial to members of

the Allgood Family killed in a railway accident at Abbots Ripton on

the evening of January 21st 1876. Apart from commemorating a

personal tragedy, this monument reminds us of an event of national

significance, as the accident led to the development of railway signals

of a type less likely to become clogged up during snowstorms.

At the east end of the south aisle is a far older monument with

kneeling figures of Cuthbert Ridley and his son Alban. Cuthbert

Ridley was Rector of Simonburn in early Stuart times, from 1604 to

1627 (James I and Charles I) and is portrayed as a bearded figure

wearing ruff and priest's gown; his son (statue headless) is shown in

tight jerkin and loose breeches. Between them kneels a curly-haired

boy.

In the sanctuary floor on the south side of the altar is an interesting

marble memorial to Annabella Scott, who died on January 28th, 1779.

She was the mother of another Rector, Dr. James Scott, and was

grand-daughter of Tobias Wickham, Dean of York, the grandson of

William Wickham, Bishop of Winchester.

The unbroken continuity of the Church of England is demonstrated by

the list of Rectors and Vicars inscribed on brass plates under the great


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west window, which was suggested by the Seven Sisters window in

York Minster.

The organ, built by J Walker, though unimpressive in appearance, is

an exceptionally fine instrument. It was purchased from York Minster

where it was used at the turn of the century during the overhaul of the

great Minster organ. The organ was fully restored in 1991.

Beside the organ is the Georgian font, which was superseded by a

larger and more elaborate font, by the east door, presented in 1877 by

Mary Ridley of Park End. The font cover was presented in 1989 in

memory of Alison Ridley of Little Park End.

Unlike the five newer churches of the old parish, built in the 19th

century, Simonburn has no separate vestry; clergy and ministers have

to robe in the curtained off area behind the organ.

Almost all of the stained glass windows are of artistic merit and add

greatly to the beauty of the interior; one especially appealing example

is the small low window behind the Rector's stall; originally the Leper

Window, this was glazed in memory of Edward, the only son of

Canon Rogers (Rector 1873-1899), who died at Giggleswick School at

the age of twelve.

The brass altar rails are supported on the elaborate shafts of old

Norwegian altar candlesticks, presented by Miss Allgood of The

Hermitage. The altar rails themselves were the gift of N.C. Clayton,

R. Clayton, F.H. Clayton and R. and S. Bell.

In Georgian times the church underwent alterations typical of the

period, a Venetian window being inserted in the east end, and many of

the others altered to sashes. The long chancel was for a time cut off

by a wooden partition and the sanctuary became a repository for

benches and 'unrequired effects'. But on September 4th

1866 the

restored church was “re-opened with joy and great gladness in the

presence of a great concourse of thankful worshippers”, the preachers

at the services being Dr. Charles Baring, Bishop of Durham (the then

Diocesan Bishop) and 'the much loved squire', the Revd. James

Allgood of Nunwick, who had been Rector of Ingram. The last


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restoration of the church was undertaken in the 1870s and resulted in

the building's present appearance.

The total cost, including interior fittings, amounted to £3,500, a sum

which was raised by the free will offerings of the parishioners. Since

restoration, very little of the 13th

century fabric remains apparent

except the two arcades (nave arches) and the piscinas, and other early

survivors are the Ridley monuments, the smaller font (18th

century),

Bishop's Chair (17th

century), and carved masonry of various periods

from 9th

to 13th

century. A sad loss was occasioned by the removal,

during a period of Protestant zeal, of the Rood Screen, the porch niche

and the stone statuary.

The smaller of the two bells in the Bell Turret was brought from

Canada and was formerly in use on a main line railway locomotive.

The churchyard is itself a place of beauty and is entered through a

massive lych-gate, said to be the finest in the county, erected in

memory of Squire Lancelot Hunter Allgood. In the churchyard there

are many notable examples of massive tombstones elaborately and

interestingly carved and engraved, all belonging to the 18th

century.

The name Simonburn has no connection with either the church or the

nearby stream or 'burn'; it is still found with the old spelling of

'Simondburn' on some maps, and this is nearer the original, which was

'Seimond's Burgh'.

The Old Parish and former Rectory

In the days of old, Simonburn was the most extensive parish in

England, even bigger than Lydford in Devon which included much of

Dartmoor. Simonburn's terrain was nearly as wild, and though it did

not harbour such unpleasant folk as the Gubbins tribe of Lydford, yet

there were the Reivers and the Scottish enemy. The old rectors of

Simonburn required a large income for security purposes, and even as

late as 1814 the 'great living of Simonburn' was worth £5,000 a year.

It was, however, about this date that the 'great living' was divided up

into seven separate parishes, and new churches and parsonages were

built, though at Bellingham there was no need for a new church, the


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ancient chapel-of-ease becoming thenceforward the parish church.

New churches were erected (in an austere basilican style) at Wark,

Thorneyburn, Greystead, Falstone and, finally, at Humshaugh.

Haughton Chapel, near Humshaugh, fell into desuetude, and so for the

last 180 years or so there have been seven parish churches where there

was formerly but one. (In more recent years parishes have, once

again, been amalgamated into joint benefices, those of Bellingham,

Falstone/Greystead/Thorneyburn, and Humshaugh/Simonburn/Wark).

Thus the size of St. Mungo's church is accounted for by its being the

former parish church of the entire North Tyne valley. This also

explains the size of the Rectory, and the former tithe barn (now also a

dwelling). In the Middle Ages, the Rector lived in a Parsonage House

in the village (in 1291, in the Taxation of Pope Nicholas, the living of

Simonburn was valued at the considerable sum of £136.4.2d); the

Rector was then provided with a fortified Pele in the 15th

century,

standing opposite the church where the Rectory drive now curves. It

is plain, from his Will & Probate Inventory, that Cuthbert Ridley

(Rector, 1604-36) did not live in this Pele but in his own Farm House

at Tecket. Where Kimber, the Rector between 1636 & 1666, lived is

unknown.

The Rectory now standing replaced this Pele, and was commenced in

1666 (what is now the rear portion). The original front door,

transplanted from the 14th

century Pele, has a Latin inscription over its

opening describing how the Revd Major Allgood had built the new

house:

“Non tam sibi quam successoribus suis, Hoc aedificium extruxit

Major Allgood, anno mirabili, 1666. Nunc meam, mox hujus, Sed

postea nescio cujus.”

The translation is: “Not so much for himself as for his successors, this

building was erected by Major Allgood in the strange year 1666. Now

it is mine; at a later period his; But thereafter I know not whose.”

Major Allgood's inscription became prophetic in 1982 when the

Rectory was sold into private ownership.


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The Rectory frontage, added in 1725, is reputed to be the design of

Nicholas Hawksmoor, Clerk of Works to Sir John Vanbrugh and Sir

Christopher Wren. It bears much similarity to grander examples of

their work such as Chatsworth House, Blenheim Palace, and the

Greenwich Hospital. This part of the house was added in the time of

the Revd Henry Wastall, who was presented to the living by King

George I in 1723. On window panes in one of the nursery rooms, Mrs

Wastall, for the entertainment of her children, has engraved pictures

and her name in the glass with her diamond ring. Mr Wastall, a

staunch Whig, planted the lime tree terrace, the twelve trees

representing the twelve Apostles, choosing lime, the badge of the

house of Orange, rather than the Jacobite elm! The bank on which

they stand is still known as the 'Admiral's Walk', acknowledging again

the Naval connection.

An attractive feature of the Rectory approach is the Inner Gateway

with its two acorn-capped pillars. The stable yard, with mounting

block, is also attractive. The old kitchen garden, now separately

owned, is a full acre in extent, surrounded by high stone walls. The

north wall is hollow and is equipped with a range of coal furnaces

(now bricked up) which provided 'central heating' to the greenhouses

and espalier fruit trees in cold weather.

In the Parish, the chief landowners for many hundreds of years have

been the Ridleys and the Allgoods, and members of both families have

been Rectors of Simonburn. Robert Ridley became Rector in 1510

(until 1532). He was “a man of mark, a learned and courtly divine,

and was of the old knightly race of Ridley”. He was brother of Sir

Nicholas Ridley of Willimoteswick (near Bardon Mill) and of

Christopher Ridley of Unthank, and therefore was uncle of the great

martyr of the Reformation, Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London, who

was born at Willimoteswick. King Henry VIII presented John

(Thomas) Ridley to the living in 1532. Cuthbert Ridley was instituted

Rector in James I's reign and held the living until the second year of

Charles I's reign. The Revd Major Allgood, mentioned above, became

Rector in Charles II's reign.


10

A

B C D

E

F G H

I

J


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Items of special interest:

(A) Mural memorial with specially installed skylight (see page 5)

(B) Brass eagle lectern, originally a memorial gift to Christ Church Gateshead

(C) Memorial to victims of the Abbots Ripton railway accident (see page 5)

(D) Ledger Stone to the Wastall family, first occupants of the Georgian Rectory (see page 9)

(E) Ledger stone, with unusually long pedigree, of Mrs Scott (see page 5)

(F) Ledger stone of Giles Heron, through whose thrift and generosity Wark School was founded and a

charitable trust endowed

(G) Double piscina (see page 4)

(H) Leper window (see page 6)

(I) Ridley monuments (see page 5)

(J) Walker organ (see page 6)

(If you enter the Sanctuary to look at items D to G more closely, please respect the special reverence with

which we treat this part of the building.)


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The Revd David Evans, Rector 1815-1829, was incumbent at the time

when the 'Great Parish' was divided into the seven parishes under the

patronage of the Royal Naval Hospital of Greenwich. He was an able

and energetic man and skilfully carried out the intricate arrangements

of the dividing up of the Parish. Unfortunately he was a little too

energetic, for in his enthusiasm he pulled down the ancient Pele

Tower which had served as the Rectory until 1666, using the stones to

build the great garden walls. Mrs. Evans, his widow, built and dwelt

in the most elegant Regency style 'Simonburn Cottage' at Humshaugh,

erected and endowed the Evans Trust Almshouses for the benefit of

aged women natives of the old parish, and also left a Fund to aid the

sick and infirm in perpetuity.

When the parish was divided into seven, the livings were placed under

the patronage of Greenwich Hospital, and it was intended that the

incumbents should be ex-Royal Navy chaplains, initially chaplains of

Lord Nelson's navy who had seen action against Napoleon. This

patronage, exercised by the Lords of the Admiralty, extended until the

early 1950s then lapsed in favour of the Bishop of Newcastle.

Acknowledgement

These notes appear to have been prepared by the Revd. George

Dampier Bennett in the 1960s and revised by subsequent Rectors up

to Canon Stanley Prins' revision in 1986. They were collated and

revised by the present Rector in 2008.

The work of HL Honeyman in the 1920s and P F Ryder's revision of

that work in 2008 form the substance of the centre-fold of this

booklet.

The account of the medieval monuments at pages 14-17 of this

booklet is also the work of Mr P F Ryder B.A. M.Phil. F.S.A.

Earlier versions of these notes have contained information about the

stained glass in the Church. That information is being re-appraised in

light of recent discoveries. © Simonburn P.C.C. JMT July 08


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Extracts from 'The English Parsonage' by Anthony Bax

(pub. Murray)

“The Scots ravaged the country round Chillingham Castle, the Earl of

Tankerville (Bennett) seat, in 1344, and four years later Sir Thomas

Heton arranged for the vicar to have a room over the gate of

Chillingham Castle, with stabling for two horses. Bishop Fox,

worried for the safety of the Vicar of Simonburn, Northumberland,

gave orders in 1490 that he should have 'an honest and sufficient

chamber in the Rectory of Simonburn in the neighbourhood of the

gate or castle to which he might resort in case of sudden emergency'.

This castle (the 'fortilace') was pulled down by Parson Evans, Rector

of Simonburn in the early 19th

Century.”

“Sir Christopher Wren's colleague, Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-

1736), who was Surveyor to the Commissioners of Greenwich

Hospital, did some work on the parsonages which they owned. He is

thought to have had a hand in the rectory at Simonburn,

Northumberland; the 19th

century removed the wooden cornice it must

have had originally.”

“The Governors of Greenwich Hospital, which owned the Rectory at

Siomonburn, obtained permission from Parliament in 1811 to carve

from the outsize parish five new rectories, Bellingham, Wark,

Thorneyburn, Greystead and Falstone (and later on Humshaugh), and

build in each a proper and convenient parsonage. The houses were

ready by 1818 and into them were put naval chaplains who tended to

find life in the Northumberland hills extremely lonely after the

companionship of service at sea.”


14

Medieval Sepulchral Monuments

The Parish Church of St. Mungo, quite a large 13th

century structure

partly rebuilt last century, contains a variety of medieval monuments.

The heads of two small cross slabs (1) and (2) now lie on the modern

plinth of the 16th

century Ridley monument at the east end of the south

aisle, whilst (3) is built into the plinth.

(1) 13th

century slab with a cross head of eight interlinked bracelets

and dog tooth ornament on the marginal chamfer; pommel of

sword l. of shaft and part of a second T-shaped emblem

(pilgrim's staff?) on the r.

(2) Small irregular four-circle cross head. Difficult to date, could be

12th

or 13th

century.

(3) Worn slab with incised design; cross head of four circles set

diagonally, an unusual variant on a common theme. Sword on l.

of shaft. Late 12th

or 13th

century.

Slabs (4) and (5) form part of the chancel floor, (4) adjacent to the

north wall and (5) nearby, immediately below the first sanctuary step:

(4) Slab with secondary inscription to Ann Algood, 1629(?). Of the

original design the incised cross shaft, stepped base and faint

traces of a cross head with fleur-de-lys terminals are visible.

14th

century?

(5) Slab with secondary inscription to John Algood, 1681. Faint

traces of cross with head very similar to (4) and sword (?) on r.

(6) The upper part of a slab now set in the floor at the extreme west

end of the north aisle. Eight-terminal fleur-de-lys cross head

carved in low relief within a circular sunk panel, incised cross

shaft with what is probably the top of a pair of shears on the r.

Probably later 13th

century.


15


16

Monuments (7)-(12) are now set into the internal face of the east wall

of the north porch, along with other sculptural fragments, some of

which are of Pre-Conquest date.

(7) Small complete slab: Cross with quatrefoil at centre and fleur-

de-lys terminals, carved in relief in sunk circle. Incised shaft,

stepped base and shears on l. 14th

century.

(8) Simple bracelet cross head. Late 12th

or early 13th

century.

(9) Section of coped slab with overlapping rounded tegulae, plain-

sided ridge with incised shears and two small petalled rosettes

on one face. A 12th

or 13th

century monument type quite widely

distributed in Northumberland and Durham, stylistically

derivative of Pre-Conquest types such as the Anglo-

Scandinavian hogback tombs.

(10) Small rather worn slab with cross head very similar to (1) and

hammer (?) r. of shaft. 13th

century.

(11) Probable headstone cross, splay-armed with a petalled rosette at

the head centre. Perhaps part of a composite monument with a

coped slab such as (9). 12th

century?

(12) Fragment of the base of an incised slab with stepped calvary

base. Undateable.

Monuments (13) & (14) are cross slabs re-used in the west face of the

western buttress on the south side of the South Aisle.


17


18

Incumbents of Simonburn

First Record: In 1229 Alexander II of Scotland presented Matthew,

Archdeacon of Cleveland, to the Rectory of Simonburn.

In the Gift of the Kings of Scotland:

1229 - ? Matthew

fl. 1243 Master Abel

fl. 1279 Rufius de Tonego

fl. 1290 Bouges de Clare

In the Gift of the English Kings:

1307 - 1309 Robert of Cottingham

1309 - 1321 John de Sandale

1321 - 1351 John de Lowthre

1351 - 1367 Appropriated by Edward III and Queen Phillipa to St.

George's College, Windsor; part of a thank-offering

for the victory of Edward III against David II (Bruce)

at Halidon Hillin 1333.

1367 - 1374 John de Hagham

1374 - 1406 William de Angerham

1406 - 1427 John Fayl

1427 - 1482 Robert Marshall

1482 Surrendered by command of Edward IV to his brother

Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III) and

Anne Neville.

1482 - 1496 Thomas Dewnome

1496 - 1510 George Laws

1510 - 1532 Robert Rydley S.T.P.

1532 - 1535 John Rydley

1535 - 1567 Nicholas Harborn (incumbent at the Reformation)

1567 - 1572 David Edwards M.A.

1572 - 1578 Robert Cuthbert


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1578 - 1587 Garfrid Crosse

1587 - 1604 John Hodges, William Ewbanke

1604 - 1636 Cuthbert Ridley

1636 - 1666 William Kimber M.A. (incumbent through the

Commonwealth)

1666 - 1696 Major Allgood M.A.

1696 - 1723 William Stainforth M.A.

1723 - 1771 Henry Wastel (or Wastall) M.A.

1771 - 1815 James Scott D.D.

1815 - 1829 David Evans M.A.

1829 - 1841 William Elliott M.A.

1841 - 1873 Meyrick Beebee M.A.

1873 - 1899 Percy Rogers M.A.

1899 - 1912 Eugene Sullivan M.A.

1912 - 1913 Walter Francis M.A.

1913 - 1927 Ernest Cull M.A.

1927 - 1951 William Totten

1951 - 1958 Christopher Chetwynd B.A.

1958 - 1960 In sequestration; under the Rural Dean

1960 - 1969 George Ronald Dampier Bennett A.K.C.

1969 - 1973 C D Ward-Davis M.A.

1973 - 1983 Benedict Jackson F.I.Mech.E.

1983 - 1996 Stanley Vernon Prins T.D., B.Sc., M.A.

1997 - Michael Thompson


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Services at St. Mungo's

This Parish Church lies within the United Benefice of Humshaugh

with Simonburn and Wark. Full details of services across this

Benefice are published in 'The Broadsheet', our parish magazine. The

usual arrangements for services each month at St. Mungo's are:

1st & 3

rd Sundays: celebration of Holy Communion at 11.00am.

2nd

& 4th

Sundays: Morning Prayer at 11.00am.

5th

Sunday: arrangements as announced locally.

The usual arrangements do not apply at our Benefice Patronal

Festivals (St. Mungo is usually remembered on the 2nd

or 3rd

Sunday

in January, St. Peter on the last Sunday of June and Michaelmas on

the last Sunday of September) at Harvest Thanksgiving, on

Remembrance Sunday or on the 4th

Sunday in Advent.

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