Branxton, Northumberland

Branxton
Flodden Field, looking south-south-east from the monument erected in 1910. The Scottish army advanced down the ploughed field and the English army down the grassy field in the foreground; presumably, they met at the valley boundary between the two fields.
Branxton is located in Northumberland
Branxton
Branxton
Location within Northumberland
Population123 (2011)
OS grid referenceNT895375
Civil parish
  • Branxton
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCORNHILL-ON-TWEED
Postcode districtTD12
Dialling code01890
PoliceNorthumbria
FireNorthumberland
AmbulanceNorth East
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Northumberland
55°37′51″N 2°10′06″W / 55.6309°N 2.1683°W / 55.6309; -2.1683

Branxton is a village and civil parish in northern Northumberland, England. It lies about 3 miles (5 km) from the England-Scotland border and about 4 miles (6 km) from the Scottish border town of Coldstream, just off the A697 Newcastle-Edinburgh road. At the 2011 Census, the population of the parish was 123,[1] increasing slightly from 121 at the 2001 Census.[2]

Landmarks

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Branxton is very close to the site of the Battle of Flodden, fought on 9 September 1513 between Scotland and England, the latter prevailing. A granite cross on the nearby Piper Hill (UK map reference NT890373) commemorates the battle. In 2013, the local community commemorated the 500 year anniversary of the battle.[3]

Pallinsburn House, an 18th-century country mansion, stands nearby.

There is a painted concrete menagerie in the garden of one of the houses in the village. The sculptures were made, starting in 1962, by James Beveridge to designs by retired joiner John Fairnington (d. 1981) to amuse his disabled son, Edwin. As well as animals, there are statues of Winston Churchill, T. E. Lawrence and Robert Burns, and many texts set into the plinths and pathways. It has been a popular tourist attraction, with its own tea room, and may still be accessible by the public for free (although with a coin box for voluntary donations).

Religious sites

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The parish church, dedicated to Saint Paul, occupies the site of an ancient church which was taken down and replaced by the present structure in 1849.

Notable people

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  • Percival Stockdale, (1736–1811) poet, writer and reformer, especially in opposing slavery.

References

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  1. ^ "Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Census 2001". Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  3. ^ Battle of Flodden: 500th anniversary marked Retrieved 18 August 2020.
[edit]
  • GENUKI (Accessed: 19 November 2008)