A History of Redesdale
Wild Redesdale is a beautiful area of unrivalled peace and tranquillity. However, today’s peace conceals a long and turbulent history. Stretching along the English side of the Cheviot Hills, which form the border with Scotland, the countryside was once at the centre of the Kingdom of Northumbria, and has seen many fierce and bloody battles.
Scattered throughout the area are numerous remains of iron age settlements and hill forts,
together with remains of roman camps. Brigantium, a “living archaeology” site in the village
of Rochester shows reconstructed buildings from this period. Redesdale itself is not far from
the famous Hadrian’s Wall, the Roman Empire’s northernmost frontier and a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. Further to this, the raised embankments of a Norman “Motte and Bailey” castle can be seen
in the village of Elsdon.
For centuries during medieval times, groups from both sides of the border raided each other’s lands, stealing cattle, burning crops and causing violent blood-feuds which lasted for generations. Evidence of this can be seen in the many fortified farmhouses, known as Bastles, as well as numerous Pele Towers which still stand to this day.
Battle of Otterburn
In a pine copse beside the road, a mile north of the village of Otterburn, stands an old stone monument called the Percy Cross. It was at this tranquil spot, on a warm August night in 1388, that an English army under Sir Henry Percy fought an army of Scottish knights under the Earl of Douglas. Remembered by the name Sir Walter Scott gave it, the Battle of Chevy Chase is famed in song and story.
Son of the Duke of Northumberland and heir to one of the greatest northern families, Sir Henry
Percy was known to the world as Henry Hotspur. Proud and arrogant, he was a bold fighter and
impetuous to the point of rashness. This was the age of chivalry and Hotspur was very much a
man of his time. It was on a point of honour that the Battle of Otterburn was fought.
In hand-to-hand combat outside the walls of Newcastle, Douglas captured Percy's pennant, making off with it to his castle in Scotland. Enraged, Hotspur hastily mustered an army of some eight thousand men and set off in hot pursuit. The Scots made camp at Otterburn, just a days march from the border at Carter Bar. After a long forced march the English arrived in the late evening. The whole valley of the Rede was bathed in the light of a great harvest moon so, with the impetuous boldness which had earned him his nickname, Hotspur immediately ordered his weary men to attack.
To and fro the battle raged. Douglas was struck down but before he died he ordered his Knights to hide his body under a bush so that his men would not be demoralized by his death. Soon his standard was again streaming out, a war-cry rallying his troops to greater efforts. In the thick of the fighting, Harry Hotspur was captured and the leaderless English now fled the field, leaving the Scots triumphant.
By the cold light of day both sides counted the cost. The Scots lost about three hundred men, but the English dead were counted in thousands. The body of Douglas was taken from its hiding place to Melrose Abbey for burial. The English dead lie in a peaceful graveyard at nearby Elsdon.
Henry Percy was ransomed and went on to exact revenge at the bloody battle of Homildon Hill. He died
fighting fiercely, at the battle of Shrewsbury, with the son of his old enemy Douglas at his side.
'By his light did all the chivalry of England move to brave acts: he was indeed the glass wherein
the noble youth did dress themselves' says Shakespeare, and Harry Hotspur remains a folk-hero six
hundred years after his most famous hour.
Union
The Act of Union between England and Scotland came into effect in 1707 and brought an end to centuries of violence. From then on the history of Redesdale becomes that of peaceful villages, unchanging landscapes and agriculture, forming the Redesdale we know today. In fact, Northumberland remains England’s most sparsely populated county.