Northumberland Yesterday and To-dayTerry, Jean F. (Jean Finlay)
History
Northumberland Yesterday and To-day
Terry, Jean F. (Jean Finlay)
Northumberland (England) -- Guidebooks; Northumberland (England) -- History
From the castle northward curves Embleton Bay, in which, after
having been buried in the sand for ages, a sandstone rock was
uncovered by the tide, having on its surface, chiselled in rough
but distinct lettering, the name “Andra Barton.” Sir Andrew Barton,
daring Scottish sea-captain and fearless freebooter, was slain in a
sea-fight off this part of the coast, in the days of Henry VIII.,
by the sons of Surrey, one of whom, Sir Thomas Howard, was Lord
Admiral at the time, and so, in a measure, responsible for the
defence of the English coast. The loss of his brave sea-captain and
his “goodly ships” was one of the grievances in the long list which
led King James IV. to declare war against England, and led to the
fatal field of Flodden, in which Admiral Sir Thomas Howard and his
brother took part under the command of their father, the Earl of
Surrey.
The wide sweep of grassy common beyond the sands in Embleton Bay
is, in summer time, covered with a profusion of wild flowers, chief
amongst them being the wild geranium, or meadow cranes-bill, whose
reddish-purple blossoms grow in such abundance as to arrest the
attention of every visitor. A little way back from the sea-shore,
in the middle of this wide space, lies the village of Embleton,
which possesses an ancient and interesting church, and a vicarage,
part of which is formed by an old pele-tower. Embleton would seem
to have a reputation to keep up in the way of famous churchmen.
Duns Scotus has been already mentioned; and one of the vicars here
was a cousin of Richard Steele, the essayist and friend of Addison;
and he described the country squires of his day in a paper which he
contributed to the “Spectator” of that date, 1712.
Another Vicar of Embleton, who lived here from 1874 to 1884, was
Dr. Mandell Creighton, the learned historian, who became Bishop of
London.
The well-known journalist, W.T. Stead, was born in the parish of
Embleton, though his childhood was passed in very different
surroundings, in the narrow streets and grimy atmosphere of
Howdon-on-Tyne. His recent death on the ill-fated _Titanic_ will be
fresh in the minds of all.
Newton-by-the-Sea is reached by a pleasant walk along the
sea-shore. (It is to be understood that in this journey along the
coast we are moving northward always). There is here a
cheery-looking white-washed coastguard station standing on the bold
headland of Newton Point.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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