The name Edlingham means The home of Eadwulf in Anglo Saxon. Its recorded history goes back as far as 737 when King Coelwulf gave Edlingham and three other royal Northumbrian villages to Cuthbert.
Today Edlingham is a small hamlet set in a beautiful valley – the backdrop to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey movie poster! It is the location of two of Northumberland’s historic gems: The 11th century St. John the Baptist Church and the adjacent ruins of Edlingham Castle, a 13th century fortified manor house GCK91X. Take a look at the impressive crack running the height of the solar tower!
The approach to Edlingham reveals St. John the Baptist Church, a rugged, squat, plain building with a 14th century west tower which has no belfry openings – only narrow slit windows, indicating a building used for the purpose of defence and a place of security for the priest and the villagers in the days of the Scottish raids.
Saint John the Baptist Church
The church is mostly Norman, from two periods, the late 11th - early 12th Century and late 12th century. The chancel arch and the barrel vaulted south porch are late 11th century, and the north aisle arcade is from the late 12th century. Inside the church to the left is the oldest stonework dating from about 1050 and includes the original west doorway. The stained glass east window was installed in 1864 as a memorial to Lewis de Crespigny Buckle who perished at sea, his father was vicar of this parish for 52 years
Entrance gate
The church is open to the public and welcomes visitors. There are display boards inside that chronicle the history of the church.
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