Felton, Northumberland

Felton is a village in Northumberland, North East England, 8.9 miles (14 km) south of Alnwick and 12 miles (19 km) north of Morpeth. The nearest city, Newcastle upon Tyne, is 24 miles (39 km) south of the village, and the Scottish border is 37 miles (60 km) north of it. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 932.[1][2]

Felton
Felton
Location within Northumberland
Population1,234 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid referenceNU185005
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMORPETH
Postcode districtNE65
Dialling code01670
PoliceNorthumbria
FireNorthumberland
AmbulanceNorth East
UK Parliament

There are two bridges crossing the River Coquet. The older stone bridge dates to around the 15th century,[3] while the newer concrete bridge was built in 1926. The older bridge is closed to traffic, and is often used for village events including wassailing at Christmas.

St Michael and All Angels' church to the west of the village is a Grade I listed building.

Education

Felton Church of England First School is for children between the ages of 3 to 9, after which they go to Duchess Secondary School in Alnwick.

Sport

A speedway training track operated from Bockenfield Aerodrome near Felton in the late 1970s. Trainees participated in junior league type events against fellow Northern England and Scottish tracks. The venue is no longer used for speedway however.[4] It is now known as Eshott Airfield and is a base for flying microlights.

Transport
The large building in the centre is a renovated bank

Road

Felton lies adjacent to the A1, the main national north/south trunk road, providing easy access to Newcastle upon Tyne (24 miles south) and to the Scottish capital Edinburgh (100 miles north).

Bus

Felton has an hourly bus service provided by Arriva with routes between Alnwick and Newcastle stopping there every hour

Rail

The main East Coast railway link between Edinburgh (journey time approximately 1:10) and London (journey time approximately 3:45) runs via the nearby Alnmouth for Alnwick Station, with a weekday service of 15 trains per day north to Edinburgh and 13 trains per day south to London.

Air

Newcastle Airport lies around 45 minutes' drive-time away, and provides 19 daily flights to London (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City), with regular flights to other UK centres. The airport also operates regular flights to many European destinations, along with destinations in Africa and North America.

Notable people

E.M. Forster

The novelist E.M. Forster's Uncle Willie lived at Acton House, just north of Felton. Forster spent part of the summer with him for several years around 1900. He wrote a letter from there on 27 July 1899, when aged twenty:

Yesterday I went to Bamborough (sic) saw the castle and tombs of my ancestors – I've no reason to suppose they are, though the name is the same and the arms similar, but Bamborough is such a nice cradle for one's race that I shall always call them mine. Then I paddled on the deserted beach...

Forster used Acton House as a model for Cadover in his novel The Longest Journey (1907). This was Forster's most autobiographical work, in which the character of Mrs Failing owes something to Uncle Willie.[5]

Oliver Cromwell

Before a bypass was built in the 1980s, the A1 passed through the village. A commemorative plaque on Main Street commemorated the stay of Oliver Cromwell when 6 Main Street formed part of a coaching inn called "The Old Angel". The building is believed to date from around 1631 and in 1650 Oliver Cromwell was reputed to have stayed there on his way to the Battle of Dunbar.[6]

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References
  1. "Felton Usual Resident Population, 2011". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  2. "Parish Headcounts 2001". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  3. Historic England. "Old Felton Bridge (1041879)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  4. Skinner, John. "Felton Training Track". Defunct Speedway Tracks. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  5. "Edwin Morgan Forster". Archived from the original on 14 September 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  6. Sayer, Rook Matthews. "The Old Angel house listing". Mouseprice. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
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