Great Whittington Explained

Country:England
Official Name:Great Whittington
Coordinates:55.031°N -1.993°W
Static Image Name:The Queen's Head, Great Whittington - geograph.org.uk - 935611.jpg
Static Image Caption:The Queen's Head, Great Whittington
Civil Parish:Whittington
Unitary England:Northumberland
Lieutenancy England:Northumberland
Region:North East England
Constituency Westminster:Hexham
Post Town:NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Postcode District:NE19
Postcode Area:NE
Dial Code:01434
Os Grid Reference:NZ004708

Great Whittington is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Whittington, in Northumberland, England, 7 miles NE of Hexham. In 1951 the parish had a population of 158.[1]

Governance

Great Whittington is in the parliamentary constituency of Hexham. Great Whittington was formerly a township in Corbridge parish,[2] from 1866 Great Whittington was a civil parish in its own right until it was abolished on 1 April 1955 to form Whittington.[3]

History

Immediately north of Great Whittington, in a field west of the Unnamed Road leading to Matfen, lies Great Whittington Royal Observer Corps Monitoring Post.[4] This was 1 of approx. 1,563 underground monitoring posts built all over the UK during the Cold War to monitor the effects of a Nuclear Strike. They were operated by the ROC who were mostly civilian volunteers. Great Whittington ROC post was opened in June 1962 and closed in September 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which saw the end of the Cold War.

Landmarks

The Devil's Causeway passes the village about 1miles to the west. The causeway was a Roman road which started at Portgate on Hadrian's Wall, north of Corbridge, and extended 55miles northwards across Northumberland to the mouth of the River Tweed at Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Transport

Great Whittington is served by Go North East's 74 bus service, which provides four buses per day to Newcastle upon Tyne, Ponteland and Hexham.

Religious sites

A now deconsecrated Wesleyan church can be found on the northern side of the village green, distinguishable by a large cross above the door.

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Population statistics Great Whittington Tn/CP through time. A Vision of Britain through Time. 23 January 2022.
  2. Web site: History of Great Whittington, in Tynedale and Northumberland. A Vision of Britain through Time. 23 January 2022.
  3. Web site: Relationships and changes Great Whittington Tn/CP through time. A Vision of Britain through Time. 23 January 2022.
  4. Web site: Great Whittington ROC Post – Subterranea Britannica .