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]

Great Whittington
The Queen's Head, Great Whittington
Great Whittington is located in Northumberland
Great Whittington
Great Whittington
Location within Northumberland
OS grid referenceNZ004708
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Postcode districtNE19
Dialling code01434
PoliceNorthumbria
FireNorthumberland
AmbulanceNorth East
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Northumberland
55°01′52″N 1°59′35″W / 55.031°N 1.993°W / 55.031; -1.993

Governance edit

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 edit

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 edit

The Devil's Causeway passes the village about 1 mile (2 km) to the west. The causeway was a Roman road which started at Portgate on Hadrian's Wall, north of Corbridge, and extended 55 miles (89 km) northwards across Northumberland to the mouth of the River Tweed at Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Transport edit

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 edit

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 edit

References edit

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

External links edit