Book reviews

THE DELAVALS: A FAMILY HISTORY, by Martin Green. Published by Powdene Publicity Ltd, Unit 17, St Peter’s Wharf, Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 1TZ (tel: 0191-265 0040). £12.95. Softback.

IF, as expected, the Vanbrugh-designed Seaton Delaval Hall is acquired by the National Trust, visitors to this imposing 18th century mansion will be intrigued to know more about the family who lived there, and this well researched ...


CELEBRATING 80 YEARS OF CARLISLE PARK. Published by The Friends of Carlisle Park, 26 Low Stobhill, Morpeth NE61 2SQ. £4.50. Softback.

APTLY, given the many children who have enjoyed playing in Morpeth’s Carlisle Park over the past 80 years, the VIP invited to perform the opening ceremony in September, 1929 was Viscount Morpeth, the six-year-old son and heir of the ...


GEORGE FENWICK OF BRINKBURN, 1603-1656, by Angus Armstrong. Published by the author at Hall Hill, Longframlington NE65 8AD (tel: 01665 570388). £4.95. Softback.

IN the course of his lengthy research into his family history, which spans eight generations of doctors linked with Longframlington village, retired GP Angus Armstrong unearthed the story of this intriguing 17th century soldier. In a ...


THE STORY OF HOLY ISLAND: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY, by Kate Tristram. Published by the Canterbury Press, Norwich (tel: 01603 612914). £12.99. Softback.

THE author, a canon of Newcastle Cathedral, has lived on Holy Island for 30 years and she stresses that her aim was to ‘stick to reality’ in relating its history. Early chapters refer to the period beginning with the first ...


THE STREETS OF THE CHEVIOTS, A Walker’s Guide, editor Arthur Wood. Available from Berwick Ramblers, 5 Quay Walls, Berwick upon Tweed, TD15 1HB.Tel 01289-309891. £4.95 (+£1 p&p). Softback.

FOR 19 miles between Yetholm and the Carter Bar, there are no through roads for cars but the Cheviot Hills are penetrated by the ancient ‘streets’ which have been prehistoric trackways, Roman roads, medieval monastic sheep walks, ...


A CLOISTERED WORLD, Abbeys and Priories of North Eastern England, by Glen Lyndon Dodds. Published by Albion Press, Park Parade, Sunderland. Email-albionpress@googlemail.com for special readers offer. £14.99. Hardback.

FOLLOWING an introductory chapter which outlines the history of monasticism in the region during the Middle Ages, when religious orders such as the Benedictines and Cistercians made their presence felt, this book offers a description ...


SPARTY LEA: AN UPLAND LEAD MINING COMMUNITY, by Jennifer W. Norderhaug. Published by Wagtail Press, Gairshield, Steel, Hexham NE47 0HS (email: wagtailpress@yahoo.co.uk). £12.99 (+ £1.50 p&p). Softback.

ON the edge of the North Pennines in the south-west corner of Northumberland, Sparty Lea lay at the heart of the area’s 19th century lead mining industry. Now only the miners’ former homes, church, chapels and school remain, but ...


NEWCASTLE THROUGH TIME, by John and Joyce Carlson. Amberley Publishing, Chalford, Stroud, Glos (tel: 01285 760030). £12.99. Softback.

FOR anyone fascinated by old photographs of the city, which is quaintly described on the book cover as ‘the metropolis of the Northern Coalfield’, this compilation offers a selection of more than 180 photographs illustrating how ...


A BOOT UP HADRIAN’S WALL, by Rodney Legg. Published by Halsgrove, Wellington, Somerset (tel: 01823 653777). £4.99. Hardback.

THIS well-illustrated pocket-sized book offers 10 circular leisure walks ranging in length from three to nine miles. Ranging in level of difficulty from easy to fair and more challenging, each walk route is clearly described and ...


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