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Ford Castle & Etal Village - 1904 |
Prior to 1842, Ford village located 15
km south west of Berwick was described as a "somewhat squalid and miserable
place, with a badly paved street and poor drainage", but today according to
Local Historian
C.W.
Steel it is one of the most beautiful and picturesque
villages in Northumberland.
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The present village was completely
remodelled by Louisa, Lady Waterford who died in 1891 when the estate passed
to John the fifth Marquess of Waterford, then to his son Henry in 1895, who
subsequently sold the estate to the first Lord Joicey in 1907 with whom it
has remained ever since. |
The memorial fountain in the village
which is now a flower bed was erected by Lady Waterford in memory of her
husband, the third Marquess, who died as a result of a hunting accident in
1859. Ford School just beyond the cottages was built in 1860 and remaining as
such till 1957, known as Lady Waterford Hall it has a collection of biblical
murals on the walls she painted using many of the state workers and their
children as models. The hall is often open to the public during the summer
months.
| At the eastern end of the main street
stands a stone building constructed in 1863, and known as Horseshoe Forge
which has a massive "horseshoe" doorway designed by Lady Waterford with
four nails carved into each side, belonging to a riding horse rather than a
carthorse (because of the lack of heels). |
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The grassed area through the gate to the
south of the forge was used for making cartwheels, the wooden wheel framework
was laid out ready for the hot steel rim fashioned in the forge to be carried
out, cooled and then hammered into place.
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Located two
miles north west of Ford Castle is Etal an equally picturesque village with
it’s ruined castle tower presently maintained by English Heritage has
changed little over the past century and retains much of its charm and
character with the Black Bull Inn being the only thatched public house in
Northumberland. |
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Etal Castle is
14th Century and within walking distance, is the
end stop Heatherslaw
light railway which takes you from Etal into
Heatherslaw - a great day out for young and old alike. You might explore the 19th century
water powered corn mill. Here, traditional methods and original machinery are used to
grind locally grown wheat into flour.
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After which, you’ll no doubt feel tempted to buy some of the bakery’s cake or
bread from the Heatherslaw Mill gift shop. There is a tea room too, which offers
traditional home baking. Cycles can also be hired at Heatherslaw,
this is a good area for walking. In the picturesque
Etal
Village, there is a post office with
shop and tea room, a nursery selling alpines, heathers and shrubs etc.
Northumbria Nurseries with over 1600 different types of shrubs etc. and for the
artists, Lady Waterford Hall with large murals depicting the children of
the village and their families. |
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Local Info on Ford & Etal - 01890
820 338
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Http: