2014

NY6194 : Ruin near site of Bells Burn Chapel

taken 12 years ago, near to Kielder, Northumberland, England

Ruin near site of Bells Burn Chapel
Ruin near site of Bells Burn Chapel
View from the track near Bellsburnfoot Cottage NY6195 : Bellsburnfoot Cottage up the valley of Bells Burn. The site of Bells Chapel is thought to lie on the right close to the more modern ruined farm building.
Bells Chapel

An old religious site now in England close to the Scottish Border but once firmly Scottish.

Bell's Chapel, also known as Bell's Kirk, stood near Bells Burn, on the border between Scotland and England. It is mentioned in a document written in 1590. The chapel itself no longer exists, but a hollowed out natural boulder, probably used as a font, marks a possible former location. The remains of a deserted medieval village are nearby.

The earliest reference to the chapel are in the C16th when it was under the jurisdiction of Jedburgh Abbey. The Bells appears to have been an important meeting place in the Middle Marches. Indeed, the England-Scotland Border follows the Bells Burn down from its high point on the Larriston Fells but its line turns sharply back on itself just above the site of the chapel, following a prominent wall over the ridge of Bells Moor to Thorlieshope Pike before eventually descending down an unnamed sike to Deadwater and the low watershed there between the River North Tyne and Liddel Water.

James Logan Mack considered that the Border Line may have previously continued down Bells Burn to its junction with the North Tyne, leaving the chapel and community of Bells on Scottish ground. This was for a long time disputed territory, bandit country of the Liddesdale and Tynedale Reivers.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Andrew Curtis and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Cottage [5] · Building Near [3] · Valley of Bells Burn [3] · Ruined Farm Building [2] Other Photos: · Small carved stone near Bellsburnfoot ·
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NY6194, 31 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Andrew Curtis   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Friday, 22 August, 2014   (more nearby)
Submitted
Saturday, 23 August, 2014
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NY 6132 9495 [10m precision]
WGS84: 55:14.8326N 2:36.5969W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NY 61442 95079
View Direction
Southwest (about 225 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Supplemental image
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