Alan, I wonder if the church could be St. Aidan's at Thorneyburn. The description sounds like it to me. Mike Temple, Spain. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan Hill" <alan.hill@clear.net.nz> To: <northumbria@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 6:01 AM Subject: [NMB] Old Graves > Hi Folks: > > New Year being the time for reflection, I've been pondering > a mystery which has intrigued me for over 60 years. > > It concerns an old church and burial ground near the North > Tyne town of Bellingham, north of Hexham, and two unusual > graves in close proximity. > > I have racked my brains to try and recall the name of the > church, without success, and am hoping some local might be > able to identify the place, or someone with knowledge of > local burials or history might put some flesh on the bones. > >>From memory, the old stone church stood alone a few metres > back from a sealed road, and there were gravestones > alongside a rough pathway leading to the main doors of the > building. At the time I made my youthful visit, the place > appeared completely abandoned. > > The door was wide open, wind-blown leaves covered the floor, > dead flowers filled several vases and thick dust was > everywhere. Hymm books still lay open on the seats of pews. > > On my way back to the road after a quick inspection, I came > across two headstones on what seemed to be well maintained > little graves. The first claimed to be the burial place of a > person, a female I believe, who had died at some fantastic > age. The second stated that this was the last resting place > of a man who was a pirate. > > I can't remember what age was stated on the supposed female > grave, but I do know it seemed impossibly old to me, and > that maybe an error of some kind had been made. The male > grave I found credible (just), but how and why had a pirate > come to be buried near Bellingham, miles from the sea? Or > was he some other kind of pirate, of the freebooter, > land-borne variety, by no means rare in that part of the > world? > > I'd love to hear some theories which might help solve the > mystery. > > Alan Fletcher Hill, > Buried in Hamilton, NZ > > > > > > > > > > The NORTHUMBRIA FAQ page is located at > http://www.bpears.org.uk/NorthumbriaFAQ/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NORTHUMBRIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.432 / Virus Database: 270.14.125/2600 - Release Date: 01/04/10 19:35:00