Bellingham Gingall

This interesting piece of military history sits right in the heart of the village of Bellingham in Northumberland. It looks rather out of place and it's not immediately obvious why a Chinese Gingall would be stood on a plinth in a historic market town in the middle of nowhere. Luckily an information board is on hand to fill in the details and explains that it was a trophy captured by British forces from the North West Taku Forts in China during the Boxer Rebellion in June 1900.

The Boxer Rebellion began after the people of China became tired of facing economic impoverishment, they endured a number of natural disasters and had a strong desire to protect their traditional culture, culminating in a need to drive foreigners out of the country. An eight-nation alliance was formed - including troops from the UK - which launched a pre-emptive strike on the Taku Forts and defeated the Chinese rebellion. During the chaos of the 'North West Fort' capture, this specific gingall was seized as a trophy. It was taken by Commander Edward Charlton who was serving as part of the crew on HMS Orlando deployed to put down the rebellion. Edward Charlton was part of the Charlton family who were one of the most prominent families in Northumberland, residing at Hesleyside Hall near Bellingham for over 700 years, which is why it made its way back to Bellingham. It was presented to the people of the village in 1901.

The gingall is a heavy duty musket mounted on a swivel and is also known as a wall gun, as it was too heavy for a single person to hold. The long barrel allowed gunpowder to burn completely and propel the ammunition powerfully with the ability to punch through light armour and small boats. Its range made it a primitive form of a long range rifle, but obviously gingalls are no longer in use.

This is an unusual piece of history right in the heart of Northumberland and worth a quick stop if you're visiting the village.