Hearse House At St Giles

The Hearse House is a curious name for this small stable which lies at a crossroads in Chollerton, Northumberland. The road splits three ways and is on the route of the 'Corn Road' which opened in 1753 to enable people travelling from Hexham to Alnmouth to allow produce to be shipped to the big smoke in London!

Nestled in the centre of the crossroads is St Giles Church and this small stable!

I thought this looked like an enticing advent calendar door to open, sadly, there was no chocolate inside, but instead there was a fascinating wealth of history and heritage. It was a beautiful example of local people handing on their history in the form of a charming little 'fun for free' mini museum.

Thought to be early 19th century, the building is humble in proportion with two little lancet windows. The door was like something from a fairy tale. It had a hand-forged ring and pin to keep it safely closed and upon opening it, the door folded in two! Magic!

Once inside, in the shadow of St Giles Church, there were informative interpretation boards about the history of the building.

There are only a handful of hearse houses left in the county. It is thought that the vicar of St Giles stabled his horse here and the combination of stable and hearse house was once common in rural communities with the horse-drawn glass hearse, modestly kept out of sight until required. The congregation were able to stable their horses here during church services. Once motorised vehicles took over from horse and hoof, they fell into disregard and disrepair.

The building diversified into a post office in the mid 1950's and the bureau inside nostalgically holds relics of the past in the form of train timetables, lists of stock stations, adverts for tradesmen and employment policies and procedures pasted onto the doors.

After perilously falling into disrepair, the people of Chollerton raised funds to the sum of £25,000 to repair and restore the Hearse House and the church wall, recording this small slice of heritage, with over 200 years of history behind this little wooden door.

A drive a little further up onto Hadrian's Wall would entice you to the delights of some Roman relics at Vindolanda or Housesteads Roman Fort. Or enjoy the history bound up in the 17th-century Jacobean mansion that is Chipchase Castle.