St Andrew's Church, Corbridge

There is plenty to see and do in Corbridge as we discovered on our last visit, and St Andrew's is worth a quick look if you're in the area.

St Wilfred was responsible for building the first St Andrew's Church in 674AD and nearby Hexham Abbey a few years earlier. Nothing remains of the original church, however, as it was likely made of timber. Parts of the church that replaced it in 786AD can still be seen today. These include the base of the tower and the baptistery, which were built from stone scavanged from the nearby Roman settlement of Corstopitum. The tower arch within the church was taken entirely from Corstopitum and dates from 150AD.

Corbridge suffered many raids and battles over the centuries from the Danes in 875AD to William Wallace's invasion in 1296. Robert the Bruce also set fire to Corbridge in 1312 and King John wrongly believed Corbridge was full of treasures and dug up the area around St Andrew's.

Despite all of this, the church remained undamaged and all of the additions that were made over the centuries can still be seen today. This includes a Saxon window, Norman doorway and the 13th century chancel.

The grounds of the church are equally as interesting as the inside. Before you enter the churchyard, you'll walk through St Andrew's Memorial Gate. This was unveiled in 1920 to remember the 108 local men who died in WWI. Their names are listed inside the gate.

Near the west walls of St Andrew's is the King's Oven created in 1310. It was a communal oven which cooked bread and meat for the villagers until the late 1800s.

Finally there is the Vicars Pele Tower, which is a three storey fortified house. It was built around 1300 with stones, again from the abandoned Roman village of Corstopitum. It is now a three storey pub, which we thoroughly enjoyed visiting. Cheers!