Matfen
{{Short description|Village in Northumberland, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2019}}
{{infobox UK place
|country = England
|official_name = Matfen
|coordinates = {{coord|55|02|28|N|1|57|14|W|display=inline,title}}
|static_image_name = Matfen village green (geograph 2374157).jpg
|static_image_caption = Matfen
|population = 495
|population_ref = (2001 census)[http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=4&containerAreaId=790479 Office for National Statistics: Neighbourhood Statistics]
|civil_parish = Matfen
|unitary_england = Northumberland
|lieutenancy_england = Northumberland
|region = North East England
|constituency_westminster = Hexham
|post_town = NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
|postcode_district = NE20
|postcode_area = NE
|dial_code = 01661
|os_grid_reference = NZ029719
}}
Matfen is a village and a civil parish in Northumberland, England, near the town of Hexham and the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is an example of a 19th-century planned estate village. It was the birthplace of the 7th Premier of British Columbia, William Smithe. In 2001 it had a population of 495.
History
Matfen is a few miles north of Hadrian's Wall. About halfway between the two there is a prehistoric standing stone called Stob Stone, adjacent to Standing Stone Farmhouse. The stone is about seven feet high and decorated with cup marks.Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Northumberland, p. 387.
The place-name Matfen is first attested in the Pipe Rolls for 1159, where it appears as Matefen. The name means Matta's fen.Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, p. 318. The civil parish was formed in 1955 from East Matfen, Fenwick, Ingoe, Kearsley, Ryal and West Matfen.{{Cite web| url =http://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10323010|title=Matfen CP through time|publisher= Vision of Britain|accessdate=17 January 2018}}
Landmarks
Matfen Hall now houses a hotel and country club. The Grade II* listed building was built about 1828 by Sir Edward Blackett to replace an earlier, 17th-century house.{{NHLE |num=1155328 |desc=Matfen Hall |accessdate=28 October 2019}}
The Devil's Causeway passes the village less than {{convert|2|mi|0}} to the west. The causeway is a Roman road, which starts at Port Gate on Hadrian's Wall, north of Corbridge, and extends {{convert|55|mi|0}} northwards across Northumberland to the mouth of the Tweed at Berwick-upon-Tweed.{{Cite web |url=http://www.northeastengland.talktalk.net/Tynedale.htm |title=The Devil's Causeway |accessdate=17 December 2008}}
Notable people
- Thomas Bates (1775–1849), an eminent stockbreeder, was born in Matfen.
- William Smithe (1842–1887), the 7th premier of British Columbia, was born in Matfen.
- Lorna Hill (1902–1991), a writer of over 40 books for children, was the wife of the rector of Matfen.
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category|Matfen|position=left}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060721223426/http://www.reivers-guide.co.uk/matfen.htm Tourist guide]
- [http://www.matfenparish.org Matfen Parish Council]
{{authority control}}
Category:Villages in Northumberland
Category:Civil parishes in Northumberland
{{Northumberland-geo-stub}}