Christmas in Northumberland: Howick

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Old School, Howick (on the left)

As mentioned in December’s Gallivanting post, we spent Christmas in The Old School, a cottage in Howick in Northumberland. The village school was originally in the building next door with the children having lessons downstairs and the master and his family living above. The built-on Victorian school room was just that: one large room where both infants and juniors studied (approximately ages 5-11). Today it is a comfortable cottage with the living quarters downstairs and a mezzanine floor added for the bedroom.

At the other side of the cottage from the view above there is a plaque to the last headteacher, Ena Taylor, who worked there from 1940 until the school closed in 1960.

Back door up the ramp with plaque alongside
Plaque to Ena Taylor

The plaque is almost illegible these days, but there is an active heritage group in the village and a selection of their publications was left out for us to peruse. I found information about Ena in one of them, including a photograph of her with a class. I love stumbling across these little snippets of women’s history.

Cover
The Schoolmistress
Ena Taylor with class

If visiting in the summer we would have been able to visit the gardens at Howick Hall whose most famous resident was Charles, 2nd Earl Grey (1764-1845), Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834. His government enacted the Reform Acts of 1832, which expanded the electorate in the United Kingdom, and the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, which abolished slavery in the British Empire. He also gave his name to Earl Grey Tea which was originally blended for him with bergamot extract to offset the lime in the local Howick water. Another fabulous piece of history to be living in!

Almost all the houses in the village still belong to the Howick Estate. It’s a pretty little place, although we never saw any of the resident hedgehogs, slow or otherwise.

Cottages and post box
Slow hedgehogs

For six days we walked around this lovely area – more to follow. It’s definitely somewhere I’d like to go back to, not least to visit those gardens.

England, UK ,

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  2. I’ve been through Howick I think, but never got around to stopping to explore. I did know about the connection to Earl Grey and the tea named after him, but not the reason for the bergamot – an interesting snippet. And of course he also gave his name to one of Newcastle’s most famous sights, Grey’s Monument!

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  3. Northumberland is a surprisingly quiet yet scenic area. We were rock climbing and walking there for a week years ago yet it was very empty for the most part, even the sandy beaches, despite several major cities and large towns being only an hours drive away and a sunny summer weekend included. Still quiet away from the obvious few honeypots. Contrast that with Scotland’s ‘remotest wilderness area’ Knoydart which was packed the weekend we visited, hundreds of tourists wandering around one small village and the local shop and pub. The lure of Munro bagging and dozens of glossy magazine spreads on ‘how remote it is’ being the main difference presumably. Bob. BSS.

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  6. As one who enjoys Earl Grey tea, I am particularly interested to learn that it was “originally blended for him with bergamot extract to offset the lime in the local Howick water” – we keep on learning 🙂

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  8. A nice post to set me up for what is going to be a very busy day, I’m looking forward to reading more. Interesting to read about Ena Taylor and I like the hedgehog sign although I can’t say I’ve ever seen any fast hedgehogs, they all seem to be slow 🦔😊

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