Branxton, Northumberland

Human settlement in England

Branxton

Unitary authority

Northumberland

Northumberland

Region

North East

CountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townCORNHILL-ON-TWEEDPostcode districtTD12Dialling code01890PoliceNorthumbriaFire Northumberland Ambulance North East UK Parliament

Berwick-upon-Tweed

List of places: UK; England; Northumberland

55°37′51″N 2°10′06″W / 55.6309°N 2.1683°W / 55.6309; -2.1683

Branxton is a village and civil parish in northern Northumberland, England. It lies about 3 miles (5 km) from the England-Scotland border and about 4 miles (6 km) from the Scottish border town of Coldstream, just off the A697 Newcastle-Edinburgh road. At the 2011 Census, the population of the parish was 123,^[1] increasing slightly from 121 at the 2001 Census.^[2]

Landmarks

Branxton is very close to the site of the Battle of Flodden, fought on 9 September 1513 between Scotland and England, the latter prevailing. A granite cross on the nearby Piper Hill (UK map reference NT890373) commemorates the battle. In 2013, the local community commemorated the 500 year anniversary of the battle.^[3]

Pallinsburn House, an 18th-century country mansion, stands nearby.

There is a painted concrete menagerie in the garden of one of the houses in the village. The sculptures were made, starting in 1962, by James Beveridge to designs by retired joiner John Fairnington (d. 1981) to amuse his disabled son, Edwin. As well as animals, there are statues of Winston Churchill, T. E. Lawrence and Robert Burns, and many texts set into the plinths and pathways. It has been a popular tourist attraction, with its own tea room, and may still be accessible by the public for free (although with a coin box for voluntary donations).

Religious sites

The parish church, dedicated to Saint Paul, occupies the site of an ancient church which was taken down and replaced by the present structure in 1849.

Notable people

Percival Stockdale, (1736–1811) poet, writer and reformer, especially in opposing slavery.

References

^ "Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
^ "Census 2001". Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
^ Battle of Flodden: 500th anniversary marked Retrieved 18 August 2020.