On a hillside overlooking the town of Haydon Bridge stands the 'Old Church', which, like the present parish church in the town below, is dedicated to St Cuthbert. The dedication is more than random; when the monks of Lindisfarne were forced to leave their priory by Danish raiders in the 9th century they carried with them the relics of St Cuthbert. Haydon Bridge is one of the places the monks rested.
It is possible that the Old Church was in existence by the time the monks reached Haydon Bridge. If so, it was rebuilt around AD 1190, with narrow lancet windows in Norman style. The first written record comes from the Northumberland Assize Rolls ofd 1256, when a complaint was lodged against Nicholas de Boltby, Lord of Langley, for closing a right of way used by his tenants to reach the church.
The church was built as a chapel of ease to the parish church of Warden, and built with re-used Roman stones. The chapel was later granted by the Lord of Langley to the monks of Hexham Abbey.
The chapel was later partly demolished, leaving only the chancel, and stones taken to build the present parish church. The building was then converted into a mortuary chapel before being restored in 1882.
The south doorway is original and dates to the 12th century. The doorway lintel is formed from a 14th century grave slab. To the right of the doorway is an 18th century window, with a sill made of two 18th century grave slabs, one to 5 young children of the Wallace family who died between 1742 and 1752.
In the east end wall of the south chapel is a 14th century window with stained glass in memory of Jane Routledge, who left a bequest of 20 pounds annually to spinsters or widows of Haydon chapelry.
The Roman Font
The most interesting historic feature in the church is the font, made from a Roman altar. If there was ever a Roman inscription it has long since been worn away. It is possibly the only example of a pagan altar being used as a baptismal font in England.
The given co ords are for the gravestone of Catherine .
Answer these to find cache co ords.
N54 58.ABC
W002 14.DEF
A= 2nd word in the 5th line plus 3rd word in the 11th line.
B= Number of words in the 6th line.
C= 1st number on the bottom line.
D= 3rd number on the 7th line.
E= Number of letters on the 2nd line.
F= Total of all numbers on the 10th line.
Checksum = 39
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