gallery

M. L. P 19th Century
Footbridge Pawston Northumberland, Sept 14th 1878

inscribed and dated in the margin "Bridge nrĀ  Pawston Northumberland, Sept 14th 1878"

pencil and watercolour
17.50 x 25 cm.
Notes

Pawston lies 2.3 miles (3.7 km) west of Kilham on the south bank of the Bowmont Water. It was the site of the deserted medieval village of Thornington, first recorded in 1296. To the north east of Pawston House are single storey shelter sheds and a two-storey granary, dating from the 18th century. An old beam forms a continuous bressumer over the door and two windows, and the building has a steeply pitched Scottish slate roof.[92] South of the house is a 17th-century sundial base decorated with foliage, grotesque heads and festoons. John Selby, a "gentleman dwelling at Pawston", was killed in 1596 while defending his home against Scottish marauders. Pawston Hill has the remains of an Iron Age settlement. The locally rare wood carpet moth was found at Pawston Lake in 1929, and a number of nationally or locally scarce plants are also present, including the autumnal water starwort, blunt leaved pondweed, gypsywort, maiden pink and shoreweed.

Shotton Farm, immediately north of the Scottish border, marks the site of large medieval hamlet, first recorded in 1296. A document from 1541 records that it had been laying waste for more than 30 years.[99] Shotton House was built in 1828, and has an ashlar facade and Scottish slate roof. Above the panelled door is a Tuscan entablature showing the year of construction and the original owner's name. The nearby gatepiers have Greek decoration, and were added in 1829.

The Rising of the North in 1569 was an attempt to depose Queen Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. Thomas Percy, the Earl of Northumberland, one of its leaders, was betrayed while seeking shelter at Harelaw. The current Harelaw House was built in 1593. It stands below Hare Law, 912 feet (278 m) high, on which are the remains of a hillfort.