Soppitt Farm
Constructed from sandstone blocks the farmhouse and byres are believed to date from the 18th century. Over the years the land has been farmed by several families. One being of note is that of William Ord,
who trained as a Master Marina in 1799 and successfully went on to aspire to be a significant land owner in Northumberland. In more recent times the farm specialised in Northumbrian cheese production using
traditional methods, the former byers being used for this purpose. Cheese production moved to Blagdon in 1996 and the farmyard subsequently became horse racing stables and training facilities
for several years. Today the byers have been converted to four cottages providing comfortable holiday accommodation.
Origins of Elsdon
The village is believed to have been a Roman town in the time of Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and was most probably the first of a chain of forts between the Roman roads of Watling Street
and the Devil's Causeway. A conical shaped mound, surrounded by a moat, a short distance to the north-east of Elsdon was believed to have been used as a watch hill and place of
sepulture by the Romans. In medieval times Elsdon was regarded as the capital of Redesdale, an important market town and gathering place for the clans of the Redesdale valley. The village
church has stone entrance pillars that have grooves made by the "wild men of Redesdale" as they sharpened their knives and swords. While today it is a small, peaceful, pleasant village old
Northumbrian ballads tell it was not known for his hospitably in much wilder times gone by. The village church dates from the 13th century.
The Battle of Otterburn (1338)
Referred to in border ballads as the Battle of Chevy Chase this battle between Henry Percy, son of the Earl of Northumberland, and a Scottish border raiding party led by
the Scottish Earl Douglas took place in August 1338. The battle was partly fought in moonlight and ended in Scottish victory despite the death of the Scottish Earl.
Henry Percy, otherwise known as Hotspur, was held to ransom. Later, in the early nineteenth century during restoration at St Cuthbert's Church, Elsdon, a mass grave containing the
skeletons of hundreds of men and boys who had died in the battle, was uncovered. A car park, off the A696, 1 mile north west of Otterburn, adjoins the site of the battle and the
Percy's Cross memorial.