- Alnmouth
Alnmouth (pronounced 'allen-mouth') is a village in
Northumberland ,England . It is situated just off the mainA1068 road (toAshington ), about four miles south-east ofAlnwick .Located at the mouth of the
River Aln , the village has been an important trading port in Northumberland's past, mainly involved in theexport ofgrain , andsmuggling . The port declined after the river changed course in 1806. This incident also resulted in the original church being cut off from the rest of the village.Today, Alnmouth is a popular tourist resort, served by
Alnmouth railway station which is situated in Hipsburn, a mile outside Alnmouth. It is within theNorthumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.Alnmouth is believed to have been the location of a great
synod at which St. Cuthbert was elected Bishop of Lindisfarne in 684 [ [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC26375199&id=s47SQJS-ekMC&pg=PA504&lpg=PA504&dq=alnmouth&as_brr=1#PPP5,M1 The Gentleman's Magazine] , volume XXXVIII, 1852 page 500 fromGoogle Book Search ] .According to the
Encyclopaedia Metropolitana , Alnmouth was taken and fortified by the French during the reign of Queen Elizabeth [ [http://books.google.com/books?vid=0LY9aTtUYHLwdYUb&id=AdVbUEVApjQC&pg=PA349&lpg=PA349&dq=alnmouth&as_brr=1 Encyclopaedia Metropolitana] , volume XIV, 1845 page 349 from Google Book Search] [James Dugdale - [http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=&scope=books#q=alnmouth%20french&filter=free&page=1&t=Cz61tKmj8e3KYNyCWpOSig&sq=alnmouth%20french "The New British Traveller"] , J. Robins 1819, p.703] .A comprehensive history of the village was written in 1851 by one Willian Dickson, entitled "Four Chapters from the History of Alnmouth".
The village was in 1860 selected as one of fourteen weather stations, and equipped with
barometer by the Duke of Northumberland acting as president of theRoyal National Lifeboat Institution [ [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC04999420&id=gVsAAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA268&lpg=RA1-PA268&dq=alnmouth&as_brr=1#PRA1-PA268,M1 The Yearbook of Facts in Science and Art] 1861, pp.267-268] . The barometer and a chart of recent readings was kept on public display, to seek to provide fishermen with indications of likely weather patterns so as to assist in diminishing losses at sea. The barometer remains on display, in the window of a cottage facing on the main street, to this day.References
reflist John Wesley is reputed to have visited Alnmouth in 1742 and afterward's said about the village that it was "famous for all kinds of wickedness".
External links
* [http://www.durham.gov.uk/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N12981 Local history]
* [http://www.northumberland-cam.com/alnmouth/index.htm Photos of Alnmouth]
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