Newton Park

Not many people know that the slopes of Simonside, overlooking the rich archaeologial landscape of Lordenshaw were once part of a medieval park, set aside for deer hunting. The Park appears to have been enclosed in 1275 from the edge of Rothbury Forest by Robert son of Roger. Access across the land was provided for the Rector of Rothbury’s cattle through two gates, although in 1279 local people protested at the loss of their common grazing land and traditional trackways across the landscape may have been disturbed. The Park was ‘with Deer’ in 1368, but rented out before 1568 to a number of tenants, and was described as barren in 1702.

The surviving Deer Park boundary has been most recently described and surveyed by Peter Topping and is clearly visible on the lower slopes to the north of Beacon Hill and west of Lordenshaws Hillfort, but reaches the 300m contour below the Beacon. The boundary consists of a stone wall in a variable condition, but survives up to 5m in width (as a stone spread) and 1.5m in height; along the southern length the stone wall revetts an earth bank, with the ditch on the inner side. Part of the wall has been ploughed out by afforestation. It is currently a Grade 1 listed structure.