Bolam, Northumberland

Bolam is a village in the civil parish of Belsay in the county of Northumberland, England. The village is about 20 miles (32 km) north-west of Newcastle upon Tyne, near Bolam West Houses.

1. History

The Church of England parish church of St Andrew has a late Saxon west tower and is a Grade I listed building. Shortflatt Tower, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-west of the village, is a late 15th or early 16th century pele tower, with a 17th-century house attached, and is also Grade I listed. Bolam is the burial place of Robert de Reymes, a wealthy Suffolk merchant, who in 1296 began the building of Aydon Castle, near Corbridge. In 1951 the civil parish had a population of 60. On 1 April 1955 the parish was abolished and merged with Belsay.

1. Landmarks

Bolam Lake Country Park is next to the village. Three archaeological sites are nearby: Huckhoe Settlement, an iron Age and Romano-British defended settlement; Slate Hill Settlement, an Iron Age defended settlement; and The Poind and his Man, a Neolithic site.

1. References


1. Further reading

Pevsner, Nikolaus; Richmond, Ian A (1957). Northumberland. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 101–102.

1. External links

GENUKI (accessdate: 14 November 2008)