Entry last updated: 25 Nov 2007
The schedule for the first full day of the reunion on Tuesday August 28th (Day 2) was a busy one with words of welcome, lectures, hikes, tours, receptions and more lectures. The day started with a hearty breakfast in the castle's basement dining area, although many people got an even earlier start, exploring the castle grounds and immediate area just after sunrise. After breakfast we gathered in the great hall of the castle to here some introductory remarks from reunion co-organizer Al Robison who then introduced Lord James Joicey, the owner of Ford and Etal Estates.
He was a very interesting speaker telling of how his family of collier owners from Newcastle purchased the estate and providing interesting details on the history of the castle. He also remarked that he often welcomes groups to Ford Castle but it was the first time that he had ever welcomed anyone back again. This reference was to the fact that it was in Ford Castle, in the very room that we were sitting, that potential settlers went to hear a presentation from the New Brunswick Land Company extolling the virtues of emigrating to New Brunswick.
Reunion co-chairman Ian Herbert then spoke outlining the logistics for the coming week, which were quite complex due to the large number of sometimes simultaneous events going on.
Professor Bruce Elliott of the Department of History at Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario then presented a fascinating Powerpoint lecture on the New Brunswick Land Company and the Settlement of Harvey and Stanley, NB, which outlined the reasons why the company and others like it existed and why they actively recruited settlers to emigrate from the United Kingdom to Canada. Hearing this lecture in the very hall where our ancestors went to hear about the benefits of migrating made the lecture all the more interesting.
After eating one of the "all that you can carry away" box lunches that were provided by the Ford Castle food staff we all piled into our respective vehicles and headed for our first hike of the day, a "moderate" hike up Yeavering Bell, a twin-peaked hill rising 361 m, near Kirknewton and adjacent to the River Glen (Map Ref: NT918270 Landranger Map Number 74. Latitude 55.536652N Longitude 2.131481W). We parked along the driveway of a farm just off the highway and about two and a half hours later after much huffing and puffing some of the reunionists made it to the top and were treated to a spectacular view of the north Northumberland countryside. Even those who did not make it to the top had a great view. Yeavering Bell and the immediate area is of considerable archaeological significance and has personal significance for some Harvey settler families. The top of Yeavering Bell itself is capped by the best-preserved prehistoric hill fort in Northumberland, with the tumbled down stonework still in existence. Reunionists who looked carefully within the confines of the fort could also see remnants of the platforms where timber built round houses stood. This fort was an important center of the Votadini, an important Iron Age tribe in this region that formed a Roman friendly buffer state north of Hadrian's Wall. Relations probably were not always friendly though as the walls appear to have been deliberately and uniformly flattened, perhaps during a Roman military operation in the 1st century AD. Standing on the walls of the hill fort and looking north we were looking at another important archaeological site -- Adgefrin (See: Yeavering entry Wikipedia for more information; Map Ref: NT925305 Landranger Map Number 74. Latitude: 55.568112N Longitude: 2.120487W).
The Northumbrian Angle King Edwin and his Queen Aethelburg maintained a Palace Complex and great hall known as Adgefrin. The site is of considerable cultural importance as it here that Paulinus of York, at the invitation of the royal couple, spent 36 days preaching and baptizing converts to Christianity in the River Glen. This marked the beginning of the general conversion of the invading Germanic tribes and the rechristianization of the area as the supplanted British tribes that formerly dominated the area had already converted to Christianity in Roman times. The name Adgefrin lives on as it first evolved into Gefrin, which eventually became the word Yeavering, as the area is known today.
A barn structure could also be seen on the grounds of the farm that we passed through to climb this hill. This still used building is also of archaeological significance as it was part of a fortified farm dating from the Reiver era, a thousand years after Adgefrin was abandoned.
From our perch on the hill fort we could clearly see across the River Glen on the edge of Adgefrin to the farm of Lanton and beyond to Milfield. This region is of significance to many Harvey settler families such as the Craigs and Moffitt's as they lived and worked in this area prior to emigration.
The high concentration of important archaeological sites spanning thousands of years of history in such a small geographic area made the reunionists realize what deep roots we all have in that area as we undoubtedly carry the blood of all those peoples who lived here in our veins!
-- A humbling experience.
Following the "moderate" hike up Yeavering those who still had the time and the energy went around Kirknewton and into the College Burn valley. This is a beautiful valley surrounded by high rolling hills and with a view of the Cheviot as you proceed up the valley. Those who made it up the valley were rewarded with a close view of 'Whitehall", the original farm where the Herbert family resided and where Thomas Herbert, one of the original pioneering Harvey settlers, was born in 1798. The visit was cut short by a heavy shower and most of the hikers scrambled into vehicles to escape the rain. All were very pleased though to have made it to this picturesque historic site.
The rain also failed to put a damper on those who attended a very interesting lecture in the Coldstream Parish Church about the history of the town and on the famous Coldstream Guards of the British Army, whose battle honors hung all around us. In the tradition of such artefacts they are not disturbed once hung up. As a result many of the older flags were hanging in tatters. The Coldstream Guards are the oldest regiment in the Regular Army in continuous active service, originating in Coldstream on the Scottish border in 1650 when General George Monck founded the regiment. It can trace its lineage all the way back to the New Model Army on the Parliamentary side of the English Civil War, although Lord Monk marched the Coldstream Guards to London following the death of Cromwell to support the restoration of the monarchy. We learned how the Coldstream marriage house at the Coldstream (Smeaton's) Bridge was a popular 19th century center for marriages for Presbyterians who could not legally married in Church of England dominated Northumberland until the practice was banned in 1856. It was also across this bridge that Robert Burns first crossed into England for the first time in 1787. Upon crossing the bridge he dropped to his knees and prayed:
" O SCOTIA ! MY DEAR, MY NATIVE SOIL !
FOR WHOM MY WARMEST WISH TO HEAVEN IS SENT !
LONG MAY THY HARDY SONS OF RUSTIC TOIL
BE BLEST WITH HEALTH, AND PEACE, AND SWEET CONTENT."
The town was also the location where invading armies crossed into Scotland. Edward I of England invaded Scotland in 1296 destroying the town in the process and heavily damaging the Priory founded by Earl Gospatrick in 1165. We also learned that later in 1545 the Earl of Hertford led the army of Henry VIII through the village, again razing it to the ground and this time completely destroying the Priory. By this time the rain had let up and a short walking tour of Coldstream commenced. As we weaved up and down the streets and through the back alleys we began to appreciate the long history of the town. The blocked up windows on many houses drew questions. We learned that these bricked up windows came about in 1696 when William III introduced a tax on the relative prosperity of the taxpayer. It was presumed that since glass was very expensive then, the more windows that one had would logically indicate that the person was wealthier and could pay more tax. The result was that many chose to sit in the dark rather than pay. Amazingly this strange form of taxation was not repealed until 1851!
By this time other reunionists began to arrive from the castle and we congregated at a local Hall to attend a reception put on by the Coldstream Historical Society and to hear a replay of Bruce Elliott's morning lecture (put on for the benefit of the society members) and a second lecture by David Welsh of Newcastle University who presented a very informative and entertaining lecture on the class structure and the working environment that existed in our ancestor's time. Although they lived in a beautiful landscape our ancestors lived hard lives in their roles as itinerant hinds, shepherds and tradesmen. In the end all agreed that although they had an even tougher time initially as they felled trees to clear their new farms in Harvey they eventually were much better off working land they owned themselves. The new settlers also had the luxury of outhouses in New Brunswick! An interesting side discussion that developed during the lecture was how the farmers thought that it was wasteful to provide outhouses along with the hinds cottages as the common thinking was that the people in them would not use them for their intended purpose but to store coal, potatoes and anything else that they could stuff in them. Instead they were expected to relieve themselves where ever they could. This waste was apparently carefully husbanded and piled out front of the hind cottages (so that no one would steal it!) as a valuable fertilizer for their kitchen gardens. It is surprising that anyone lived to adulthood under the poor sanitary conditions that these people lived under.
After the lecture concluded the members of the Coldstream Historical Society distributed mementos to their Harvey reunion guests and we shared a social hour together enjoying a tasty lunch that was laid out.
For those who had attended most of the activities, this had been a long but most enjoyable whirlwind day. Everyone was in very good spirits as we eventually loaded into our vehicles and headed back to Ford Castle for bed.
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 Above: Lord James Joicey welcomes the Harvey Settler Reunion attendees 'back' to Ford Castle. It was in that very room that local people came in 1836 to hear presentations from the NB Land Company as to why they should emigrate to NB. Source: Colleen Whelan, 28 Aug 2007.
Above Left: Close-up of Lord James Joicey welcoming the Harvey Settler descendants to Ford Castle. Source: Bruce Elliott, 28 Aug 2007.
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| Ian Herbert explaining the logistics of the various excursions planned for the week. Source: Tim Patterson, 28 Aug 2007. |
The Harvey Settler Reunion attendees listening carefully to the instructions that Ian Herbert is providing about the weeks activities. Source: Tim Patterson, 28 Aug 2007. |
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| Harvey Settler Reunion attendees chatting in the Great Hall at Ford Castle during a break in the morning's activities. Source: Colleen Whelan, 28 Aug 2007. |
One of the Powerpoint slides from Bruce Elliott's presentation on circustances surrounding the founding of Harvey. Source: Colleen Whelan, 28 Aug 2007. |
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| Annotated airphoto showing relative position of Kirknewton, Lanton, Ad Gefrin Northumbrian Angle Royal Centre and Yeavering Bell Hill Fort. Source: Google Maps, 4 Nov 2007. |
Close up view of the dry stone wall surrounding Yeavering Bell Iron Age Hill Fort. Foundations of many of the 125 round house foundations within the walls can be clearly seen. (Map Ref: NT918270 Landranger Map Number 74. Latitude 55.536652N Longitude 2.131481W) . Source: Google Maps, 4 Nov 2007. |
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A view of the long climb up Yeavering Bell from near the road with some curious sheep looking on. (Map Ref: NT918270 Landranger Map Number 74. Latitude 55.536652N Longitude 2.131481W) . Source: Tim Patterson, 28 Aug 2007.
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| Reunionists begin the ascent. David Robison (L) and Roy Patterson (R) are in the vanguard of this group. Source: Tim Patterson, 28 Aug 2007. |
The feral goats of Yeavering Bell grazing on the slopes. Source: Tim Patterson, 28 Aug 2007. |
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| Group shot of the first group of Harvey Settler Reunion attendees who made it to the top of Yeavering Bell. Source: Tim Patterson, 28 Aug 2007. |
A view of the tumbled down walls of the iron age hill fort at the top of Yeavering Bell. Source: Tim Patterson, 27 Aug 2007. |
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| A northward view from the top of Yeavering Bell. The farm where we parked (zoomed image below) is in the center foreground. The yellowish field to the right just across the road is the site of the Angle archaeological site Ad Gefrin. Lanton Farm where some of our ancestors worked as hinds (e.g. Moffitts) can be seen across the River Glen behind Ad Gefrin. Source: Tim Patterson, 28 Aug 2007. |
A similar view to that at left but with a segment of the hill fort wall in the foreground. Source: Tim Patterson, 28 Aug 2007. |
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| Close-up view of the farm where we parked to climb Ad Gefrin with our vehicles just visible along side the driveway. This farm is a site of historical interest itself as the barn/shed in the foreground was part of a fortified farm dating from the Reiver period. History is everywhere in this part of the world! Source: Tim Patterson, 27 Aug 2007. |
Calder (L) and Malcolm Patterson begin a rapid descent down the north slope of Yeavering Bell. A segment of the hill forts wall can be seen in front of them. Source: Tim Patterson, 28 Aug 2007. |
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| An eastward view from the northern stretch of well of the hill top fort at Yeavering Bell. Source: Tim Patterson, 28 Aug 2007. |
Elizabeth Patterson amongst the purple heather on the slopes of Yeavering Bell. Source: Tim Patterson, 28 Aug 2007. |
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| Elizabeth and son Malcolm Patterson enjoy a brief pause after coming down off Yeavering Bell. Source: Tim Patterson, 27 Aug 2007. |
Close-up view of Lanton Farm from the north slope of Yeavering Bell. It is here that some of our ancestors worked as hinds (e.g. Moffitts ). Source: Tim Patterson, 28 Aug 2007. |
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| Happy reunionists on easy hike around Kirknewton and into the College Burn valley, a beautiful valley surrounded by high rolling hills and with a view of the Cheviots. Source: Lynn Lewis, 28 Aug 2007. |
Left to Right: Kirsten Opdebeck, Judy Davis, and Lynn Lewis back at the castle after a a long day. Source: Lynn Lewis, 28 Aug 2007. |
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David Welsh of Northumberia University during his evening presentation to the Coldstream Historical Society where the Harvey Settler reunionists were special guests. He spoke on the various professions (hinds, shepherds, tradesmen) and the way of life that the Harvey settlers would have had prior to emigration. Source: Bruce Elliott, 28 Aug 2007.
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| David Welsh of Northumbria University speaking on the various professions (hinds, shepherds, tradesmen) and the way of life that the Harvey settlers would have had prior to emigration during his evening presentation to the Coldstream Historical Society. Source: Trevor Swan, 28 Aug 2007. |
Assembled Harvey Settler Reunion attendees and members of the Coldstream Historical Society enjoying the lecture of David Welsh of Northumbria University. Source: Trevor Swan, 28 Aug 2007. |
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Group photograph of Harvey Settler Reunion attendees and members of the Coldstream Historical Society following the lectures of David Welsh of Northumbria University and Bruce Elliott of Carleton University. Source: Trevor Swan, 28 Aug 2007.
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David Welsh (L) of Northumbria University and Bruce Elliott (R) of Carleton University following their interesting lectures to the Harvey Settler reunion attendees and members of the Coldstream Historical Society . Source: Trevor Swan, 28 Aug 2007. |
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Relaxing in the lounge back at Ford Castle. L to R. Carol Lewis, Judy Davis, Graham Little (Manager, Ford Castle) and Lynn Lewis. Source: Lynn Lewis, 28 Aug 2007.
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History
