Local History
Fallowfield is located three miles north of Hexham in Northumberland on the site of a medieval settlement in an area rich in history.
Hadrian's Wall crosses the land and was recently made a world heritage site. The 84 mile wall running from the North Sea to the Solway commenced construction in 122 AD to separate the Romans from the Barbarians, a feat it achieved for 250 years. The wall was constructed mainly of stone with milecastles at one mile intervals.
To the north-east of Fallowfield is the site of the Battle of Heavenfield in 633 AD. The Christian king Oswald of Northumbria defeated the Welsh and Mercians under King Cadwallon, bringing Christianity back to Northumbria. Oswald raised a wooden cross before the battle in which the Welsh were utterly defeated and Cadwallon slain.
Christianity flourished and Hexham Abbey started construction in 674 AD under Wilfred, Bishop of York. From the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries the borderlands were fought over by the Kings of Scotland and England and the border was lawless and violent.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the industrial revolution brought coal and lead mining to the North Pennines, creating great wealth for the landowners. Coal mining at Fallowfield continued until 1937. Today the area is primarily agricultural with tourism making an increasing contribution to the local economy.
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Crag House at Fallowfield
