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Human settlement in England From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Matfen is a village and a civil parish in Northumberland, England, near the town of Hexham and the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is an example of a 19th-century planned estate village. It was the birthplace of the 7th Premier of British Columbia, William Smithe. In 2001 it had a population of 495.
Matfen | |
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![]() Matfen | |
Location within Northumberland | |
Population | 495 (2001 census)[1] |
OS grid reference | NZ029719 |
Civil parish |
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Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE |
Postcode district | NE20 |
Dialling code | 01661 |
Police | Northumbria |
Fire | Northumberland |
Ambulance | North East |
UK Parliament | |
Matfen is a few miles north of Hadrian's Wall. About halfway between the two there is a prehistoric standing stone called Stob Stone, adjacent to Standing Stone Farmhouse. The stone is about seven feet high and decorated with cup marks.[2]
The place-name Matfen is first attested in the Pipe Rolls for 1159, where it appears as Matefen. The name means Matta's fen.[3] The civil parish was formed in 1955 from East Matfen, Fenwick, Ingoe, Kearsley, Ryal and West Matfen.[4]
Matfen Hall now houses a hotel and country club. The Grade II* listed building was built about 1828 by Sir Edward Blackett to replace an earlier, 17th-century house.[5]
The Devil's Causeway passes the village less than 2 miles (3 km) to the west. The causeway is a Roman road, which starts at Port Gate on Hadrian's Wall, north of Corbridge, and extends 55 miles (89 km) northwards across Northumberland to the mouth of the Tweed at Berwick-upon-Tweed.[6]
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