ABSTRACT
The tiny village of Capheaton lies in the heart of the Northumbrian countryside, between Hadrian’s Wall and the Cheviot Hills, which fringe the England-Scotland border. Surrounded by moors, fells, and a landscape of outstanding natural beauty, it is home to Capheaton Hall, the seat of the Swinburne family. The hall dates from the seventeenth century when it was built to replace the derelict Swinburne Castle, which had been erected a few miles south west of Capheaton on the banks of the Swin Burn, a minor tributary of the northern branch of the River Tyne. To the north of Capheaton is Reiver country, historically a notorious and lawless land that gave rise to the Border Ballads, while to the south lie Weardale and Teesdale. The entire region has a rich heritage of myths and legends that date back to the fifth century and Northumbria’s occupation by Anglo-Saxon settlers. However, despite widespread Christianization of the kingdom of Northumbria during the fifth and sixth centuries, the Anglo-Saxons remained intransigently superstitious and many of their stories have permeated the region’s folkloric traditions. There is hardly a town or village between South Yorkshire and the Scottish border (the extent of the original kingdom) that does not have its tales of apparitions and boggles, shape-shifters and worms, visitants divine or demonic. Once the largest and most politically powerful kingdom in England, Northumbria itself no longer exists and has been replaced by various administrative regions, including Northumberland. Yet the name of Northumbria, along with its folkloric traditions, remains a romantic touchstone, providing inspiration for its artists and writers. Much of what we now know about Northumbria’s turbulent preliterate history comes predominantly from two sources: the writings of saints and scholars such as Bede and Cuthbert who were central to the spread of Christianity in England, and the songs and ballads of the border country. Composed between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries, the Border Ballads detail every aspect of border life, most often with brutal and incontrovertible honesty. The Reivers were often looked on by outsiders as fearsome and fearless warriors who gave allegiance to no flag or monarch, and were employed by England and Scotland alike as mercenary guerrillas during the border wars. Yet they were also doggedly loyal toward and protective of their own tribesmen, and would risk life and limb to preserve the name and reputation of their particular clan. The ballad “Kinmont Willie,” for example, tells of the daring rescue by members of the Armstrong clan of the notorious cattle and sheep rustler, William Armstrong of Kinmont, from under the noses of a heavily armed English garrison. 1 Such tales of derring-do have long served to define and characterize the border families through a combination of self-reliance, tribal loyalty, rebelliousness, heroism, and the potential for unadulterated savagery.
