Bywell Church of St Peter

In the civil parish of Bywell.
In the historic county of Northumberland (Modern Authority of Northumberland, 1974 county of Northumberland).

St Peter's Church is one of two churches in Bywell, both with Anglo-Saxon origins. It originally belonged to the Benedictine monastery of Durham and was the location of Bishop Egbert's consecration as 12th Bishop of Lindisfarne in AD803. The oldest parts of the church are the north wall of the nave and the western parts of the chancel walls. The present chancel was built at the beginning of C13, but the church is reported to have been burnt down in 1285. It was rebuilt in C14 and C15 and restored in C19. The Anglo-Saxon church is thought to have been a major building with a nave over 19m long. C13 tower is built on and partly within the original nave and overlies some Anglo-Saxon foundations. Built into the walls of the church are many Roman stones which has in part lead to the suggestion that the church may stand on a Roman site. Excavations in 1995 discovered the massive foundations of the Saxon chancel. Tower is defensible.

This site has been described as a;
Fortified Ecclesiastical site.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ04076514

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N10072

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N10072
• Books
  • Brooke, C.J., 2000, Safe Sanctuaries (Edinburgh; John Donald) p187-9
    Ryder, P.F., 1995, Archaeology in Northumberland 1994-1995 p27
    Holmes, R.E., 1938, Bywell and its Twin Churches (Hexham) p11-17
    Hodgson, John Crawford (ed), 1902, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol6 p102-18