History

The first reference to Rushyford in the history books concerns an ambush that took place in 1317. A new Lord Bishop of Durham had been appointed by King Edward 11. Louis de Beaumont was the cousin of Queen Isabella, who had promised him the job, despite Henry Stanford having already been elected.

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The Queen persuaded King Edward to approach the Pope and overrule the election. The Pope agreed and Beaumont made the journey from London to Durham with his retinue, which included two Italian Cardinals. He was met in Darlington by a messenger from Durham Cathedral, who advised him not to travel north because the road was infested with bandits and vagabonds, particularly in the area known as Rushyford. Beaumont suspected that this was a delaying tactic and refused to heed the warning.

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The Lord Bishops of Durham were immensely wealthy, not least because they received the tithes or tenth of the income of all the estates in the area. Since this was August, it was felt that Beaumont wanted to be installed in time to receive the proceeds of the summer harvest.

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The king’s opponents, notably the Houses of York and Lancaster, began hatching a plot which they hoped would start a rebellion that would sweep the country. Two of these individual opponents, Sir John de Eure and Sir Robert de Sapy, had been appointed to stand in until the new Bishop arrived and they hoped that by delaying his arrival, they themselves would be entitled to the tithe income.

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It is recorded that ‘at Rushyford a desperate band waited the arrival of the party and the Bishop and his companions were speedily enveloped in a cloud of light horsemen.’

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The leader of the horsemen was Sir Gilbert Middleton, a Northumbrian nobleman. Unfortunately, he had not predicted that the party accompanying the Bishop would include two Cardinals. Although he felt that it was acceptable to attack Beaumont, (the appointee of the King), he could not countenance capturing the Cardinals and he allowed them to proceed to Durham on condition that they paid a ransom for the return and release of Beaumont. Beaumont was taken to his castle at Mitford in Northumberland.

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However, the rebellion against the king did not happen and Beaumont was rescued from Mitford Castle. Sir Gilbert Middleton was arrested, taken to London and died a bloody death. He was dragged through the streets of London to the gallows, hanged till he was half dead and then beheaded. His heart was ripped out of his body, which was then cut into quarters. His head was sent to the City of London, and the quarters of his body were sent to Newcastle, York, Bristol and Dover.

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A tablet recording this incident was inserted in the stonework of the bridge over Rushyford beck. However, nobody knows where it is now, and it has not been seen since 1931, when the A1 was rerouted.

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Article written by Cllr Phil Woods

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