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A brief history of Morpeth

N.B. This page is not intended to be a definitive academic history of Morpeth. It is only a taster for the town's past.

The origins of the name Morpeth are obscure. It is though to be derived from "Moor Path" or perhaps even "Murder Path". Either may well refer to the early drovers' trail which crossed the river Wansbeck here and wound its way north, over the moors to Scotland. On the way, cattle, goods and even life itself could be threatened by the notorious Border Reivers, families of largely lawless borderers who owed allegiance to neither the Scots not the English.

Old and new Wansbeck crossings	The Normans sited a castle here overlooking the river crossing which was somewhere near the present Telford Toll Bridge. The Telford Bridge, built by Thomas Telford and designed by John Dobson replaced a 13th century bridge that had been a hazard to coach traffic. When the new bridge was opened in 1831 few people would pay the toll, preferring still to use the old bridge.
The Town Council's solution was to blow up the old bridge with gunpowder leaving on the remains of the central pier. The old toll house still stands on the southern end of the bridge.

	John Dobson also designed the new county Gaol with its great gatehouse, and massive curtain walls that have since been demolished. Emily Davison, the campaigner for women's suffrage, who was killed by the King's horse at the Epsom Derby, is buried at the 14th century church of St Mary.
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