Biddlestone is a village in Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, England. It is about 14 miles (22.5 km) to the west of Alnwick

Alnwick

Alnwick is a small market town in north Northumberland, England. The town's population was just over 8000 at the time of the 2001 census and Alnwick's district population was 31,029....

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Governance

Biddlestone is in the parliamentary

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed

Berwick-upon-Tweed (UK Parliament constituency)

Berwick-upon-Tweed is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

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Landmarks

Biddlestone Roman Catholic Chapel

Biddlestone RC Chapel

Biddlestone RC Chapel is a Roman Catholic chapel at Biddlestone, near Netherton, Northumberland. It is a Grade II* listed building, and is one of the few remains of the former mansion known as Biddlestone Hall....

 is a Grade II* listed building, and is all that now remains of the former mansion Biddlestone Hall.

The Selby family

Selby family

The Selby family was a prolific and widespread English family that originated in Selby, Yorkshire, but largely settled in Northumberland.The following are some of the more important branches of the family, several of which are interconnected by marriage between cousins:-Selby of...

 were granted the manor of Biddlestone in 1272 and lived there for over 600 years. In the 14th century they built a pele tower which was reported to in 'good reparations' by a survey of 1541 and which was incorporated into a tower house

Tower house

A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...

 in the 17th century. In 1715 it was described as a freestone structure in the form of a cross with four wings 'the middlemost tower like with battlements'. The Georgian style mansion was built about 1796 on the site of the old house, and in about 1820 Walter Selby commissioned architect John Dobson

John Dobson (architect)

John Dobson was a 19th-century English architect in the neoclassical tradition. He became the most noted architect in the North of England. Churches and houses by him dot the North East - Nunnykirk Hall, Meldon Park, Mitford Hall, Lilburn Tower, St John the Baptist Church in Otterburn,...

 to design a private family chapel to be incorporated into the Hall on the site of the old pele tower. The arms of the Selby family are represented in a stained glass window. The Selbys left Biddlestone in about 1914 and the Hall deteriorated to such an extent that it was demolished in about 1960 leaving only the chapel standing.

The chapel which is still in occasional use is now in the custody of the Historic Chapels Trust.