Hepscott is a small village in the county of 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, about 2 miles (3 km) south east of Morpeth

Morpeth, Northumberland

Morpeth is the county town of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town. The town is from the A1, which bypasses it. Since 1981, it has been the administrative centre of the County of Northumberland. In the 2001 census the town had a population...

, the county town.

The name is Anglo-Saxon in origin and a derivation of "Shepherd's Cote". This suggests that the village, which was a hamlet prior to expansion since the 1980s, originated as the homestead of a shepherd, possibly in the early mediæval period.

Governance

Hepscott lies within the Ulgham Division of the new county-wide unitary authority

Unitary authority

A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...

, Northumberland County Council

Northumberland County Council

Northumberland County Council is a unitary authority in North East England. It was originally formed in 1889 as the council for the administrative county of Northumberland and reformed in 1974 to cover a the newly formed non-metropolitan county of Northumberland...

. The County Councillor is Cllr David J. Towns (Conservative), and the village falls within the Northern Area Committee's jurisdiction.

Landmarks

The most historic building in Hepscott is Hepscott Hall, a three storey, rectangular mediæval pele tower. The Hall was associated with a deer park

Medieval deer park

A medieval deer park was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank. The ditch was typically on the inside, thus allowing deer to enter the park but preventing them from leaving.-History:...

. The traces of part of the boundary wall of the deer park survive along the track to Field House Farm. Another historic building of importance is a smithy dating to the late 18th century that is a Grade II Listed Building.

Notable people

Hepscott has recently lost its longest-living resident. Mrs Irene Violet Bevan was born at Barmoor, in the parish of Hepscott, on January 27, 1920. She died on 16 August 2010 aged 90. She knew Hepscott from a time when farming was by hand and horse, when Barmoor was bombed by the Luftwaffe and before it doubled in size from the 1970s onwards. She was instrumental in the Hepscott WI, Over 60s Club and Tea Party. She also helped save the land that the school and church stood on from development from personal knowledge that the land was left to the village by Lord Carlisle. It is partly due to her that there is a village hall on this land.

Irene was a cousin, once-removed of the suffragette Emily Wilding Davison. Her mother and Emily were close friends as well as cousins. Irene held the family knowledge inherited from her mother that Emily did not intend to kill herself when she accosted the King's horse at the Epsom Derby in 1913. Her intention was to pin the suffragette colours on the horse.

Other notable residents have included footballers John Barnes and David McCreary and football managers Jack Charlton

Jack Charlton

John "Jack" Charlton, OBE, DL is a former footballer and manager who played for Leeds United in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and was part of the England team who won the 1966 World Cup...

 and Gordon Lee

Gordon Lee (footballer)

Gordon Francis Lee is a former English footballer and football manager.A right-back during his playing days, he moved from Hednesford Town to Aston Villa in 1955...

.

External links

• Northumberland Communities (accessed: 27 November 2008)