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Above: St. Aidan's Statue, Holy Island, Northumberland. Photo courtesy of freefoto.com

Prime Minister Tony Blair and The Millennium History of North East England by David Simpson. Photo courtesy of The Northern Echo

 

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Timeline of North East History

THE PRINCE BISHOPS 1081AD - 1135AD

By David Simpson

The powers held by the Prince Bishops of Durham in the land between Tyne and Tees were the last vestiges of those once held by the kings and earls of Northumbria. Ultimately the Bishops answered to the kings of England, but their powers in Durham were very similar to those held by the King of England in other parts of the country.

January 1081 – BISHOP OF DURHAM APPOINTED
(Gloucester)
William St Carileph becomes Bishop of Durham. Carileph has not inherited the political powers held by his predecessor which are now held by the Earl of Northumberland. William removes non-celibate monks from Durham and replaces them with celibate monks f rom Jarrow and Wearmouth. The non-celibate monks are moved to sites at Darlington, Norton-on-Tees and St Helen Auckland.

1086 – NORTH-EAST ESCAPES DOMESDAY
(North-East)
England north of the Tees is left out of the Domesday Book, a survey of the king's territory, which is an indication of desolation in the region. Yorkshire is included.

1087 – BISHOP FLEES TO NORMANDY
(Durham)
King William I dies in Normandy. William Rufus becomes King William IIand rebuilds the New Castle on Tyne. Bishop William of Durham and Robert Mowbray of Northumberland support the claims of the Duke of Normandy, Robert Curthose, to the throne. They join a long list of plotters. Durham castle is besieged by Rufus and Bishop William flees to Normandy.

May 1091 – SCOTS ATTACK NORTH
(North)
Scots under King Malcolm III invade as far as Chester-le-Street. A Norman fleet of ships is wrecked off Tynemouth during a counter attack.

September 14, 1091 – FIRST PRINCE BISHOP
(County Durham)
William St Carileph is restored as Bishop of Durham after a three year exile. The king allows Carileph to buy political rights held by Mowbray, the Earl of Northumberland, between the Tyne and the Tees. Only the south Durham district called Sadberge rema ins in Mowbray's Northumberland. As 'Prince Bishop', Carileph can raise armies, appoint sheriffs, administer laws, levy taxes and customs, create fairs and markets, issue charters, salvage shipwrecks, collect revenue from mines, administer forests and mint coins.

1092 – CARLISLE PROTECTS NEWCASTLE
(Carlisle)
King Rufus builds a castle at Carlisle. It restricts Scottish invasions along the Tyne Gap and will enable commercial development at Newcastle.

August 11, 1093 – DURHAM CATHEDRAL
(Durham City)
Durham Cathedral is started by Bishop William. The old Durham minster is demolished. William is inspired by churches seen in Normandy during exile. The first stones are laid by the Bishop and King Malcolm III of Scotland.

November 13, 1093 – MALCOLM KILLED AT ALNWICK
(Alnwick)
Malcolm III, King of the Scots, is slain during a raid on Alnwick. He was tricked by Arkil Morel, nephew of Robert Mowbray. Malcolm is buried at Tynemouth and Mowbray forms an alliance with Donald, the new Scottish king.

1095 – NORTHUMBERLAND UNDER KING'S RULE
(Bamburgh)
Bamburgh Castle is besieged by King William II against Robert Mowbray who has rebelled against him. William builds an "evil neighbour" fort - his own fort on the side of someone else's castle - on the walls of Bamburgh and captures Mowbray. Mowbray's cas tles at Newcastle, Tynemouth and Morpeth are seized. Northumberland is taken under direct rule of the King. It stretches from the Tyne to the Tweed but includes land in south Durham.

January 6, 1096 – CARILEPH DIES
(Windsor)
Carileph, Bishop of Durham, dies at Windsor where he was summoned to meet the king on suspicion of revolt. A new appointment is postponed until 1099 when Ranulf Flambard, chief adviser to Rufus, becomes bishop. Flambard has acquired wealth for the king by collecting revenue from postponed appointments and through his tough approach to taxing the barons.

1100 – BISHOP OF DURHAM IN TOWER
(London)
Selby-born Henry I becomes King. Bishop Flambard is imprisoned in the Tower of London because the barons tell Henry of his harsh tax-collecting ways. Flambard, who has many enemies, is the first man to be imprisoned here. He later escapes using a rope smuggled in by a butler in a cask of wine and seeks refuge in Normandy.

THE PRINCE BISHOPS (Norman period) other dates
1080AD / 1100AD / 1101AD / 1120AD / 1130AD / 1135-1157 / Cathedrals / Monasteries

THE TIMELINE BY ERA

ROMAN PERIOD

ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD

VIKING PERIOD

NORMAN PERIOD

MEDIEVAL PERIOD

TUDOR AND STUART PERIOD

GEORGIAN PERIOD

VICTORIAN PERIOD

TWENTIETH CENTURY

 

THE MILLENNIUM HISTORY OF NORTH EAST ENGLAND

by David Simpson

Published by leighton in association with The Northern Echo

ISBN 0-9536984-3-2

The Millennium History of North East England by David Simpson is published by Leighton, The Teleport, Doxford International, Sunderland, SR3 3XD, Tel +44 (0) 191 5252400 Fax +44 (0) 520 1815 www.bepl.com. The book is a 322 page full colour hard back book covering the history of the region from Roman times to the present day. To order copies of the book you can e-mail Andrea.Murphy@bepl.com

Author David Simpson and Paul Callaghan, Managing Director of leighton at the book launch held at Lumley Castle, Durham December 1999

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