A COACH TRIP to TILLMOUTH PARK, Northumberland, and PAXTON HOUSE, Berwickshire, originally planned for Saturday 15 March had to be unavoidably postponed but will be rescheduled and incorporated into the Society programme later in the year, with full details of travel arrangements and cost for Members, who can be accompanied by friends if they wish.

Built in 1882, Tillmouth Park is a magnificent Victorian mansion with fine stained glass and an impressive galleried lounge, now a luxurious country house hotel well known to anglers, set in 15 acres of very private grounds on the River Till. It faces the ruins of Twizel Castle, from the stones of which the house was built. Below Twizel is the beautiful 15th-century, single-span stone bridge that proved crucial in 1513 when King James IV of Scots (married to Henry VIII’s sister Margaret but an ally of France) invaded England after Henry himself had invaded France. Out of a misplaced sense of chivalry, James allowed the Earl of Surrey’s army to use this river crossing-point and move north to outflank the Scots. The English went on to annihilate the Scots army and kill the flower of Scots nobility, as well as the king himself, at the Battle of Flodden. Tillmouth House was owned by Sir Francis Blake, a Northumbrian landowner, who was created 1st Baronet of Twizell in 1774, perhaps because he supported the Hanoverian Government during the Forty-Five. Be that as it may (and possibly as a result of his involvement), the hotel contains a little-known Jacobite item that Members will view after lunch.

Paxton House, less than 8 miles away, is the finest example of a Palladian country house in Scotland. Designed by the Adams Brothers, it sits on the banks of the River Tweed just north of the Anglo-Scottish Border and has a fascinating collection of original Chippendale furniture. It also houses the largest collection of publicly owned art exhibited outwith the National Galleries of Scotland in a superb Regency Picture Gallery. The house is set in a country park with formal gardens, parkland, deciduous woodland and a resident colony of red squirrels. It is managed by the Paxton Trust, a registered charity, but the Home-Robertson Family still live in a wing of the house. Their ancestor Sir George Home, 3rd Baronet of Wedderburn, came out in the Fifteen and was taken prisoner at Preston, together with his brother and his second son and sentenced to death. His life was eventually spared but his estate was forfeited (though later it was recovered). His son was forced to settle in America and forged interesting links with George Washington.

Sat. 19 April CULLODEN ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION SERVICE
Culloden Battlefield, near Inverness, commencing at 11. 00 am. Members attended this moving ceremony and supported the laying of the Society wreath by the Chairman at the Great Cairn on the 262nd anniversary of the battle. The new £9-million Visitor Centre with state of the art audio-visuals is a huge draw this year to Jacobite enthusiasts from all over the world. As usual, their gathering was a spectacle never to be forgotten.

Sat. 17 May ORIGINAL ARCHIVE SOURCES FOR THE FIFTEEN RISING, AND FAMILY
HISTORY RESOURCES, AT BERWICK RECORD OFFICE
A Talk by Linda Bankier, Borough Archivist, at Dilston College Recreation Hall at 11.00 am. Linda is well known in North Northumberland for her encyclopaedic knowledge of original archive material and for introducing the public to practical methods of genealogical research. She will be guiding Members in a user-friendly way through documents of the period relating to Berwick’s response to the Fifteen, and revealing the riches contained within BRO for all family history buffs.

Fri. 6 to Sun. AIR AND SHUTTLE BUS TRANSFER TRIP TO PARIS: 2-NIGHT HOTEL STAY
8 June ..........AND GROUP VISIT BY RAIL TO CHATEAU OF SAINT-GERMAIN
This is an exciting venture for Members, who will fly by Easyjet from Newcastle Airport on Fri. 6 June at 1330 to Paris CDG, arriving 1610. A shuttle bus will transfer them to the Hotel de Senlis, where they will stay for 2 nights (Continental breakfast included) in the centre of Paris. On the Saturday a short train journey will be made to the royal château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 11 miles to the west of Paris, given to the exiled Stuarts by Louis XIV, and home of the Jacobite Shadow Court for many years. Here James and Francis Radcliffe acted as companions to their cousin, Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, later King James III, from the ages of 13 and 11 until they were allowed to return to the family estates at Dilston by Queen Anne in 1709. It was Saint-Germain’s splendour that James, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater, tried to emulate in the building of his new mansion and formal gardens at Dilston, which he never lived to enjoy. Members will travel to see this marvellous museum, near to White Rose Day (June 10), enjoy dinner together and perhaps explore Paris on their own before the flight home on Sun. 8 June, departing at 1920, arriving at Newcastle Airport at 1955. Please note: applications for this trip are now closed.

Sat. 12 July JACOBITES IN TYNEDALE
A Talk by Michael Furlonger, BA, MA, Tutor at the Centre for Lifelong Learning (Sunderland and Newcastle Universities) at Dilston College Recreation Hall, 11.00 am. Michael is well known in the North-East as a very entertaining speaker and has a wide- ranging knowledge of all matters historical. We are delighted to include him in our programme, since our Society website was originally created under the auspices of the Centre at Newcastle and grew from course work undertaken by its students.

Sat. 16 Aug. MYSTERY DAY COACH TRIP TO CARLISLE and BRAMPTON
Members and friends will be guided to several sites in the North-West Border Region that are of Jacobite significance. Why not relax and enjoy another day out with like-minded people, being driven through lovely countryside rich in historical associations? Precise details of cost will be circulated to Members in a future newsletter but an expression of interest would be welcome at this stage. The coach will set out from, and return to, Hexham.

Sat. 13 Sept. THE EVOLUTION OF THE ROYAL ARMS BEFORE THE UNION OF THE CROWNS, WITH SOME REFERENCE TO JACOBITE FAMILIES AND TO THE DUKE OF BERWICK, NATURAL SON OF JAMES II
A Talk by Roy Humphrey, MA, OBE, at Dilston College Recreation Hall at 11.00 am. Roy is a long-standing expert on Heraldry and has spent many years studying the subject, photographing interesting examples from both sides of the Border. He will be explaining the difference between the Royal Arms of the Stuart and Hanoverian dynasties, as well as interpreting the coats of arms of celebrated Jacobite peers.

Wed. 24 Sept. VISIT TO THE DISCOVERY MUSEUM, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
Members should meet at 1.45 pm at the entrance to the Museum in Blandford Street, Newcastle (5 minutes walk from the Central Station) for a special guided tour by Hazel Edwards, Senior Keeper of History and Deputy Curator, or her colleague. This is a return visit for those Members who missed, or wish to enjoy again, the private view of relics associated with Lord Derwentwater, including his death mask, successfully staged in 2005. It is hoped that fresh material on the period will also be made available. This will be followed by an optional short guided walk to city places in the near vicinity that have links with Northumbrian Jacobite families. Entrance to the Museum is free, and there is a Pay & Display car park outside.

Sat. 11 Oct. EIGHTH ANNUAL SOCIETY DINNER
Details of venue to be announced later. Time: 7.00 for 7.30 pm. This is always a highlight of our calendar, with good company, a little ritual, relaxing entertainment (including the playing of the Northumbrian smallpipes by Nick Leeming) and the possibility of overnight accommodation. Please mark the date in your diary.

Sat. 25 Oct. SMALL SKIRMISHES AND ARMIES OF THE FIFTEEN
A Talk by Member Rob Anderson at Dilston College Recreation Hall at 11.00 am. This will include a description of the armies of both sides in the 1715 Rising – armament, clothing, etc – and a few of the small-scale actions that occurred during the campaign. Rob describes himself as having “just a healthy interest in all things from the Jacobite era, as well as 17th and 18th Century warfare.” He is at present putting the finishing touches to a range of figures for the '15 and '19 Risings for use in war-gaming or to be enjoyed as collectors’ pieces.

Sat. 8 Nov. COUNTESS AMELIA’S BATTLE FOR DILSTON
A Talk by Author and Member Dr Maurice Milne, MA (Oxon), M Litt, PhD, at Dilston College Recreation Hall at 11.00 am. Maurice will update for us his published examination of 19th-century newspaper accounts of the extraordinary events surrounding Amelia, the ‘Mad Countess’, who claimed not just to be the heir to Lord Derwentwater’s attainted title but the rightful recipient of the rents due from the Radcliffe lands since their confiscation by the Crown and the awarding of them to Greenwich Hospital in 1735. Her struggle with Edward Grey, Agent of the Hospital, at Dilston was a fascinating battle of wills that today can be fruitfully revisited.

Sat. 6 Dec. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
This will be held as usual at Dilston College Recreation Hall at 2.00 pm, when Members are invited to comment on the past year’s events and learn of the Society’s future plans. Tea and coffee will be served afterwards. (NB. There will not, this year, be a wreath-laying ceremony at Dilston Chapel beforehand.)

Sun. 7 Dec. ANNUAL WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY AT LANGLEY
We hope Members will be able to join us for this simple but unique ceremony held at 12.30 pm (the day before the anniversary of Charles Radcliffe’s execution in 1746), when a Society wreath will be attached to the Derwentwater Cross near Langley, erected in 1883 by Cadwallader Bates to commemorate the executions of James and Charles Radcliffe, 3rd and titular 5th Earls of Derwentwater. The plaintive Derwentwater’s Farewell will be played by Nick Leeming on the Northumbrian smallpipes (weather permitting). Members should park a little way beyond the Cross and take a short walk back to it on what can be a rather busy road. We feel this ceremony is a valuable tribute to the brave Northumbrians who suffered for the Jacobite Cause.