Introduction

After the ending of the '45, Jacobitism all but died in England.


William Sidney Gibson

This new interest in the local Jacobites was given a boost by the publication of William Sidney Gibson's book, 'Dilston Hall', in 1850.


Countess Amelia

On 28 September 1868 an apparently respectable Victorian gentlewoman left her house at Blaydon and, with two burly henchmen, moved into the ruined tower at Dilston.


A Squatter at Dilston

In order to prove that she was entitled to the old Radcliffe lands, Amelia had to do two things.


Amelia's Claim

Did Amelia really have a claim to the Radcliffe lands? Was she really descended from the Earl of Derwentwater?


The Derwentwater Monument

The magnificently named Cadwallader Bates was the leading Northumbrian historian of his day and in 1883 he bought Langley Castle.


The Northumbrian Jacobites Today

Since the publication of Gibson's 'Dilston Hall' in 1850, there has been continuous interest in the Northumbrian Jacobites.


The Derwentwater Monument

The magnificently named Cadwallader Bates was the leading Northumbrian historian of his day and in 1883 he bought Langley Castle. He restored it extensively. He also erected a curious monument to the memory of the executed Radcliffes. The monument takes the form of a Celtic cross, carved in a typically Victorian mock- Gothic fashion.

The inscription reads 'To the memory of James and Charles Radcliffe, Earls of Derwentwater, Viscounts Langley, beheaded on Tower Hill, 24 February, 1716 and 8 December, 1746 for loyalty to their lawful sovereign'. At a time of Victorian patriotic fervour and in the aftermath of Tennyson's 'Idylls of the King', this inscription caused quite a stir among the loyal citizens of Tynedale.

It is one of only two monuments to the Radcliffe brothers in England (the other is the Derwentwater Oblelisk in Acton Park, near London, which commemorates James); and, as far as is known, it is the only English memorial that pays direct tribute to sacrifice for the Jacobite Cause.