Berwick Council in row over plans at Homildon Hill

Nov 3 2008 by Brian Daniel, The Journal

The 1402 battle

THE Battle of Homildon Hill, or Humbleton Hill as it is also known, was fought on the field on which the Bendor Signal Box sits on September 14, 1402.

A Scottish army returning from a pillaging expedition in Northumberland suffered complete defeat at the hands of the English, under commanders the Earl of Northumberland, Harry Hotspur Percy and the Earl of Dunbar and March.

The Scots, led by Archibald, Earl of Douglas, had invaded in part to avenge the killing and capture of prominent Scottish nobles in the battle of Nesbit Moor.

The battle was famously recounted in Shakespeare's Henry IV.

Although Humbleton Hill is the modern name of the site, over the centuries it has been variously referred to as Homildon, Hameldun, Holmedon, and Homilheugh.

The box was built as part of the Alnwick to Cornhill Railway line, which opened in 1887.

Between Wooler and Cornhill there were stations at Akeld, Kirknewton and Mindrum and goods sidings at Kilham.

The quality of all the station buildings, and all the structures along the line including the signal box, is often said to be remarkable.