Matfen

Matfen Hall is a 19th-century country mansion in Matfen, Northumberland, England, the seat of the Blackett baronets and now also a hotel and country golf club. It is a Grade II* listed building. The manor of West Matfen was owned in the 13th century by Philip de Ulcote and passed through his sisters to Felton, by marriage to Hastings and later to Lawson. In 1625 the estate was bought by Lancelot Fenwick of a branch of the old-established local family. The manor and manor house, West Matfen High Hall, was sold in 1680 to John Douglas, Town Clerk of Newcastle. His granddaughter and Douglas heiress married Sir Edward Blackett, Bt., in 1757, thereby bringing the estate into the Blackett family. The present house was built to replace the old manor, in 1832 for Sir William Blackett, 6th Baronet. The impressive Jacobean-style mansion has a three-storey seven-bay entrance front. An important internal feature is a full-height Gothic hall. Between 1965 and 1994 the house was leased out, operating as the Northumberland Cheshire Home. Sir Hugh Blackett, the 12th Baronet, and Lady Blackett have since converted the hall into a hotel and country club, which opened in 1999. The Blacketts now live at Halton Castle, a few miles west of Matfen.

Milecastle 19 (Matfen Piers) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. Sited just to the east of the hamlet of Matfen Piers, the milecastle is today covered by the B6318 Military Road. The milecastle is notable for the discovery of an altar by Eric Birley in the 1930s. An inscription on the altar is one of the few dedications to a mother goddess found in Roman Britain, and was made by members of the First Cohort of Varduli from northern Spain. The presence of the Vardulians at this milecastle has led to debate amongst archaeologists over the origins of troops used to garrison the wall. A smaller altar was found at one of the two associated turrets.

Ryal or Ryall is a village and former civil parish about 13 miles from Hexham, now in the parish of Matfen, in the county of Northumberland, England. In 1951 the parish had a population of 41. The village now has 2 farms, 6 cottages and a church called All Saints' Church.

Milecastle 20 (Halton Shields) was one of the milecastles on Hadrian's Wall (grid reference NZ01886868). It is situated in the hamlet of Halton Shields, and was excavated in 1935. There is no visible trace of the milecastle above ground.

Great Whittington is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Whittington, in Northumberland, England, 7 miles NE of Hexham. In 1951 the parish had a population of 158.

Milecastle 18 (East Wallhouses) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. It is located to the west of the settlement of East Wallhouses in Northumberland and is visible as a platform in the ground. The milecastle is of a unique construction, having a gateway associated with builders of the Legio II Augusta and a layout typical of the Legio VI Victrix or Legio XX Valeria Victrix. Historians have suggested that it may have been begun by men of one legion and finished by those of another. One of Milecastle 18's associated turrets shows evidence of being used as a workshop, possibly for the repair of shoes.

Fenwick Tower was a 12th-century tower house at Fenwick, Matfen, Northumberland, England. The house was the home of the Fenwick family from the 12th century until they moved to Wallington in the 16th century.In 1378 John Fenwick was granted a licence to crenelate the house. The tower was largely demolished in about 1775 at which time a hoard of medieval gold coins was discovered.The sparse remains of the tower are now incorporated into a 17th-century farmhouse and are protected by Grade II listed building statusOn 15 February 2010 human remains were found buried next to a cottage in the hamlet of Fenwick Towers. Radio-carbon dating of the remains indicated they likely dated to the 13th or 14th centuries.

Milecastle 21 (Down Hill) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. The site was identified by measurement only, as the milecastle's remains have been totally removed. This is probably due to extensive quarrying at the site, which now lies under pasture (and partly beneath the Military Road).

Milecastle 17 (Welton/Whittledean) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. The milecastle is located near to the Whittle Dene reservoirs and is visible as a platform in the ground. Just 174m west of the milecastle is a distinct change in wall construction, indicating that it may have formed a boundary between different legions. The existence of the milecastle has been known since at least 1732 and excavations have produced numerous finds and evidence of post-Roman occupation. The associated turrets both lie beneath the B3618 Military Road. A stone found near the milecastle is the only known written record of the name of Gaius Julius Marcus, a Roman Governor of Britain whose name has been erased from other inscriptions possibly because he fell out of favour with Emperor Caracalla.

Hunnum (also known as Onnum, and with the modern name of Halton Chesters) was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall located north of the modern-day village of Halton, Northumberland in North East England. It was the fifth fort on Hadrian's Wall and is situated about 7.5 miles west of Vindobala fort, 5.9 miles east of Chesters fort and 2.5 miles north of the Stanegate fort of Coria (Corbridge). The site of the fort is bisected by the B6318 Military Road, which runs along the route of the wall at that point. The fort may also have guarded Dere Street which crosses the Roman Wall through the valley immediately to the west, but its distance from Dere Street and that Milecastle 22 was also displaced from Dere Street implies that this was not a priority and may have been expected to be disused north of the Wall after Hadrian's Wall was built.The Latinised Brittonic name “Onnum” may mean "Stream/Water", "Ash tree", or “Rock”; if it means "Stream", it may be a reference to the Fence Burn, where a stream touches the line of Hadrian's Wall, but if it means "Rock", it may refer to Down Hill situated to the east of it.

Halton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Whittington, in the southern part of Northumberland, England. It is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Corbridge just south of Hadrian's Wall. In 1951 the parish had a population of 24.Halton Castle is a pele tower and grade I listed building.

Whittle Dene is 12 miles (19 km) west of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, straddling the B6318 Military Road, and is a complex of reservoirs and treatment works forming the last stage in the supply of drinking water to Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead.