Carham

{{Short description|Village in Northumberland, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Use British English|date=August 2019}} {{Infobox UK place |official_name = Carham |country = England |region = North East England |unitary_england = Northumberland |lieutenancy_england = Northumberland |constituency_westminster= North Northumberland |population = 346 |population_ref=(2011 census)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11121636&c=TD12+4RB&d=16&e=62&g=6452875&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1435915962094&enc=1|title=Parish population 2011|accessdate=3 July 2015}}</ref> |post_town = CORNHILL-ON-TWEED |postcode_area = TD |postcode_district = TD12 |dial_code = 01890 |os_grid_reference = NT795385 |coordinates = {{coord|55.638232|N|2.322065|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}} |static_image_name= Carham Parish Church dedicated to St. Cuthbert - geograph.org.uk - 1195711.jpg |static_image_caption=St Cuthbert's church }} '''Carham''' or '''Carham on Tweed''' is a village in Northumberland, England. The village lies on the south side of the River Tweed about {{convert|3|mi|0}} west of Coldstream. According to the United Kingdom Census 2011, it is the place in England with greatest proportion of Scottish-born people, at approximately 33%.

==Etymology==

''Carham'' has generally been etymologised as an Old English place-name. The first syllable would be from ''carr'' 'rock', and the second either a dative plural ending (the whole name having been ''carrum'' '(at the) rocks') or the word ''hām'' ('homestead'). However, the twelfth-century chronicler Richard of Hexham appears not to have considered the name an English one, so it may actually come from Cumbric *''kair'' 'fortification'.<ref>Bethany Fox, 'The P-Celtic Place-Names of North-East England and South-East Scotland', The Heroic Age, 10 (2007), http://www.heroicage.org/issues/10/fox.html (appendix at http://www.heroicage.org/issues/10/fox-appendix.html).</ref>

== History ==

Near to Carham are the extensive remains of Early British camps and a bronze sword, now in the British Museum, discovered in the nearby Tweed.<ref name=Ridley/>

Carham on the Tweed, where a stream divides Northumberland from Scotland, was the scene of two battles in Anglo-Saxon times.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50857 British History Online]</ref>

In 833 the Danes fought the English, and the English were routed. Leland tells us that

<blockquote>in the 33rd year of Ecbright the Danes arrived at Lindisfarne and fought with the English at Carham where Eleven Bishops and two English Countes were slayne, and a great numbre of people.</blockquote>

A field between the glebe and Dunstan Wood, where bones have been from time to time disinterred, is probably the site of the battle.<ref name=Ridley>{{cite book | last = Ridley | first = Nancy | authorlink = Nancy Ridley | title = Portrait of Northumberland | publisher = Robert Hale | year = 1966|edition=reprint | oclc = 503957631 | location = London | isbn =  }}</ref><ref name=hugill>{{cite book | last = Hugill | first = Robert | authorlink = Robert Hugill (travel writer) | title = Road Guide to Northumberland and The Border | publisher = Andrew Reid & Company, Limited | year = 1931 | location = Newcastle upon Tyne, England }}</ref>

In 1018 the Battle of Carham between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Northumbrians resulted in a Scottish victory. The fact that the Tweed is the border between Scotland and England can be traced to the outcome of this battle.<ref>Daly, Rannoch (2018). ''Birth of the Border, The Battle of Carham 1018 AD''. Alnwick: Wanney Books</ref>

James VI of Scotland crossed the border on 26 April 1588 and visited Carham.<ref>''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 9 (Edinburgh, 1916), p. 557.</ref> == Carham Hall ==

Carham Hall, located NE of the hamlet, was a 14th Century tower house built to defend against border reivers. The first house was built by the Compton family in 1755. It was extended by Richard Hodgson-Huntley in 1870 and again by architect James Bow Dunn in 1920.

== Governance == '''Carham''' is in the parliamentary constituency of North Northumberland.

== Religious sites == The church is dedicated to St Cuthbert.<ref name=Purves>{{cite book | last = Purves | first = Geoffrey | authorlink = Geoffrey Purves | title = Churches of Newcastle and Northumberland | publisher = Tempus Publishing Limited | year = 2006 | location = Stroud, Gloucestershire, England | pages = 173 | url = http://www.tempus-publishing.com | isbn = 0-7524-4071-3 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20160113050749/http://tempus-publishing.com/ | archivedate = 2016-01-13 }}</ref>

== Notable people == * John Stark CBE KPM (1865–1940), a British police officer, Assistant Commissioner of the City of London Police from 1925 to 1933.

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Carham}} *[http://www.carhamparish.org The Official Carham Parish Website] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090108074950/http://www.genuki.bpears.org.uk/NBL/Carham/index.html GENUKI] (accessed: 19 November 2008)

Category:Villages in Northumberland Category:Northumberland places with etymologically Brittonic names