# Carham

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{{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](/source/Northumberland)
|lieutenancy_england = [Northumberland](/source/Northumberland)
|constituency_westminster= [North Northumberland](/source/North_Northumberland_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
|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](/source/Northumberland), England. The village lies on the south side of the [River Tweed](/source/River_Tweed) about {{convert|3|mi|0}} west of [Coldstream](/source/Coldstream). According to the [United Kingdom Census 2011](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Richard_of_Hexham) appears not to have considered the name an English one, so it may actually come from [Cumbric](/source/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](/source/John_Leland_(antiquary)) 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 = <!-- no ISBN available-->
}}</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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Carham_Hall), located NE of the hamlet, was a 14th Century [tower house](/source/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](/source/Richard_Hodgson-Huntley) in 1870 and again by architect [James Bow Dunn](/source/Dunn_%26_Findlay) in 1920.

== Governance ==
'''Carham''' is in the [parliamentary](/source/British_House_of_Commons) constituency of [North Northumberland](/source/North_Northumberland_(UK_Parliament_constituency)).
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== Religious sites ==
The church is dedicated to [St Cuthbert](/source/Cuthbert_of_Lindisfarne).<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>
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== Notable people ==
* [John Stark](/source/John_Stark_(police_officer)) [CBE](/source/Order_of_the_British_Empire) [KPM](/source/King's_Police_Medal) (1865–1940), a British police officer, [Assistant Commissioner](/source/Assistant_Commissioner) of the [City of London Police](/source/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)

{{authority control}}

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

{{Northumberland-geo-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Carham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carham) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carham?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.