Thockrington

Governance

Thockrington is in the parliamentary constituency of Hexham. The parish was abolished on 1 April 1955 to form Bavington.

Religious sites

Thockrington church, which stands so prominently on a spur of the Great Whin Sill, is one of the oldest churches in the county.{{cite book |url-status = dead

Here are buried several members of the ancient family of Shafto, the earliest mention of whom is in 1240. The Shaftos lived at nearby Bavington until the eighteenth century when, as a result of their support of the Jacobite cause in 1715, their estates were confiscated by the Crown, and ultimately sold to a Delaval. The Shaftos had connections with the county of Durham and lived on their Durham estates until 1953, when Mr R. D. Shafto returned to Bavington Hall.

Landmarks

A little over a mile south-west of the village are the ruins of Little Swinburne Tower, a fifteenth-century pele tower.

Notable people

• Lord Beveridge, founder of the modern welfare state, is buried in the churchyard.
• The author Tom Sharpe's ashes were buried in the churchyard in 2014 by his Spanish partner, witnessed by a Spanish TV crew. Sharpe's father was once vicar of Thockrington.
• The aviator, Connie Leathart (1903–1993), is buried here; her remains are marked by a simple stone bearing the initials "CL".

References

References

1. "Population statistics Thockrington AP/CP through time". [[A Vision of Britain through Time]].
2. "Relationships and changes Thockrington AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time.
3. [http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/writer-tom-sharpes-ashes-buried-7210749 "Ashes of writer Tom Sharpe buried at ceremony in remote Northumberland church yard"; ''The Journal'' 3 June 2014]