The Farne Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Northumberland, England. There are between 15 and 20 islands depending on the state of the tide.^[1] They are scattered about 1 ¹⁄₂ to 4 ³⁄₄ miles (2.4–7.6 km) from the mainland, divided into two groups, the Inner Group and the Outer Group. The main islands in the Inner Group are Inner Farne, Knoxes Reef and the East and West Wideopens (all joined together on very low tides) and (somewhat separated) the Megstone; the main islands in the Outer Group are Staple Island, the Brownsman, North and South Wamses, Big Harcar and the Longstone. The two groups are separated by Staple Sound. The highest point, on Inner Farne, is 62 feet (19 m) above mean sea level.

History:

Monks and hermits

The earliest recorded inhabitants of the Farne Islands were various Culdees, some connected with Lindisfarne. This followed the old Celtic Christian tradition of island hermitages, also found in Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

The islands are first recorded in 651, when they became home to Saint Aidan, followed by Saint Cuthbert.^[2] Cuthbert isolated himself on the islands until he was called to the bishopric of Lindisfarne, but after two years he returned to the solitude of the Inner Farne and died there in 687, when Saint Aethelwold took up residence instead. Among other acts, Cuthbert introduced special laws in 676 protecting the eider ducks, and other seabirds nesting on the islands; these are thought to be the earliest bird protection laws anywhere in the world.^[3][4]

The islands were used by hermits intermittently from the seventh century. These included Saint Bartholomew of Farne.^[5] The last hermit was Thomas De Melsonby, who died on the islands in 1246.^[2]

A formal monastic cell of Benedictine monks was established on the islands circa 1255. The cell was dependent on Durham Abbey, now Durham Cathedral. A very small cell, it was usually home to only two monks, although on occasion this rose to as many as six. The cell was dissolved in 1536 as part of King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries.^[5]

St Cuthbert’s Chapel

Following the dissolution of the monastic cell on the islands, the islands became the property of the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral, who leased them to various tenants. The islands remained a detached part of County Durham until 1844, when the Counties (Detached Parts) Act transferred them to Northumberland. In 1861 the islands were sold to Charles Thorp, who was at the time Archdeacon of Durham.^[5] In 1894 the islands were bought by the industrialist William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong.^[2] The islands are currently owned by the National Trust.^[5]

Remains still exist of the seventh-century anchorite cell used by Saint Aiden and Saint Cuthbert,^[2] as do the remains of a fourteenth-century chapel associated with the cell. Known as St Cuthbert’s Chapel, the chapel is described as a “single-cell building of four bays”. The remains of a second chapel have been incorporated into a later building.^[5]

Grace Darling

The Farne Islands are associated with the story of Grace Darling and the wreck of the Forfarshire. Grace Darling was the daughter of Longstone lighthouse-keeper (one of the islands’ lighthouses), William Darling, and on 7 September 1838, at the age of 22 years, she and her father rescued nine people from the wreck of the ‘Forfarshire’ in a strong gale and thick fog, the vessel having run aground on Harcar Rock. The story of the rescue attracted extraordinary attention throughout Britain and made Grace Darling a heroine who has gone down in British folklore.^[6]

The photo above shows the coble in which Grace and her father launched in atrocious weather to rescue survivors from the steamship Forfarshire which had struck the Big Harcar rock on the Farnes. The photo below shows St Aidan’s church as viewed from the Grace Darling museum with rather calmer seas in the background.

We arrived at breakfast to find that we were seated next to the couple who dined next to us in Lilburns the previous evening. A coincidence that led us into easy conversation with each other. After breakfast we headed to Alnmouth where we  hoped to stop so that we could wander round the small town. There was no parking available in town and the beach parking meant quite a long walk. We thought this would take up too much time so we continued on our journey along the Heritage Coast towards Bamburgh and the Grace Darling museum, stopping for some photo opportunities along the way.

The museum was interesting but only required a brief visit leaving us to decide what we would do next. We deliberated on whether or not to carry on up the coast to Berwick or not.

In the end we decided to have another attempt at finding some rock carvings. We located one of the sites which is near to Doddington and climbed over a style where a signpost directed us to a track up a small slope. I negotiated the nettles which were overgrowing the pathway and we emerged in a field full of cows.

I stopped to draw breath and Mr C carried on up the hill. A cow followed him, then got bored as he disappeared over the brow of the hill. The cow stood across the pathway blocking my way.  Cows are normally timid but they can get aggressive if threatened so I waited for her to move out of the way. Whilst I had been walking up the hill a brown speckled cow had been watching me intently. Due to my inactivity she must have thought I was no threat so she strolled down the hillside and stood next to me. She snorted, then sniffed before proceeding first  to lick my handbag, then my arm and then my leg. I was covered in cow slobber… Eventually she too got bored and moved away.

I proceeded up the hill to find Mr C, who had explored the many rocks but couldn’t see any markings and, when I got there, neither could I. Either the light was wrong or we hadn’t gone far enough to find what we were looking for. We gave up and on the way back down the hill I forgot about avoiding the nettles…

This became another day when rock carvings were off the menu so we drove to Etal for lunch in the Post Office. I had a lavender scone which was delicious. We checked the time and decided that we had time to visit Manderston House which is just over the Scottish Border. Along the way we slowed down to check out a hotel that I have my eye on for a future visit to that part of the world.

Manderston is an excellent place to visit and we were lucky enough to be given additional information by the chief guide of the house. We noticed her photograph on one of the tables and were surprised to see it was a picture of her with the current owner of Manderston on the occasion of her 80th birthday. It was her age that was the surprise and it was obvious from newspaper clippings around the house that she is highly regarded by the family.

After the tour of the house we enjoyed a tour of the formal gardens and a cup of tea before heading back to our B&B to get ready for dinner at the White Swan Hotel. We dined in the Olympic Room, the walls of which are lined with wood panelling reclaimed from the Olympic, a sister ship of the Titanic. The food and service was good but it was not quite meal of the week. As we were paying the bill at the end of the evening and discussing the panelling and were given an information sheet about the Olympic. Before returning to our B&B we called in at the pub we had visited on our first evening in Alnwick.

Within St Aidan’s churchyard stands an effigy to Grace Darling:

Grace Horsley Darling was born on 24th November 1815 in her grandfather’s cottage here in Bamburgh.  She was the seventh child of nine.  At only three weeks old she was taken to live on Brownsman Island, in the Farne islands, where her father, William was lighthouse keeper.  In 1816 the family moved to a new lighthouse on Longstone.

At four in the morning on 7th September 1838 during a violent storm, the steamship Forfarshire struck the Big Harcar rock on the Farnes, and over 40 lives were lost.

Grace saw the wreck, half a mile from the Longstone, and at 7 a.m. spotted survivors.  William Darling thought the conditions would prevent the launching of the Seahouses lifeboat, so together he and Grace launched their coble in the atrocious weather.  The strength of the tide and wind forced them to row nearly a mile to avoid the jagged rocks and reach the survivors.  Here William went ashore while Grace alone kept the coble in position.  Rowing against the tide and the gale, they took five survivors back to the lighthouse.  William and two of the crew then returned to fetch the rest.

National Heroine

Numerous newspaper articles reported the rescue and Grace soon became a national heroine.  The times asked the question, “Is there in the whole field of history, or of fiction even, one instance of female heroism to compare for one moment with this?”

Books and poems were written about her, portraits often painted and offers of marriage made.  The publicity she received was overwhelming.

On 20th October 1842, only four years after the famous rescue, Grace died of tuberculosis.  In 1844 the public raised money to build a monument in St. Adain’s Churchyard overlooking the sea.  Queen Victoria being the first to contribute to it’s cost.

The effigy of Grace with a coble’s oar was sculpted of Portland stone which weathered very quickly.  In 1885, at a cost of  approximately £100, it was replaced with a replica sculptured in local stone, and the original moved into the Church.  In 1893, the stone pitched canopied roof was destroyed in a violent storm.  This was replace with a canopy of a new design.

To this day Grace remains a national heroine and Nothumbria’s most famous daughter.*

*From a signboard next to the effigy.