The Legend of the Lang Pack

The church at Bellingham is dedicated to St Cuthbert and is said to have been one of the places where St Cuthbert's body was brought to following the Viking raids on Lindisfarne in the ninth century A.D.

In the churchyard of St Cuthbert's is a long stone which marks a grave closely associated with a well known piece of North Tynedale folklore; `the Legend of the Lang Pack'.

The story is set around Lee Hall on the banks of the North Tyne to the south of Bellingham, near to where the River Rede joins the North Tyne at Redesmouth. The hall was historically the home of the Ridley family who left their country residence each winter to reside in London. In the winter of 1723 the house was left in the care of three servants, who looked after the hall under strict instructions not to allow any guest or lodger into the house.

One afternoon that winter, a pedlar called at the hall carrying with him an unusually long package and asked if he could have shelter for the night. Remembering their master's orders the servants refused the pedlar, but when he asked if he could leave the package, while he sought shelter elsewhere, permission was granted.

As the night grew dark one of the servants, a young maid called Alice, became increasingly suspicious of the pedlar's long pack which had been left in the kitchen of the house. While lighting a candle the maid swore she saw the package move.

She quickly alerted the other two servants one called Richard and the other, a younger man called Edward. The older man scorned young Alice's suspicion, but young Edward not wishing to take any chances fetched his gun (which he called Copenhagen), and shot at the lang pack. To his astonishment a cry was heard and blood began to ooze from the mysterious package.

When the Lang pack was opened, the body of a dead man was found inside wearing a silver whistle around his neck. It soon became apparent that the man had been brought to the hall as part of a plot. The plan was obvious, this man was going to break free from his package and open the door for fellow accomplises to burgle the household.

The servants realising that they were likely to be visited by the rest of the gang that night, summoned help from the neighbourhood and many locals came to Lee Hall, bringing with them their guns ready to see off the gang.

Later that night the gang arrived and were given the signal on the whistle, but were astonished to be greeted with gunshot from the servants and locals waiting at the hall. Four of the gang immediately fell dead from their horses, the rest quickly fled.

At daylight the following morning the bodies of the four dead men had mysteriously disappeared and the Lee Hall servants were only left with the body of the unfortunate man from the Lang Pack.

The rest of the gang were never caught and the identity of the man from the Lang Pack remained a mystery for all time.

The body was finally burried at Bellingham churchyard, where it is said to lie beneath the long stone cut in the shape of a pedlar's pack.