{"id":7,"date":"2019-01-22T21:38:21","date_gmt":"2019-01-22T21:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stoswaldsfarm.co.uk\/blog\/?p=7"},"modified":"2026-04-05T19:06:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T18:06:28","slug":"heavenfield-stoswalds-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stoswaldsfarm.co.uk\/blog\/2019\/heavenfield-stoswalds-church\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Heavenfield?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a local you would probably know, but as a visitor you\u2019d be forgiven for wondering where the name of Heavenfield Cottage came from, however when we converted our old building into a luxury self-catering cottage, the name choice for us was obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heavenfield sits adjacent to our farm steading and is in fact our hay field. Not only does it have a lovely name but it is also special to us as we got married there! However, this pretty little field is immersed in history and was one of the most important sites in early northern Christianity.  <\/p>\n\n\n

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Heavenfield<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The site is believed to be the location where King Oswald (604-642) raised a large wooden cross before the Battle of Heavenfield in AD635. The battle defeated King Cadwallon ap Cadfon of Gwynedd and Oswald took a Northumbrian victory. A walled churchyard stands within the field and is home to St Oswald\u2019s Church.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The church itself is a haven of peace and tranquility and, with no electricity, the church services held there a few times a year are lit by candles. The remains of a roman alter stone can be found inside the church and a large timber cross stands at the nearby roadside on the presumed site of the original cross erected by Oswald himself. Even today the church is a destination for pilgrims and there is an annual pilgrimage service from Hexham Abbey on St Oswald’s Day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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St Oswald\u2019s Church is without doubt a special place and although the church we see now is primarily 19th century, the sense of age and history is palpable. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The rich history continues as the Hadrian\u2019s\nWall National Trail runs across the field and therefore the church is a very\npopular stop for walkers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heavenfield also marks the end of St Oswald\u2019s Way which is a long-distance walking route, exploring some of the finest landscapes and fascinating history of Northumberland. The route links some of the places associated with St Oswald. From Holy Island (Lindisfarne) in the north, St Oswald\u2019s Way follows the stunning Northumberland coast, before heading inland across beautiful countryside to Heavenfield and Hadrian\u2019s Wall in the south, a distance of 97 miles. The route links castles, the coastline, islands, scenic river valleys, hills, attractive villages, forest and farmland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"alt="Heavenfield
Walled Churchyard <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To the rear of churchyard are the most breath-taking panoramic views looking towards the North Tyne and over to the Cheviot and Simonside Hills. There is a helpful visitor panel to ensure visitors enjoy each part of this amazing landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From the rear of the Church the view is outstanding<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If the history isn\u2019t enough, Heavenfield is now also a preserved hay meadow and, with a rare mix of wildflowers and grasses, we are delighted that St Oswald\u2019s Farm is now within a higher level stewardship scheme to ensure these species are preserved.  Upland hay meadows are one of the rarest grassland habitats in the country, rich in wildlife and steeped in cultural traditions. The best time of year to see the meadow in all its glory is late May to late June. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"alt="heavenfield<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Heavenfield is always a popular spot for photographers and with dark skies overhead there is often a tripod set up as darkness falls.  On a clear night it is nothing short of stunning and certainly worth staying up for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heavenfield has also made a few TV appearances and has featured in Robson Green\u2019s Further Tales of Northumberland, the TV series ‘Pilgrimage’ and even ‘Vera’ and her trusty old Landrover paid a visit to this remote and remarkable little field we call home. <\/p>\n\n\n

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LJ\u00a0Ross the\u00a0author of the international No1 best-selling series of\u00a0DCI Ryan mystery novels based one of her DCI Ryan books at the church and named it Heavenfield. \u00a0It is of course therefore fitting that this series of books can be enjoyed by our guests here at St Oswald\u2019s Farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heavenfield is so much more than just a field and so much more than just a name we thought up. We hope that visitors to the church, to Heavenfield and to St Oswald\u2019s Farm enjoy it as much as we do and feel the sense of peace and tranquility that can be found here.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’d like to stay in Heavenfield Cottage you can find out more about the area and the cottage together with prices, availability and book to stay with us here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a local you would probably know, but as a visitor you\u2019d be forgiven for wondering where the name of Heavenfield Cottage came from, however when we converted our old building into a luxury self-catering cottage, the name choice for us was obvious. Heavenfield sits adjacent to our farm steading and is in fact our… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,136,4,2,197],"tags":[168,167,245,5,243,103,244,169,69,242,38],"class_list":["post-7","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hadrians-wall-area-attractions","category-north-east-attractions","category-northumberland","category-st-oswalds-farm","category-visitor-attractions","tag-battle-site","tag-heavenfield","tag-l-j-ross","tag-northumberland","tag-pilgrimage","tag-places-to-visit","tag-robson-green","tag-st-oswald","tag-st-oswalds-way","tag-vera","tag-visit-northumberland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stoswaldsfarm.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stoswaldsfarm.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stoswaldsfarm.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stoswaldsfarm.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stoswaldsfarm.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.stoswaldsfarm.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2361,"href":"https:\/\/www.stoswaldsfarm.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7\/revisions\/2361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stoswaldsfarm.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stoswaldsfarm.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stoswaldsfarm.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}