On Stamfordham Church, by Rev. J. F. Bigge, M.A. 263 



what I never saw before, viz. :■— a Little Grebe on the wing. On 

 the second occasion, I happened to be watching theni through a 

 glass, when one rose off the water, and came past within easy- 

 shot, flying rapidly, twelve or fifteen feet above the surface, with 

 the legs carried straight out like the other divers ; it continued 

 its flight for 150 yards or so, and then dropped again in the pool. 

 Selby says, in reference to the flight of these birds, " they are bjr 

 no means destitute of this power, but can skim near to the sur- 

 face of the water by a rapid action of the wings, and, as Montagu 

 observes, are frequently seen to do so during the pairing season 

 when the males are in pursuit of the other sex." I was certainly 

 surprised to see these birds take wing without any apparent 

 reason, as if rather out of mere restlessness, and flying seemingly 

 with as great ease as any of the duck tribe ; for, when scared in 

 any way, they usually make their escape by diving. 



On Stamfordham Church. By the Rev. J. F. Bigge, M.A., 

 Stamfordham. 



The old name of this village is Stannerton, that is the Ton, the 

 common Anglo-Saxon suffix to so many places, and Stanner a 

 Stoney ford — it is now called Stamfordham. Stam a corruption 

 of Stanner, ford to explain the meaning, and the common suffix 

 ham. It lies in a centre twelve miles from Newcastle, Morpeth, 

 and Hexham. It is situated on the north side of the river Pont, 

 in the Township of Heugh, formerly called Hoghe, which village 

 lies one mile north of this place. With the exception of a few 

 enclosures, all the Township had been an open Common till it 

 was divided in 1727. In the centre of this village, on the north 

 side, there is a high brick house, behind which is a bowling 

 green, where, it is stated, the ill-fated Lord Derwentwater used 

 to come and play at bowls ; but probably also for another pur- 

 pose, which eventually led him to his ruin. 



At the west end of the village stands the Church, dedicated to 

 St. Mary the Yirgin, and surrounded by trees on the south and 

 east sides. These trees were planted by Dr Dockwray. The 

 following verses were made by a poetical schoolmaster of Inghoe, 

 when he saw them the first Sunday after they were planted : — 



