Ovington, Northumberland

Very little has been found from prehistoric times except for a cup and ring marked stone at Hunters Hill. It had an extraordinary range of symbols carved on it and is our only clue to the people who lived here in the Neolithic. There is a big gap in the evidence for the rest of the prehistoric period, as well as the Roman and early medieval periods. The next hint of life in the parish comes in medieval times. Ovington Hall has some 14th-century stonework in its outbuildings and may have an old building at its core. To the north on the west bank of the Whittle Burn adjacent to the A69 are the vestiges of the medieval Nafferton Castle. At a time when northern England was suffering the ravages…