Thursday 19th December 2019The Blanchland Murder
No one was ever convicted of the murder, though his elderly father, housekeeper Jane Barron and her beau were all questioned. Jane was accused and acquitted, there was very little evidence, and she left Belmount Farm to take a job in the Northumbrian borders.
On New Year's Day 1880, the 'Blanchland Murder’ took place. Robert Snowball, the master of the house, was hit in the head from behind, so brutally that his teeth were knocked out and the hammer was half embedded in his skull. This is his gravestone.
This shocking murder has left, for me, no residue of trauma in the building – and I was blissfully ignorant of all this at the time that I visited the farmhouse. All three paintings are available as prints and two as originals.
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Friday 20th July 2018Blanchland - from Jaspah Crewe, Blanchland
The picturesque village of Blanchland (above), set in the glorious landscape of the North Pennines, grew out of Blanchland Abbey and takes its name from the monks’ white habits.
Not Persil-white, apparently; a 15th-century report rebuked the monks for drinking too much beer and told them to get proper haircuts and employ a washerwoman.
Today, this greatly loved village is so picture-perfect that TV aerials are banned. Hence its appeal as a film location in period dramas, including Catherine Cookson TV adaptations and the movie Jude, starring Christopher Eccleston and Kate Winslet. Recently used in the filming of VERA with Brenda Blethyn.
WHERE TO EAT: Housed in an old school, The White Monk Tearoom serves delicious homemade lunches and teas. Sit in the walled garden in summer
WHERE TO STAY: The sensitively revamped Lord Crewe Arms, incorporating features of the abbey.
DON’T MISS: Hadrian’s Wall; walking and cycling (maps available from the Lord Crewe Arms).
SHOPPING Jaspah Crewe: a cooperative of creative members- who make and sell their work and who take turns to work in the shop. Unique gifts from Key Rings to Fine Art. Open 7 days a week 10am -5pm .
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Thursday 09th July 2015'Belmount Farm' Watercolour and the 'Blanchland Murder.'
This original watercolour comes with a gory and murderous story alongside of it. I waited 30 years to paint Belmount Farm - I needed to capture this gently crumbling building in the right light and weather conditions. Despite the adders I always saw in the grass when I called there, and the remote location near Huntstansworth, I am drawn to the building. It has an almost continental feel to it, and a warmth, and I can imagine myself living there.
So I was surprised to read that on New Year's Day 1880, an extremely bloody murder took place there - the 'Blanchland Murder.' Robert Snowball, the master of the house, was hit in the head from behind, so brutally that his teeth were knocked out and the hammer was half embedded in his skull. No one was ever convicted of the murder, though his elderly father, housekeeper Jane Barron and her beau were all questioned.
This shocking murder has left, for me, no residue of trauma in the building – and I was blissfully ignorant of all this at the time that I visited the house and as I was painting the watercolour. I feel it’s a peaceful painting and landscape, despite this bloody blot on the history of the house.
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