Drovers Project Interpretation : The Telford Drove Story

Mr. Bob Telford recalls driving the family herd of seventy five cattle across Northumberland National Park from High Moralee, near Wark, to Fawdon, near Powburn, in May 1943. Bob's father Roland had been at High Moralee for twenty two years, taking it on after leaving the army in 1920. However by 1943 the family were looking to expand, and there wasn't much scope at High Moralee, so they took on Fawdon near Powburn.

The herd was made up of cows and calves, and follow-on heifers. There was no bull moved with them, as the family changed over from using an Aberdeen Angus bull to a Hereford almost straight away once they got to Fawdon. This journey of some 45 miles took two days and involved a number of men and seven horses.

At the time cattle wagons were in semi-infancy – "your longest wagon would have been 18 feet long, maybe less, and they had open tops" - and petrol was tight, being in the middle of the Second World War, so it was decided to travel the herd by foot. This would of course not even be considered now, but back then there wasn't the traffic, and "it was just one of the things that we did". As it wasn't viewed as an unusual practice there is no newspaper coverage or photographic evidence of the journey, but Bob remembers it well.

On the first day the cattle left High Moralee early in the day, in the charge of Bob, with two others and the horses – three heavy horses, four for riding and one to draw the cart.  "It was one of those days when it never seemed to fair, came driving rain". From High Moralee they took the road down past Low Moralee, heading east towards the Wark road, the B6320.  On reaching Wark they turned right past the Grey Bull and Black Bull inns and over Wark Bridge towards Birtley.

The climb up Warkshaugh bank was steady before reaching Threpwood Hill.  The drove left the road and followed the path passing to the south of the remains of Birtley Castle, before re-joining the road opposite St Giles Church at the southern end of Birtley village.

Continuing north, they leave the village and shortly afterwards follow the left fork towards Butelands and The Heugh Farm. They then travelled through Lowshield Green farm and out onto open ground below Lowshield Green Crags. Bob refers to this area as Birtley Rigg, and this is where they stopped for their bait, with the first job being to empty their wellies of water – "we were never dry, but it didn't do us any harm, but the sandwiches didn't taste very good!"

After a break of half an hour or so, the drove continued on, following the roads before branching out across Cowlair Bog on the bridleway, past the Roman Camp at Swine Hill to join today's A68 just before Fourlaws. They followed the A68 beyond Ridsdale, before turning right, following the road to East Woodburn, following the route of the Border County Ride across Blackburn Bridge, past Dykenook and up to Monkridge. Crossing the A696 the drove followed the bridleway across to the village of Elsdon. Following the road over Billsmoor and past Grasslees, the herd reached the end of their first day's traveling.  

The day had not passed without incident; one calf was born as the herd was driven over Billsmoor. This did not hold the job up however; the calf was dried off and put into the cart, with the cow following close behind down to the overnight stance. The cattle were put into one of the fields to the right of the road, between Ovenstone and Midge Ha.

One of the workhorses was given his first introduction to the shafts during the first day of the move, and proved to be a good worker, being kept for many years at Fawdon. Any calves which were tiring during the journey (as they would have been quite young at the time of the move) were rested in the cart, with their legs tied to ensure they stayed there!

The men went on to Fawdon and were then brought back in the morning to pick the cattle up and begin a second day on the move.

This second day of the drove was overseen by Bob's late brother Tommy Telford who had seen the herd on its way from High Moralee the previous day but had left them at Birtley, once the cattle had settled. The drove continued to follow the modern-day B6341 down to Swindon, where they turned left onto the road past Holystone Grange. They followed this road through to Holystone, then on through Sharperton and past Sheepbanks and Burradon Mains towards Netherton. The route then took the road up through Alnham, past Scrainwood, and on to Prendwick.

After Prendwick they followed the old drove road to Ingram across the first two fords before turning the cattle out at the end of their journey onto the ground to the east of Fawdon Burn. The cattle took a few days to recover from their relocation, with the majority lying up for the first couple of days, only beginning to graze properly on the third day.

The cattle were not prepared in any way for their journey – they were not shod as the cattle driven from Scotland to the markets of England when droving was at its peak between the 16th and 18th Centuries. Bob stresses that the key was always to give the cattle time, not to push them on.

Sheep were also taken to Fawdon from High Moralee, but they were taken across by wagon. Bob's father, Roland, owned a third of 'Nixon & Co.' hauliers (along with Joe Nixon and Richard Davison), so the two wagons were used to transport the sheep across to Fawdon.

One Cheviot ewe and lamb took themselves off back in the direction of 'home', along the roadsides.  She got as far as Bellingham Bridge – some 32 miles - where she was apprehended and penned up at the Foundry Farm. She was identified as from Moralee by the ear arks (two back off the far!) and keel mark.

Maeney Telford (Bob and Tommy's mother) had just got to Fawdon before the drove arrived. There wasn't much food available, and a search produced some 'free range' eggs for the drovers' supper. One of the eggs was rotten, and exploded at first tap – 'come all this way for a rotten egg'!