BRINKBURN (HIGH-WARD), a township in the
parish of LONG-FRAMLINGTON, eastern division of
COQUETDALE ward, county of NORTHUMBERLAND, 2
miles (N.N.W.) from Morpeth, containing 197
inhabitants. Brinkburn, including also the Low Ward, was
anciently extra-parochial, but has been annexed to the
parish of Long Framlington. Here are extensive strata
of limestone, and a' rich mine of coal. A priory for
Augustine canons was founded, in the time of Henry I.,
by Osbertus Colatarius, in-honour of St. Peter: the
establishment, at the time of the dissolution, consisted
of ten religious, and the revenue was rated at £77. It
was beautifully situated within a curvature of the river
Coquet, which flows close to the walls, and now forms
an interesting assemblage of ruins, consisting of the
tower of its cruciform church, a small spire, a dormitory,
and part of the outer walls, together with some fine
pillars' and arches, exhibiting various specimens of
Norman architecture. On the hill above the priory
are traces of a Roman town, in connexion with a military
way; and the foundations of the piers of a Roman
bridge across the river are. plainly discernible when the
water is low. Brinkburn Grove is thought to have been
the spot where the Romans offered up devotions and
sacrifices to their god Jupiter.