Editing Ancroft (section)

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2019}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2007}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country = England
|static_image_name = Ancroft Manor. Ancroft. - geograph.org.uk - 284687.jpg
|static_image_caption = Ancroft Manor
|coordinates = {{coord|55.69|-02.00|display=inline,title}}
|official_name = Ancroft
| population = 895
| population_ref = (2011 census)
 |unitary_england=        [[Northumberland County Council|Northumberland]]
|lieutenancy_england=    [[Northumberland]]
|region = North East England
|constituency_westminster = [[North Northumberland (UK Parliament constituency)|North Northumberland]]
|post_town = BERWICK-UPON-TWEED
|postcode_district = TD15
|postcode_area = TD
|dial_code = 01289
|os_grid_reference = NU0045
}}

'''Ancroft''' is a village and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] (which includes the village of [[Scremerston]]) in [[Northumberland]], England. Prior to 1844, Ancroft lay within the [[Islandshire]] exclave of [[County Durham]]. It is south of [[Berwick-upon-Tweed]], and has a population of 885,<ref name=nhs>{{Cite web |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790477 |title=Census 2001 |access-date=2009-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613015439/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790477 |archive-date=2011-06-13 |url-status = dead}}</ref> rising slightly to 895 at the 2011 census.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11120007&c=TD15+2GY&d=16&e=62&g=6452880&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1435657820578&enc=1|title=Parish population 2011|accessdate=30 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706015832/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11120007&c=TD15+2GY&d=16&e=62&g=6452880&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1435657820578&enc=1|archive-date=6 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

There are several suggestions as to how Ancroft got its name. It might be an abridged version of "Aidan's-croft" - the croft of [[Aidan of Lindisfarne|St Aidan]] who was the first Bishop of [[Lindisfarne]] (Holy Island). Alternatively, it might be that as the church is dedicated to Saint Anne, the village took its name from the church - "St Anne's croft". A third suggestion is simply that it means one croft or solitary croft - "ane croft".
[[File:St Anne's, Ancroft - geograph.org.uk - 348347.jpg|left|thumb|St Anne's Church, Ancroft]]
There was surely more than one croft here when the church was built, probably towards the end of the 11th century; but in common with most of this region, the community declined in the latter part of the 13th century because of the continual border raids by the [[Scottish people|Scots]]. This turbulent history is reflected in the number of [[castle]]s and [[peel tower]]s in the vicinity, besides the fortified tower that was added to the [[church (building)|church]] in the thirteenth century.

Because of the repeated incursions by [[Scottish people|Scots]], this northern part of what we now call [[Northumberland]] was placed in the charge of the prince-bishops of [[Durham, England|Durham]]. They were powerful and wealthy men who had the resources to defend the border. That is why this area was still part of [[County Durham]] until the mid 1800s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.genuki.bpears.org.uk/NBL/Ancroft/Gaz1868.html |title=GENUKI: The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Ancroft |access-date=2013-10-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421230614/http://www.genuki.bpears.org.uk/NBL/Ancroft/Gaz1868.html |archive-date=2012-04-21 |url-status = dead}}</ref>

After the accession of [[James I of England|James I]] (James VI of [[Scotland]]) to the throne of [[England]] in 1603 there seems to have been a return of people to the village. But in 1667 the [[Bubonic plague|plague]] struck Ancroft, The victims were carried out into the fields where they were covered with shelters made from branches of broom. After death both bodies and shelters were burned in a rudimentary and fruitless attempt to control the spread of the disease. To this day a field to the south of the village is called "Broomie Huts". In desperation the authorities of the day ordered that the plague-affected cottages should be burned to the ground. The mounds where the cottages stood, and the former village street, can still be seen in the field between the main road and the burn.

By the time of [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] (1702–1714) the village was flourishing once more, with a population of over one thousand. The main industry, other than farming, was [[shoe]] and [[clog (shoe)|clog]] making. [[Sailor]]s of the [[Royal Navy]] wore shoes or slippers from Ancroft. The naval specification required footwear with no metal parts - an obvious precaution to avoid sparks in a wooden ship loaded with [[gunpowder]] and tarred rope! [[Boot]]s were also made for the [[British Army|British army]] - the [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|Duke of Marlborough]]'s troops marched to victory shod in Ancroft boots. A village tradition claims that each of the one hundred trees on the southern skyline represents a [[Shoemaking|cobbler]].

Several of the local settlements originated around [[coal]] mines, an industry which is being redeveloped in today's [[open cast]] sites.