Why visit Lesbury
Townapedia lists 6 museums and landmarks, 4 parks and trails, 9 places to eat, 3 places to stay and 1 attraction in and around town.
Highlights include The Alnwick Playhouse, Alnwick Castle, Fusiliers Museum of Northumberland and The Alnwick Garden.
Weather in Lesbury
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Lesbury
Lesbury is a small rural village in Northumberland in the north of England. It is built on the main coastal road 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southeast of Alnwick, on the north bank of the River Aln. Alnmouth railway station is about half a mile away.
From the Wikipedia article Lesbury (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photos of Lesbury
_30.jpg)
_25.jpg)
_24.jpg)
Things to do1
The Alnwick Playhouse
Cinema and theater · 3.1 mi
Theatre and cinema in Alnwick, England
Museums and landmarks6
Alnwick Castle
Museum · 3.3 mi
Castle and stately home in Alnwick, Northumberland, England, UK; seat of the Duke of Northumberland, England, UK
Fusiliers Museum of Northumberland
Museum · 3.3 mi
Regimental museum in Alnwick, England, United Kingdom
Tenantry Column
Monument and historic site · 2.9 mi
Memorial column in Alnwick, Northumberland, England, UK
Parks, trails and playgrounds4
The Alnwick Garden
Park · 3.0 mi
Complex of formal gardens near Alnwick Castle
Restaurants and cafes9
Coach Inn
Bar and pub · Regional
16/02/24 The pub has re-opened after being closed for four years
History
The village has a long history. The Anglican Church of St Mary was mentioned in records dating back to 1147, and records from the end of the 13th century state that there were thirteen residents eligible to pay tax. Robert de Emeldon, later Lord Treasurer of Ireland, was parish priest of Lesbury in the 1320s.
In the 18th century, a schoolroom and master's house were built, paid for by Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland. By 1897, the village had a large corn mill, as well as a reading room with 500 volumes in the library.
The name 'Lesbury' is derived from Laece Burg (the town of the leech or physician).
The church, originally Norman, was restored by Anthony Salvin in 1846. It has a square 13th-century tower with a pyramidal roof and a lofty arch on round columns. The 13th-century chancel has a 15th-century roof with oak beams decorated at intervals with little carvings of foliage. The heavy eight-sided font, boldly carved with the Percy locket and crescent, is of about the same age.
Read more of the history
In the south wall of the nave are three lancet windows in memory of Sir Henry Hall Scott, founder of the Imperial Yeomanry of South Africa, and his son, Captain George Hall Scott, who fell at the Battle of the Somme. They are the work of the A.K. Nicholson studios. The central lights show Joan of Arc and St George standing above graphic representations of the siege of Orleans and the capture of the village of Montauban by the British and French in 1916.
The glass in the west window is in memory of George Bray, vicar from 1908 to 1934. An earlier vicar was Percival Stockdale, a writer of some reputation, who died here in 1811 and was buried at Cornhill on Tweed. Lesbury's most notable parson was Patrick Mackilwyan, who has a place in Thomas Fuller's Worthies of England. He started off by insisting on having his tithes in kind, but settled down with his parishioners and won their regard by visiting the sick in their tents on the moor during the Plague of 1665, although he was then 97. He died there at 101, declaring that "Of friends and books, good and few are best."
From the History section of Lesbury on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Lesbury
Simon BaynesBritish politicianPhoto: Richard Townshend, CC BY 3.0
Born in Lesbury, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Where to stay3
Churches and places of worship3
Shopping3
Schools, colleges and libraries1
Map of Lesbury
30 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Newcastle International Airport (NCL) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 25 miles away.
- Ashington 15 mi south, about 25 min by car
- Morpeth 16 mi south, about 26 min by car
- Blyth 19 mi south, about 31 min by car
- Bedlington 19 mi south, about 30 min by car
- Cramlington 22 mi south, about 35 min by car
- Ponteland 24 mi south, about 39 min by car
- Whitley Bay 26 mi south, about 41 min by car
- Tynemouth 27 mi south, about 44 min by car
- North Shields 27 mi south, about 44 min by car
- Newcastle upon Tyne 29 mi south, about 47 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Lesbury
_37.jpg){kind=link}
_34.jpg){kind=link}
_31.jpg){kind=link}
_29.jpg){kind=link}
_32.jpg){kind=link}
_33.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
_23.jpg){kind=link}
_12.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
Keep exploring
Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Lesbury (2021-05-25) 37, Simon Cobb, CC0
- St Mary's Church, Lesbury (2021-05-25) 34, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Lesbury (2021-05-25) 31, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Lesbury (2021-05-25) 29, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Lesbury (2021-05-25) 32, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Lesbury (2021-05-25) 33, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Lesbury (2021-05-25) 30, Simon Cobb, CC0
- St Mary's Churchyard, Lesbury (2021-05-25) 25, Simon Cobb, CC0
- St Mary's Churchyard, Lesbury (2021-05-25) 24, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Lesbury (2021-05-25) 35, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Lesbury (2021-05-25) 26, Simon Cobb, CC0
- St Mary's Churchyard, Lesbury (2021-05-25) 19, Simon Cobb, CC0
- St Mary's Churchyard, Lesbury (2021-05-25) 18, Simon Cobb, CC0
- St Mary's Churchyard, Lesbury (2021-05-25) 21, Simon Cobb, CC0
- St Mary's Churchyard, Lesbury (2021-05-25) 22, Simon Cobb, CC0
- St Mary's Churchyard, Lesbury (2021-05-25) 20, Simon Cobb, CC0
- St Mary's Churchyard, Lesbury (2021-05-25) 23, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Castle at Alnwick panorama (27201950193), Thomas Quine, CC BY 2.0
- Alnwick - Alnwick Castle - 07, Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Tenantry Column, Alnwick, Tagishsimon, CC BY-SA 3.0
- St Mary's Church, Lesbury (2021-05-25) 28, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Alnmouth (2021-05-25) 23, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Alnmouth (2021-05-25) 24, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Coach Inn, Lesbury (2021-05-25) 12, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Hope & Anchor, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Red Lion Inn, Simon Cobb, CC0
- Sun Inn (1), Simon Cobb, CC0
- Water sculpture in Alnwick Garden, Northumberland 1, Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0
- Street-level photo, gness, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, gness, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, gness, CC BY-SA 4.0
_35.jpg){kind=link}
_26.jpg){kind=link}
_19.jpg){kind=link}
_18.jpg){kind=link}
_21.jpg){kind=link}
_22.jpg){kind=link}
_20.jpg){kind=link}
_23.jpg){kind=link}
_28.jpg){kind=link}
_24.jpg){kind=link}
Page built November 10, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.