A Corner of Corbridge

I drove down to Darlington this morning for the funeral of a friend. She had a long life, a large family and many interests, so the service was celebratory as well as sad. And I had a lovely catch-up with another friend, who had driven up from Yorkshire.

By the time I got  to Corbridge on the way home, I was feeling sleepy and  stopped for a look around. It's a lovely place, with so much history.  The church is right in the centre, with a very well kept churchyard and this interesting building in the corner of it.  

Luckily, someone came along (the wife of the man with the dog in the picture) who knew all about it. It's called 'The Vicar's Pele', and it was a place of refuge, somewhere to retreat into when strife threatened as it so often did on this much fought-over border.

The tower has been beautifully restored, and is now in use as a pub and micro-brewery.  Cheers, enjoy the weekend!