Editing Bamburgh (section)

==St Aidan's Church==
[[File:St Aidan's Church, Bamburgh - geograph.org.uk - 77241.jpg|thumbnail|[[St Aidan's Church, Bamburgh]]]]
According to [[Bede]], St Aidan built a wooden church outside the castle wall in AD 635, and he died here in AD 652. A wooden beam preserved inside the church is traditionally said to be the one on which he rested as he died.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.staidan-bamburgh.co.uk/|title=St Aidan, Bamburgh|access-date=19 June 2018}}</ref> The present church dates from the late 12th century, though some pre-[[Norman Conquest|conquest]] stonework survives in the north aisle. The chancel, said to be the second-longest in the country ({{convert|60|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}}), was added in 1230; it contains an 1895 [[reredos]] in [[Caen stone]] by W.S. Hicks, depicting northern saints of the 7th and 8th centuries. There is an effigy of local heroine [[Grace Darling]] in the north aisle. This formed part of the original [[monument to Grace Darling]] but was removed due to weathering of the stonework. Her memorial is sited in the churchyard in such a position that passing ships can see it.<ref>Purves, Churches of Newcastle and Northumberland, Tempus, Stroud, 2006</ref>

The property has been Grade I listed since December 1969. The listing summary includes this description:<ref>[https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1042269 CHURCH OF ST AIDAN]</ref><blockquote>"Parish church. C12, C13 and C14. Restored 1830 and later C19. Squared stone and ashlar; chancel and north transept have stone slate roofs; other roofs not visible. West tower, nave, aisles, transepts and chancel".</blockquote>

After the [[dissolution of the monasteries]] in the mid-1500s, the monks were forced to leave and St Aidan's became the parish church for the village. Over the subsequent centuries there were major repairs and restorations.<ref>[https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/seahouses/staidans/index.html St Aidan's Church]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.staidan-bamburgh.co.uk/history_heritage.html |title=St Aidans Searching the Past |access-date=4 May 2020 |archive-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915075509/http://www.staidan-bamburgh.co.uk/history_heritage.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> 
The church's crypt holds the remains of 110 individuals who died in the 7th and 8th centuries; they had initially been buried in the castle's Bowl Hole graveyard. The remains were found during a project between 1998 and 2007. In 2016, they were moved into the crypt. Since November 2019, the crypt can be viewed by visitors through a small gate.<ref>[https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2019/29-november/news/uk/bamburgh-crypt-project-celebrates-area-s-heritage Bamburgh crypt project celebrates area’s heritage]</ref>