Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum
×
Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum
A rare surviving example of a bridge chapel.
The Chantry is rare surviving example of a bridge chapel, where the priest would bless the passing traveller (and collect a toll for the privilege), hold services and chant masses for the souls of the bridge’s benefactors.
The Chantry is the original home of the King Edward VI Grammar School, founded in 1552. In later years it served as a council chamber, a Justice’s room and a place for public meetings.
The 20th century has seen the building used for a variety of commercial purposes; in recent memory as an “Aerated Waters Manufactory”, established in 1872 by George Young Ltd.
The Chantry was restored in the early 1980s and shortly after this the Bagpipe Museum took up residence, displaying the William Cocks Collection of bagpipes, the first of its kind in Europe.