The village of Edmunbyers lies on the south side of the Derwent reservoir about 1 mile east of the A68, which is built on the backbone of the old Roman road running from London to Edinburgh. The road leading to the village leaves the A68 at Carterway Heads, in Northumberland, and crosses the Derwent, back into County Durham, shortly before it enters the outskirts of the village. Continuing westwards the road crosses back into Northumberland as it enters Blanchland then crosses the river at Bay Bridge, to return to County Durham, shortly before  reaching Hunstanworth and Townfield at the head of the valley.

The foregoing is not meant as a geography lesson but simply to show the way in which the road and the river link the various communities along their courses regardless of man-made boundaries. This is often reflected in the burial records where an entry in one set of Church records may refer to an interment in a neighbouring graveyard. This applies equally to the Monumental Inscriptions; this is worth remembering when you are looking for that elusive missing forebear.

Located in the west of the village overlooking the fells and the road leading to Stanhope, with a side road leading to Muggleswick, Saint Edmund’s Parish Church is one of the older churches in the Derwent valley, dating as it does to the early part of the twelfth century. The antiquity of its origins may be hinted at by the presence, just below the eaves, on the south side of the church, of the carvings depicted above; see also the illustration of the church porch on the left. Their appearance and style of execution are somewhat unusual to be modern additions. I have so far found no information about their origins.

Edmundbyers Monumental Inscriptions (515 Kb) reflect this antiquity with surviving inscriptions dating from 1679 to the present day. The 1679 inscription is on a grave slab lying with its surface more or less level with the soil surface. At first glance it appears to have only a few illegible markings on its surface. However, when a helpful parishioner, who was cutting the grass in the churchyard, mentioned that it was faintly legible when moistened and cleaned I obtained some tap-water from the Punchbowl inn and set to with the result shown in the Summerson memorial. Incidentally, I can highly recommend the Punchbowl’s cheese and onion toasties.

I have not yet produced a plan of the headstone locations in the churchyard. I hope to get this completed and uploaded later in the year. Nor have I yet had access to Edmundbyers Burial records, but I’m working on it.

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