WEST DITCHBURN
The Farmhouse at West Ditchburn
The present West Ditchburn farmhouse was built in 1798. However there is evidence of people named as being 'of Ditchburn' as far back as the 13th century; and we have records of people named Ditchburn living in West Ditchburn during the 16th and 17th centuries. At present there are no Ditchburns living at either East or West Ditchburn. The farm at West Ditchburn is now tenanted. It is a beef farm which currently has1,000 head of cattle. As with all cattle farms in the UK at present it is in some difficulty because of the BSE crisis - export of beef came to a halt because of the fears about Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis. Although the foreign markets have recently become open to British beef once more, farmers are finding it difficult to regain their former customers abroad.
Part of the land belonging to West Ditchburn farm
This view of part of the West Ditchburn farming land is typical of present-day rural Northumberland with its meadows and coppices of broad-leaved native trees.