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Reverend Lancelot Henderson was the vicar of Tweedmouth, at the parish church of St. Bartholomew and St. Boisil, for 42 years from 1938 until his death in 1980.

Carnival at the Tweedmouth Feast, July 1965. © Berwick Record Office, BRO 1944-1-4597-7.

He was born in 1903, a native of Durham. He trained for church ministry and was ordained in 1932, and he worked first as curate of Leadgate in Durham, and then as curate-in-charge at Christ Church in Gateshead. In 1938 he took up what would be his job for the rest of his life, as vicar of Tweedmouth. He lived, with his sister Annie, in the Old Vicarage in Church Road, and many who grew up in Tweedmouth between the 1950s and 1970s remember the ceremonial of his services and the oratorical style of his sermons, as well as his steadfast encouragement of young people.

In addition to his work in the community and his clerical duties, Rev. Henderson was also a scholar and a historian who acquired an extensive knowledge of the history of Tweedmouth from the earliest signs of its existence up to the twentieth century. In the last year of his life, he created a series of recordings in which he spoke about the entire history of the town, its social as well as its official history. This extended lecture spread across 8 double-sided tapes (c. 30 minutes on each side) and the whole recording lasts for nearly 8 hours.

The digitised recordings have been deposited in Berwick Record Office, where they can be listened to.  A typed transcript of the recordings has been made (also available in the Record Office), and there is a guide to the principal contents of the tapes to help users find their way to particular topics covered in the recordings. A version of that contents list can be seen in a PDF document via this link:

Henderson’s History of Tweedmouth – contents list

Rev. Henderson made particular efforts to involve young people in the life of the church. This picture shows pupils from Tweedmouth East School (Mount Road), outside Tweedmouth Parish Church, October 1968, after attending the annual harvest thanksgiving service. Photo © Berwick Record Office. Ref: BRO 2103/1/1968/923

Banner photo of Tweedmouth Parish Church © Jennifer Petrie (cc-by-sa/2.0)