Founded by the monks of Holy Island in the late 11th century, St Anne's was one of four chapels established on the Northumberland mainland by the Lindisfarne monastery, and much of its original Norman fabric survives to this day. A tower built for survivalWhat sets St Anne's apart from most English parish churches is its vicar's pele — a fortified tower attached directly to the west end of the building, built around 1300 to shelter the curate and villagers during the brutal Anglo-Scottish border raids of the medieval period. %iframewrapper('https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!4v1786097909343!6m8!1m7!1sCAoSF0NJSE0wb2dLRUlDQWdJQ0c2WldncHdF!2m2!1d55.70004852254419!2d-1.998155233230584!3f5.993390890992982!4f1.3106728608671432!5f0.7820865974627469', iframe="true", height="450", width="600", scroll="null", class="null")Restoration and rebuildingThe church underwent significant changes in the 19th century. The tower itself was restored in 1886, preserving it for future generations while modernising the rest of the church around it. %iframewrapper('https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d1613.0839985849877!2d-2.0005505231217855!3d55.700046073064705!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x48874f7edf137e0b%3A0x8448b1c0b42aff7b!2sSt%20Anne's%20Church!5e1!3m2!1sen!2suk!4v1786098076896!5m2!1sen!2suk', iframe="true", height="450", width="600", scroll="null", class="null")A living monument on the borderToday St Anne's remains an active parish church, with a small guidebook and historical displays on the west wall detailing its unusual past for visitors exploring Northumberland's border country.