Rothbury is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the River Coquet, 13.5mi northwest of Morpeth and 26mi of Newcastle upon Tyne. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 2,107. Rothbury emerged as an important town because of its situation at a crossroads over a ford on the River Coquet. Turnpike roads leading to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Alnwick, Hexham and Morpeth allowed for an influx of families and the enlargement of the settlement in the Middle Ages. Rothbury was chartered as a market town in 1291, and became a centre for dealing in cattle and wool for the surrounding villages in the Early Modern Period. Today, the town is used as a staging point for recreational walking. Points of interest around Rothbury include the Victorian mansion Cragside, the Simonside Hills and Northumberland National Park.
