Legacy of the Coldstream Guards’ visit rests in the hands of local residents

Five companies from Governor of Berwick Colonel Fenwick - many of which would have been Berwickers - and five from Governor of Newcastle Colonel Haselrig were assembled near Berwick as Monck’s Regiment of Foot.

After adventuring around Scotland they ended up at Coldstream.

In 1660 they marched through deep snow from Coldstream to London, securing the City, dissolving Parliament for new elections and restoring The Monarchy.

Monck’s Chaplain Thomas Gumble described them as a “Small Company of Men who God made the instrument of Great Things.”

King Charles II asked Monck “where have you marched from?” and named them Coldstream Guards. Had he asked “where were you raised?” they would have been The Berwick Guards.

Coldstreamers have served in every major military campaign from 1650 to the present day.

Only Berwick Archives and history books record the regiment’s activities in Berwick in 1650, when they carried stones down from the Castle ruins to help build Berwick Parish Church and cleared the town’s midden heaps before setting off for The Battle of Dunbar.

Some older Berwickers may remember their visit in 1950, when Mayor Councillor Yellowley presented a commemorative scroll on the Guildhall steps with “welcome back to the town of your birth.”

Town and Regiment then forgot about one another, until a Coldstreamer became Vicar and rediscovered their link.

The late Viscount Ridley, Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland loved Berwick and its Church, his grandfather Sir Edwin Lutyens created the screen behind the altar.

He and I were former Coldstreamers and fellow Vice Presidents of The Coldstream Guards Association.

In 1996 I asked if he could secure a visit to Berwick by Queen Elizabeth and the Freedom of Berwick for our regiment, the correspondence in Berwick Archives. Lord Ridley was then Lord Steward of The Royal Household, the senior Officer of Court and perfect advocate for such a request. In cooperation with the then Borough Council over four years, the vision became a reality.

Many will remember the Coldstream Guards return to Berwick on Tuesday 10th June 2025 to celebrate their 375th Anniversary after Regiment asked me to facilitate a return. I am so grateful to Berwick Town Council, the then County Councillors Catherine Seymour and Georgina Hill and Father Lee Taylor for helping plan the visit and hosting the regiment so wonderfully, and the thousands who lined the streets.

The legacy of the visit rests in the hands of Berwick. Regiment is very keen to maintain links. Although only elected a short while before the visit, the new County Councillor Nicole Brooke used the opportunity for photo selfies which she posts on her social media.

I hope that others will also incorporate Coldstream Guards images and objects into our community life; memorabilia in our shops; Berwick Parish Church which they helped build; the plans for a new Barracks museum with a permanent exhibition of artefacts.

The Colours of The Coldstream hang in Berwick Parish Church in perpetuity, above the memorial to Fenwick their founder, granted to Berwick Parish Church by the late Queen to mark their 350th anniversary 25 years ago when the town conferred The Freedom of Berwick.

Canon Alan Hughes

Coldstream Guards and Guards Parachute Association