Corbridge, Northumberland Family History Guide
Corbridge is an Ancient Parish in the county of Northumberland.
Other places in the parish include: Great Whitton, Great Whittington, Dilston, Clarewood, Aydon Castle, Aydon, Thornbrough, Thornborough, Little Whitton, Little Whittington, Halton Shields, and Halton.
Alternative names: Corbridge with Halton
Parish church: St. Andrew
Parish registers begin:
Corbridge
- Parish registers: 1654
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1769
Halton
- Parish registers: 1654
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1769
Nonconformists include: Independent/Congregational, Primitive Methodist, Roman Catholic, and Wesleyan Methodist.
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
- Bywell St Andrew
- Bywell St Peter
- Hexham
- Slaley
- Stamfordham
- Whitley
- St John Lee
- St Oswald in Lee
- Bingfield St Mary
- Matfen
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
CORBRIDGE, a small town, a township, and a parish in Hexham district, Northumberland.
The town stands on Watling-street and the river Tyne, adjacent to the Newcastle and Carlisle railway, in the vicinity of the Roman Corstopitum, 2¾ miles S of the Roman wall, and 3¼ E of Hexham. It had a monastery in 771; was occupied by David I. in 1138; was burnt by the Scots in 1296 and 1311; sent members to parliament in the time of Edward I.; had, at one period, five churches; was long a market town; displays now an aspect of grey antiquity; and has a head post office, a railway station, a market cross, an old tower, once a jail, a seven-arched bridge, a parish church, three dissenting chapels, and charities £67. The church is old, of fortified structure, and in good condition.
The township includes the town, and comprises 4. 499 acres. Pop., 1, 340. Houses, 288. Corchester, about ½ a mile west of the town, is the Roman Corstopitum; and there Roman coins and altars, two Greek inscriptions, a silver-votive tablet of 148 oz., and remains of an ancient bridge have been found.
The parish contains also the townships of Dilston, Thorn-brough, Aydon, Aydon-Castle, Halton, Halton-Shields, Clarewood, Great Whittington, and Little Whittington. Acres, 13, 130. Real property, £10, 582. Pop., 2, 170. Houses, 444. The manor belonged to the Claverings and the Percys. Dilston was the seat of the Earls of Derwentwater. The living is a vicarage, united with the p. curacy of Halton, in the diocese of Durham. Value, £482. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
CORBRIDGE (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Hexham, E. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland; comprising the townships of Aydon, Aydon-Castle, Clarewood, Corbridge, Dilston, Halton, Halton-Shields, Thornborough, and Great and Little Whittington; and containing 2103 inhabitants, of whom 1356 are in the township of Corbridge, 4½ miles (E.) from Hexham.
This place, which is of great antiquity, appears to have been known to the Romans, who, at a short distance to the west, had a station on the line of the Watling-street, supposed by Camden to have been the Curia Ottadinarum of Ptolemy, and by Horsley the Corstopitum of Antoninus, and which is now called Corchester.
In 1138, David, King of Scotland, who made frequent incursions into the English territories, encamped his forces at this place; which was subsequently burnt by the Scots in 1296, and again in 1311. From its great importance, King John, expecting to find concealed treasure, directed a search to be made here, but without effect. This monarch, in the 6th year of his reign, bestowed the manor upon Robert de Clavering, Baron of Warkworth; and the last baron having granted his Northumberland estates to the crown in reversion, they were given by Edward III. to Henry Percy, in whose line they continue to this day. During the parliamentary war, a battle was fought here between the royalists and the Scottish forces.
The place was formerly a borough and market-town, had extensive privileges, and returned members to parliament. Some vestiges of its ancient consequence are still apparent: to the south of the church is a venerable tower, once used as the town gaol; and a little to the east is an eminence called Gallow Hill, the place of execution for criminals. It early carried on a considerable trade, and that it was originally of much greater extent, is evident, from the former existence of three additional churches, severally dedicated to St. Mary, St. Helen, and the Holy Trinity, the sites of which are well known.
The parish is bounded on the south by the river Tyne, and measures nine miles and a half in length from southeast to north-west, and about six miles in average breadth; the soil near the river is a rich and deep mould, and in other parts poor and shallow, but producing favourable crops. Coal, limestone, and lead-ore are found, and also excellent fire-clay, used in the manufacture of fire-bricks and earthenware articles. The lands are intersected by the streams Dilston and Cor, which flow through the parish into the Tyne; and the Newcastle and Carlisle railroad passes by.
The village is pleasantly situated to the north of the Tyne, over which is a bridge of seven arches, erected in 1674: near the centre of the former market-place is a cross, built in 1814, by the Duke of Northumberland. A fair held on the eve, day, and morrow of St. John the Baptist, has been discontinued; but there are fairs for live-stock, among the largest in the kingdom, at Stagshaw Bank, within the parish, on Whitsun-eve and July 4th, at the latter of which much linen and woollen cloth, brought from Scotland, is also exposed for sale; and a trystfair, established in 1820, is held on Nov. 24th.
The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s books at £11. 11. 8.; net income, £482; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle. The great tithes of Corbridge and Thornborough have been commuted for £695, and the small tithes for £306. The church is a neat edifice, supposed to have been built with materials brought from the ruins of the Roman station in the neighbourhood. At Halton is a chapel of ease, in the burial-ground of which is a Roman altar.
There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. Ann Radcliffe, in 1699, bequeathed £10 per annum for apprenticing children; Elizabeth Radcliffe, in 1688, gave a rent-charge of £10, and the Rev. Robert Troutbeck, in 1706, lands producing £30 per annum, to the poor.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Dilston
Administration
- County: Northumberland
- Civil Registration District: Hexham
- Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Durham (Episcopal Consistory)
- Diocese: Durham
- Rural Deanery: Corbridge
- Poor Law Union: Hexham
- Hundred: Tynedale Ward
- Province: York