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Northumberland Towns & Parishes

Nearby places

WOODHORN

The location of the Parish of Woodhorn (shown in green).
[View a zoomable and navigable Map of the Area provided by Multimap.]

"WOODHORN parish bounded on the north by Widdrington chapelry, on the west by Bothal and Ulgham, on the south by Bedlingtonshire, and on the east by the German Ocean. It is about four and three-quarter miles in length, by two and a half in breadth, and comprises an area of 8,546 acres. The number of inhabitants in l801, was 1,208; in 1811, 1,172; in 1821, 1,378; in l831, 1,416; in l841, 1,618; and in 1851, 1,598 souls. The soil of this district is generally fertile. The parish contains the chapelry of Newbiggin, and the townships of Cresswell, Ellington, Hurst, Linmouth, North Seaton, Woodhorn, and Woodhorn Demesne." [From History, Topography, and Directory of Northumberland, Whellan, 1855]

Census

• The 1851 Census Index (microfiche CN24) published by the Northumberland and Durham Family History Society may be of value to researchers interested in this parish.
  
  

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Church History

• Woodhorn, St Mary the Virgin was built in the early eleventh century but most of the external features are from a restoration of 1842. The church was made redundant in 1973 and is now Woodhorn Church Museum. It is located in the village of Woodhorn, 1 mile northwest of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.
  
  
• Cresswell, St Bartholomew was built in 1836 to serve the Baker-Cresswell family and their estate workers. It is situated in the coastal village of Cresswell, just south of Druridge Bay.
  
  
• Seaton Hirst, St John the Evangelist was built in 1896 to serve a mining community just to the east of Ashington. It became a parish in 1905. A mission church, Seaton Hirst, St Andrew the Apostle, was built in 1905. The present brick building was erected in 1932 and replaced the original temporary structure which was known locally as the "Tin Church". St John's is located on Newbiggin Road and St Andrew's is on Hawthorn Road.
  
  
• Lynemouth, St Aidan in Market Street was built in 1925 and became a parish church in 1961.
  
  
• The Ancestral Indexes website provides information about Seaton Hirst, St Andrew and Seaton Hirst, St John.
  
  

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Church Records

• Woodhorn - Church Records - links and information.
  
  

Civil Registration

• This area is now within Northumberland Central Registration District. Certificates of birth, death and marriage can be obtained from: Superintendent Registrar, Register Office, 94 Newgate Street, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 1BU. If ordering certificates from a District Office, please note the following:
  
  
  1. The cost of a certificate is currently (from 1st April 2003) £ 7.00 - send a Sterling cheque payable to the Superintendent Registrar plus return postage or two International Reply Coupons;
  2. The G.R.O. (St Catherine's) Index references are of no value;
  3. For marriage certificates, the precise place of marriage must be given;
  4. Civil Registration in England and Wales began on July 1st 1837.
     
     

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Description and Travel

• Photographs of Woodhorn Colliery from the FreeFoto.com website.
  
  
• The Northumberland Communities website includes pages relating to Ellington and Lynemouth. They provide "a range of learning resource material that reflects Northumberland's heritage, providing a base for studying the County's history. The website provides a starting point for understanding the development of communities in Northumberland. It also seeks to illustrate the range of sources for family and local history research that are available via Northumberland Archives Service."
  
  

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Gazetteers

• The section of The National Gazetteer (1868) relating to this parish - transcribed by Colin Hinson.
  
  

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History

• The history of Woodhorn Parish is included in:- Hodgson, J., History of Northumberland, Part 2, Volume 2. Newcastle, 1832. (Available on fiche from Ancestral Indexes).
  
  

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Maps

• Woodhorn - Maps - links and information.
  
  

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• Woodhorn Parish was part of Morpeth Poor Law Union. The Union Workhouse was located in Newgate Street, Morpeth. Some records are held at Northumberland Collections Service, but these are of limited genealogical value.
  
  
• Peter Higginbotham has provided details, a map and photograph of Morpeth Workhouse.
  
  

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