Matfen, Northumberland Genealogy

Guide to Matfen, Northumberland ancestry, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
MATFEN, EAST, a township, in the parish of Stamfordham, union of Castle ward, N. E. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A chapel, also, seems to have existed at the place.

Additional information:

Matfen Holy Trinity was created in 1846 from Stamfordham Ancient Parish.

"The Church dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is situated on the south side of the Pont, overlooking the village of Matfen.

It was erected in 1842 at the sole cost of Sir Edward Blackett, and consists of nave, chancel and tower, which houses three bells.

The style of architecture is Early English with single lancet windows.

Matfen was constituted a separate parish in February 1846.

After a period of years the patronage of the living was conveyed by the founder to the Bishop of Newcastle and it has recently been reconveyed to the Crown.

The organ given by Ursula Lady Blackett was built recently by Mr Nigel Church". [The Newcastle Diocesan Gazetteer (1982), page 38.]

MATFEN, EAST, a township, in the parish of Stamfordham, union of Castle ward, N. E. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 8¾ miles (N. E. by E.) from Hexham; containing 110 inhabitants. It lies on the south side of the river Pont, above a mile west from Stamfordham, and comprises 1834a. 1r. 6p. of land: the village consists of a few straggling cottages only, although it seems to have been once a place of some importance. The Roman wall is not very far distant on the south. The tithes have been commuted for £19 payable to the vicar, and £221 to the Bishop of Durham.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church Records
Matfen parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

To find the names of the neighboring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851 Map. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Records are also available at the Northumberland Archives.

Poor Law Unions
Castle Ward Poor Law Union, Northumberland

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Northumberland Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain