Shotley, Northumberland Genealogy

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

Parish History
SHOTLEY (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Hexham, E. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland; The church is on an eminence, about a mile and a half north-west from the village of Shotley-Field; At Blanchland (which see) is a third incumbency; and at Shotley-Field is a place of worship for Baptists.

Additional information:

Shotley is a Parish created in 1724 from chapelry in Bywell St Andrew, Northumberland Ancient Parish and includes: New Biggen, Newbiggen, Newbiggin, and Shotley Low Quarter.

The earliest medieval reference to the parish is in 1165 when the endowment of Blanchland Abbey included the chapel of Shotley; this now lies beneath the Church of St Andrew.

The ancient church of St. Andrew, having sunk in through the working of a coal mine beneath, is now ruinous. [Kelly's Directory of Durham and Northumberland (1890), page 1049.]

The parish church of St. John, erected in 1835, is an edifice of stone in the Early Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch and campanile tower with 2 bells: the stained east window was presented by the late Thomas Wilson esq. of Shotley Hall: there are 150 sittings. The register dates from the year 1675. The living is a perpetual curacy, yearly value £300, with residence in the gift of the trustees of Lord Crewe, Bishop of Durham, 1674-1722, and held since 1880 by the Rev. Robert Wetherall Wilson B.A. of Hatfield Hall, Durham. [Kelly's Directory of Durham and Northumberland (1890), page 1049.]

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

Nonconformist Records

 * Records of baptisms 1949-1967 for Kiln Pit Hill (Methodist) can be seen at Tyne and Wear Archives Service.


 * Early Wesleyan Methodist chapels in this area belonged to Hexham W.M. Circuit. Records for 1797-1836 can be seen at Northumberland Collections Service and are included on the IGI.

FamilySearch Historical Records includes England, Durham Diocese, Marriage Bonds and Allegations (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Genealogy From Periodicals
Thompson, Christopher. Jonathan Richarson: Quaker. History of the Richardsons originally of Hull. The author was given a family tree which was drawn up in 1829, and went back to the 17th Century. The article is a history of the family, who latterly went into Banking, and Mining. One of the relatives marrying a Rev. Robert George Willis, who was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Descendants were in Hull, Newcastle Upon Tyne and Shotley Bridge. Picture of Amelia Willis nee Richardson, and Shotley Bridge Spa. Article in the Northumberland and Durham Family History Society Journal, vol.34,no.2. page 54-56. Family History Library Reference, 942.8 B2jo v.34, no.2. (summer 2009)

Poor Law Unions
Hexham 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