Bothal, Northumberland Genealogy

England Northumberland



Parish History
St Andrew's Church, Bothal was built possibly about 882 and enlarged about 1150. Most of the present building, however, dates from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It is situated near the castle in Bothal village, between Ashington and Morpeth.

BOTHAL (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Morpeth, E. division of Morpeth ward, N. division of Northumberland; containing the townships of Ashington with Sheepwash, Bothal-Demesne, Longhirst, Oldmoor, and Pegsworth; and comprising 800 inhabitants, of whom 249 are in Bothal-Demesne, 3 miles (E.) from Morpeth. The parish is bounded on the south by the river Wansbeck, and comprises, with Hebburn chapelry or parish, 15,290 acres, of which 12,050 are arable, 2720 pasture and meadow, and 520 woodland: the soil is in general of poor quality, being a stiff clay; but the country abounds in beautiful wood and rock scenery. Coal is abundant in the south-eastern part of the parish; there is an extensive quarry of freestone on the bank of the Wansbeck, and one of whinstone near Causey Park. The village is romantically situated in a small vale on the north of the river Wansbeck, and is sheltered on all sides by a range of hills, which surround it in the form of an amphitheatre. The living is a rectory, with the rectory of Sheepwash and the parochial chapelry of Hebburn annexed, valued in the king's books at £25, and in the gift of the Duke of Portland: the tithes have been commuted for £1377. 15., and there are 105 acres of glebe, with a house. The church, of which the foundation is very ancient, contains an altartomb of alabaster, with the recumbent effigies of a member of the Ogle family and his lady. There is a chaple at Hebburn, rebuilt in 1793; but the church of Sheepwash no longer exists. On the north bank of the Wansbeck, between Bothal and Morpeth, in the middle of a rich hanging wood, and surrounded by the wildest and most romantic scenery, are the remains of an oratory dedicated to the Virgin Mary. A considerable portion of the ancient baronial castle of Bothal is now in ruins; but the gateway, built in the reign of Edward III., was, a few years since, repaired and fitted up as an occasional residence for the steward.From: 'Boston - Botwell', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 309-314. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50814 Date accessed: 10 March 2011.

Two parishes were subsequently taken out of Bothal parish: Longhirst, St John the Evangelist, in 1876, and Ashington, Holy Sepulchre. in 1887.

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.

Parish Records
Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections DDR/EA/PBT/2/39 1760-1843 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records; however images for this series of transcripts have not been loaded pending engineering work to reload the whole series.

The dates of the post-1760 transcripts have been noted in detail and sometimes only cover years. For most parishes in the collection there are gaps in the sequence of transcripts. It is advisable to consult the original parish registers for these years and events.

Bothal, St Andrew: Records of baptisms 1680-1980, marriages 1678-1986 and burials 1678-1898 are available at Northumberland Collections Service. The International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) includes baptisms 1680-1812 and marriages 1678-1812 for this parish, and Boyd's Marriage Index includes marriages 1678-1812 and banns 1751-1812. Transcripts of baptisms 1680-1812 and marriages and burials 1678-1812 are available in the Local Studies Departments of Newcastle Central Library and Gateshead Central Library. A transcript of monumental inscriptions at Bothal (microfiche TN77) is published by Northumberland and Durham Family History Society and these records are also available in book form at Newcastle Central Library, Local Studies Department. Longhirst, St John the Evangelist: Records of baptisms 1876-1914, marriages 1877-1966 and burials 1876-1931 are available at Northumberland Collections Service Bishops' Transcripts Reference number: DDR/EA/PBT/2/169 Date: October 1876-1884 are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records.

Poor Law Unions
Morpeth 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

Web sites
Contributor: add any relevant sites that aren't mentioned above.