Simonburn, Northumberland Genealogy

England Northumberland



Parish History
Simonburn St Mungo is an Ancient Parish in the county of Northumberland and includes: Black Carts and Ryehill, Chirdon, Hall-Barns, Haughton, Nunwick, Smalesmouth, Tarset, Tarset West, Thorneyburn, Thornyburn, Town-Head, and West Tarset.

SIMONBURN (St. Simon), a parish, in the union of Hexham, N. W. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland; containing, with the township of Haughton and the chapelry of Humshaugh, 1029 inhabitants, of whom 500 are in the township of Simonburn, 9 miles (N. W. by N.) from Hexham. This parish was formerly the largest in the county, about 33 miles in length and 14 in breadth, diversified with picturesque valleys, and bounded by the Roman wall on the south. In 1814 it was divided, pursuant to an act procured in 1811, into six parishes and rectories, the livings of all which are in the gift of the Governors of Greenwich Hospital, to whom the manor of the ancient parish belongs, and from whose funds the new churches were erected. The present parish comprises 13,372 acres, of which 2967 are arable, 9827 pasture, and 459 wood: the farms are principally for the dairy; the scenery is pleasing, the timber chiefly beech and ash, and the plantations fir. The substratum abounds with coal, and iron-ore was formerly obtained. The North Tyne river separates the parish from Chollerton. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £34. 6. 3. for the ancient parish, and in the gift of the Governors: the tithes have been commuted for £542, and there is a good rectory-house, with about 80 acres of glebe. The church, repaired and beautified in 1821, contains monuments to the families of Allgood and Ridley. At Humshaugh is a separate incumbency. Giles Heron left an estate, now let for £180 per annum, for teaching and apprenticing children, and affording relief to the poor. The castle here was entirely destroyed in expectation of finding some hidden treasure, but part of the west end was rebuilt in 1766. In 1735, a stone inscribed to Ulpius and Sabinus, Roman lieutenants in Britain, was found in taking down part of the rectory-house.

From: 'Sigglesthorne - Simpson', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 107-110. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51278 Date accessed: 18 March 2011.

The church of St. Simon, till 1815 the parish church of all Tyneside, was rebuilt in 1860, under Mr.A. Salvin, and completely restored in 1877, at a cost of £3,400; it consists of chancel, nave and north aisle: the chancel, which is of unusual length, has a priest's door of the Decorated period and retains a curious double piscina: in the nave are monumental effigies of Cuthbert Ridley (rector in 1620) and three of his family, and also a beautiful white marble monument by Noble to Mr. and Mrs. Allgood, of Nunwick: there are four beautiful stained windows; the east window is a memorial to Meyrick Henry Legge Beebee, dedicated by his widow, and another in the chancel is to Edward Plumtree Rogers, only son of the rector; the north-east or "angel window" was erected by Miss Allgood, of the Hermitage, to her deceased relatives; the "children's window," in the north aisle, the gift of Major-Gen. Allgood, commemorates his wife and child: there are 180 sittings. The register dates from the year 1681. The living is a rectory, average tithe rent-charge £453, net yearly value £350, including 78 acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift of the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital, and held since 1873 by the Rev. Percy Rogers M.A. of Clare College, Cambridge, honorary canon of Durham, rural dean of Bellingham and surrogate. [Kelly's Durham and Northumberland Directory (1890), p.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.

Parish Records
Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections Reference number: DDR/EA/PBT/2/231 Date: 1760-1856 Contents: Including transcript from Humshaugh 1818 DDR/EA/PBT/2/144 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records.

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.

Simonburn, St Mungo: Records of baptisms, marriages and burials 1681-1959 are available at Northumberland Collections Service. Microfilm copies of marriages and burials for the period 1681-1851 can be seen at Tyne and Wear Archives Service. The International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) includes baptisms 1682-1875 and marriages 1681-1877 for this parish, but it is not included in Boyd's Marriage Index. Transcripts of baptisms, burials and marriages 1681-1851 for Simonburn are available at Newcastle Central Library, Local Studies Department, and these records have been published in microfiche form by Northumberland and Durham Family History Society (micrifiche PR204).

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

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
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Web sites
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