Chillingham, Northumberland Genealogy

England Northumberland



Parish History
St Peter Chillingham is an Ancient Parish, other places in the parish include: Hebburn, Hebburn near Wooler, Hepburn, Newton, Newtown, and Newtown near Wooler.

CHILLINGHAM (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Glendale, E. division of Glendale ward, N. division of Northumberland; containing 459 inhabitants, of whom 217 are in the township of Chillingham, 5 miles (E. by S.) from Wooler. The parish is situated on the river Till, which flows through the centre of it, in a direction from south to north, and falls into the Tweed at Tilmouth. It comprises, with the townships of Hebburn and Newtown, 4925a. 3r. 25p., of which 1794 acres are arable, 2296 pasture, and 835 woodland; the surface is in many parts richly embellished. The soil is various, but the greater portion exceedingly fertile: coal and limestone are found, the latter being quarried for burning into lime; and there are quarries of stone for building and other purposes. The parish belongs to the Earl of Tankerville, whose seat, Chillingham Castle, is a very ancient structure; the north-east tower dates back to the time of Henry III.: the building probably became dilapidated during the war of the Roses, and the centre was rebuilt in the reign of James I. In the park is a breed of wild cattle, the only one in the island, and supposed to be the same as was found before the time of the Romans; the animals are white, with a tinge of red on the ears. The living is a vicarage as to the townships of Chillingham and Newtown, and a rectory as to Hebburn, and is valued in the king's books at £4; patron, the Bishop of Durham; impropriator of the remainder of the great tithes, the Earl of Tankerville. The tithes have been commuted for £384, and the glebe comprises nearly 2 acres, with a glebe-house. The church is an ancient and small edifice, with a Norman doorway; in the chancel is a richlysculptured monument, temp. Henry VII., to Sir Ralph Grey, whose father was killed at the battle of Towton, and whose grandfather was beheaded by Henry V., with Lord Cobham, after the Lollard outburst. On an eminence eastward from Chillingham Park is a double intrenchment, called Ros Castle, supposed to be a British fort; in the park is an ancient camp. At Newtown is a cross, termed the Hurle Stone, which is twelve feet high.From: 'Chiddingstone - Chillington', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 593-597. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50873 Date accessed: 06 March 2011.

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 1760-1868 Reference number: DDR/EA/PBT/2/53 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records. The images have not yet been loaded.

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.

Chillingham, St Peter: Records of baptisms 1692-1991, marriages 1692-1991 and burials 1692-1991 are available at Northumberland Collections Service. The International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) includes baptisms 1692-1812 and marriages 1692-1812 for this parish, and Boyd's Marriage Index includes marriages 1692-1812 and banns 1756-1812. Transcripts of baptisms, burials and marriages 1692-1812 for Chillingham are available at Newcastle Central Library, Local Studies Dept. A transcript of monumental inscriptions at Chillingham (microfiche TN74) 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.

Poor Law Unions
Glendale 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.