Morpeth, Northumberland Genealogy

England Northumberland  Northumberland Parishes

Parish History
MORPETH (St. Mary), a parish, a borough, and the head of a union, partly in the E. and partly in the W. division of Castle ward, S. division, and partly in the W. division of Morpeth ward, N. division, of Northumberland.

Morpeth St Mary is an Ancient Parish and a market town in the county of Northumberland. Ulgham is a chapelry of Morpeth.

Other places in the parish include: Newminster Abbey, Parkhouses, Shilvington, Stobhill, Tranwell and High Church, Twizell, Buller's Green, Bullers Green, Catchburn, Cottingwood Common, Hepscott, Leipscot, Morpeth Castle, and Morpeth Castle with Catchburn, Parkhouses and Stobhill.

Church of England parish registers begin in 1583. Church of England Bishops' transcripts exist from 1769.

Morpeth grew up at an important crossing point of the River Wansbeck. Following the Norman Conquest the town came into the possession of the de Merlay family, whose root is probably Rodulphe du Merle, important norman baron or his brother Guillaume du Merle, and a motte and bailey castle had been constructed by 1095. Newminster Abbey was founded by Ranulf de Merlay, lord of Morpeth as one the first daughter houses of Fountains in 1138. The town became a borough by prescription. King John granted a market charter for the town to Roger de Merlay in 1199. The market is still held on Wednesdays. The town was badly damaged by fire in 1215 during the First Barons' War. In the thirteenth century a stone bridge was built over the Wansbeck, replacing the ford previously in use. Morpeth Castle was built in the fourteenth century by Ranulph de Merlay on the site of an earlier fortress: only the gatehouse and parts of the ruined castle walls remain.

For some months in 1515-16 Margaret Tudor (Henry VIII's sister) and Queen Consort of Scotland lay ill at Morpeth, having been brought there from Harbottle Castle. She eventually reached London in May 1516.

Morpeth was described, in 1540, by the royal antiquary John Leland, as "long and metely well-builded, with low houses," and as "a far fairer town than Alnwick."

In 1552, William Hervey, Norroy King of Arms granted the borough of Morpeth a coat of arms. The arms were identical to those of Roger de Merlay, with the addition of a gold tower. In the letters patent, Hervey noted that he had included the arms of the "noble and valyaunt knyght"... "for a p'petuall memory of his good will and benevolence towardes the said towne ".

Morpeth received its first charter of incorporation from Charles II. The corporation it created was controlled by seven companies or trade guilds : the Merchant Tailors, the Tanners, the Fullers and Dyers, the Smiths, the Cordwainers, the Weavers and the Butchers. This remained the governing charter until the borough was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835.

William Cobbett the famous radical journalist, author of Rural Rides stayed with Robert Blakey in 1832, during his speaking tour of the North East. Blakey enjoyed some eight hours of illuminating discussion with the great man.

Until the nineteenth century Morpeth had one of the main markets in northern England for live cattle. The opening of the railways made transport to Newcastle easier, and the market accordingly declined.

The ancient Church of England parish church of Morpeth is St Mary's at Kirkhill. The oldest remaining parts of the structure belong to the Transitional Early English style of the mid to late twelfth century. The church, which was the only Anglican place of worship in tha area until the 1840s, has been restored on a number of occasions.

In the graveyard of St Mary's can be found the grave of Emily Wilding Davison, the suffragette who famously threw herself under the King's horse during the Epsom Derby in 1913. Her gravestone bears the slogan of the Womens Social and Political Union "Deeds not words".

The need for a second church, in the centre of the town, was apparent by 1843. Accordingly, the church of St James the Great, designed by Benjamin Ferrey, was consecrated for worship on 15 October 1846. Ferrey designed the church in a "Neo Norman" style, based on the twelfth century Monreale Cathedral, Sicily.

A third church, St Aidan's, was opened to serve the Stobhill housing estate in 1957. It is a modern red brick building with a vaulted roof.

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/2/183 Date: 1769-1840 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.

Morpeth, St Mary: Records of baptisms 1583-1953, marriages 1583-1954 and burials 1583-1956 are available at Northumberland Collections Service. The International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) includes baptisms 1583-1812 and marriages 1583-1812 for this parish, and Boyd's Marriage Index includes marriages 1583-1812 and banns 1754-1775. Transcripts of baptisms and marriages 1583-1812, burials 1583-1587, 1592-1633, 1646-1812 and baptisms of dissenters 1750-1808 are available at Newcastle Central Library, Local Studies Dept. A transcript of monumental inscriptions at Morpeth (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. FamilySearch Historical Records includes England, Durham Diocese, Marriage Bonds and Allegations (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Nonconformist Records

 * Morpeth, St Bede later St Robert (Roman Catholic): Records of baptisms 1780-1960, marriages 1808-1990 and deaths 1801-1982 are available at Northumberland Collections Service. Transcripts of baptisms 1780-1837, marriages 1808-1840 and deaths 1804-1868 are available at Newcastle Central Library, Local Studies Dept.

Northumberland Collections Service also has records for the following nonconformist churches in Morpeth Parish:


 * Carmel Full Gospel Church, Dacre Street. - Marriages 1979-1986.
 * Dacre Street (Congregational) - Births/baptisms 1829-1872, 1915-1976, marriages 1915-1972 and burials 1915-1928. (Births/baptisms 1829-1837 also at Tyne and Wear Archives Service).
 * Manchester Street (Methodist) - Marriages 1901-1962
 * Morpeth Wesleyan Circuit (Methodist) - Baptisms 1839-1908
 * Morpeth Methodist Circuit - Baptisms 1908-1962
 * St George (Presbyterian) - Births/baptisms 1747-1848.
 * Early Primitive Methodist chapels in this area belonged to Hexham P.M. Circuit. Records for 1824-1837 are included on the IGI (listed as Bull Bank or Bethania Chapel).

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
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851 *Vision of Britain