Blanchland, Northumberland Genealogy

England Northumberland

Parish History
St Mary Blanchland was created in 1751 from chapelry in Shotley, Northumberland St Andrew Ecclesiastical Parish.

BLANCHLAND, otherwise Shotley High-Quarter, a chapelry, in the parish of Shotley, union of Hexham, E. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 10 miles (S. by E.) from Hexham; containing 476 inhabitants. It is situated on the north side of the river Derwent; and is celebrated for its leadmines, which have been extensively worked for a long period, and from which large quantities of ore are still raised: the proprietors have a smelting-furnace at Jeffries'-Rake, in the county of Durham. The village is in a narrow deep green vale, inclosed by heathy hills and morasses; the population is chiefly employed in the mines. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £198; patrons and impropriators. Lord Crewe's Trustees. The chapel was formed in 1752, by the Trustees, out of the tower and aisles of an abbey of Præmonstratensian canons founded by Walter de Bolbec, in 1175, in honour of the Blessed Virgin, and the abbot of which was elevated to the house of peers in the 23rd of Edward I.: the establishment, at the time of the Dissolution, consisted of an abbot and fourteen canons, and the revenue amounted to £44. 9. 1. After having passed through various hands, the estate was purchased by Bishop Crewe, who bequeathed it and other property for charitable purposes. Besides that part converted into a chapel, the principal gateway and other portions of the conventual buildings are still visible.

From: 'Blackwater - Blandford-Forum', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 275-278. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50806 Date accessed: 15 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 DDR/EA/PBT/2/36 Years 1770-February 1876 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records however the images for this parish remain to loaded and await future engineering of the whole collection.

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.

Blanchland, St Mary: Records of baptisms 1753-1995, marriages 1753-1977, 1980-1990 and burials 1753-1995 are available at Northumberland Collections Service. The International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) includes baptisms 1753-1875 and marriages 1753-1877 for this parish, but it is not included in Boyd's Marriage Index. Transcripts of baptisms, burials and marriages 1753-1851 are available at Newcastle Central Library, Local Studies Dept. A transcript of monumental inscriptions at Blanchland (microfiche TN75) 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)

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

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