Corsenside, Northumberland Genealogy

Parish History
Corsenside parish was created in 1728 from Alwinton with Holystone Ancient Parish and includes: Chesterhope, East Woodburn, Linhead, Lisleburn, and West Woodburn.

CORSENSIDE, a parish, in the union of Bellingham, N. E. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 17 miles (N. by W.) from Hexham; containing 1108 inhabitants. This parish, anciently Crossan-set (the place of the crosses), lies on the Watlingstreet, and comprises by measurement 7840 acres, of which about 2500 are arable, 5000 pasture, and 340 wood. On the east and west sides the land is bleak, moorish, and sterile, but along the banks of the Rede the soil is light, dry, and gravelly, producing good crops of grass and corn; the surface is in general rugged in the extreme, and the scenery uninteresting, except during the summer, when, in the vicinity of Woodburn, it becomes highly picturesque. There are several quarries of excellent limestone and freestone; seams of coal in different places; and an extensive mine of iron-ore of superior quality. An iron-foundry employs between 200 and 300 hands. The parish contains the beautiful hamlet of West Woodburn, and that of East Woodburn, the latter chiefly remarkable for having been the residence of the distinguished family of De Lisle. The living is a discharged vicarage, endowed with the rectorial tithes, in 1736, by the Aynsley family, and in the patronage of Messrs. Tweddell: the tithes have been commuted for £184, and the glebe consists of 84 acres, with a good glebe-house. The church is a small ancient edifice; one of the Umfrevilles gave the advowson and impropriation of it to the convent of Hallystone, which, about 1240, held "Cressenset" in pure alms, of Gilbert de Umfreville. A large quantity of iron-ore, supposed to have been dug up by the Romans, who had iron-works here, was found on the surface near the parish borders; tumuli are frequently met with near the river, and many vases have been discovered

From: 'Corfe-Castle - Corstone', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 685-693. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50896 Date accessed: 14 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/2/61 1762-1877Parish 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. Corsenside, St Cuthbert: Records of baptisms 1715-1959, marriages 1738-1978 and burials 1726-1993 are available at Northumberland Collections Service. The International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) includes baptisms 1713-1875 and marriages 1719-1876 for this parish, but it is not included in Boyd's Marriage Index. Transcripts of baptisms, burials and marriages 1715-1843 are available at Newcastle Central Library, Local Studies Dept. A transcript of monumental inscriptions at Corsenside (microfiche TN81) 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 Marriage Bonds and Allegations (FamilySearch Collection)

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Poor Law Unions
Bellingham 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.