Carham, Northumberland Genealogy

England Northumberland



Parish History
St Cuthbert Carham is an ancient parish on the Scottish border and includes the following hamlets and villages:

Carham, Downham, Hagg, East and West Learmouth, Mindrum, Moneylaws, Presson, Shidlaw, Tithehill, Wark and Wark Common.

CARHAM (St. Cuthbert), a parish, in the union of Glendale, W. division of Glendale ward, N. division of Northumberland, 3½ miles (W. S. W.) from Coldstream; containing 1274 inhabitants. This place, according to Leland, was the scene of a sanguinary battle between the Saxons and the Daues, in which eleven bishops and two English counts were killed; and in 1018, a fierce conflict occurred here between the English and the Scots, the latter of whom were victorious: the loss of the English was severe, and this event, according to some writers, made so deep an impression on the mind of Aldun, Bishop of Durham, that he died of a broken heart. In 1296, the Scots, under William Wallace, encamped on a hill in the neighbourhood, since called Campfield, and reduced to ashes an abbey of Black canons, which had been founded at a period unknown, as a cell to the priory of Kirkham, in the county of York. In 1370, a battle took place between the Scots under Sir John Gordon, and the English commanded by Sir John Lelburne; in which, after an obstinate conflict, the former were victorious, and the English general and his brother were made prisoners. The parish is pleasantly situated at the north-western extremity of the county, and is bounded on the north and west by Scotland; it comprises, according to a recent survey, 10,262 acres. The surface, generally undulated, rises in some parts to a considerable elevation; and the scenery is enriched with fine plantations, and enlivened by the river Tweed, on the south bank of which the village is situated. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £233; patrons and impropriators, the heirs of A. Compton, Esq., of Carham Hall. The great tithes of the township of Carham have been commuted for £260, and the incumbent's for £22; the incumbent has 5½ acres of glebe. The church, erected in 1791, is a very neat edifice: in 1832, a porch, and a vestry-room, which is now used for a Sunday school, were added; and in 1839, the whole of the interior was newly arranged and repewed.From: 'Carburton - Carlisle', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 511-520. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50857 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 DDR/EA/PBT/2/48 1762-1866 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.

Carham, St Cuthbert: Records of baptisms 1684-1996, marriages 1690-1987 and burials 1690-1998 are available at Northumberland Collections Service. The International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) includes baptisms 1684-1812 and marriages 1690-1812 for this parish, and Boyd's Marriage Index includes marriages 1690-1812 and banns 1751-1812. Transcripts of baptisms 1684-1812 and marriages and burials 1690-1812 for Carham are available at Newcastle Central Library, Local Studies Dept.

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.