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Northumberland Towns & Parishes

Nearby places

OVINGHAM

The location of the Parish of Ovingham (shown in green).
[View a zoomable and navigable Map of the Area provided by Bing.]

"OVINGHAM is a parish comprising the townships of Dukeshagg. Eltringham, Harlow-hill, Hedley, Hedley-Woodside, Horsley, Mickley, Nafferton, Ovingham, Ovington, Prudhoe, Prudhoe Castle, Rouchester, Spittle, Welton, Whittle, and Wylam. It is bounded by the parishes of Stamfordham, Heddon-on-the-Wall and Bywell St. Andrew and St. Peter, except on the south-east, where it is separated from the County of Durham by the Stanley and Milkhouse Burn. It is about seven miles in length by five in breadth, and comprises an area of 15,740 acres. Its population in 1801, was 2,628; in 1811, 2,810; in 1821, 2,742; in 1831, 3,019; in 1841, 3,418; and in 1851, 3,962 souls. The parish is interesected by the river Tyne, and is beautifully diversified by gentle elevations." [From History, Topography, and Directory of Northumberland, Whellan, 1855]

Bibliography

• The Story of Ovingham on Tyne by Frank Atkinson published by Northern Books, 2001, ISBN 0 953 5730 1 X.
  
  

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Cemeteries

• Northumberland Archives Service has the following records:
  
  
  • Ovingham Civil Cemetery: - Burial Registers 1879-1994, Purchased Graves Registers 1880-1955 and Grave Spaces Register 1879-1984.
    
    
  • Prudhoe Civil Cemetery: - Burial Registers 1903-1984 and Burials Grant Books 1912-1956.
    
    

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Census

• The 1851 Census Index (microfiche CN14 and CN15) published by the Northumberland and Durham Family History Society may be of value to researchers interested in this parish.
  
  

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Church History

• The parish church is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin and was consecrated about the year 1050. It is thought that it was built on the site of an even earlier Christian meeting place marked by a standing cross, a fragment of which is under the church pulpit. The building has three distinct architectural styles - a Saxon tower, a Norman doorway and early English Nave and Chancel. The registers date from 1679. Part of the former vicarage, located to the south of the church, dates from around 1378. In 1823 a Chapel of Ease dedicated to St George was built in the village of Mickley and this became a distinct parish in 1867. Ovingham Parish was further subdivided with the formation of the parishes of Prudhoe, St Mary Magdalene in 1880 and Wylam, St Oswin in 1886.
• The Ancestral Indexes website provides information about Mickley, St George, Prudhoe, St Mary and Wylam, St Oswin.
  
  

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Church Records

• Ovingham - Church Records - links and information.
  
  

Civil Registration

• This area is divided between Northumberland West Registration District and Northumberland Central Registration District.
• Certificates of birth, death and marriage can be ordered from Northumberland County Council.
  Order Certificates.
  
  

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Description and Travel

• Photographs of Wylam and Whittle Dene Reservoirs from Les Bell's Northumberland Cam website.
  
  
• Photographs of Prudhoe from the FreeFoto.com website.
  
  
• Prudhoe Castle photographed by Ray Urwin.
  
  
• Wylam - A short guide
  
  
• The Northumberland Communities website includes pages relating to Ovingham and Prudhoe and Wylam. They provide "a range of learning resource material that reflects Northumberland's heritage, providing a base for studying the County's history. The website provides a starting point for understanding the development of communities in Northumberland. It also seeks to illustrate the range of sources for family and local history research that are available via Northumberland Archives Service."
  
  

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Gazetteers

• The section of The National Gazetteer (1868) relating to this parish - transcribed by Colin Hinson.
  
  

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History

• The history of Ovingham Parish is included in:- Northumberland County History Committee, History of Northumberland, Volume 12. Newcastle, A. Reid, 1926. (Available on fiche from Ancestral Indexes).
  
  
• Information on the History of Prudhoe provided by Prudhoe Community Partnership.
  
  

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Maps

• Ovingham - Maps - links and information.
  
  

Military Records

• Horsley War Memorial - names and photographs by Ray Urwin.
  
  

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Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• Almost all of Ovingham Parish was included in Hexham Poor Law Union. The Union Workhouse was located at Peth Head, Hexham. Some useful records are held at Northumberland Archives Service.
  
  
• Peter Higginbotham has provided details, a map and photographs of Hexham Workhouse.
  
  

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