Northumberland county page

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Northumberland Towns & Parishes

Nearby places

ROTHBURY

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

"ROTHBURY parish is bounded on the north by Whittingham, on the west by Elsdon, on the south by Hartburn, Nether-Witton, and Long Horsley, and on the east by Edlingham. It is about nine miles in length by the same in breadth, and comprises twenty-eight townships, whose united area is 34,798 acres. The population in 1801, was 2,236; in 1811, 2,428; in l821, 2,609; in 1831, 2,869; in 1841, 2,555; and in 1851, 2,545 souls. The soil of this parish exhibits great variety. In some parts we find rich pastures and fine cornfields, in others, sterile hills, naked rocks, and black heaths. The famous forest of Rothbury has long since disappeared, and widely scattered farm-houses and cottages occupy its site. The whole of the parish is well watered by the river Coquet, and several smaller streams. Whinstone, limestone, ironstone, and coal are found here." [From History, Topography, and Directory of Northumberland, Whellan, 1855].

Cemeteries

• Burial Registers 1886-1956 and Burials Grant Books 1940-1960 for Rothbury Civil Cemetery are available at Northumberland Collections Service.
  
  

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Census

• A Census of Rothbury compiled by the rector, Rev Levison Venables Vernon, in 1816. First published in Rothbury Parish Magazine in 1898.
  
  
• The 1851 Census Index (microfiche CN27) 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 Ancestral Indexes website provides information about Hepple, Christ Church and Thropton, St Andrew.
  
  

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Church Records

• Rothbury - Church Records - links and information.
  
  

Civil Registration

• This area is now within Northumberland North 2nd Registration District. Certificates of birth, death and marriage can be obtained from: Superintendent Registrar, Register Office, 6 Market Place, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1HP. If ordering certificates from a District Office, please note the following:
  
  
  1. The cost of a certificate is currently (from 1st April 2003) £ 7.00 - send a Sterling cheque payable to the Superintendent Registrar plus return postage or two International Reply Coupons;
  2. The G.R.O. (St Catherine's) Index references are of no value;
  3. For marriage certificates, the precise place of marriage must be given;
  4. Civil Registration in England and Wales began on July 1st 1837.
     
     

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Description and Travel

• Photographs of Rothbury, Fontburn Reservoir, Pauperhaugh Bridge and Simonside from Les Bell's Northumberland Cam website.
  
  
• Cragside House, garden and estate, created by the First Lord Armstrong from Mirror Image.
  
  
• The Northumberland Communities website includes pages relating to Rothbury. 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 Rothbury Parish is included in:- Northumberland County History Committee, History of Northumberland, Volume 15. Newcastle, A. Reid, 1940. (Available on fiche from Ancestral Indexes).
  
  
• LNER Wartime Evacuation Documents N.EVAC 2 and N.EVAC 3 describing the arrangements for evacuating children from Newcastle and Gateshead to rural parts of Northumberland (including Rothbury), Co Durham, Yorkshire, Cumberland and Westmorland. The second document includes lists of schools with details of their places and times of departure and their destinations.
  
  

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Maps

• Rothbury - Maps - links and information.
  
  

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• Rothbury Parish was part of Rothbury Poor Law Union. The Union Workhouse was located in the town of Rothbury. Some records are held at Northumberland Collections Service, but these are of limited genealogical value.
  
  
• Peter Higginbotham has provided details and maps of Rothbury Workhouse.
  
  

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