Jonathan Scott visits north-east England to find out what Northumberland has to offer family historians
Northumberland’s proximity to Scotland, as a site for border wars, reivers’ raids and rebellions, means that the county’s breathtaking landscape is peppered with fortified farm houses. For family historians on the hunt, there are numerous archives that may hold material relating to your kin. For that reason local expertise is invaluable, so the website of the Northumberland and Durham Family History Society (ndfhs.org.uk) may prove a useful starting point.
The society’s research centre closed its doors in early 2020 before the first lockdown. Although they did reopen during one period of eased restrictions, in the end members decided the centre would remain closed as they prepared for a move to new premises at MEA House in Newcastle. This finally took place in a flurry of socially distanced teamwork in January last year.
Although in-person meetings and workshops ceased during the lockdowns, all sorts of other activities continued – sales of data as PDFs, online meetings and the digitisation of the society’s collection of over 2,000 trees.
Chair Joyce Jackman says that members are looking forward to getting out and about. They’ll be attending the Sunderland History Fair 2022 at the Bethany City Church (21 May); the Family History Festival, in partnership with Newcastle City Library (28 May); and the Family History Show at York Racecourse (25 June).
“The team are looking forward to meeting inquirers again and giving advice,” she says.
Meanwhile they have nearly completed a database of names in Diocese of Durham wills from 1700–1858, and since Northumberland was part of the diocese until the 1880s, this includes individuals from across Northumberland. “The database is available on the PCs in our research centre, on CDs that we sell, and shortly will be available for members of the society to access on our website.”
While the Directory on page 79 shows that there are all sorts of archives, libraries and specialist collections covering the north-east of England, your first port of call is likely to be the main county archive HQ in Ashington, or the smaller branch record office at Berwick-upon-Tweed.
During the periods of closure staff at both offices spent time converting old typed finding aids to electronic format, then uploading these to the catalogue. They also added more than 10,000 images, as well as importing thousands of ‘born digital’ records to digital preservation system Preservica. Staff also increased their activity on social media – partly via new accounts on Instagram and TikTok – as well as establishing the Northumberland Archives Charitable Trust, to help “support, extend and promote” the work of the service.
Major Improvements
“In October 2020 we received a grant from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage,” says head of archives Sue Wood. “This allowed us to develop an online shop, which is launching shortly; run a remote volunteering project; develop online family learning activity; offer virtual talks; and work on the Reading Room, which allows access to digital copies of records in our care.”
The HQ looks after parish registers, although keep in mind that Presbyterianism was strong in Northumberland, due in part to the proximity of Scotland, as was Methodism, particularly among mining communities. Alongside these nonconformist collections, the archive also has registers of several Catholic churches.
The county is known for its coal and lead mining, and agriculture. Estate collections can help you research agricultural communities; there is material from many former collieries; and records of North Pennine leadmining communities can be found in the Allendale MSS – the papers of the Allendale family of Bywell.
“Some resources unique to the area include lead-mining ‘bargain books’ recording the ‘bargains’ or contracts between groups of mineworkers and the mine owner. The Allendale MSS includes a good collection of these.”
Sue says that family and estate papers can reveal a lot about working communities. Localauthority records too preserve information about planning, healthcare and welfare, and the service also holds oral-history recordings of Northumberland residents dating back to the 1970s. In addition, staff have revised the Manorial Documents Register for the area (discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/manorsearch), and are going to promote the use of manorial documents.
The archive service’s website northumberlandarchives.com has lots of useful material. For example, the exhibition at tinyurl.com/north-archmaritime showcases items from both the Berwick and Ashington collections, arranged by nine themes – ‘Fishing’, ‘Grace Darling’, ‘Trade’, ‘Royal Navy’, ‘Lifeboats’, ‘Lighthouses’, ‘Harbour Commissioners’, ‘Shipbreaking’ and ‘Shipwrecks’.
The boats of Berwick mainly caught white fish and herring, and the exhibition details documents that can help you trace local vessels. And the ‘Lifeboats’ page has a letter from Henry Greathead of South Shields, generally credited as the lifeboat’s inventor.
Unique Collections
Other unique collections include records from Stannington Sanatorium, the first purpose-built sanatorium for children with tuberculosis in the UK; cooperative societies; and a number of small businesses.
Sue says that the service plans to add more articles to its website, and a new project is about to get under way thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund worth £73,100. ‘Everyday Life in a Northumbrian Manor’ will involve volunteers transcribing manorial records.
Finally, make sure that you investigate what’s held where, because our ancestors tended to cross boundaries with very little consideration to us researchers. Tyne & Wear Archives, for example, does not hold original Church of England parish registers for Newcastle, but it does have all sorts of nonconformist material. It also boasts an outstanding Shipyards Collection, which is included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, and features substantial records of administration, ship plans and photographs from most of the major shipyards in the region.
TOP TIP!
The staff of Northumberland Archives have leaflets and finding aids for family historians, which can be downloaded from its website at tinyurl.com/north-arch-leaf.
Northumberland through the ages
793
The Vikings raid Lindisfarne after “fierce, foreboding omens came over the land of the Northumbrians”, according to the 9th-century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
1237
Scotland renounces its claims to Westmorland, Cumberland and Northumberland in a treaty agreed at York by Henry III and Alexander II on 25 September.
1400
Newcastle upon Tyne, up until now part of the county of Northumberland, is made a county by royal charter.
1753
Engraver and author Thomas Bewick is born in Mickley.
1798
Boatbuilder Henry Greathead of South Shields submits a design for a lifeboat to Sir John Swinburne of Capheaton.
1829
Wylam-born George Stephenson, often described as “the father of railways”, debuts his steam locomotive Rocket.
1965
The 268 mile-long Pennine Way officially opens. The last stage crosses the Cheviot Hills from Byrness to Kirk Yetholm in Scotland.
1838
Lighthouse-keeper’s daughter Grace Darling helps rescue nine survivors from the shipwrecked steamer Forfarshire off the Farne Islands.
2017
Roman boxing gloves are uncovered at Vindolanda, an auxiliary fort roughly two miles south of Hadrian’s Wall.
Free Online Records
Our five websites this month offer more than 1.2 million parish registers, probate records, trade directories, data from war memorials, and Bishops’ Transcripts
Bishops’ Transcripts
Highlights on FamilySearch include images of Bishops’ Transcripts from parishes in Durham, Northumberland, and parts of Cumberland
and York (1639–1919).
Parish Registers
FreeREG has more than 1.2 million records for Northumberland, including over 617,300 baptisms.
Probate Records
This Durham University project has created a digital-image catalogue of more than 150,000 wills and related archives from the region.
War Memorials
This website is the result of a project that aims to record every war memorial located between the River Tweed and River Tees.
Trade Directories
This University of Leicester website has free directories from the county.
LOCAL INDUSTRY
Fishing
Did your forebears who lived on the coast of Northumberland brave the waves?
For centuries fishing was a major industry for the coastal communities of Northumberland, with cod, haddock and herring among the most important catches. Resources for tracing fishermen include crew lists, logbooks and registration documents. Under the 1868 Sea Fisheries Act, all fishing vessels were required to be registered at their local port with an official number. Two letters identify the port – Berwick, for example, is “BK” (you can find a list of port letters at crewlist.org.uk/about/fishingvessels/#letters). Northumberland Archives holds fishingboat registers for Berwick for 1869–1916.
Northumberland Surnames
Are any of these names in your family tree?
ARCHBOLD
This surname comes from the Norman French forename Archambault.
BATY
First recorded in Northumberland, this name is related to the first name Beatrix.
HEDLEY
The habitational name Hedley comes from an Old English word meaning a clearing.
HINDMARSH
This is another habitational name, for someone who lived beyond or behind a marsh.
LAIDLER
Laidler is a variant of the Scottish name Laidlaw.
MAUGHAN
The name Maughan may be related to either the Irish O’Mochain or the Scottish Mauchan.
NESBIT/NESBITT
This surname originated in several settlements in County Durham and Northumberland.
PHILIPSON
Allendale in the North Pennines had the highest number of Philipsons in the 1881 census.
STRAUGHAN
The Northumberland surname Straughan is related to the Scottish name Strachan.
URWIN
This Erwin variant crops up across the region.
NORTHUMBERLAND DIRECTORY
ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES
Berwick-Upon-Tweed Record Office
a Walkergate Building, Walkergate, Berwick-upon-Tweed TD15 1DB
t 01289 301865
e berwickarchives@northumberland.gov.uk
w northumberlandarchives.com
The record office is a branch of Northumberland Archives, which looks after local borough archives, records of quarter sessions, poll books and maritime material.
Durham County Record Office
a County Hall, Durham DH1 5UL
t 03000 267619
e record.office@durham.gov.uk
w durhamrecordoffice.org.uk
The record office holds material relating to railways, heavy industry and coal mining, as well as miners’ unions and employers’ associations. Its searchroom is now closed ahead of a move to a new history centre at Mount Oswald in 2023.
Durham University Library
a Special Collections, Barker Research Library, Palace Green Library, Palace Green, Durham DH1 3RN
t 0191 334 2972
e pg.library@durham.ac.uk
w dur.ac.uk/library/asc
A database of pre-1858 wills held here that links to images on FamilySearch (familysearch.org) is at familyrecords.dur.ac.uk/nei.
Newcastle City Library
a Charles Avison Building, 33 New Bridge Street West, Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8AX
t 0191 277 4100
e information@newcastle.gov.uk
w tinyurl.com/newcastle-local
The Local Studies collection here includes memorial inscriptions, maps and electoral registers.
Northumberland Archives
a Queen Elizabeth II Country Park, Ashington NE63 9YF
t 01670 624358
e archives@northumberland.gov.uk
w northumberlandarchives.com
The county headquarters holds parish registers, census material, cemetery records and nonconformist records, plus material relating to coal mining, Poor Law unions, law and order, education and medicine.
Scottish Borders Archive And Local History Service
a Heritage Hub, Heart of Hawick, Kirkstile, Hawick TD9 0AE
t 01450 360699
e localhistory@liveborders1.org.uk
w liveborders.org.uk/culture/archives/family-history/
This is the home of archives for the Scottish border counties Berwickshire, Peeblesshire, Selkirkshire and Roxburghshire.
Tyne & Wear Archives
a Discovery Museum, Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4JA
t 0191 277 2248
e archives@twmuseums.org.uk
w twarchives.org.uk
The service has material relating to the five districts of Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland.
GROUPS AND SOCIETIES
North East Heritage Group
w neheritagegroup.wordpress.com
This is the umbrella organisation for local-history archives and libraries located in the north-east of England.
Northumberland And Durham Family History Society
a Floor 3, MEA House, Ellison Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8XS
t 0191 261 2159
e researchcentre@ndfhs.org.uk
w ndfhs.org.uk
The family history society moved its research centre to MEA House in January 2021. The computers in the centre provide access to Ancestry (ancestry.co.uk), the British Newspaper Archive (britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk), Findmypast (findmypast.co.uk) and TheGenealogist (thegenealogist.co.uk), as well as society databases.
MUSEUMS
Museums Northumberland
w museumsnorthumberland.org.uk
Find out more about heritage attractions across the county, including Berwick Museum and Hexham Old Gaol. Woodhorn Museum in Ashington includes mining artefacts. Its current exhibition is called ‘Coal Town’.
The Lindisfarne Centre
a Marygate, Holy Island, Berwick-upon-Tweed TD15 2SD
t 01289 389004
e manager@lindisfarnecentre.org
w lindisfarnecentre.org
Home to a replica of the 8th-century Lindisfarne Gospels.
WEBSITES
Ancestry
w ancestry.co.uk
The website offers Bishops’ Transcripts, marriage bonds and allegations for the region.
Findmypast
w findmypast.co.uk
The website’s Northumberland material includes data from memorial transcriptions and parish registers transcribed by Northumberland and Durham Family History Society.
Hadrian’s Wall
w english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/hadrians-wall
Read details of the forts and trails along the wall’s 73-mile course.
Out Of Town Museum
w ootmuseum.co.uk
This Bailiffgate Museum and Gallery project celebrates the rural heritage of Coquetdale.