Northumberland Archives

For years I have been researching my family tree and done quite well, mainly using the website Ancestry, but there were two relatives who always puzzled me. The 1901 census describes their relationship to the head of the household as nieces, so I knew they were related to my family but with the head of household having several siblings I couldn’t tell from that census alone who their parents were. When the 1911 census was released I thought great, hopefully this time they will be at home with their parents…but alas, this time they were listed as living with their grandparents! Hmm well I didn’t want to go to the trouble and expense of ordering birth certificates, so when I got a job in the archive, I thought I would try to trace them using the parish records. Parish records are church records of births, burials and marriages and other events, see below, originally kept to prevent bigamy and consanguineous marriages. I knew my ancestors date of birth and that they were born in Newcastle, but there are many churches in Newcastle, so it took a bit of digging to find the right church. Fortunately, there is a computer programme called “Reading Room” in the archive where many parish records have been digitised and looking through them is so much quicker than using the microfilm readers.

After a while I found one of the sisters, her father and mother were both recorded along with their place of abode and the father’s occupation. What a treat some extra information that I was not expecting. I looked for the second sister at the same church, but nothing, she was for some reason baptised in a different church, so that did take a little more searching, but I did find her. Again, the father’s occupation (which was different this time) was recorded along with the families’ place of abode (which was also different and new information).

Imagine my joy at finally being able to give my ancestor her parents! A piece of the puzzle solved.

The earliest parish records the archives have date back to the late 16th century, although not for every parish unfortunately. Parish records were first recorded under the reign of King Henry VIII but he didn’t specify that they should be recorded on parchment so some of them, being on more femur paper, didn’t last all that long. His successor Elizabeth I realised that being able to retain the records was important and decreed that they be recorded on parchment and so fortunately for us, some of them still exist. The originals must be protected of course so the digitised records on “Reading Room” or our microfilm copies are the place we suggest you look first. Let’s have a look at some of the examples of records on “Reading Room”.

Christening record 1696 Shotley St Andrew’s

“Dorothy daughter of Francis Hutchinson the last day of September”

This record is old and is in lovely handwriting, but it does not give a huge amount of detail.

The next parish record is interesting from the first page where it is written;

St Augustine’s Fenham 1927-1930

“All Baptisms wherein “418 or 416 Westgate Road” is described as the residence were administered in the Poor Law Institution”

The second page has a record dated August 29th 1927

“Child’s name: Margaret

Parents name: John and Veronica Scott

Abode: 416 Westgate Road

Occupation: Labourer

Godparents’ names: no information submitted

By whom ceremony performed: [G Miles]

So looking at the parish record you may find out who your relatives Godparents were, which might give more clues to your family tree.

Parish records also cover non-Anglican records, Banns, confirmations and unconsecrated burials.

Lowick St John Baptisms Dissenters births and burials 1771-1817

“1784 Maria daughter of John and Elizabeth Elliot, Famer at Lowick”

Banns 1915-1924 St Augustine Newcastle

“John Wilson Lamb of this parish” also includes a note on the side “43 Crossley”, perhaps his address?

“Jane Innas of St Aidan’s parish” also includes a note on the side “130 West View” perhaps this was her address?

“Banns read May 2, 9, 16 1915”

Meldon St John the Baptist Confirmation candidates 1896

On sat March 28 1896 at 10.30 am the following were presented at Mitford Parish Church

Henry Collin aged 23 years The Kennels, Meldon

Rosina Walton 18.4 years The Farm, Meldon

Elizabeth Nichol 19.3 years Deer Cottages, Meldon

Berwick civil cemetery records unconsecrated burials 1856-1863

Catherine Ann Purves daughter of William Purves shoe maker age 1 Chapel Street Berwick date of burial 8th June 1857 ceremony by John Cairns United Presbyterian Minister

You could even look for a local hero, like this one

If you would like a copy of any records you find on “Reading Room” you can print them off at a cost of £2 per sheet.

Happy searching!

Northumberland Archives is a heritage partner to a National Lottery Funded project, the ‘Northumberland Village Halls Heritage Project’. The project aims to celebrate the history of some of Northumberland’s Village Halls and ensure that records and memories are preserved for future generations. The project was developed by and is managed by Community Action Northumberland (CAN) whose mission is to benefit and help sustain rural communities in Northumberland. 

Alison Cowen of Jubilee Hall, Newton on the Moor, has kindly written the following article after going through the old minute books before she deposited them at Northumberland Archives.  

The first recorded minutes of the Trustees of the hall are dated 16 March 1961 when a new committee was formed by local residents. They make very interesting reading and give snapshot into village life and how much has altered, although the hall itself remains a constant feature. 
 
In October 1961 as the world listened to Aker Bilks ‘Stranger on the shore’ there was a charge of one and six to view flower arrangements and to buy from a cake stall.  Coffee and biscuits were included.   In today’s money that would be £1.59p. 
 
As the world mourned the death of JFK in November 1963 in Newton on the Moor you could have won some spectacular raffle prizes to cheer you up. How about a knitted baby jacket, a cuddly toy, chocolates or maybe 50 cigarettes? March 1964 saw the hall redecorated by Aln Painters. Perhaps they were listening to the new Radio Caroline. The ceiling was painted a fetching shade of blue at the cost of £48. After much debate Zephyr pink was chosen for the walls with the wood work being flake grey. The total bill for the work came in at £122 eight shillings and tuppence. This would be just short of £3,000 today. 
 
To celebrate the end of the Harvest in October 1965 a Kirn Supper was held. A ten shilling ticket gave you a meal of ham, lettuce, egg and tomato, a bread bun with butter all washed down with a nice cup of tea. The sweet was a fruit mousse with the very new Birds Dream Topping, which had only come onto the market the previous year. A feast for only 50p. 
 
Christmas was a very popular time in the village. In 1966 as the grown-ups sang along to Tom Jones and the ‘Green Green Grass of Home’, and Action Man made his debut in the toy shops local babies received a squeaky toy. If you were between two and five years old you were lucky enough to be given a large ball. Older children were given a named diary and pen. Everyone received an apple, orange and a bar of chocolate.  
 
By 1979 a decision had been made that only children up to the age of seven would receive a present, although what that was to be isn’t recorded. The older children were to be given an apple and orange together with a 50p piece and a mixed bag of sweets. Perhaps they could have bought the latest Christmas single, ‘Another Brick in the Wall’! 
 
I’m not sure what our local youngsters would make of such delights these days! 
Of course in the next fifty years I’m sure our current monthly coffee mornings, regular Wine Tasting and Pipers events will raise a few eyebrows as the committee continues to look after the hall for many generations to come.

I can still remember my first day working at the Melton Park Record Office in Gosforth. It was exciting to think that I would be working in a building that was once an Anti-Aircraft Plotting Station – I guess that not everybody can say that! I was given a plan of the building and was told that it would probably take some time before I got used to the layout underground & became familiar with where different classes of records were stored. All I could think was “I am working in a bunker!”

[Click on images to enlarge]

It felt like a bit of a rabbit warren the first time I was left alone underground, but I enjoyed the peace & quiet of it as it was a sharp contrast to the busy room of researchers above. It felt like another world down there and I loved the smell of the archive boxes & old ledgers. Out of all the storage rooms, number six was my favourite as the words Wireless Room were still clearly visible on the door. 

Some people found it creepy being underground and didn’t like being alone as there were lots of small rooms & dark corners. I was told that books had flown off shelves and that an airman had been spotted walking around both inside and outside the building. There was also a haunted helmet! I am certainly not a fan of ‘spooky’ things, but I never once felt afraid being on my own. 

Within minutes of being in the building I was told to be careful on the stairs. I was in for a bit of a surprise as they were very steep and not very welcoming. I sensed that it was going to be quite difficult carrying heavy boxes and large maps up and down. My mind flashed back to the part of the Job Description that said ‘ability to work with large & unwieldy records…’ 

It was always a challenge carrying heavy items up the stairs, but I quickly got used to it and my fitness certainly improved. I only worked with the public at Melton Park for a short time before it closed but I was there for the whole of the closure period when we prepared all the records ready for relocation to the new site. By the time we opened at Woodhorn in 2006, I was probably the fittest I had ever been in my life. 

The Melton Park building may have been run down and falling apart in places but that added to its charm. I feel very lucky that I got the chance to work there. What was also nice was that we had a lovely little garden area at the back of the office which backed onto the Gosforth racecourse. The tv cameras were often there & we would watch the racing during our breaks. Who knows, maybe each time the horses flew by, a lone airman may have been quietly enjoying the race.