Chillingham, Northumberland

Historical Description

Chillingham, a village, a township, and a parish in Northumberland. The township lies on the river Till, 6 miles ESE of Wooler, and 3 from Ilderton station on the N.E.R. The area of the township of Chillingham is 1765 acres; population, 144. The parish includes also the townships of Hebburn or Hepburn and Newton, and the hamlet of Hepburn Bell. Post town, Alnwick; money order and telegraph office, Chatton. Total area, 5003 acres; population, 294. The Earl of Tankerville is lord of the manor and principal landowner. Chillingham Castle, the earl's seat, is a stately edifice of various dates, situated on a hill commanding extensive views, and contains portraits of Bacon, Burleigh, Buckingham, Charles I., and James II. The park is large and beautiful, is well stocked with deer, and contains a herd of wild white cattle, with brown muzzles, and horns white tipped with black. These cattle are strictly preserved, and are considered to be descendants of an ancient British species existing in Csesar's time. A circular British camp, called " Rhos Castle," is in the park, and the Hurlestone cross, erected in memory of Sir Ealph Percy, who fell here in a skirmish in 1463, is near the village. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Newcastle; gross value, £384: with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Newcastle. The church is ancient, and contains an alabaster tomb of Sir Ralph Grey of Wcrke.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Chillingham from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Chillingham (St. Peter))

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Northumberland is available to browse.

Maps

Online maps of Chillingham are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers related to Northumberland online:

• Morpeth Herald
• Berwickshire News and General Advertiser
• The Berwick Advertiser
• Alnwick Mercury
• Illustrated Berwick Journal