Place:Warkworth, Northumberland, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Warkworth is a village in Northumberland, England. It is probably best known for its well-preserved medieval castle, church and hermitage. The population of Warkworth was 1,493 at the 2001 UK census, increasing to 1,574 at the 2011 UK census. The village is situated in a loop of the River Coquet, about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Northumberland coast and lies on the main A1068 road. It is 30 miles (48 km) north of Newcastle, and about 40 miles (64 km) south of the Scottish border. An ancient bridge of two arches crosses the river at Warkworth, with a fortified gateway on the road mounting to the castle.

end of Wikipedia contribution

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Warkworth from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"WARKWORTH, a village, a township, and a [registraton] sub-district, in Alnwick [registration] district, and a parish partly also in Morpeth [registration] district, Northumberland. The village stands on the river Coquet, 1¼ mile from the river's month, 1¼ mile E of the Northeastern railway, and 7 SE by S of Alnwick; is a borough by prescription, governed by a portreeve; gives the title of Baron to the Duke of Northumberland; comprises three streets; and has a post-office under Acklington, a [railway] station, an inn, an old three-arched bridge, an old market-cross, an ancient castle, a church, a [United] Presbyterian chapel, a bar-harbour, with a fixed pier light, a small weekly market on Saturday, and a fair on the Thursday after 23 Nov.

"The castle was built in the 12th century, by a Fitz-Richard, but then left unfinished; underwent, in course of time, many changes of form and proprietorship; was greatly enlarged in 1400-7 and in 1435-40, by the Percys; sustained a siege, in 1405, by Henry IV.; figures in Shakespear's drama of Henry IV.; belongs now to the Duke of Northumberland; was partly restored in 1846, and promised for a time to compete with Alnwick castle for complete restoration as the ducal residence; occupies a triangular area of 5 acres; and presents an imposing appearance of lofty walls, towers, turrets, and great keep, but is mainly ruinous. The church is partly Norman, was recently restored, and has a tower and spire. A Benedictine priory, a cell to Durham, stood near the church, and was founded in 1256 by Bishop Barnham. An ancient hermitage, "deep hewn within a craggy cliff," is on the river's banks about a mile above the castle; appears to be of the time of Edward II.; measures 18 feet by 7, exclusive of a sacristy 13 feet by 5; and is celebrated in Bishop Percy's well-known ballad of the Hermit of Warkworth.

"The township comprises 1,078 acres of land, and 2,560 of water. Population in 1851: 834; in 1861: 730. Houses: 114."

"The [registration] sub-district contains 14 townships of [Warkworth] parish, and 13 of other parishes. Acres: 31,864. Population in 1851: 7,413; in 1861: 7,631. Houses: 1,493.

"The parish, besides its 14 townships of [Warkworth] [registration] sub-district, contains 4 townships in Morpeth district; and comprises 19,365 acres. Real property: £21,539; of which £18 are in quarries, £2,610 in mines, £240 in fisheries, and £10 in gasworks. Population in 1851: 4,439; in 1861: 5,087. Houses: 960. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value: £528. Patron: the Bishop of Carlisle. The [perpetual] curacies of Acklington and Chevington are separate benefices. Independent and Roman Catholic chapels are in Amble; and a Methodist chapel is at Radcliffe colliery."

Warkworth was an ancient parish with its southern part in the Morpeth Ward and its northern part in the Coquetdale Ward. It became a civil parish in the 19th century. From 1894 it was part of Alnwick Rural District. In 1974 rural districts were abolished and Warkworth became part of the Alnwick District until 2009 when Northumberland became a unitary authority.

In 1955 Warkworth's area was expanded when it absorbed the civil parishes of Birling, Brotherwick, Gloster Hill, Low Buston, Morwick, Sturton Grange and Walkmill.

Townships in parish

• Acklington
• Acklington Park
• Amble
• Birling
• Brotherwick
• Bullocks Hall
• East Chevington
• Gloster Hill
• Hadston
• Hauxley
• High Buston
• Low Buston
• Morwick
• Sturton Grange
• Togston
• Walkmill
• West Chevington

Research Tips

• Northumberland Archives previously known as Northumberland Collections Service and Northumberland County Record Office. Now based within Woodhorn Museum in Ashington and providing free access to numerous records for local and family historians alike.

Full postal address: Museum and Northumberland Archives, Queen Elizabeth II Country Park, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 9YF; Phone: 01670 624455

There is a branch office in Berwick upon Tweed.

• Northumberland and Durham FHS covers both Northumberland and County Durham. The Family History Society have a research centre in Percy House in central Newcastle upon Tyne (full address on website), open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm. Browse the website to see what else the society can provide.
• Further information from GENUKI
• Ordnance Survey map of Northumberland 1832 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time. This map includes the boundaries of the various Wards (or "hundreds") in existence at that time.
• Ordnance Survey map of Northumberland 1900 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
• Ordnance Survey map of Northumberland 1944 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
• English Jurisdictions 1851, a parish finding aid provided by FamilySearch, particularly helpful in large towns and cities.
• Unfortunately, there is no Victoria County History for Northumberland.