Place:Alnham, Northumberland, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Alnham is a hamlet and civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is about 14 miles (23 km) west of Alnwick and is located near the source of the River Aln. The population taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100. Because it is so small details are included in Whittingham parish.

To the west of the Church of St Michael lies Alnham Vicars Pele, a 14th-century pele tower which was restored from a ruinous state in the 19th century.

end of Wikipedia contribution

Alnham was an ancient parish in the Coquetdale Ward which also became a civil parish in the 19th century. From 1894 it was part of Rothbury Rural District. In 1955 it reabsorbed the civil parishes formed from its townships (Prendwick, Scrainwood and Unthank. In 1974 rural districts were abolished and Alnham became part of the Alnwick District until 2009 when Northumberland became a unitary authority.

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

"ALNHAM, a township and a parish in Rothbury [registration] district, Northumberland. The township lies near the source of Alne river, under the southern offsets of the Cheviots, 13 miles W of Alnwick [railway] station; and has a post office under Alnwick. Acres: 9,535. Population: 119. Houses: 22.

"The parish includes also the townships of Prendwick, Unthank, and Screnwood. Acres: 12,389. Real property: £4,326. Population: 295. Houses. 47. The property is divided among a few. Much of the surface is moor and mountain. A semicircular ancient camp 300 feet in diameter, with encircling double rampart and deep trench, occurs on a hill about a mile W of the village. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value: £200. Patron: the Duke of Northumberland. The church is cruciform and old. The parsonage was built in the time of Edward III., and restored in 1844, and includes a peel tower. "

Parishes in township

• Prendwick
• Scrainwood
• Unthank

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.