Place:Bedlington, Northumberland, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia Bedlington is a town and former civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 18,470 measured at the 2011 Census. Bedlington is an ancient market town, with a rich history of industry and innovative residents. Located roughly 10 miles north east of Newcastle and Newcastle Airport, Bedlington is roughly 10 minutes from the A1 road, in south-east Northumberland. Other nearby places include Morpeth to the north-west, Ashington to the north-east, Blyth to the east and Cramlington to the south. In 1961 the parish had a population of 29,403. The town has evidence of habitation from the Bronze Age, with a burial site being located just behind what is now the main Front Street. A cluster of Bronze Age cist burials were discovered during excavation of the site in the 1930s. St Cuthbert's Church is the longest standing building in the town, with parts of this dating back to the 11th century and recently celebrated being 1000 years old. The church is in the heart of the original sandstone conservation town centre. Most of the medieval town has disappeared with many of the historic buildings and factories being demolished over the years, but there are still nods to medieval street layouts. The main Front Street is currently made up of Georgian and Victorian buildings. Today Bedlington is probably best known for being the home of the Bedlington Terrier, a dog that has taken the name across the planet, not for the first time. At key points in history, before and during the Industrial Revolution, goods made in Bedlington made it to all corners of the globe through the distribution of nails and trains that were made in Bedlington from some 250 years ago. With large industry first being attracted to Bedlington over 250 years ago, in the form of its world-renowned iron works, mining became an intrinsic part of Bedlington from 1838. The coal industry remained at the heart of the town until the closure of the mines in the 1980s. Today Bedlington's Front Street is host to a number of well-established eating and drinking venues, and there is an emergence of new establishments and retailers entering the town. The parish of Bedlington constituted the historic exclave of County Durham called Bedlingtonshire. It is famous for giving its name to a breed of dog; the Bedlington Terrier.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The place-name "Bedlington" is first attested circa 1050 in a biography of Saint Cuthbert, where it appears as "Bedlingtun". The name means "the town of Bedla's people".

Bedlington and the hamlets belonging to it were bought by Cutheard, Bishop of Durham, between 900 and 915, and although locally in the county of Northumberland, it became part of the county palatine (from Lat. palatium, a palace) of Durham, over which Bishop Walcher was granted royal rights by William the Conqueror.

When these rights were taken from Cuthbert Tunstall, Bishop of Durham, in 1536, Bedlington among his other properties, lost its special privileges, but was confirmed to him in 1541 with the other property of his predecessors. Together with the other lands of the see of Durham, Bedlington was made over to the ecclesiastical commissioners in 1866. Bedlingtonshire was made part of Northumberland for civil purposes by acts of parliament in 1832 and 1844.

Bedlington became an industrial town with an iron works and several coal mines, however subsequent closure of these industries in the latter half of the 20th century caused the town to undergo many changes, becoming more of a dormitory town for those working in the surrounding areas. The last of the residential housing estates, formerly built for the mining families of the town, were taken over and razed by the council with residents evicted from the 'Pit Rows' estate in the early to mid 1970s, as was part and parcel of the government's national policy of this time.

The most important historic building in Bedlington was Bedlington Old Hall, which consisted of a 15th-century pele tower with a long early 18th-century stone block adjoining, occupying a prime location on the high street. It was controversially demolished in 1959 and replaced with council offices, which are now themselves empty and for sale.

The parish was abolished on 1 April 1974 and became an unparished area in Wansbeck district.

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

"BEDLINGTON, a township, a parish, and a subdistrict, in the district of Morpeth Northumberland. The township lies on the river Blythe, and on the Morpeth and Tynemouth railway, 5 miles SE of Morpeth; it includes an irregularly built village, chiefly of one spacious street, about a mile long, commanding a fine sea-ward view; and it has a station on the railway, and a post office under Morpeth, and is a seat of petty sessions. The monks of Durham, at the Conquest, when fleeing to Lindisfarne with the remains of St. Cuthbert, rested a night here.

"The parish includes also the townships of North Blyth, Chambois, Choppington, Netherton, and East and West Sleakburn; and, prior to October 1844, it formed part of the county of Durham. Acres: 9,011; of which 523 are water. Real property: £45,326; of which £29,937 are in mines. Population in 1841: 3,155; in 1861: 8,328. Houses: 1,490. The property is not much divided. The manor belonged anciently to the Crown, and passed to the Bishops of Durham. The inhabitants are employed chiefly in the coal-trade, in quarrying-works, in ironworks, and in chain and nail making. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value: £600. Patrons: the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The church was repaired and enlarged in 1818. The vicarages of Chambois and Choppington are separate charges. There are chapels for Presbyterians, Baptists, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists. There is also a mechanics' institution. The Rev. F. Woodmas, the expositor of Chrysostom, was vicar from 1696 to 1710."

Until 1844 Bedlington was considered to be part of County Durham. It became an Urban District in 1894 (when urban districts were initiated) and continued as such up until 1974 when urban districts were replaced by non-metropolitan districts. It was part of the Wansbeck District from 1974 until 2009 when Northumberland became a unitary authority.

The only township to have an article in WeRelate is Choppington. All of the others have been redirected to Bedlington. North Blyth is the strip between the North Sea and Blyth on the map above.

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.