Place:Blenkinsopp, Northumberland, England

Watchers
NameBlenkinsopp
Alt namesBlenkinsopsource: spelling variation
TypeTownship, Civil parish
Coordinates54.974°N 2.525°W
Located inNorthumberland, England
See alsoHaltwhistle, Northumberland, Englandancient parish in which it was a township
Tynedale Ward, Northumberland, Englandancient county division in which it was located
Haltwhistle Rural, Northumberland, Englandrural district of which it was part 1894-1955
Greenhead, Northumberland, Englandcivil parish into which it was absorbed in 1955
source: Family History Library Catalog

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

"BLENKINSOP, a township in Haltwhistle parish, Northumberland; on the Newcastle and Carlisle railway, and on the Roman wall, 3 miles W of Haltwhistle. Acres: 4,919. Population: 444. Houses: 90. Haltwhistle Castle is the ruin of a strong square tower, the ancient seat of the Blenkinsops, noted for their Border feuds; and Blenkinsop Hall is the seat of J. Coulson, Esq., the descendant of the Blenkinsops. A Roman altar was found in 1720, and an inscription to Ceres in 1816. Coal is worked."

Blenkinsopp was a township in the ancient parish of Haltwhistle and became a separate civil parish in 1866. In 1955 the civil parish was abolished and the area was absorbed into the newly-formed parish of Greenhead.

Blenkinsopp Castle

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

Blenkinsopp Castle is a fire-damaged, partly demolished 19th-century country mansion incorporating the ruinous remains of a 14th-century tower house located above the Tipalt Burn approximately one mile from Greenhead, Northumberland, England. It is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The ancient manor of Blenkinsopp was held by the eponymous Blenkinsopp family from the 13th century and they created a substantial tower house. A licence to crenellate the house was granted on May 6, 1340.

The family, whilst retaining ownership, granted possession to the Earl of Northumberland and abandoned the castle for their other nearby properties at Bellister Castle and Dryburnhaugh.

In 1727 the heiress Jane Blenkinsopp married William Coulson of Jesmond. By 1832 the property was in disuse, and a mine agent's house was built adjoining the ruinous structure, probably by the architect John Dobson. In about 1877 William Blenkinsopp Coulson carried out a major restoration project which created a large mansion house on the site. Shortly after these works, the Coulsons sold all their Blenkinsopp estates to Edward Joicey.

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.
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