Place:Chillingham, Northumberland, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Chillingham is a village and former civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is situated approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) to the east of Wooler, south of Chatton. At the 2011 Census the population was less than 100. Detailed [census] information is included in the parish of Bewick (created in 1955 and which Chillingham joined in the 21st century).

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

"CHILLINGHAM, a township and a parish in Glendale [registration] district, Northumberland. The township lies on the river Till, 4½ miles ESE of Wooler, and 7¼ WSW of Lucker [railway] station. Population: 147. Houses: 30.

"The parish includes also the townships of Hebburn and Newton. Post town: Chatton, under Belford. Acres: 4,929. Real property: £4,354. Population: 328. Houses: 66. The property all belongs to the Earl of Tankerville. Chillingham Castle, the Earl's seat, is a heavy structure, of the time of Elizabeth; and contains portraits of Bacon, Burleigh, Buckingham, Charles I., and James II. The park is large and beautiful; and contains a herd of wild white cattle, with black noses, known as the white Scottish bison. A circular British camp, called Roscastle, is in the park; and the Hurlestone cross, erected in memory of Sir Ralph Percy, who fell here in a skirmish in 1463, is near the village. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value: £340. Patron: the Bishop of Durham. The church is good; and contains an alabaster tomb of the Greys of Wark."

Chillingham was an ancient parish in the Glendale Ward of Northumberland, and the name of one of the townships in the ancient parish. When it became a civil parish, the other two townships, Hebburn (near Wooler) (also called Hepburn) and Newtown (near Wooler), also became separate civil parishes. From 1894 until 1974 the parish was part of Glendale Rural District. In 1955 the parish of Hebburn (near Wooler) was absorbed back into Chillingham. In 1974 rural districts were abolished and Chillingham became part of the Berwick upon Tweed District until 2009 when Northumberland became a unitary authority. Chillingham has since been absorbed into Bewick.

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.