Place:Earsdon (near North Shields), Northumberland, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Earsdon (near North Shields) is a historical village in the borough of North Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It sits on the border with Northumberland (to which it belonged in the past), and is approximately two miles from Whitley Bay. The village had a population of 613 in UK census of 2011.

Earsdon was an urban district from 1894 to 1935, consisting of the parishes of Backworth, Burradon in Tyneside, Hartley, Holywell, Newsham and South Blyth, Seaton Delaval and Seghill (an expanded list from A Vision of Britain through Time). In 1935 Earsdon was split between the urban districts of Seaton Valley and Whitley and Monkseaton, with Seaton Valley taking the bulk of the population of both Earsdon urban district and Earsdon parish.

Prior to 1894 Earsdon had been a chapelry in the ancient borough of Tynemouth and civil parish in Tynemouth Poor Law Union.

Townships in parish

• Backworth
• Burradon in Tyneside
• Hartley
• Holywell
• Newsham and South Blyth
• Seaton Delaval
• Seghill

Earsdon was abolished as an urban district in 1935 and its component parts redistributed among the urban districts of Seaton Valley, Tynemouth and Whitley Bay. Parts of the original township of Earsdon were absorbed by each of the urban districts. (Source: A Vision of Britain through Time)

A nineteenth century description

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Earsdon (near North Shields) from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"EARSDON, a township, a parish, and a [registration] sub-district in Tynemouth [registration] district, Northumberland. The township lies on the coast, and on the North Shields and Blyth railway, 4 miles NNW of North Shields; and has a post office under Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Acres: 1,769; of which 978 are water. Population: 577. Houses: 152.

"The parish contains also the townships of Seghill, Burradon, Backworth, Holywell, Hartley, Seaton Delaval, and South Blyth, and the lordship of Newsham; and it has railway stations for Hartley, Seaton-Delaval, Seghill, Newsham, and Blyth. Acres: 11,646. Real property: £71,375; of which £47,900 are in mines, £150 in quarries, £40 in fisheries, and £399 in gas-works. Population: 12,444. Houses: 2,475. Two fearful colliery accidents occurred in this parish; the one in Burradon, in the beginning of 1860, with a loss of nearly 80 lives; the other in Hartley, in the beginning of 1862, with a loss of upwards of 200. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value: £119. Patrons: the Proprietors of Land. The ancient church belonged, from the 11th century, to Tynemouth priory; and a new church, an elegant structure on an eminence, with a conspicuous and imposing tower, was built in 1837. The [perpetual] curacies of Seghill and Seaton-Delaval, and the donative of Blyth, are separate benefices. There are several dissenting chapels.

"The [registration] sub-district is less [smaller] than the parish by [omitting] South Blyth and Newsham. Acres: 10,466. Population: 9,543. Houses: 1,960.

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.