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| Name | Elsdon |
| Alt names | Elsdon Ward | source: name variation |
| Type | Parish (ancient), Civil parish |
| Coordinates | 55.232°N 2.101°W |
| Located in | Northumberland, England |
| See also | Coquetdale Ward, Northumberland, England | ancient county division in which it was located | | Rothbury Rural, Northumberland, England | rural district of which it was part 1894-1955 | | Tynedale District, Northumberland, England | district municipality covering the area 1974-2009 | | Monkridge, Northumberland, England | parish it absorbed in 1955 |
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia
Elsdon is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England about 10 miles (16 km) to the southwest of Rothbury. The name is derived from the Old English and means "Elli's valley".
Formerly the capital of Redesdale, Elsdon contains a very fine example of a motte-and-bailey castle, and a near perfect pele tower (fortified house of a type found in the border country) which is a private residence. It has a 21st century population of about 250.
Elsdon was an ancient parish in the Coquetdale Ward of Northumberland, England which also became a civil parish in the 19th century. From 1894 it was part of Rothbury Rural District. In 1955 it absorbed the area of the parish of Monkridge which had been abolished. In 1974 rural districts were abolished and Elsdon became part of the Tynedale District until 2009 when Northumberland became a unitary authority.
- end of Wikipedia contribution
Townships in parish
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A nineteenth century description
A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Elsdon from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:
- "ELSDON, a village, a township, and a sub-district in Rothbury [registration] district, and a parish in Rothbury [registration] and Bellingham [registration] districts, Northumberland. The village stands on an affluent of the river Reed, near the line of projected railway northward from Scots Gap, 8 miles NNW of Scots Gap [railway] station, and 9 ½ SW of Rothbury; and has a post office under Newcastle-on-Tyne, and a fair on 26 Aug.; and is a polling-place. Its site is supposed to have been a Roman station, probably the first of a chain of forts between Watling-street and the Devil's causeway; and a conical moated entrenchment, at a short distance to the NE, is supposed to have been a Roman watch-hill and place of sepulture. The township includes the village, and bears the name of Elsdon-ward. Acres: 6, 404. Population: 266. Houses: 56.
- "The parish includes also the townships of Monkridge-ward and Woodside-ward in Rothbury [registration] district, and the townships of Rochester-ward, Otterburn-ward, and Troughend-ward in Bellingham [registration] district. Acres: 74,917. Real property: £20,195; of which £55 are in mines. Population: 1,521. Houses: 277. The property is much subdivided. The area is about 23 miles in length, and 12 in greatest breadth; comprises a long vale, flanked by heathy hills; seems to have once been almost entirely covered with forest, some small remnants of which still exist in the vale; was, not long ago, little else than a desolate series of neglected heaths and morasses; but now exhibits cheering effects of extensive reclamation, enclosing, and improvement. Limestone and ironstone, of superior quality, abound; and some good seams of coal exist.
- "Elsdon Castle was built in the time of Henry III., by David, king of Scotland; presents, on its front, the arms of the Umfravilles; is a strong tower, with circular stair-case at one corner; was once the residence of Dr. Dutens, the editor of Leibnitz; and is now the parsonage house. The living is a rectory, united with the p. curacies of Horsley and Otterburn, in the diocese of Durham. Value: £803. Patron: the Duke of Northumberland. The church is ancient, cruciform, and good; and, at a clearing away of earth at its north transept, a few years ago, remains of upwards of one hundred human skeletons were found there, regularly deposited in double rows. The [perpetual] curacy of Byrness is a separate benefice. There is an United Presbyterian church. Tradition speaks of a giant of the name of Ella, who lived at Elsdon, and committed great devastations."
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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