Place:West Allen, Northumberland, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

West Allen was a chapelry of Allendale and was created a civil parish in 1897 from sections of the parish of Allendale. The two later maps of Northumberland listed below show that the parishes of Allendale and West Allen were each made up of a number of detached portions interspersed by other areas labelled with single letters late in the alphabet and listed as "lands common to Allendale and West Allen".

From the map of 1944 the largest settlement in West Allen parish is named Carr Shield (see below).

According to A Vision of Britain through Time West Allen was only an ecclesiastical parish and never obtained civil parish status. However it is listed among the parishes of Hexham Rural District (also produced by A Vision of Britain through Time).

Carr Shield

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

Carrshield is a village in Northumberland, England. It is situated in the Pennines approximately between Penrith and Hexham. [no distances given] It is a small village with an old school building situated in the centre of the village. The school was built in 1851 but is no longer a working school and is now three houses.

Carrshield is surrounded by beautiful fell ground and is littered with old disused mines. Remnants of the old stone works where the lead was mined are still able to be seen next to the river. There are no shops in Carrshield; the Post Office closed down because of lack of business.

Carrshield has numerous farms surrounding it, including a Stud and Rehabilitation Centre for horses. It also has a Methodist Chapel

The village name is often misspelt on older maps (even the county website) as 'Carr Shield' but is now correct on OS maps.

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.