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- source: Family History Library Catalog
- the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia
Ovingham is a civil parish and village in the Tyne Valley of south Northumberland, England. It lies on the River Tyne east of Hexham with neighbours Prudhoe, Ovington, Wylam and Stocksfield.
The River Tyne provided an obstacle between Ovingham and Prudhoe until 20 December 1883, when a toll bridge (Ovingham Bridge) was finally opened, taking the place of the ferry.[1] The steel tubes are marked Dorman Long Middlesbrough, the firm which designed and built the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Tyne Bridge.
Ovingham was an ancient parish in the Tynedale Ward of Northumberland, England which also became a civil parish in the 19th century. From 1894 until 1974 it was part of Hexham Rural District. In 1974 the Hexham Rural District was abolished and replaced by the Castle Morpeth District until 2009 when Northumberland became a unitary authority.
A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Ovingham from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:
- "OVINGHAM, a village and a township in Hexham [registration] district, and a parish partly also in Castle Ward district, Northumberland. The village stands on an eminence, sloping to the N bank of the river Tyne, ¼ of a mile N of Prudhoe [railway] station, 2 S of the Roman wall, and 10 E of Hexham; was anciently called Ofingasham; was once a market-town; is now a small but pretty place, contrasting brightly to collier villages in its vicinity, and commanding a fine near view of the verdant slopes, theruined fortress, and the wooded heights of Prudhoe; and has a post-office under Prudhoe Station, Northumberland, and fairs on 26 April and 26 Oct.
- "The township includes the village, and comprises 523 acres. Population in 1851: 330; in 1861: 277.
- "The parish contains also the townships of Wylam, Horsley, Nafferton, Spittle, Welton, Whittle, Ovington, Eltringham, Mickley, Prudhoe, Prudhoe-Castle, Dukers-Hagg, Hedley, Hedley-Woodside, Harlow-Hill, and Rudchester, the two last in Castle Ward [registration] district, all the others in Hexham [registration] district. Acres: 15,740. Real property: £33,078, of which £3,420 are in mines. Population in 1851: 3,962; in 1861: 5,014. Houses: 940. The increase of population was chiefly in Mickley and Prudhoe Castle townships, and arose there from the extension of collieries. The manor belongs to the Duke of Northumberland. A priory of black canons was founded at Ovingham, by one of the Umfravilles; and was a cell to Hexham abbey. A castle was founded at Nafferton, in the time of King John, by Sir Philip D' Ulecote; was built out of materials from the Roman wall; and consists of a keep, 20 feet square, and two outer baileys. An ancient building stood in Whittle dean; is said to have been theabode of robbers, during the wars of the Roses; and has left some remains among thickets. Prudhoe Castle is a grand feature, but will be noticed in its own alphabetical place. Coal is largely worked; and there are an iron-foundry, dye-works, bleach-grounds, and a brewery. The living is a [perpetual] curacy in the diocese of Durham. Value: £146. Patron: Lieut.-Col. Bigge. The church is cruciform and early English; was restored in 1857; has a fine lofty triplet E window, recently filled with stainedglass, peculiar and striking features in the transepts, and a pre-Norman low W tower, built of large stones; and contains trefoil-headed sedilia, and part of a sepulchral cross. The churchyard contains the grave of the celebrated engraver Bewick. The [perpetual] curacy of Mickley is a separate benefice. There are two Wesleyan chapels, a United Free Methodist chapel, a national school, and charities £15. Mabel Carr, mother of George Stephenson, was a native."
Townships in Parish
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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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