Place:Thirlwall, Northumberland, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

"THIRLWALL, a township in Haltwhistle parish, Northumberland; 4 miles WNW of Haltwhistle. Acres: 7,944. Population: 360. Houses: 65. [Thirlwall] Castle belonged to the Thirlwalls; gave a night's lodging to Edward I.; passed to the Swinburnes and the Howards; and is now reduced to a fragment of a ruin.

Thirlwall was a township in the ancient parish of Haltwhistle and became a separate civil parish in 1866. From 1894 until 1974 the parish was part of Haltwhistle Rural District. In 1974 rural districts were abolished and Thirlwall became part of the Tynedale District until 2009 when Northumberland became a unitary authority.

Thirlwall Castle

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

Thirlwall Castle is a 12th-century castle in Northumberland, England, on the bank of the River Tipalt close to the village of Greenhead and approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Hexham. It was built in the 12th century, and later strengthened using stones from nearby Hadrian's Wall, but began to fall into disrepair in the 17th century. The site is protected by Grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument status.

The home of the Thirlwall family, it was fortified in about 1330 by John Thirlwall. In a survey of 1542 it was reported as in the ownership of Robert Thirlwall and in a 'measurable good' state of repair.

Sir Percival Thirlwall of Thirlwall Castle was killed at the Battle of Bosworth whilst fighting in the Yorkist cause on 22 August 1485. He was Richard’s standard-bearer in the final charge at Bosworth.

Eleanor Thirwall, the last of the Thirlwall family line, abandoned the castle as a residence and the estate passed to the Swinburne family by her 1738 marriage to Matthew Swinburne of Capheaton Hall. Swinburne sold the estate to the Earl of Carlisle for £4000 in 1748.

Thereafter the castle fell into decay. In 1832 and again in 1982 there were serious collapses of masonry.

In 1999 the Northumberland National Park Authority took over the management of the castle, protecting it from further dereliction.

(Various references for more information on Wikipedia.

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.