Place:Wark on Tyne, Northumberland, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Wark on Tyne is a small village and civil parish, usually called Wark, in Northumberland, England about 12 miles (19 km) north of Hexham. The name is derived from the Viking word for "earthworks", and refers to the mound at the south of the village, where a meeting hall once stood. The hotel name "Battlesteads" is taken from the stables that once stood there, as the meeting hall was used as the main meeting place for the clan chieftains. Wark was also once the principal town of Tynedale Ward, and still retains a Town Hall, rather than a Village Hall. The population, according to the UK census of 2011, was 741.

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

"WARK, a village, a township, and a parish, in Bellingham [registration] district, Northumberland. The village stands on the North Tyne river, near the Border Counties railway, 4¼ miles SSE of Bellingham; and has a post-office under Hexham, and a [railway] station. The township comprises 3,160 acres. Population: 546. Houses: 132.

"The parish includes three other townships, and comprises 22,986 acres. Real property: £7,891. Population: 899. Houses: 197. The property is much subdivided. A seat of the Ratcliffes was at Mote Hill. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Durham. Value: £340. Patron: Greenwich Hospital [London]. The church was built in 1818. There are an English Presbyterian chapel, a Wesleyan chapel, a free school, and a charity of £200 a year partly expended on the school."

Wark on Tyne was originally a chapelry in Simonburn ancient parish in the Tynedale Ward of Northumberland. In 1811 it became a separate ancient parish with three townships: Low Shitlington, High Shitlington and Warksburn. The three townships were only civil parishes from 1866 until 1886 and have therefore been redirected here. There are description below. From 1894 Wark on Tyne was part of Bellingham Rural District. In 1974 rural districts were abolished and Wark became a civil parish within the Tynedale District until 2009 when Northumberland became a unitary authority.

High and Low Shitlington

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Shitlington from John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles of 1887:

"Shitlington, High and Low, 2 townships, Wark [parish], Northumberland, 2 miles SW. of Bellingham - High Shitlington, 8604 acres, population: 73; Low Shitlington, 1305 acres, population: 43."

Warksburn

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of 22593 from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"WARKSBURN, a township in Wark parish, Northumberland; 2 miles NNW of Wark village. Acres: 9,925. population: 199. Houses: 37."

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.