Ellingham Parish, 1848

ELLINGHAM (St. Maurice), a parish, partly in the union of Alnwick, and partly in that of Belford, S. division of Bambrough ward, N. division of Northumberland; containing 861 inhabitants, of whom 270 are in the township of Ellingham, 8½ miles (N.) from Alnwick. The manor, in Henry III.'s reign, was held of the king in capite by Ranulph de Guagy; it passed in 1286 to Roger de Clifford, and in 1378 was possessed by Sir Allan de Heton, who acquired in that year great honour at the siege of Berwick. When the Earl of Northumberland's estates were confiscated in 1461, this estate formed part of his forfeitures, and was given to the then governor of Ireland, the brother of Edward IV. The parish, which is near the coast of the North Sea, includes the townships of North and South Charlton, Chathill, Doxford, and Preston, and comprises about 13,970 acres; it abounds with coal and limestone. The seat of Sir Edward Haggerston, Bart., forms an interesting feature in the landscape: the village stands a little to the east of the great north road. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 5. 5.; net income, £538; patrons and impropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The church, which stands at a short distance from the village, was founded by Ranulph de Guagy, in the 12th century, and rebuilt a few years since. Attached to the mansion of Sir Edward, is a Roman Catholic chapel.