Haughton Township (Humshaugh), 1848

HAUGHTON, a township, in the chapelry of Humshaugh, parish of Simonburn, union of Hexham, N.W. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 6¼ miles (N.) from Hexham; containing 118 inhabitants. It is bounded on the north and east by the North Tyne, and comprises 1,742a. 1r. 39p., of which 1,200 acres are pasture and meadow, 441 arable, 87 woodland, and 12 acres roads; the soil is generally good, being a mixture of gravel and fine loam, and the scenery is pleasing, in many parts beautiful, especially on the banks of the river. On a fine eminence stands Haughton Castle, the property and residence of William Smith, Esq., by whose ancestors it was purchased, with the surrounding lands, in 1640; it is a large and strong fabric, surmounted by five square turrets. A papermill, built by the late Mr. Smith, in 1788, employs about 100 people, many of them resident in neighbouring townships.