Hexham Townships, 1855

HIGH QUARTER is a township, extending from six miles south by west of Hexham, to the confines of the county of Durham. It comprises an area of 8,773 acres, and its population in 1801, was 268; in 1811, 303 ; in 1821, 279; in 1831, 273 ; in 1841, 206; and in 1851, 243 souls. It is chiefly the property of the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital; W. B. Beaumont, Esq., is lord of the manor. The land is principally held on freehold and copyhold tenures. This is a wild mountainous district, containing a number of scattered houses, the hamlet of Lillswood, and the lead mines at Harewood Shield. Rateable value, £1,374.

LILLSWOOD, a hamlet in this township, is situated six and a half miles south by west of Hexham.

LOW QUARTER township is principally the property of John Atkinson, Esq., and W. B. Beaumont, Esq., the latter is lord of the manor. It extends from two to four and a half miles south of Hexham, and contains the hamlets of Dotland, Lee, Linnels, Ordley, and Steel. The area of the township is 3,608 acres, its rateable value £2,362, and the number of its inhabitants in 1801, was 404 ; in 1811, 428; in 1821, 446; in 1831, 544 ; in 1841, 479 ; and in 1851, 488 souls. DOTLAND is a small village in this township, three miles south by west of Hexham, and is said to have been formerly a town.

Here are the remains of an ancient house, with Gothic buildings curiously carved. LEE is a hamlet with three farms in Low Quarter township, two and a half miles south of Hexham. LINNELS, another hamlet in this township, is situated two miles S.S.W. of Hexham. Here the Lancastrians encamped prior to the battle of Hex ham Levels, and the cave in which the heroic Margaret of Anjou and her son were concealed by the robber, is still shown in the vicinity of the bridge. In this neighbourhood the banks of the Devil-water are thickly clothed with wood, and have a most romantic appearance. ORDLEY is a hamlet in the above-named township, three miles south of Hexham. STEEL is another hamlet, four miles south of Hexham.

MIDDLE QUARTER is a township, extending from three to six: miles south by west of Hexham. It is principally the property of the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital, and W. B. Beaumont Esq. is the possessor of the manorial rights and privileges. The township comprises an area of 5,700 acres, and its rateable value is £1,947 5s. Population in 1801, 345; in 1811, 339; in 1821,352; in 1831, 311; in 1841, 251; and in 1851, 313 souls. It comprises the hamlets of Dalton, Mollersteads, Raw Green, and Whitley. This last possesses a Chapel of Ease, dedicated to St. Helen. It is a neat stone structure, occupying a pleasant situation on the west bank of the Devil-water, about four and a half miles south by west of Hexham. The living, which is a curacy under the church of Hexham, has been three times augmented under Queen Anne's bounty, and is now worth about £110 per annum. Patron, the Rev. Michael Sisson ; incumbent, the Rev. William Sisson. The National School is a neat stone building, erected by subscription, in 1849, and has an endowment of £4 10s. per annum, bequeathed by the late Rev. Abraham Brown, in 1812, for which five poor children receive a gratuitous education. The same gentleman also left £4 10s. yearly to the poor of this chapelry.

DALTON is a hamlet in this township, four miles south by west of Hexham. MOLLERSTEADS, also a hamlet in the above township, is situated four miles south by west of Hexham. RAW GREEN, another hamlet in the same township, is six miles south by west of Hexham.

WEST QUARTER township, the property of the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital, extends from one to four miles west of Hexham, and contains, besides a number of scattered houses, the hamlets of Greenshaw-Plain, Nubbock, West Boat, and Summer Rods. It comprises an area of 5,117 acres, audits rateable value is £3,016 1Qs. The population in 1801, was 121; in 1811, 267; in 1821, 243; in 1831, 248; in 1841, 311; and in 1851, 262 souls. Bagraw School was erected by subscription, in 1830, at an expense of £130, and is endowed with £9 per annum, by the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital, for which nine poor children are educated at half the fees paid by the other pupils.

NUBBOCK, a hamlet in this township, is situated four miles south-west of Hexham. SUMMER RODS is another hamlet in the same township, two miles west by south of Hexham. WEST BOAT is also a hamlet in the above-named township, situated near the junction of the North and South Tyne, one mile and three-quarters north-west of Hexham. The South Tyne is here crossed by a fine suspension bridge of 310 feet span, which was erected in 1826, at a cost of £5,000.