Ashington Township, 1848

ASHINGTON, with Sheepwash, a township, in the parish of Bothal, union of Morpeth, E. division of Morpeth ward, N. division of Northumberland, 4½ miles (E. by N.) from Morpeth; containing 76 inhabitants. The persons who are first named in the records as connected with the property here, are the Morwicks, Lumleys, and Fitzhughs; the family of Essendon (the modern Ashington) are mentioned as lords of the manor at the close of the 13th century, and the most important landowners since that period have been the families of Coventre and Fenwick, from whom the place has descended to the Duke of Portland. The township comprises 583 acres of land, of which 444 are tillage, 112 grass, and 27 wood; the grounds are very beautiful in some places by the side of the river Wansbeck, which is navigable for keels and small boats as far as Sheepwash, where it is crossed by a bridge. The tithes have been commuted for £109.6. - See Sheepwash.