Ilderton Parish, 1855

ILDERTON PARISH

lLDERTON parish is bounded on the north by Wooler and Doddington, on the west by the Cheviots, on the south by Ingram, and on the east by Eglingham. It comprises the townships of Ilderton, Middleton Hall, Middleton North, Middleton South, Roddam, and Rosedon, whose united area is 9,670 acres. The population in 1801, was 475; in 1811, 502; in 1821, 679; in 1831, 602; in 1841, 585; and in 1851, 641 souls. The eastern portion of this parish consists of a light gravelly soil while the western part is chiefly moss and heather. The surface is hilly and to the south-west the parish extends to the summit of Hedgehope, one of the Cheviot Hills. It has for its southern limit the river Breamish, and is intersected by the Caldgate, Lilburn, Roddam, and several minor streams.

ILDERTON is a township and village giving name to the parish in which it is situated, and the property of Sanderson Ilderton, Esq., and William Roddam, Esq. The township contains 3,640 acres, and its population in 1801, was 135; in 1811, 118; in 1821, 157; in 1831, 125; in 1811, 121; and in 1851, 145 souls. The Earl of Tankerville Is lord of the manor, which was, in ancient times, dependent upon the barony of Wark, of which it was held by the ancient family of llderton, by whom it has been possessed since the reign of Edward I. One of this family, Sir Thomas Ilderton, so renowned for his valour at the siege of Berwick, was High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1377. This township was a favourite haunt of the Druids; it is surrounded by hills and woods, and one of their temples consisting of ten large, rude, and unequal stones, placed in an oval form, is still to be seen between the villages of Ilderton and Hedgehope.

THE VILLAGE of Ilderton is situated upon a hill four and a half miles south by east of Wooler. THE CHURCH, dedicated to St. Michael, is a modern edifice consisting of a nave, chancel, and square tower. The living a discharged rectory in the archdeaconry of Lindisfarne, and deanery of Bambrough, is valued in the Liber Regis at £4; gross income £200, inclusive of 50 acres of glebe land. Patron, the Duke of Northumberland; rector, the Rev. Henry Parker, M.A. The parish register commences in 1724. A new Parsonage House was erected in 1842.

Letters arrive here by foot post at 11-15 a.m., and are despatched at 1-15 p.m.

DIRECTORY. Rev. Henry Parker, M. A., rector; John D. Clark, farmer; John Leighton, blacksmith; and Joseph Waters, corn miller and farmer, Coldgate Mill.

MIDDLETON HALL township, the property of George H. Hughes, Esq., is situated two and three-quarter miles south by west of Wooler. It contains 1,101 acres, and its population in 1801, was 40; in 1811, 47; in 1821, 61 ; in 1831, 56; in 1841, 64; and in 1851, 66 souls.

DIRECTORY. George Hughes Hughes, Esq., Middleton Hall.

MIDDLETON (NORTH), a township and hamlet, comprises 2,102 acres the property of the Earl of Tankerville. The population in 1801, was 82; in 1811, 111 ; in 1821, 128; in 1831, 156; in 1841, 129; and in 1851, 127 souls. THE HAMLET of North Middle ton is situated two and a half miles south of Wooler.

DIRECTORY. George Buck, blacksmith; John English, cattle dealer, Haugh Head; John Jobson, grocer, draper, and beer retailer, Haugh Head; and George Rea, farmer.

MIDDLETN (SOUTH) township is situated three miles south of Wooler. It is the property of the Earl of Tankerville, but in ancient times it was the property of Muschampe family, and a member of the lordship of Wooler; it was afterwards possessed by the noble family of Percy, and also by the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital. This township contains 1,609 acres. Population in 1801, 67; in 1811, 79; in 1821, 69; in 1831, 69; in 1841, 78; and in 1851, 70 souls.

DIRECTORY. George Rea, farmer.

RODDAM is a township and hamlet the property of William Roddam, Esq., whose family have held this township from time immemorial, indeed it is asserted that the Roddams are an ancient British family, who have held this estate through all the changes and vicissitudes which this country has under- gone. and that whether Romans, Saxons, Danes, or Normans, were the dominant power in the state, still this township never acknowledged any other than a R.oddam for its proprietor. Among the records &c. of this ancient family the following grant of king Athelstan is preserved :-

"I King Auelstane
Giffys here to Paulan
Oddam and Roddam,
All gude and all fair
As ever thei myn war
And thairto witness Mald my wyf."

How different from the strictness of construction, which, in modern times, renders almost every word in an instrument a snare for the unwary. The Roddams were formerly the possessors of large estates in different parts of this county, but of their ancient inheritance this is the only manor which they now retain. Among the many members of this family who have distinguished themselves in their country's service, the names of Sir John and Admiral Roddam, hold an honourable position. The former was slain at the battle of Towton, in 149 J, and the latter, having rendered his country the most signal service during the French and American wars, and having attained the rank of senior admiral of the red, died in Newcastle on the 31st March, 1808, in the 89th year of his age. THE HAMLET' of Roddam is situated five and a half miles south by west of Wooler. RODDAM HALL the seat of the proprietor of the township is a handsome modern mansion, seated on a bold eminence forming the bank of a romantic dell, which is watered by a rivulet flowing eastward from the Hedgehope hills to the river Till.

DIRECTORY. William Roddam, Esq, Roddam Hall; John Angley, agent to William Roddam, Esq.; John E. Eadington, schoolmaster; Isabella Hutton, shopkeeper; James Kearton, gamekeeper to William Roddam, Esq. and William Morrison, farmer, Roddam Ridge House.

ROSEDON is a township and hamlet the property of the Rev. Thomas Ilder .. ton, of Felton. The area of the township is included in that of Ilderton, and the number of its inhabitants in 1801, was 59: in 1811, 70; in 1821, 74; in 1831, 78; in 1841, 83; and in 1851, 95 souls. On Rosedon Edge is a large semicircular entrenchment having for its defences two high ramparts of earth and a deep fosse, with an inner circle of uncemented stones. It is about one hundred yards in diameter, and contains many remains of buildings, &c. It is supposed to have been a fort of the ancient Britons, and it is very probable that it was strengthened and enlarged by the Romans during their stay in this island. THE HAMLET of Rosedon is situated about one mile E.S.E. of Ilderton, and five miles south by east of Wooler.

DIRECTORY. W. J. and C. Atkinson, farmers; John and George Potter, Cartwrights, and John Young, blacksmith.