Lambley Parish, 1848

LAMBLEY, a parish, in the union of Haltwhistle, W. division of Tindale ward, S. division of Northumberland, 4½ miles (S.W. by S.) from Haltwhistle; containing 249 inhabitants. This place is of considerable antiquity; and in the reign of John, a Benedictine nunnery, dedicated to God, St. Mary, and St. Patrick, was founded here, either by that monarch or by Adam de Tindale. In 1296 it was burnt by the Scots, who plundered and laid waste the neighbourhood; the establishment was subsequently restored, and continued to flourish till the Dissolution, when its revenue was valued at £5. 15. 8. The parish is situated on the South Tyne, and comprises 2,854a. 2r. 10p., of which 368 acres are arable, 221 meadow, 175 woodland, and 1,089 pasture, with a tract of common containing 1,000 acres by computation. The surface is rugged, and the scenery generally wild, but the banks of the river are well wooded, and in some parts beautifully picturesque; the prevailing timber is oak, ash, elm, and sycamore. The soil is commonly light, and the chief produce oats, barley, and potatoes. The living is a donative, in the patronage of R. L. Allgood, Esq. The church, repaired a few years since by subscription, is an humble edifice, standing at the south end of the village of Harpertown, and about a quarter of a mile from the site of the monastery, which occupied a charming seclusion, on a haugh, upon the left bank of the Tyne. On Castle Hill, the site of an old fortress, are vestiges of a deep moat; and lower down the river, have been discovered some large coffins of oak, black as jet.