Meldon Parish, 1855

MELDON PARISH. 

MELDON parish is situated in the north-west corner of Castle Ward, and comprises an area of 993 acres. The number of its inhabitants in 18011, was 54; in 1811, 129; in 1821, 129; in 1831, 114; in 1841, 152; and in 1851, 144 souls. John Cookson, Esq., of Meldon Hall, is lord of the manor and owner of the soil Meldon was anciently a member of the barony of Mitford, and seems to have been a place of some importance, for we find here the remains of a large strong building, with extensive gardens, and in Meldon Park the traces of several other edifices have been discovered. This place was formerly the property of the ancient family of Fenwick, from whom it was transferred by marriage to the Derwentwaters, in which family it continued till the attainder of James, the third Earl, when it was forfeited to the crown. It was afterwards granted to Greenwich Hospital, and was subsequently sold by the Commissioners of the Hospital to Isaac Cooksop, Esq., alderman of Newcastle, for the sum of 56,900 guineas.

THE VILLAGE of Meldon is situated south of the river Wansbeck, five miles west by south of Morpeth, THE CHURCH, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, is a small edifice, rebuilt in the year 1849, and is capable of accommodating about eighty persons. There is a monument to Sir William Fenwick, in the west end, and on the north wall of the chancel is another to the memory of Isaac Cookson, Esq., of Meldon Park, who died at Munich, in Bavaria, in the year 1851, and was buried in a vault in the churchyard, on the 25th of October of the same year. The living, a discharged vicarage in the archdeaconry of Lindisfarne, and deanery of Morpeth, is valued in the Liber Regis at £4. 17s. 11d.; gross income, £322. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Durham; incumbent, the Rev. James Raine, M.A. The parish register commences in 1706.

MELDON PARK CORNER is a small village situated four and three-quarter miles west of Morpeth, at the junction of two cross roads, where Meldon, Mitford, and Hartburn parishes meet. It consists of several houses in the above-named parishes.

DIRECTORY. - John Cookson, Esq., Meldon Park; Peter Bryce, shopkeeper; Thomas, and John Johnson, millers; John Thompson, parish clerk; and the farmers are Joseph Lennox, Meldon Lane House; and Edward Scott.