Ponteland Parish, 1848

PONTELAND (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and W. division of Castle ward, S. division of Northumberland; comprising the townships of Berwick Hill, Little Callerton, Coldcoats, Darras-Hall, HighamDykes, Kirkley, Milburn, Milburn-Grange, Ponteland, part of High Callerton, and part of Prestwick; the whole containing 1,094 inhabitants, of whom 424 are in Ponteland township, 7½ miles (N.W. by N.) from Newcastle, on the road to the north. The origin of this place is attributed to Elius Hadrianus by Camden, who supposes it to have been the station of the first cohort of the Cornavii. A treaty of peace was concluded here in 1244, between Henry III. and the King of Scotland; and in the following century the town and castle were burnt by the Scots, previous to the battle of Otterburn. The parish is situated on the west bank of the river Pont, from which it takes its name, and is intersected by the river Blyth; it comprises about 10,000 acres, and was originally much larger, including Dinnington, which is now a separate parish. The soil is chiefly a strong clay, well adapted for wheat, and there are extensive tracts of rich pasture; the surface is generally level. The substratum abounds with stone of good quality for building, and in the neighbourhood are some coal-mines. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8.; patrons and impropriators, the Warden and Fellows of Merton College, Oxford. The great tithes have been commuted for £2,067. 10., with a glebe of 85 acres; and the tithes of the vicar for £296. 4., with a glebe of 143 acres. The church, formerly collegiate, is partly in the Norman style, with a square tower surmounted by a low spire; it was repaired in 1810. There is a place of worship for Scottish Presbyterians; also a free school, founded in 1719 by Richard Coates, Esq., who bequeathed property now producing about £70 a year, for its support.