Whitfield Parish, 1855

WHITFIELD PARISH

WHITFIELD parish is bounded on the north and west by the parish of Haltwhistle, on the south by that of Allendale and the county of Cumberland, and on the east by Allendale parish. It comprises an area of 12,125 acres, and its rateable value is £3,561 10s. The number of inhabitants in 1801, was 393; in 1811, 330; in 1821, 289; in 1831, 388; in 1841, 333; and in 1851, 340 souls. William Ord, Esq., is lord of the manor and owner of the soil. This parish consists, in a great measure, of uncultivated moorlands, on which numerous flocks of sheep are grazed, and is partly intersected by the streams of the East and West Allen, which unite at Cupola. Lead ore was formerly procured in considerable quantities from a mine at Limestone Cross, and smelted at Cupola. There is a spring strongly impregnated with iron, at Redmires, and the road from Alston to Haydon Bridge runs through the parish. Hodgson tells us that in 1749, scarcely more than a century ago, ''the roads through this parish were mere trackways, and the principal employment of the people was the conveyance of lead ore to the neighbouring smelt-mills, in sacks, on the backs of ponies. There was not a cart in the country. The farms were very small seldom above twenty pounds a-year, and the dwelling-houses and farm offices upon them, of the most wretched description.'' The greater portion of these have been pulled down and replaced by large and substantial farmhouses, and commodious offices, mills, &c. have been erected, and a turnpike-road made through the parish. The manor of Whitfield was granted by William, King of Scotland, to the priory of Hexham, of which it was held by a family that bore the local name, at an annual rent of 16s. 4d. It remained in the possessions of the Whitfields for many generations, but was ultimately -sold by Thomas Whitfield to the Ord family, with whom it still continues.

THE PARISH CHURCH is situated on the north side of the Hexham and Alston Road, eleven miles W.S.W. of the former place, and is a small neat structure, rebuilt about the year 1813. The chancel window is of stained glass, ornamented with the armorial bearings of the Ord family. The parish register commences in 1612. The church contains about 300 sittings, the whole of which are free and unappropriated. The living is a discharged rectory, in the archdeaconry of Northumberland and deanery of Hexham, valued in the Liber Regis at £8; gross income £400; it is in the patronage of William Ord, Esq., and incumbency of the Rev. Thomas Hobbes Scott, M.A. WHITFIELD SCHOOL is endowed with £20 per annum by William Ord, Esq. A LIBRARY was established at the Lodge in 1847; John Laing is librarian and secretary.

WHITFIELD HALL, the seat of William Ord, Esq., occupies a pleasant situation near the church on the West Allen. It is a neat and substantial building, rebuilt about eighty years ago, when the adjoining estate was greatly improved by enclosures and plantations.

CHARITY. Nicholas Wilkinson, of Patten House, bequeathed a rent charge of £6 10s. per annum to the poor of this parish.

BEAR'S BRIDGE is a hamlet in this parish, eleven and three quarter miles W.S.W. of Hexham.

POST OFFICE, WHITFIELD, Edward Robson, postmaster. Letters arrive, from Alston, at 10 a.m. and from Haydon Bridge, at 1-30 p.m.; they are despatched at 10 a.m. and 1-30 p.m.