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Birtley, Northumberland: People and Places of 1879

Enjoy a glimpse of history about Birtley in Northumberland, North East England, UK.

Important Note - There are TWO Birtley settlements in North East England!

This page is about the small village in Northumberland, located about 10 miles north of Hexham.

Most people in North East England will ONLY know about the much larger town of Birtley on the outskirts of Gateshead, Tyne & Wear.

So if you're after the other, much larger Birtley, here's a link to the page about Birtley in Tyne & Wear.

The Post Office Directory of Durham and Northumberland

by Kelly and Company

Published in 1879





BIRTLEY is a parish, formerly chapelry in the parish of Chollerton, and having an independent jurisdiction: it includes the townships of BROOMHOPE with BUTELAND. The village has been entirely rebuilt by His Grace the Duke of Northumberland: it is $11 \frac{1}{2}$ miles north-by-west from Hexham, $5 \frac{1}{2}$ miles north-north-west from Chollerton, and $1 \frac{1}{2}$ miles north-east from Wark station on the Border Counties section of the North British railway, in the Southern division of the county, Bellingham union and county court district of Tindale ward, rural deanery of Bellingham, archdeaconry of Northumberland and diocese of Durham; situated on the banks of the North Tyne. The chapel is a stone building, consisting of chancel and nave, with no pretentions to architecture, having 1 bell. The living is a vicarage, yearly value, about £180, in the gift of the Duke of Northumberland and held by the Rev. George Rome Hall, of St. Bees. There is a mixed National school, erected by subscription and endowed with £5 yearly by the trustees of Betton's charity, and also with £10 from the Duke of Northumberland; the school is under government inspection, and is principally supported by voluntary subscription. Coal and limestone are found here. The north-east part of this chapelry is mountainous and sterile, but on the banks of the North Tyne the soil is fertile. Birtley Hall, now occupied as the vicarage, is a stone building, erected upon a site occupied by the old hall, part of the ruins of which still remains. The Duke of Northumberland is lord of the manor and principal landowner. The soil is loam; subsoil, clay. The chief crops are oats, barley, and grass. The area is 6,828 acres; rateable value, £5,067, and the population in 1871 was 451.

BROOMHOPE with BUTELAND is a township in this chapelry, 2 miles north-north-west from Birtley.

REEDSMOUTH is a hamlet situate at the confluence of the Reed and North Tyne rivers, 2 miles east-by-south of Bellingham. Reedsmouth House, the property of Sir John Haggerston, is picturesquely situated at the junction of the rivers North Tyne and Reed: in an old portion of this house the meeting of Jacobites and the Earl of Derwentwater was arranged: it is the residence of George William Hodge, esq. There is a station on the Border of the North British railway and the junction of the Wansbeck and Northumberland central line.

Parish Clerk, George Millburn.

Letters through Wark, which is the nearest money order office

WALL LETTER BOX cleared at 4 p.m

National School, William John Edwards, master.

Registrar of Births & Deaths for Kirkwhelpington district, Richard Scott-Lelmailing; deputy, Daniel Wood, jun. Birtley

RAILWAY STATIONS:—

Reedsmouth Junction, William Main Scott, station master

Wark, David Hall, station master

CARRIER TO HEXHAM—Matthew Robson, friday

Hall Rev. George Rome, P.S.A. [vicar], Birtley hall

Hodge George, Wm. Reedsmouth house

COMMERCIAL.

Charlton Anthony, farmer, Low Carry ho

Charlton Gilbert, farmer, Birtley building

Charlton John, farmer, Rushey hill

Elliott John, shoe maker

Forster Jane (Mrs.), farmer, Home farm, Reedsmouth

Hutchinson Isabella & Margaret (Misses), farmers, Dingley hill

Hutchinson Rlph. farmer, Birtley Shields

Hutchinson Wm. farmer, High Carry ho

Johnson John Robson, boot & shoe maker

Milburn John, shopkeeper

Milburn Thomas, shopkeeper

Muckle Robert, farm bailiff to the Duke of Northumberland, Heugh

Murray Elizabeth (Mrs.), farmer, Dove cottage, Reedsmouth

Potts Robert, farmer, Hindhaugh

Ridley Elizabeth (Mrs.), Percy Arms

Robson Mary (Mrs.), farmer, Contess pk

Robson Percy & Thomas, farmers, Low Shield green

Robson John, joiner

Robson Matthew, beer retailer & carrier

Shanks Richard, landowner & farmer, Buteland

Smith Mary & Jane (Misses), dressmakers & milliners

Southern Thomas, farmer, Broomhope

Urwin Henry, tailor

Urwin James, shoe maker

Urwin Richard, tailor

Westwick John, blacksmith

Wood Daniel, farmer & assistant overseer, Catreen

Wood Daniel, jun. deputy registrar of births & deaths for Kirkwhelpington district, Catreen


Labels:
Location: Birtley, Hexham NE48 3HL, UK

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