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National Gazetteer (1868) - Allendale

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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"ALLENDALE, a parish and market town in the southern division of Tynedale ward, in the county of Northumberland, 10 miles to the S.W. of Hexham, and 286 miles N.N.W. of London. It takes its name from the river Allen, on the eastern bank of which the town is situated; it is irregularly built on the slope of a hill rising from the river side. The scenery is remarkably fine. The river is crossed by a bridge erected in 1825, and is a tributary of the South Tyne, into which it falls near Ridley Hall. The parish comprises the market town of Allendale, and the townships of East and West Allen, Broadside, Catton, Low Forest, High Forest, Keeney, and Park. It is a polling place for the county. The surrounding district is principally moorland, and contains some large and valuable lead mines, the produce of which is about one-fourth of the entire quantity raised in England. There are several smelting-houses, with flues extending under ground three miles in length, and a large quantity of silver is separated from the ore during the process of smelting. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Durham, value £170, in the patronage of W. B. Beaumont, Esq., lord of the manor. The church was rebuilt in 1807. Besides the church there are four chapels of ease, St. Peter's, one at Nine Banks, a third at Carr Shields, or West Allen, and the fourth at Allenheads. The curacy of Allenheads chapel, value £50, is in the patronage of Mr. Beaumont; the others in the patronage of the vicar. There are also places of worship belonging to the Quakers, the Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists. The free grammar school, the income of which is £62, was founded in 1693, by Christopher Wilkinson and others. A new school-house has been recently erected. There are several other schools, libraries, and a savings-bank. The market day is Friday. Cattle fairs are held on the last Friday in April, and the first Friday after the 29th October, and a cattle and sheep fair on the 22nd August. There are remains of a square entrenchment at Old Town, about 2½ miles N.W. of Allendale. It is supposed to have been a Roman station, having a portway, 7 yards broad, paved with stone. Coalcleugh, in the greaveship of West Allen, is the highest inhabited village in England, and the chief centre of the lead-mining population here, and at Allenheads, which is 3 miles W., are several levels, extending near a mile in length, excavated to communicate with the mines under the hills."

"ALLEN, (West, High and Low) grieveships in the parish of Allendale, Tynedale ward, in the county of Northumberland. They are situated on the West Allen river, which joins the East Allen near Whitfield. The living is a curacy in the diocese of Durham, value £157, in the patronage of the vicar.

"ALLENHEADS, (or Allonhead), a village in the greaveship of High Forest, once a separate parish in the parish of Allendale, southern division of Tynedale ward, in the county of Northumberland, 7 miles to the S.W. of Allendale. It is here that the east branch of the river Allen has its source. Coal and rock crystal are found here, and there are valuable lead mines, which have been worked for centuries, and give employment to nearly the whole of the inhabitants. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Durham, value £50, in the patronage of W. B. Beaumont, Esq. The chapel was rebuilt in 1826, by Colonel Beaumont, on the site of an older one. There is also a private chapel erected by W. B. Beaumont, Esq., for the use of the labouring classes.

"BROADSIDE, a grieveship in the parish of Allendale, Tynedale ward, in the county of Northumberland, not far from Allendale."

"CATTON, a grieveship in the parish of Allendale, Tynedale ward, in the county of Northumberland, 1 mile from Allendale."

"HIGH and LOW FOREST, grieveships in the parish of Allendale, county Northumberland, 2 miles from Allendale.

"KEENLY, a grieveship in the parish of Allendale, county Northumberland, 2 miles from Allendale."

"NINEBANKS, a chapelry in the parish of Allendale, S. division of Tynedale ward, county Northumberland, 3 miles S.W. of Allendale, and 10 from Haydon Bridge. The chapelry is of large extent, and is intersected by a branch of the river Tyne. It was anciently the property of the Earls of Auckland, who had a castle here, the tower of which is still remaining. There are several lead mines, once very productive, and quarries of building stone. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Durham, value £125, in the patronage of the Incumbent of Allendale. The church was rebuilt in 1813, when the cemetery was enlarged. The Wesleyans have a place of worship. There is a National school."

"PARK, a grieveship in the parish of Allendale, S. division of Tynedale ward, county Northumberland, 4 miles N.W. of Allendale."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]