National Gazetteer (1868) - Lesbury

"LESBURY, a parish partly in the S. division of Bamburgh ward, and partly in the E. division of Coquetdale ward, county Northumberland, 3½ miles E. of Alnwick, its post town, and half a mile N.E. of the Bilton railway station. The village, which is small, is situated on the N. bank of the river Alne, over which is a bridge, and on the Alnwick turnpike road. The parish is bounded on the N. by Long Houghton, on the S. by Shilbottle, on the E. by the German Ocean, and on the W. by the parish of Alnwick. It includes the townships of Lesbury, Alnmouth, Hawkhill, Bilton, and Worden. There is a large corn mill in the neighbourhood. The soil is loamy, with subsoil clay and gravel. The river Alne falls into the German Ocean at Alnmouth, where considerable quantities of grain are shipped for the London market. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Durham, value £269, in the patronage of the lord chancellor. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a very ancient structure, with a square tower containing three bells, and was restored in 1846. There is also a district church at Alnmouth, the living of which-is a perpetual curacy, value £100, in the patronage of the Duke of Northumberland. Tho Wesleyans have a place of worship. The parochial charities produce about £5 10s. per annum. A Church of England school was erected in 1857 at the expense of the Duke of Northumberland, who is lord of the manor."

"ALNMOUTH, (or Alemouth), a small seaport and township in the parish of Lesbury, southern division of Lambrough ward, in the county of Northumberland, 4 miles to the S.W. of Alnwick. It is situated on Alnmouth Bay, at the mouth of the river Alne, and is resorted to as a bathing-place. The port is subordinate to that of Berwick. The York and Berwick railway passes near the village. A few small vessels belong to the port, which are engaged in the coasting trade, carrying goods to and from London, and the manufacturing districts of Yorkshire. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Durham, value £100, in the patronage of the Duke of Northumberland. The old chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, which formerly existed here, was blown down in 1806, and the site of it has since become an island at the mouth of the river, but a new church has lately been erected, and was opened in 1860. The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel here. The discovery of some large bones led to a belief that giants had lived here. The bones proved to be not human, but remains of horses.

"BILTON, a township in the parish of Lesbury, ward, of Bamburgh, in the county of Northumberland, 3 miles from Alnwick."

"HAWKHILL, a township in the parish of Lesbury, S. division of Bamburgh ward, county Northumberland, 3 miles S.E. of Alnwick, and near the Bilton station on the North-Eastern railway. It is situated on the N. bank of the river Alne, on the road from Alnwick to Warkworth. The soil is a mixture of clay and loam, and produces good crops of wheat and turnips. It is let as one farm by Earl Grey, who is sole proprietor."

"WOODEN, a township in the parish of Lesbury, E. division of Coquetdale ward, county Northumberland, 4 miles S.E. of Alnwick."