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National Gazetteer (1868) - St John Lee

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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"ST. JOHN LEE, (or Lee), a parish in the S. division of Tynedale ward, county Northumberland, 1 mile N.E. of Hexham. It is situated near the river Tyne, and the line of the Newcastle and Carlisle railway. The parish, which is of large extent, contains Acomb, Wall, and eight other townships. Many of the inhabitants are employed in the collieries and lead mines. The village is; built on an eminence on the N. bank of the Tyne. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of York, value £300. The church, dedicated to St. John of Beverley, is an ancient structure. It was anciently noted for an annual procession made to it by the monks of Hexham. There are chapels-of-ease at Bingfield and Wall. The charities consist of an endowment of £12 bequeathed by Mary Vernol in 1771 for a school. The principal residence is Lee Hall. Near the church are remains of St. John's hermitage and oratory, which the Scots plundered in 1138.

"ANWICK, a township in the parish of St. John Lee, southern division of Tynedale ward, in the county of Northumberland, not quite 2 miles to the N.E. of Hexham."

"ANWICK GRANGE, a township in the parish of St. John Lee, southern division of Tynedale ward, in the county of Northumberland, 1 mile to the E. of Hexham."

"BINGFIELD, a township in the parish of St. John Lee, Tynedale ward, in the county of Northumberland, 6 miles to the N.E. of Hexham. The river Erringburn runs near the village. By the river is a remarkable mineral spring, the water of which is fatal to fish and insects. There is a chapel of ease dedicated to St. Mary, and a school with an endowment of £10 a year."

"COCKLAW, a township in the parish of St. John Lee, in the southern division of the ward of Tynedale, in the county of Northumberland, 4 miles N. of Hexham, its post town. Cocklaw Tower, now in ruins, was formerly the fortified seat of the Erringtons. Rowland Errington, Esq., is chief landowner."

"FALLOWFIELD, a township in the parish of St. John Lee, S. division Tynedale ward, county Northumberland, 3 miles N. of Hexham, its nearest railway station on the Newcastle and Carlisle line. It is situated near the old Roman Wall, and the river Reed passes close by. Lead is obtained here, and also coals."

"HALLINGTON, a township in the parish of St. John Lee, in the S. division of Tynedale ward, county Northumberland, 10 miles N.E. of Hexham, its post town, and 6 from the railway station at Chollerford. It formerly belonged to Hexham Priory, and had a beacon at Mote Law Camp, near Hanging Shaws. The soil is chiefly clay."

"PORTGATE, a township in the parish of St. John-Lee, S. division of Tynedale ward, county Northumberland, 3 miles N. of Corbridge, and 5 N.E. of Hexham railway station. It is situated at the spot where the Roman way Watling Street passed through Hadrian's Wall, hence the origin of its present name. There are collieries; also remains of a border tower, near which the Devil's Causeway branches from Watling Street. Rowland Errington, Esq., is lord of the manor and owner of all the land."

"SANDHOE, a township in the parish of St. John Lee, S. division of Tynedale ward, county Northumberland, 2½ miles N.E. of Hexham, its post town, and 2 N.W. of Corbridge railway station. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on the N. side of the river Tyne. Beaufort House and Sandhoe House are the principal residences, and near the former is a Roman Catholic chapel now in disuse."

"WALL, a township in the parish of St. John Lee, S. division of Tynedale ward, county Northumberland, 4 miles N.W. of Hexham, its post town, and 22 N.W. of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It is a station on the Border Counties railway. The village is situated on the North Tyne, near Cilurnum-on-the-Wall. It was at this place that King Oswald, who was afterwards canonised, raised the standard of the cross and defeated the Britons under Cadwalla. In the vicinity are extensive stone quarries. In the cemetery is a mutilated Roman altar. The living is a curacy in the diocese of Durham. The church, dedicated to St. Oswald, was originally erected by the monks of Hexham. W. B. Beaumont, Esq., is lord of the manor."

"WEST ACOMB, a township in the parish of St. John Lee, in Tynedale ward, in the county of Northumberland, 2 miles north of Hexham. The river Tyne forms its southern boundary. The inhabitants are mostly engaged in the collieries.

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