Ancroft, Northumberland Genealogy

England Northumberland

Parish History
Ancroft parochial chapelry included Ancroft, Cheswick,Haggerston and Scremerston. The church of St Anne is reputed to have been erected in 1090 and was was restored in 1870. ANCROFT, a parochial chapelry, in the union of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Islandshire, N. division of Northumberland, 6 miles (S.) of Berwick; containing 1670 inhabitants, of whom 491 are in the township. It includes the villages of Ancroft, Cheswick, Haggerston, Scremerston, and Greenses, the first of which appears, from the numerous foundations of houses that have been discovered in the adjoining fields, to have been formerly of much greater extent than it is at present. The chapelry comprises 9622 acres, mostly arable, and is rich in mineral produce. Limestone is very abundant, and is quarried to a great extent for the supply of the neighbouring districts; freestone and coal are likewise wrought in considerable quantities. The great road from London to Edinburgh passes through. The scenery is finely diversified, and enlivened with some handsome seats, among which is Ladythorn, in the village of Cheswick, occupying an elevated situation, and commanding a view of Holy Island, the Farn Islands, the coast from Bambrough Castle to Berwick, and the Cheviot hills in the distance. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £131; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The church, a Norman structure, originally a chapel of ease to Holy Island, but now parochial, was enlarged in 1836, at an expense of £550, raised by subscription: the tower was so constructed that it served as a place of residence for the curate, and afforded him a protection from the Scottish marauders; it was until lately roofless, and an ash-tree, which had its root in the vaulted floor of the first story, spread over its battlements. There is a second incumbency at Scremerston

From: 'Amblecoat - Anderton', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 53-58. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50755 Date accessed: 05 March 2011.

= Parish Records =

Records of baptisms 1742-1959, marriages 1742-1982 and burials 1742-1959 are available at Northumberland Collections Service

Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections DDR/EA/PBT/2/11 1764-1867 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records (formerly Record Search). References prior to 1844 refer to Ancroft as in "North Durham" North Durham references in the Durham Bishop’s Transcripts collection 1700-1900 Images for Ancroft at present may be located in both North Durham and Northumberland and stray images may be found as unknown in the images due to these reasons. It is hoped to assemble these in future after re-engineering the image collection. The current images are incomplete for this parish and this is a known issue awaiting the collection take down and return.

The dates of the post-1760 transcripts have been noted in detail and sometimes only cover years. For most parishes in the collection there are gaps in the sequence of transcripts. It is advisable to consult the original parish registers for these years and events.