Meldon, Northumberland Genealogy

Parish History
St John the Baptist, Meldon is an Ancient Parish.

MELDON (St. John the Evangelist), a parish, in the union of Morpeth, W. division of Castle ward, S. division of Northumberland, 6½ miles (W. S. W.) from Morpeth; containing 152 inhabitants. This was a manor in the barony of Mitford till the time of Henry III., after which period the estate was held by various families of distinction; it eventually became the property of Lord Derwentwater, and was subsequently appropriated by the crown to the support of Greenwich Hospital, from the governors of which it was purchased by Isaac Cookson, Esq., the present proprietor. The parish comprises 1026 acres; the surface is pleasingly undulated, rising in some parts into bold eminences, and the lower grounds are watered by the river Wansbeck, which runs from east to west, between richly-wooded banks. The soil along the southern boundary is clayey, and well adapted for the growth of wheat, but in other parts is light and gravelly, resting on clay, producing turnips and green crops of every kind, and well suited for pasture and for dairy-farming. Meldon Park, the newly-erected seat of Mr. Cookson, is beautifully situated on an eminence in the north-western part of the parish, on the bank of the Wansbeck, and commands a fine view of the vale to which that river gives name. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4. 7. 11., and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Durham; net income, £322. The Rev. James Raine, the present incumbent, discovered in his antiquarian researches an ancient document, by which he claimed and recovered the tithes of the parish from the proprietors of the estate. The church, supposed to have been founded at a very early period, by the Bertram family, is situated on one of the most elevated knolls; and, within the walls, is only 28 feet in length, and 15 feet wide. There was a tower in the parish in the reign of Henry VI.; several foundations of buildings have been discovered in Meldon Park, and there is every reason to suppose that the place was once of more importance than it is at present.

From: 'Melbourne - Mells', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 283-287. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51142 Date accessed: 10 March 2011.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Parish Records
Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections Reference number: DDR/EA/PBT/2/177 Date: 1769-1835 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records however engineers have not yet downloaded images for this parish.

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.

Meldon, St John the Baptist: Records of baptisms 1706-1908, marriages 1727-1939 and burials 1716-1812 are available at Northumberland Collections Service. The International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) includes baptisms 1706-1812 for this parish, and Boyd's Marriage Index includes marriages 1727-1812 and banns 1751-1812. Transcripts of baptisms 1706-1812, marriages 1727-1812 and burials 1716-1812 are available in the Local Studies Departments of Newcastle Central Library and Gateshead Central Library. A transcript of monumental inscriptions at Meldon (microfiche TN76) is published by Northumberland and Durham Family History Society and these records are also available in book form at Newcastle Central Library, Local Studies Department.

FamilySearch Historical Records includes England Durham Marriage Bonds and Allegations (FamilySearch Collection)

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Northumberland Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: add any relevant sites that aren't mentioned above.