Bolam, Northumberland Family History Guide
Bolam is an Ancient Parish in the county of Northumberland.
Other places in the parish include: Trewick, Shortflatt, Harnham, Gallowhill, Gallow Hill, Bradford near Morpeth, Bradford, and Bolam Vicarage.
Alternative names:
Parish church: St. Andrew
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1661
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1759
Nonconformists include: Presbyterian
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
BOLAM, a township and a parish in Castle Ward district, Northumberland.
The township lies between the rivers Blyth and Wansbeck, near the Devil’s causeway, a branch of Watling-street, and on the Morpeth and Scots Gap railway, near Angerton station, 8 miles WSW of Morpeth. Acres, 1,119. Pop., 102. Houses, 21.
The parish includes also the townships of Bolam vicarage, Trewick, Gallow Hill, Shortflatt, Harnham, Bradford, and Belsay; the last of which has a post office under Newcastle-on-Tyne. Acres, 7,336. Real property, £7,682. Pop., 685. Houses, 136. The property is divided among a few.
Bolam manor belonged anciently to the De Bolams; passed to the Horsleys; and went from them to Lord Decies. Harnham manor belonged, in the time of Charles II., to Colonel Philip Babbington, governor of Berwick. Belsay Castle belonged formerly to the Middletons; and belongs now to the baronet family of Monck. A stone coffin was found in a tumulus on Bolam moor. Coal and limestone occur.
The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value, £238. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is ancient, in good condition; and contains the effigies of a Knight Templar, supposed to be Sir Walter de Bolam, and a tomb of the Middletons.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
BOLAM (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union, and partly in the W. division, of Castle ward, but chiefly in the W. division of Morpeth ward and N. E. division of Tindale ward, N. and S. divisions of Northumberland; comprising the townships of Trewick, Bolam, Bolam-Vicarage, Gallow-Hill, Belsay, Bradford, Harnham, and Shortflatt; and containing 603 inhabitants, of whom 66 are in the township of Bolam, and 17 in that of Bolam-Vicarage, 9½ miles (W. S. W.) from Morpeth.
It derives its name from being situated on a bol, or high swell of land. The old town of Bolam had its grant of a market and fair from Edward I., and consisted of a castle, a church, and two rows of houses running from east to west: the tower of the castle was standing some years since; and on the commanding hill near Bolam House, the seat of Lord Decies, where it stood, are intrenchments of a period anterior to the Conquest.
The parish comprises upwards of 7000 acres, of which 1116 are in the township of Bolam. A large portion of the soil is a dark earth resting on clay, and there are fine portions of a sandy loam with a substratum of freestone, and also coal and limestone; in the township of Bolam a great part is rich grass land, interspersed with many thriving plantations, and a small but picturesque lake has been formed by the noble owner.
The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s books at £6. 13. 4., and in the patronage of the Crown: the great tithes have been commuted for £247. 3. 8., and the vicarial for £72. 10. 6.; the glebe consists of about 130 acres.
The township of Bolam-Vicarage comprises only the glebe land, lying on the eastern side of the church, which is of the Norman style. A branch of the Watling-street, called the “Devil’s Causeway,” may be distinctly traced about a mile westward; and near it are two large barrows, and a stone pillar of rude form, with a tumulus which, on being opened, was found to contain a coffin. On an intrenched rock, on the north-east side of Bolam moor, is a British camp.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Administration
- County: Northumberland
- Civil Registration District: Castle Ward
- Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Durham (Episcopal Consistory)
- Diocese: Durham
- Rural Deanery: Morpeth
- Poor Law Union: Castle Ward
- Hundred: Castle Ward; Morpeth Ward; Tynedale Ward
- Province: York