Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for BELFORD

BELFORD, a small town, a township, a parish, a subdistrict, and a district, in Northumberland. The town stands on a gentle eminence, about a mile W of a station of its own name on the Northeastern railway, 15 ¼. Miles SSE of Berwick. It is neatly built; contains a church, two dissenting chapels, and a workhouse; has a head post office,‡ a market-place, and two chief inns; and is a seat of petty sessions. The church was lately rebuilt, is in the early English style, and has a lofty tower. A weekly market is held on Wednesday; fairs, on Tuesday before Whitsunday and 23 Aug.; and races, in September.-The township includes the town, and comprises 2,698 acres. Pop., 1,067. Houses, 204.—The parish includes also the townships of Ross, Elwick, Easington, Easington-Grange, Middleton, and Detchant. Acres, 11,604; of which 2,224 are water. Real property, £11,901. Pop., 1,724. Houses, 329. The property is divided among five. Belford Hall is the seat of the Rev. J. D. Clark. Coal, lime, and freestone occur. Traces of an ancient chapel are on a rising-ground near the town; and remains of a very strong Danish camp, encompassed by a deep ditch, are not far distant. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value, £147.* Patron, the Rev. J. D. Clark.-The subdistrict and the district are coextensive; and contain the parishes of Belford and Bambrough, the extra-parochial tracts of Monk's-House and Fern-Islands, and part of the parish of Ellingham. Acres, 41,753. Poor-rates in 1866, £4,548. Pop. in 1861, 6,260. Houses, 1,221. Marriages in 1866, 41; births, 174,-of which 17 were illegitimate; deaths, 120, of which 24 were at ages under 5 years, and 4 at ages above 85 years. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60,198; births, 2,007; deaths, 1,072. The places of worship in 1851 were 6 of the Church of England, with 1,920 sittings; 1 of the Church of Scotland, with 500 s.; 2 of the United Presbyterian Church, with 730 s.; 3 of the Presbyterian Church in England, with 1,027 s.; and 1 of Roman Catholics, with 70 s. The schools were 10 public day schools, with 606 scholars; 8 private day schools, with 363 s.; and 13 Sunday schools, with 678 s.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a small town, a township, a parish, a subdistrict, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Belford CP/Ch/Tn       Belford SubD       Belford RegD/PLU       Northumberland AncC
Place: Belford

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