bywell st. peter's is a parish comprising the townships of East Acomb, Apperley, Broomley, Bywell St. Andrew and St. Peter, Espershields with Millshields, High Fotherly, Healy, Newlands, Newton, Newton Hall, Stelling, and the chapelry of Whittonstall. It is bounded by the parishes of Corbridge, Slaley, Ovingham, and Shotley, and a part of the county of Durham, and contains an area of 17,784 acres. Its population in 1801, was 1,303; in 1811, 1,317; in 1821, 1,406; in 1831, 1,478; in 1841, 1,512; and in 1851, 1,674 souls. A portion of this parish is very fertile, with a beautifully diversified surface, but the remainder consists of wild moors, of which about 2,979 acres were enclosed in 1817-18, pursuant to an act of parliament, obtained in 1812.

acomb (east) township is situated one mile north of Bywell, and contains an area of 391 acres, the property of W. B. Beaumont, Esq., who is also lord of the manor. The number of inhabitants in 1801, was 23; in 1811, 42; in 1821, 51; in 1841, 37; and in 1851, 53 souls. The rateable value is £425, and the principal resident is George Woodman, farmer.

apperley is a township the property of R. S. Surtees, Esq. It contains 429 acres, and the rateable value is £338. Population in 1831, 23; in 1841, 34; and in 1831, 38 souls. Apperley was formerly considered to be an extra-parochial place, but is now included in the returns for this parish. It is situated about two and a half miles south by east of Bywell, and consists of one farm, which is occupied by John Browell, farmer.

broomley is a township and small village, the property of Mr. Wrightson and W. B. Beaumont, Esq., who are also lords of the manor. The township contains 3,459 acres, and its rateable value is £2,514. The number of inhabitants in 1801, was 260; in 1811, 318; in 1821, 354; in 1831, 345; in 1841, 314; and in 1851, 409 souls. the village of Broomley is situated one mile and three quarters south-west of Bywell. horse close is a hamlet in this township, one mile and three quarters south-east of Bywell. ridley (old, and new), are also two hamlets in Broomley township, about, two miles south of Bywell.

bywell is a township and village, in the parishes of Bywell St. Peter and Bywell St. Andrew. The township comprises an area of 1,006 acres, and its rateable value is £2,952. Its population in 1801, was 199; in 1811, 164; in 1821, 174; in 1831, 172; in 1841, 182; and in 1851, 176 souls. Bywell Barony was formerly held by the family of Baliol, for the service of five knights' fees to the king, and thirty knights' fees for ward of Newcastle. In the reign of Richard II, it was the property of the Nevilles, lords of Raby, who having forfeited it in 1571, it was purchased by a branch of the Fenwick family. It afterwards came into the possession of the Rev. Septimus Hodgson, who married the widow of the last of the Fenwicks, of Bywell; it was subsequently purchased by Thomas W. Beaumont, Esq.. for £145,000, and still con­tinues in his family, the present possessor being W. B. Beaumont, Esq., M.P.

the village of Bywell occupies a pleasant situation, on the north side of the Tyne, eight miles east by south of Hexham, and four miles E.S.E. of Corbridge. The river Tyne is here crossed by a handsome and substantial stone bridge of five arches, with two dead ones at the south end, which have been constructed as a precaution against heavy floods. This structure was erected in 1838, by T. W. Beaumont, Esq., at a cost of £1,500, and is free to the public. South of the Tyne, are some very handsome houses, which have been recently erected by W. B. Beaumont, Esq., who liberally supports a school here, which was established in 1851. Here is also a Library and Newsroom; the latter is well supplied with the London and provincial papers, and the former possesses 400 volumes of works in general literature.

This village possesses the two parochial churches of St. Peter'and St. Andrew, one of which, tradition informs us, was built in consequence of a dispute
for precedence between two sisters, one of whom founded a church of her own, of which she exercised the patronage, &c., to the exclusion of the other.
St. Peter's is an ancient edifice of considerable magnitude, with a square tower. The living, a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Northumberland and deanery of
Corbridge, is valued in the Liber Regis at £9 18s. 1½d., gross income £120. The patronage is vested in the Dean and Chapter of Durham. Incumbent, the Rev. B. E. Dwarris, M.A. The register of St. Peter's commences in 1663. St. Andrew's is a small structure, with a lofty steeple, The living is a discharged vicarage in the same archdeaconry and deanery as St. Peter's, and is valued in the Liber Regis at £3 9s. 2d., gross income £172. Patron, W. B. Beaumont, Esq.; incumbent, the Rev. Joseph Jacques. The register of St. Andrew's commences in 1668.

Bywell hall, the seat of W. B. Beaumont, Esq., is an elegant mansion erected from designs by Paine, and occupies a fine lawn girt by forest trees, on the north bank of the river Tyne, a short distance from the ruins of the old baronial castle of Bywell. The appearance of the village of Bywell is very pleasing. From the road near the brink of the river, which forms here a beautiful cascade about ten feet in height, a mill is seen on the right hand, a salmon loch on the left, the town and its two churches stretch with a fine curvature along the banks of the upper basin of the river, while the time-worn ruins of the ancient fortress of the Baliols appear towering above the trees on the right, and the whole background of the landscape is covered with wood. In 1760, a mason named Robinson, while angling in the river Tyne, at Bywell, after a flood, found a small silver cup, of Roman manufacture, bearing the inscription "Desideri vivas" round the neck. He sold it to a goldsmith in Newcastle, for fifteen shillings, but it was subsequently claimed by William Fenwick, Esq., as lord of the manor of Bywell. It was probably washed out of the banks above Corbridge, where other Roman vessels of silver are said to have been formerly turned out by the floods.

charities. - In 1668, Dame E. Radcliffe, left to the poor of the parish of St. Peter, especially those of the chapelry of Whittonstall and the township of Newland, £4 to be distributed on St. Lucie's day, and in 1693, Messrs. Teasdale and Fenwick left a rent charge of £1 10s. to the poor of the same parish. In 1740, Thomas Rawe bequeathed a rent charge of five shillings per annum for the same place and purpose. The poor of St. Andrew's parish have also a bequest consisting of the interest of £22 which, at the time of the Charity Commissioners' report, amounted to £1 2s. per annum. St. Andrew's Parish School is endowed with a rent charge of £8 a year.

espershields is a township and hamlet the property of H. C. Silvertop Esq., who is also lord of the manor. The township contains 3,389 acres, and its rateable value is £725. Population in 1801, 160; in 1811, 185; in 1821, 180; in 1831, 195; in 1841, 191; and in 1851, 187 souls. the hamlet of Espershields is situated eight miles south-west by south of Bywell, and a little to the west of this place is Whinnis Hill, where a Friend's Meeting House was erected in 1775. A village is supposed to have formerly stood at the place now called Hare-town. In ancient times a thick wood extended from Espershields to Newbiggin, in the adjoining county of Durham, but it is said to have to have been burnt down by the owner, who was well known by the name of "Mad Maddison," and who was afterwards hanged for murder at Durham.

minster acres hall, the residence of Henry C. Silvertop, Esq., is situated in this township, and is surrounded by extensive pleasure grounds and plantations, which extend into the townships of Espershields, High Fotherly, and the parish of Shotley, and in its vicinity is a lake covering an area of four acres. The hall is a substantial stone building, adjoining which a Catholic Church has been recently erected, at the sole expense of the owner of the mansion. The foundation stone of this church was laid on the 13th of September, 1852, by the Hon. Mrs. Silvertop. It is dedicated to St. Elizabeth, and was opened on the 24th August, 1854, on which occasion the Bishop of Hexham officiated. It is a beautiful Gothic structure in the decorated style, consisting of a nave, from which the sanctuary is railed off, and is lighted by six windows filled with excellent specimens of stained glass, representing the patron saints of the various members of the Silvertop family. On the right of the altar is the sacristy, and over it, forming a kind of tribune, the organ and choir gallery. A cloister, or triforium, opens to the church, running along the north side, and connecting the private gallery at the west end with the house. The church is adorned with a beautiful clock turret and spire, and will accommodate about 200 persons. Rev. Joseph Watson, chaplain.

mill shields forms a joint township with Espershields, and is situated on the Derwent about one mile east of the latter place.

fotherley (high) township is situated on both sides of the Sfocksfield Burn, three miles S.S.W.. of Bywell. It is the property of H. C. Silvertop, Esq., who is also lord of the Manor, and its rateable value is £324. Population in 1801, 91; in 1811, 90; in 1821, 92; in 1831, 105; in 1841, 106; and in 1851, 142 souls. Low fotherley is a farm in this township.

healy, a township situated four miles south-west of Bywell, comprises an area of 2,128 acres, and its rateable value is £377 15s. 8d. R. Ormston, Esq. is lord of the manor and owner of the soil. The number of inhabitants in 1801, was 51; in 1811, 59; in 1821, 49; in 1831, 54; in 1841, 65; and in 1851, 67 souls. healy house, the seat of R. Ormston, Esq., is a handsome mansion in the Elizabethan style, erected in 1831.

newton is a township and hamlet the property of Thomas Hedley and Brothers; W. B. Beaumont, Esq., is the possessor of the manorial rights and privileges. The township contains 747 acres, and its rateable value is £973 5s. The population in 1801, was 137; in 1811, 101; in 1821, 105; in 1831, 111; in 1841, 127; and in 1851, 138 souls. the hamlet of Newton is two miles north by west of Bywell.

newton hall is a township situated two and a half miles north of Bywell. It is the property of W. F. Blackett, Esq., its rateable value is £931, and the tithes, which belong to H. Silvertop, Esq., are valued at £100 per annum. This township comprises an area of 715 acres, and its population in 1801, was 107; in 1811, 95; in 1821, 89; in 1831, 84; in 1841, 95; and in 1851, 106 souls. newton hall, which gives name to this township, is a neat modern mansion, the seat of W. F. Blackett, Esq.

stalling is a small township, the property of J. H. Hind, Esq., who is also lord of the manor. It contains 222 acres, and its rateable value is £334. The number of inhabitants in 1801, was 17; in 1811, 19; in 1821, 12; in 1831, 17; in 1841, 53; and in 1851, 32 souls. Stalling is situated about two and a half miles north of Bywell.

whittonstall is a chapelry township and village, the property of the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital, to whom the manorial rights belong. It was separated from Bywell St. Peter's parish, and became a distinct chapelry for ecclesiastical purposes, in 1774, when it received an augmentation from Queen Anne's bounty. It comprises the townships of Whittonstall and Newlands, the former of which contains 1,968 acres, audits rateable value is £1,673 10s. Population in 1821, 146; in 1831, 175; in 1841, 184 ; and in 1851, 198 souls. Here is a drain-tile manufactory, which is carried on by Mr. William Dinning. the village of Whittonstall is situated about three and a half miles south by east of Bywell. the chapel is a plain stone building, containing about 305 sittings, and was erected in 1832, from the materials of the former chapel, on whose site it partly stands. The living is a perpetual curacy in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Durham, and incumbency of the Rev. Richard Marshall. The register of this chapelry commences in 1754. whittonstall school was erected by subscription in 1846; it is self supporting, and under government inspection. W. Gibson, teacher.

newlands is a township and hamlet, containing 1,701 acres, the property of the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital, and its rateable value is £1,145. The population in 1801 and 1811, was returned with Whittonstall; in 1821, it was 154; in 1831, 161; in 1841, 168; and in 1851, 174 souls., the hamlet of Newland is situated five miles south by east of Bywell. The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel here.

William Whellan & Co., History of Northumberland, 1855