In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Warkworth like this:
WARKWORTH, a village, a township, and a sub-district, in Alnwick district, and a parish partly also in Morpeth district, Northumberland. The village stands on the river Coquet, 1¼ mile from the river's month, 1¼ mile E of the Northeastern railway, and 7 SE by S of Alnwick; is a borough by prescription, governed by a portreeve; gives the title of Baron to the Duke of Northumberland; comprises three streets; and has a post-office under Acklington, a r. ...
station, an inn, an old three-arched bridge, an old market-cross, an ancient castle, a church, a U. Presbyterian chapel, a bar-harbour, with a fixed pier light, a small weekly market on Saturday, and a fair on the Thursday after 23 Nov. The castle was built in the 12th century, by a Fitz-Richard, but then left unfinished; underwent, in course of time, many changes of form and proprietorship; was greatly enlarged in 1400-7 and in 1435-40, by the Percys; sustained a siege, in 1405, by Henry IV.; figures in Shakespear's drama of Henry IV.; belongs now to the Duke of Northumberland; was partly restored in 1846, and promised for a time to compete with Alnwick castle for complete restoration as the ducal residence; occupies a triangular area of 5 acres; and presents an imposing appearance of lofty walls, towers, turrets, and great keep, but is mainly ruinous. The church is partly Norman, was recently restored, and has a tower and spire. A Benedictine priory, a cell to Durham, stood near the church, and was founded in 1256 by Bishop Barnham. An ancient hermitage, "deep hewn within a craggy cliff," is on the river's banks about a mile above the castle; appears to be of the time of Edward II.; measures 18 feet by 7, exclusive of a sacristy 13 feet by 5; and is celebrated in Bishop Percy's well-known ballad of the "Hermit of Warkworth."-The township comprises 1,078 acres of land, and 2,560 of water. Pop. in 1851, 834; in 1861, 730. Houses, 114.—The sub-district contains 14 townships of W. parish, and 13 of other parishes. Acres, 31,864. Pop. in 1851, 7,413; in 1861, 7,631. Houses, 1,493.-The parish, besides its 14 townships of W. sub-district, contains 4 townships in Morpeth district; and comprises 19,365 acres. Real property, £21,539; of which £18 are in quarries, £2,610 in mines, £240 in fisheries, and £10 in gasworks. Pop. in 1851, 4,439; in 1861, 5,087. Houses, 960. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value, £528.* Patron, the Bishop of Carlisle. The p. curacies of Acklington and Chevington are separate benefices. Independent and Roman Catholic chapels are in Amble; and a Methodist chapel is at Radcliffe colliery.
Warkworth through time
Warkworth is now part of Alnwick district. Click here for graphs and data of how Alnwick has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Warkworth itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Warkworth, in Alnwick and Northumberland | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/9761
Date accessed: 05th November 2024
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