Research Notes

Parish Notes Northumberland

Belford St Mary

[Population 1911: 1,219]

Church

The church of St. Mary is a plain stone building in the Early English style, having chancel, nave, aisle, north and west galleries, with lofty tower containing 2 bells and surmounted by pinnacles: it contains an organ and four handsome stained glass windows. The register dates from about the year 1700. The living is a vicarage, yearly value £147, in the gift of the Rev. William Atkinson Clark, and held by the Rev. Thomas Atkinson M.A., of University College, Oxford. [Kelly's Directory of Northumberland and Durham (1873), page 495.]

Brass plates in the church include:

TO THE HONOUR AND GLORY OF GOD
ARE THESE BELLS GIVEN TO BELFORD CHURCH BY F.J. LEATHER
AND IN MEMORY OF HIS FATHER
JOHN TOWLERTON LEATHER
OF MIDDLETON
BORN 30^TH AUGUST 1804: DIED 6^TH JUNE 1885.

Brass plate on the pulpit notes:

Presented by
the Rev^d G. Walker M.A.
Incumbent of this Parish
June 1860.

A metal plate in the chancel reads:

To the Glory of God, and in token of
a great affection, the East window
of this Chancel is dedicated by their
children to the memory of the Reverend
William Atkinson Clark, who died xxx^th
Dec. Mdccclxxx, and of Jane Margaret his
wife who died June vii^th Mdccclxxviii.
In pace Christi requiscant.

A brass plate above the door reads:

IN MEMORIAM

THOMAS WILLIAM BOHILLS 1901-1976
MARY ISABELLA BRUCE    1890-1977
GEORGE WILSON          1897-1976

A brass plate in the porch reads:

To the Glory of God
and in loving remembrance
of Helen T. Robertson
who died at the Vicarage
August 3^rd 1908
and whose devotion to the
interests of this parish
and district endeared her
to the community.
Parishioners and Friends
have dedicated this Memorial

A brass plate above the door of the porch reads:

Presented by J.C.R. WEEKS
In memory of Mr and Mrs R.J. WEEKS
of Felton
1968

Two stained glass windows in the outer porch were:

ERECTED BY HER BROTHER-IN-LAW THE VICAR OF BELFORD IN LOVING MEMORY OF RACHAEL SMALE McLEISH A DEVOTED CHURCH WORKER WHO DIED DECEMBER 14^TH 1914 AGED 58 YEARS.

ERECTED BY HER FATHER THE VICAR OF BELFORD IN MEMORY OF HIS BELOVED DAUGHTER HELEN KATHERINE OGILVIE ROBERTSON WHO DIED JANUARY 11^TH 1914 AGED 37 YEARS.

Dedications on the memorial windows in the chancel are:

IN MEMORY OF
GEORGE DIXON ATKINSON-CLARK
OF BELFORD HALL DIED 1921 AGED 84
AND OF HIS WIFE MARY CAROLINE COVENTRY DIED 1912 AGED 63

Giving thanks to God
for the dear memory of
Francis Maurice Augustus
Atkinson Clark, Lieutenant
Scots Guards, who was
suddenly called to his rest at
Bloemfontain, South Africa
xxi^st April mcmii, aged xxvi,
these figures of S.S. Maurice
and Oswald are dedicated
by his sorrowing parents

To the Glory of God, and in token of
a great affection, the East window
of this Chancel is dedicated by their
children to the memory of the Reverend
William Atkinson Clark, who died xxx^th
Dec^r Mdccclxxx, and of Jane Margaret his
wife who died June vii^th Mdccclxxviii.
In pace Christi requiscant.

Seats in the churchyard:

ALICE M. SUTHERLAND
1931-1984

In Memory of
FREDERICK CARR B.E.M. I.S.M.
Loved and Respected by
All who knew Him
A Great Man

PRESENTED BY
1^ST BELFORD BROWNIES
CELEBRATING
H.M. QUEEN ELIZABETH
THE QUEEN MOTHER'S
80TH BIRTHDAY
4TH AUGUST 1980

| Top of page | Index Page |

History

The church guide of the mid-1960s lists all known incumbents of Belford:

1296    Alan
1399    Nicholas
1540    James Fenkyll
1574    Laurence Duncan
1577    Lionel Bolden
1579    Cuthbert Swinton
1608    Patrick Brok
1701    James Robertson
1713    Andrew Hunter
1729    William Hunter
1732    William Noble
1744    Thomas Noble
1775    William Armstrong
1797    George Goodwill
1805    John James
1843    George Walker
1872    Thomas Atkinson
1877    Charles Thorp Darnell
1879    Charles Robertson
1922    John Edward Hull
1944    Herbert Pelham Pestle
1956    John James Lapping
1962    William Marshall Conyers Hardy

| Top of page | Index Page |

The Parish Chest

EP 124/15 Burials 1813-1855

Page	Name	Abode	Date	Age
1/8	Margaret	Belford	27 February 1813	1
6/46	Isabella	Adderstone	24 February 1814	-
29/791	A Seaman name unknown. Supposed to be the master of a sloop lost near the spot in January last	Body found on Ross Sands	April 4 1835	-
106/843	A Seaman name unknown. Supposed to belong to a schooner wh. foundered off Bamburgh on Sunday July 23rd 1836	Body Found on Ross Sands	April 11 1836	About 40 years
110/874	Donald	a travelling beggar	February 4 1837	87

| Top of page | Index Page |

Monumental Inscriptions

In Memory of
the Rev^d THOMAS NOBLE
Minister of this Parish who died
Dec^r 8^th 1774 aged 62 years. also
of ISABELLA his Wife who died May 21 1810 aged 94 yr^s.

In Memory
of
ABRAHAM DIXON ESQ^RE
Proprietor
and Lord of the Manor
of
Belford
late COLONEL of the
NORTHUMBERLAND MILITIA
an Active Magistrate
and SHERRIFF of the COUNTY
in the Year 1758
He died SINCERELY regretted
on the 5^th Day of January
1782:
Aged 58 years
Also of ANN
his Wife
who died 13 February
1814

IN MEMORY OF
RALPH PATTERSON
LATE OF MIDDLETON, IN THIS PARISH,
WHO DIED 7^TH DEC^R 1806
AGED 46 YEARS
AND OF
ANN PATTERSON HIS WIFE,
WHO DIED IN EDINBURGH 8^TH NOV. 1842,
AGED 83 YEARS
THIS TRIBUTE OF LOVE
IS ERECTED BY THEIR DAUGHTER
ELIZABETH HOWEY
1865
ELIZABETH HOWEY, DIED AT
LOWESTOFT, ON THE 24^TH AUG. 1878, AGED 78

IN MEMORY OF
WILLIAM CLARK ESQUIRE,
PROPRIETOR AND LORD OF THE MANOR OF BELFORD,
A MAGISTRATE FOR THE COUNTIES OF
NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM;
DEPUTY LIEUTENANT AND
DEPUTY VICE ADMIRAL FOR NORTHUMBERLAND,
LIEUTENANT COLONEL OF
THE NORTHUMBERLAND NORTH LOCAL MILITIA;
HIGH SHERRIFF OF THE COUNTY, IN 1820;
OBIIT DIE X MENSIS JUN ANNO DOMINI MDCCCXXXVII,
ETATIS LXXII

ALSO OF
MARY, WIFE OF WILLIAM CLARK ESQUIRE,
OBIIT DIE MENSIS JANUARII ANNO DOMINI MDCCCXIV,
ETATIS XL

THIS TABLET
IS ERECTED TO
PERPETUATE THE
BELOVED AND HONOURED
MEMORY OF GERARD SELBY
LATE CAPTAIN IN THE
ROYAL NAVY
WHO DIED IN THE SERVICE OF
HIS KING AND COUNTRY.
OF EVERY VIRTUE WHICH CAN
ADORN HUMAN NATURE,
HE WAS A BRIGHT EXAMPLE.
ALSO
IN MEMORY OF HIS TWO SONS, VIZ:
WILLIAM, A CAPTAIN IN
HIS MAJESTY'S NAVY,
AND THOMAS, A CAPTAIN IN
THE ARMY
WHO BOTH DIED IN
THE SERVICE OF THEIR
KING AND COUNTRY,
MDCCCXV.

ST LUKE
THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
DENYS WILLIAM AYLWIN BYERS
1926 - 1995
DOCTOR OF THIS DISTRICT

Here lyeth the Body
of William Smart
deceased ... 14
Here lyeth his Wife Elizabeth
Here lyeth his daughter Gillian
Here lyeth his son Ferdo
January the 10 1728
Here lyeth his grand son
Thomas Smart July 12 1731
Here lyeth his Grand son
John Smart Aprill 30
1734
Here Lyeth his Son Iohn
Smart Oct. 20^th 1741 Aged 67
Here Lyeth Ellin^r Wife of john
Smart April 7^th 1750 Aged 64
W^M Son of John Smart aged 79
died April 4^th 1784.

| Top of page | Index Page |