Place:Shilbottle, Northumberland, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Shilbottle (ancient name "Shilbotel") is a village in Northumberland in northeast England, located 3 miles south-east of Alnwick, and 5 miles from the coast and Alnmouth. The village stands close to the A1 (Britain's longest road, connecting Edinburgh to London). Shilbottle had a population of 1,834 in the UK census of 2011.

Coal mining began in the district around 1728; by the end of the 18th century six shafts were operating around Blue Lodge Farm (a.k.a. Colliery Farm). In the early 20th century, Shilbottle Colliery was bought for £50 by the English Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS), a federation of consumer co-operatives, who upgraded the mining site: a new village of 170 houses was built, including some cottages for aged miners. Shilbottle Colliery was the only pit in the area where workers were given a week's holiday with pay, and a pension scheme. The National Coal Board took over after the Second World War; production continued until a decline in the 1970s. The pit closed in 1981, and the workforce transferred to nearby Whittle, Northumberland.

Shilbottle was an ancient parish in the Coquetdale Ward of Northumberland which became a civil parish in the 19th century. From 1894 it was part of Alnwick Rural District. In 1955 it was enlarged by the abolition and absorbtion of the civil parish of Woodhouse. In 1974 rural districts were abolished and Shilbottle became part of the Alnwick District until 2009 when Northumberland became a unitary authority.

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Shilbottle from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"SHILBOTTLE, a township and a parish, in Alnwick [registration] district, Northumberland. The township lies 2½ miles SW of Bilton-Junction [railway] station, and 3½ SSE of Alnwick; and has a post-office under Alnwick. Acres: 2,935. Population: 570. Houses: 115.

"The parish includes five other townships, and comprises 7,704 acres. Real property: £6,355; of which £963 are in mines, and £130 in quarries. Population: 1,267. Houses: 252. The property is divided among a few. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value: £222. Patron: the Lord Chancellor. The church was repaired in 1793. There are an endowed school with £13 a year, and charities £9."

Townships in the Parish

• Guyzance
• Hazon and Hartlaw
• Newton on the Moor
• Whittle (near Alnwick)
• Woodhouse

Research Tips

• Northumberland Archives previously known as Northumberland Collections Service and Northumberland County Record Office. Now based within Woodhorn Museum in Ashington and providing free access to numerous records for local and family historians alike.

Full postal address: Museum and Northumberland Archives, Queen Elizabeth II Country Park, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 9YF; Phone: 01670 624455

There is a branch office in Berwick upon Tweed.

• Northumberland and Durham FHS covers both Northumberland and County Durham. The Family History Society have a research centre in Percy House in central Newcastle upon Tyne (full address on website), open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm. Browse the website to see what else the society can provide.
• Further information from GENUKI
• Ordnance Survey map of Northumberland 1832 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time. This map includes the boundaries of the various Wards (or "hundreds") in existence at that time.
• Ordnance Survey map of Northumberland 1900 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
• Ordnance Survey map of Northumberland 1944 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
• English Jurisdictions 1851, a parish finding aid provided by FamilySearch, particularly helpful in large towns and cities.
• Unfortunately, there is no Victoria County History for Northumberland.