Allensford is a small country park and hamlet in
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
, in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is situated a short distance to the west of
Consett
Consett is a town in County Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in 2019.
History
Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. Its' name originates in the ...
, and to the east of
Castleside
Castleside is a village in County Durham, England.
It is situated a short distance to the south-west of Consett. The village centre is located on the main A68 road which runs between Edinburgh and Darlington and the village crossroads allow ...
on the
River Derwent.
First recorded as ''Aleynforth'' in
Bishop Hatfield's survey of c. 1382. The placename is sometimes listed as ''Allansford'', "At Allansford...is a bridge over the Derwent into Northumberland, surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery on that stream; there are a few cottages on each side of the river".
It is uncertain when a bridge replaced the ford, however a bridge was in existence in the late 17th century when the structure was in a "very ruinous and in greate decay” according to the Northumberland Quarter Sessions for 1687–1697.
Allensford Mill farmhouse was originally called the Belsay Castle Inn, named after the estate of the
Middleton family
Members of the Middleton family have been related to the British royal family by marriage since the wedding of Catherine Middleton and Prince William in April 2011, when she became the Duchess of Cambridge. The couple has three children, Geo ...
of
Belsay Castle
Belsay Castle is a 14th-century medieval castle situated at Belsay, Northumberland, England. It is a Scheduled Monument and a Grade I listed building.
The main structure, a substantial three-storey rectangular pele tower with rounded turrets a ...
. Part of the inn was built in the late 17th century and may have been a
bastle
Bastel, bastle, or bastille houses are a type of construction found along the Anglo-Scottish border, in the areas formerly plagued by border reivers. They are fortified farmhouses, characterised by security measures against raids. Their name ...
. Later additions continued throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The inn was licensed until 1869. The upper room in the outbuilding served as a nonconformist chapel.
Denis Hayford, (c.1635–1733), a pioneer of the steel industry, acquired the lease of Allensford furnace and forge in 1692 which was upstream from his established business in
Shotley Bridge
Shotley Bridge is a village, adjoining the town of Consett in County Durham, England. It is on the A694 road and beside the River Derwent which is crossed by the bridge giving the name. It was once the heart of Britain's swordmaking industry.
...
. The lease seems to have lapsed in 1713. The site of the furnace is marked on Ordnance Survey maps.
It has a dedicated
campsite
A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using te ...
. The adjacent woodland forms the Allensford Woods
Local Nature Reserve, covering .
References
External links
Tommy Craggs local chainsaw carver, creates nature trail
Villages in County Durham
Local Nature Reserves in County Durham
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