Whitfield is a village and former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

, now in the parish of

Plenmeller Plenmeller is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Plenmeller with Whitfield, in Northumberland, England about a mile (1½ km) southeast of Haltwhistle. In 1951 the parish had a population of 107. Governance Plenm ...

with Whitfield, in the county of

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, England about southwest of

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

. It has a farming community and is set against a beautiful scenic background; sometimes it has been called '' Little Switzerland''. In 1951 the parish had a population of 233. The village lies on the River West Allen which joins with the

River East Allen The River Allen is a river in the English county of Northumberland. The river has its sources in the hills of the Northern Pennines, and is formed by the confluence of the East and West Allen rivers. The Allen is itself, a tributary of the Riv ...

less than a mile away to form the River Allen. The village is serviced with a village shop, pub, school and two churches.

Governance

On 1 April 1955 the parish was abolished to form Plenmeller with Whitfield.

Landmarks

Whitfield Hall is the home of the Blackett-Ord family. The Manor of Whitfield was granted, in the 12th century, by William the Lion, King of Scotland, to the

Whitfield family The Whitfield family was a landowning Norman family in present-day United Kingdom; the family was seated at Whitfield Hall in Northumberland. The area was granted by William, King of Scotland in the twelfth century. The family derives its name ...

, who retained it until 1750 when it was sold to

William Ord of Fenham William Ord (c. 1715 – 24 January 1768) was an English land and mine owner. Life He was the second son of Thomas Ord of Fenham and Anne Bacon and inherited the family estates at Fenham and Newminster Abbey on the death of his elder brother ...

. When a later William Ord died in 1855, the estate fell to his son's widow and then to her heir, her niece, who married Rev John Blackett, a son of Christopher Blackett of Wylam. As a condition of the marriage and inheritance, he changed his name to Blackett-Ord.

Religious sites

St John's Church is the site of an ancient church that was rebuilt by William Ord in 1785. Trinity Church (more usually known as Holy Trinity) was dedicated in 1860 and was the gift of the Rev'd and Mrs. J. A. Blackett-Ord in memory of William Ord Esq. from whom Mrs. Blackett-Ord had inherited the whole estate. It replaced St. John's church as the parish church. Many of the stones from St. John's were used in the building of Holy Trinity. The registers start in 1612 and the list of Rectors in 1180 with Robert de Quitfield, which confirms the existence of a church at that time.

References

External links

Some history and pictures
(Accessed: 12 November 2008) Villages in Northumberland Former civil parishes in Northumberland Whitfield family {{Northumberland-geo-stub