England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Corsenside St Cuthbert

The Parish

The parish of Corsenside lies in the western portion of central Northumberland roughly 17 miles north of the town of Hexham. Corsenside, which grants its name to the parish, lies on the A68 road which runs from Hexham across the Scottish border to Edinburgh and follows the ancient Roman Road of Watling Street here beyond the limit of Hadrian's Wall. The major centres of population are, however, East & West Woodburn which lies along the valley of the River Rede almost 3 miles south of the parish church. West Woodburn also sits on the A68 and is a small village with clusters either side of the Rede and on the A68, East Woodburn sits a mile east as a small village lining the southern banks of the Rede and its tributary Lisles Burn. Today the area is rather depopulated and much of the parish is roughly grazed moorland, at the time of this transcript it was much more industrialised with mines and iron ore extraction as well as limestone and free-stone quarries employing a larger population. The wider parish, and it is extensive as befits such poor quality land, is largely pastoral with early gazetteers placing pastoral over arable by 2:1, most of the grazing being by hardy upland sheep. Corsenside is drained southwards by the Rede which meets the North Tyne to the southeast of Bellingham, the North Tyne then to meet the South Tyne west of Hexham, from here the Tyne flows through Newcastle to the North Sea. The parish church of St Cuthbert stands at 180 metres above the sea with the Woodburns qt 120 and 140 metres from west to east, the wider parish rises into Northumberland's National Park westwards reaching 364 metres on the summit of Grey Stone. Corsenside was atypically sized upland parish covering some 7,800 acres and supporting a one time up to 1.100 parishioners, the volume of marriages recorded during the transcript period is, however, more typical of a population of below 500. Corsenside is not mentioned in Domesday Book which little or no coverage north of the River Tees.

The Church

St Cuthbert's church sits about a quarter mile east of the A68 accessed by a spur which ends at the church, it is signed from the main road. The dedication to St Cuthbert arises as his coffin is alleged to have rested here on its way for burial at Durham Cathedral. The basic fabric of both nave and chancel is Norman Romanesque and dates from the 12th century, there is speculation that the chancel arch is formed from stonework acquired from the Roman fort at Hibitancum but this has never been officially sanctioned. The nave is unusual in having windows only on the southern wall those to the north being subjected to the full might of northern winters of which this church has survived many. There was little doe following building until relatively modern times, the 17th century saw the addition of the priest's door and re-roofing of the chancel whilst in the 19th century the southern porch was added and many windows replaced. Work has continued into modern times with the interior restored in the late 20th century. The approach road is often gated just a few metres in so it may be necessary to park on the verges here and walk to the church which sits within an exposed site devoid of any obstacle for the photographer amidst stunning scenery.