Wallsend village

With Willington, Wallsend is supposed to have been part of Bishop Walcher's gift to Durham Priory in 1072: it is certainly included in Henry II's confirmation charter. There is little information about the size of the medieval settlement, though in 1539 there were 2 cottages and 7 leaseholders, interpreted in the Northumberland County History as the early representatives of the township's 7 farms which survived at least as late as 1800. The site of the village is high up on the south side of the Wallsend Burn, the buildings being arranged around a very large green, and the whole - even today - retains its sub-circular shape. By the time of the Tithe Award of 1841 there were still 3 farms on the south side of the green, and 4 "mansion houses" on both north and south sides. The buildings on the south side have been replaced in the last 50 years or so.