BEDLINGTON, a parish in the eastern division of
CHESTER ward, county palatine of DURHAM, of which
it is a detached portion, lying at the south-eastern corner
of Castle ward, county of Northumberland, 5 miles
(S. B. by E.) from Morpeth, comprising the townships
of Bedlington, North Blyth with Chambois, Choppington,
Netherton, East Sleckburn, and West Sleckburn, and
containing 1862 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage,
in the archdeaconry of Northumberland, and diocese of
Durham, rated in the king's books at £13. 6. 8., and
in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Durham.
The church, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, whose remains
rested here for one night in 1069, when the monks fled
from Durham, at the menacing approach of the Conqueror,
was enlarged and repaired in 1818. There are
places of worship for Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists
and Presbyterians. This parish, commonly termed
Bedlingtonshire, is situated on the coast of the North
sea, and is bounded on the north and south by the river
Blyth: it had anciently courts within its own limits,
and the officers of justice were appointed by the Bishop
of Durham, to whom the manor belongs. Petty sessions
for the district are held monthly at one of the
inns in the village. Bedlington iron-works rank among
the oldest and most extensive in the kingdom: they
are romantically situated on the banks of the river
Blyth, which is navigable for small craft, and affords
the means of conveying their produce, consisting of
chain cables, bolts, bar and sheet iron, and nearly all
the heavier articles in wrought iron, to the port of Blyth,
where it is shipped for London. The vicinity contains
several stone quarries, producing grindstones and
whetstones of a superior quality; and there are some
extensive collieries. A petrifying spring rises at the
western end of the village.