Melissa,
Excuse me sticking my nose into your tree queries.
Biddlestone Hall lay in the Parish of Alwinton in the county of Northumberland, to the west of the Parish of Rothbury. The town of Rothbury was the nearest to the Hall.
In C18th & C19th the term "Parish" exclusively meant Anglican/Church of England.
The Selby family were "lords of the manor" and built themselves a Roman Catholic chapel, adjacent to the Hall.
The term " Non-Conformist" was applied to those who did not follow the "established" church of the land.
The County Record Office (CRO)of Northumberland holds the following records of the Biddlestone Hall RC Chapel...
Baptisms 1767-1840
Marriages 1708-1838
Deaths/Burials 1768-1840.
But the CRO has been closed from Sept 2005 and will not reopen until late this year (relocating from Morpeth to Woodhorn)
In the meantime CRO has loaned out some records, including church records, to the public library in Morpeth town ( but I do not know which ones ! )
The IGI contains the above baptisms for Biddlestone Hall RC Chapel for 1767-1840.
Newcastle City Public Library also holds transcipts from this chapel for various periods.
Tessy says there was a christening for Elizabeth Soulsby and Thomas Selby in Rothbury.
Perhaps some of the family followed Roman Catholicism while others were with the "established church".
There are many references to Selbys on web site
communities.northumberland.gov.uk
Go to "Rothbury", then see old photographs of the town. Look into "Printed Material" section and into the Trade Directory... John Selby Shoemaker, Mary Selby Straw Hat Maker, William Soulsby Stone Mason, William Selby, Beer Retailer.
In "Manuscripts" see Selbys listed in the 1762 Militia Lists.
There are also two Selby families listed on the 1824 "Established Poor" list.
Michael Dixon
