In 1207 King John confirmed Hartburn to Tynemouth Priory. In 1255 Henry III gave it to St. Albans to provide the monks and their guests with a competent supply of 'bread and ale'. Skeletons in the tower dated pre-1100 suggest Waltheof as donor and Tynemouth Priory as builder. Two daggers above a Maltese Cross on the doorpost tell of a Knights Templar Preceptory here in 1250 and the early English architecture speaks of little subsequent change. Of special interest are the Masons' marks, carved heads, fish, Napoleonic banners and Florintine lamps. The light airiness of the building contributes to its frequent description -' serenity', 'peacefulness'. The churchyard contains many fascinating memorial stones from 1693.

"Hartburn, a parish partly in the west division of Morpeth Ward, and partly in the east division of Tindale Ward, is a very large district comprising twenty-four townships, whose united area is 25,778 acres; and has for its boundaries the parishes of Bolam, Kirkwhelpington, Meldon, Mitford, Nether Whitton, and Rothbury. Population in 1801, 1,340; in 1811, 1,430; in 1821, 1,474; in 1831, 1,440; in 1841, 1,322; and in 1851, 1,506 souls. The greater portion of this extensive district is fertile, luxuriant, and picturesque, abounding with excellent limestone, while the townships of Harwood and Green Leighton consist principally of bleak moor lands. Coal and lead are found in this parish." [From History, Topography, and Directory of Northumberland, Whellan, 1855].