Denton, Durham Genealogy

Guide to Denton, Durham family history and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
DENTON, with Houghton-le-Side, a chapelry, in the parish of Gainford, union of Darlington, SE division of Darlington ward, S division of the county of Durham, 5½ miles NW from Darlington.

Additional information: Denton, it is believed, has had no less than four chapels at various periods, each one having to be replaced on account of the ruinous state it was allowed to fall into. The first chapel is supposed to have been of Norman Foundation, which gave place to an Early English edifice, this being entirely rebuilt in 1810, and of no particular style. During the rebuilding, an ancient stone coffin was discovered, supposed to be that of a Knight Templar, and later a cover of Frosterley marble of the same shape, and about the same size, with a sculptured figure of a female carved upon it, was also found. The following inscription in runs round the cover, Hic gist Aubrey de Coynners sa compayn - Here lies the wife of Aubrey de Conyers.

The present chapel is a neat stone building in the Early English style, consisting of nave and chancel, with a south porsh (sic) at the west end. The chancel fittings and pulpit are of oak and of good design. The chapel is built almost on the site of its predecessor, and will seat 100, having been built at a cost of £1400." [From History, Topography and Directory of Durham, Whellan, London, 1894]

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church Records
Denton parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

To find the names of the neighboring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851 Map. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.


 * Records are also available at the Durham County Record Office.

Non Conformist Churches

 * Independent/Congregational
 * Methodist New Connexion

Poor Law Unions

 * Darlington Poor Law Union, Durham

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Durham Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Websites
Denton on GENUKI