Whickham, Durham Genealogy

England Durham  Durham Parishes



Parish History
WHICKHAM (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Gateshead, E. division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham; containing, with the townships of Fellside, Lowside, and Swalwell There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Whickham is an Ancient Parish in the county of Durham. Other places in the parish include: Fellside, Lowland Dunston, Lowside, Swallwell, and Swalwell.

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

Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections DDR/EA/PBT/2/266 April 1767-1853 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records.

The dates of the post-1760 transcripts have been noted in detail and sometimes only cover years. For most parishes in the collection there are gaps in the sequence of transcripts. It is advisable to consult the original parish registers for these years and events.

The Parish Registers for the period 1576-1983 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Whm).

The following records for churches in the ancient parish of Whickham are also available at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL: -


 * Dunston, Christ Church 1872-1976 (EP/Dun.CC).
 * Dunston, St. Nicholas 1929-1978 (EP/Dun.SN).
 * Swalwell 1905-1989 (EP/Swa).

FamilySearch Historical Records includes England, Durham Diocese, Marriage Bonds and Allegations (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Poor Law Unions
Gateshead 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

Web sites
Contributor: add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.