Wolsingham, Durham Genealogy

England Durham  Durham Parishes

Parish History
Wolsingham is an Ancient Parish and a market town in the county of Durham.

Other places in the parish include: Bradley, East Quarter, Nitsley Fell, Park Quarter, South Quarter, Towham, Towlaw, Town Quarter, Wolsingham North Moor, and Wolsingham Park Moor.

WOLSINGHAM (St. Matthew), a market-town andparish, in the union of Weardale, N. W. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 10 miles (W. N. W.) from Bishop-Auckland, 16 (W. S. W.) from Durham. Petty-sessions are held every Tuesday; and a court leet and baron, under the bishop as lord of the manor. The parish is divided into the four constableries of Wolsingham, Wolsingham Park, and East and South Wolsingham. There are places of worship for Baptists, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyans.

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/2/279 1765-1854 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 1631-1965 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL.

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

Poor Law Unions
Weardale 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.