Billingham, Durham Genealogy

England Durham



Parish History
St Cuthbert, Billingham is an ancient parish and the church occupies the site of a predecessor originally founded by Eanred in 860. The parish includes Cowpen Bewley and Wolverton.

BILLINGHAM (St. Cuthbert), a parish, in the union of Stockton-Upon-Tees, N. E. division of Stockton ward, S. division of the county of Durham; comprising the townships of Cowpen-Bewley and NewtonBewley, and the chapelry of Wolviston; and containing 1653 inhabitants, of whom 782 are in the township of Billingham, 2½ miles (N. N. E.) from Stockton. This place is distinguished as the scene of a battle fought in the time of Eardulph, King of Northumbria. It was given to the convent of Durham by William the Conqueror, upon a scrap of parchment which is preserved among the muniments there, and which is not so large as the space occupied by this notice. The parish comprises 5409a. 2r. 25p.: it is bounded on the south and east by the river Tees; and the road from Stockton to Sunderland passes through the village. The Clarence railway commences at Port Clarence, about three miles distant eastward, near Haverton Hill, north of the river Tees, in the parish, where shipping staiths have been erected; and pursues a course nearly east till it joins the Stockton and Darlington railway at Sim Pasture, in the parish of Heighington. The Stockton and Hartlepool railway quits the Clarence railway here by a gentle curve, and proceeds in a north-eastern direction. The Living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £11. 3. 1½.; patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The great tithes have been commuted for £810. 18., and the vicarial tithes for £132. 11.; there are also about 110 acres of glebe appurtenant to the vicarage. The original church, of which little remains, is supposed to have been built by Egbrid, Bishop of Lindisfarn, about the year 830, and to have been given by him to the church of St. Cuthbert, Durham; the present edifice is very ancient, with pointed arches, and a lofty Norman tower. The chapel of Wolviston forms a separate incumbency. There is a place of worship for Methodists.

From: 'Billingham - Bilstone', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 241-244. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50799 Date accessed: 29 March 2011.

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 Reference number: DDR/EA/PBT/2/27 Date: May 1762-May 1872 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records; however the parish register images await loading by engineers.

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 1569-1953 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Bi).

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


 * Bellasis 1919-1940 (EP/Hav).
 * Billingham, St. Aidan 1976-1981 (EP/Bi.SA).
 * Billingham, St. Luke 1966-1977. (EP/BI.SL).
 * Haverton Hill 1866-1973 (EP/Hav).

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

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Poor Law Unions
Stockton 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.