Crook, Durham Genealogy

England Durham



Parish History
Crook St. Catherine was created in 1845 from the parish of Brancepeth, Durham St. Brandon.

Parts of this parish became part of these parishes: Stanley [nr. Crook] St. Thomas Apostle and Martyr (1872); Sunnybrow St. John (1889) St. Catherine’s Church was built in 1841–3. In 1845 Crook was set up as a separate parish (originally as a parochial chapelry within the parish of Brancepeth, but by 1859 as a completely separate parish).

The Crook parish boundaries in 1845 encompassed quite a large area. However the actual increase in population probably exceeded even the diocesan estimates and within thirty years the parish was sub-divided. First in 1872, the whole of the northern part was removed to form the separate parish of St. Thomas, Stanley; and then in 1889, the eastern end of the parish was split off, creating the major part of a new parish of St. John’s, Sunnybrow.

After these changes, Crook parish consisted of the then built up area of Crook, most of Billy Row and a small rural area to the west. This caused difficulties over the subsequent years as new housing gradually extended the built up area of Crook outside the 1889 parish boundaries. This anomaly was corrected in 1996 and the whole of the built up area of Crook is now once again part of the parish of St. Catherine’s.

CROOK, with Billy-Row, a township, in the parish of Brancepeth, union of Auckland, N. W. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 5½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Bishop-Auckland; containing 538 inhabitants. The township comprises by computation 4310 acres. Crook is a scattered village, situated on the road between Willington and Wolsingham, and partly extending into the adjoining township of Helmington-Row. Coal is worked. A branch of the Clarence railroad, from Ferry-Hill upwards, affords an easy communication with the coast; and the Bishop-Auckland and Weardale railway terminates here, after a course of eight miles, from the Stockton and Darlington line. The Incorporated Society, in 1841, granted £50 in aid of the expense of building a district chapel, containing 306 free sittings: it is dedicated to St. Catherine, and the living is in the gift of the Rector of Brancepeth. The tithes have been commuted for £68. 16. 8. An eminence in the township, called Billy Hill, is seen by mariners in very clear weather, though so distant from the sea.

From: 'Crofton - Cropthorne', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 729-733. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50906 Date accessed: 25 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/2/68 Date: 1844-1848 related material at DULASC: Crook transcripts October-December 1843 are included with Brancepeth transcripts DDR/EA/PBT/2/40 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 1843-2004-1979 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Cro).

Non Conformist Records
Crook Our Lady Immaculate and St. Cuthbert Roman Catholic Church Parish Registers for the period 1853-1981 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall. Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Cro 1).

Poor Law Unions
Auckland 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.