Birtley, Durham Genealogy

England Durham



Parish History
Birtley St. John the Evangelist was created in 1850 from Chester-le-Street St. Mary and St. Cuthbert

Parts of this parish became part of these parishes: Fatfield St. George (1875); Washington, Oxclose Local Ecumenical Partnership (1972)

BIRTLEY, a township, in the parish and union of Chester-le-Street, Middle division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 3 miles (N.) from Chester-le-Street; containing 1759 inhabitants. In Bishop Hatfield's time this place belonged to a family of its own name, and subsequently formed part of the forfeitures of the Earl of Westmorland, on the attainder of that nobleman. The township comprises 1344 acres, of which two-thirds are arable land; the surface is undulated, the soil chiefly clay, and the views, which are very extensive, embrace Lumley and Lambton Castles, and Ravensworth vale. Coal is abundant throughout the township; and freestone is quarried for building purposes, and for grindstones. Salt-works were in operation here at a very early period: Sir William Lambton, in his petition to parliament, particularly enumerates, among other losses inflicted by the Scottish army, the total destruction of his "salt-works" at Birtley. In the latter part of the last century a strong brine-spring was discovered, which now produces about 1200 tons of salt per annum: the brine is conveyed from the spot whence it issues, to the bottom of a coal-pit, from which it is raised in pumps by the colliery steam-engine. Large iron-works were established in 1829, in which pig and bar iron, castings and engines are made, employing nearly 200 hands. There are several railways for conveying the coal; at Ouston colliery is a railway passing to the Tyne, distant six miles: the road from Durham to Newcastle, also, intersects the township. A full church service is performed in a licensed chapel every alternate Sunday. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; also a Roman Catholic chapel.

From: 'Birstal - Bishopstrow', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 263-267. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50803 Date accessed: 22 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/2/30 Date: 1850-1880 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records; however images for the parish transcripts are not yet loaded and await engineering.

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 1850-1994 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Bir).

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

Poor Law Unions
Chester le Street 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.