Denton, Durham Genealogy

= Parish History =

Denton St Mary former ancient chapelry was created in 1837 from chapelry within Gainford Ancient Parish and includes Hougton le Side..

"Denton, it is believed, has had no less than four chapels at various periods, each one having to be replaced on account of the ruinous state it was allowed to fall into. The first chapel is supposed to have been of Norman Foundation, which gave place to an Early English edifice, this being entirely rebuilt in 1810, and of no particular style. During the rebuilding, an ancient stone coffin was discovered, supposed to be that of a Knight Templar, and later a cover of Frosterley marble of the same shape, and about the same size, with a sculptured figure of a female carved upon it, was also found. The following inscription in Lombardian French runs round the cover, Hic gist Aubrey de Coynners sa compayn - Here lies the wife of Aubrey de Conyers. The present chapel is a neat stone building in the Early English style, consisting of nave and chancel, with a south porsh at the west end. The chancel fittings and pulpit are of oak and of good design. The chapel is built almost on the site of its predecessor, and will seat 100, having been built at a cost of £1400."

[From History, Topography and Directory of Durham, Whellan, London, 1894]

= Parish Registers =

Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections Reference number: DDR/EA/PBT/2/75 Date: 1765-1882 Related material at DULASC: Denton transcript 1843 is included with Gainford transcripts DDR/EA/PBT/2/110 Related materials (elsewhere): Transcripts for 1756-1757 are among the Howe manuscriptsDurham Bishop's Transcripts: The Howe Manuscript Collection at Durham Cathedral Library. Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at Record Search. Engineering work is pending to load the Denton transcripts fully and differentitate them from the Gainford transcripts. At present the available images are found under Gainford on Record Search.

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 1576-1993 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/De).