Sherburn House, Durham Genealogy

England Durham

Parish History
Sherburn House or Hospital is an extra parochial place and is perhaps best understood by the title of the ancient hospital: "the Liberties of Christ's Hospital in Sherburn".

“Liberties” were originally areas exempt from the jurisdiction of royal officials, or, in the case of the County Palatine of Durham, from that of the Bishop's Sheriff. The Hospital enjoys another kind of freedom for it is “extra-parochial”, i.e. it is outside the jurisdiction of any of the contiguous parishes of Sherburn, Shadforth, Cassop-cum-Quarrington and Shincliffe, and was apparently never under the control of the large and ancient parish of Pittington out of which it was formed.

The Bishop of Durham has rights as patron, for he appoints the Master from among three clergymen in priest’s orders in the Church of England whose names are submitted to him by the Governors, and the Master is subject in all respects to the Bishop as ordinary (the noun “ordinary” is used here as a technical term meaning “an ecclesiastical superior”).

The chapel of the Hospital (established for lepers)

The status of the Chapel of the Hospital is unusual. It can be used by the 185 or so inhabitants of the Liberties, and of the adjacent extra-parochial district of Whitwell House as if it were their parish church. They have rights of baptism, marriage and burial: appropriate registers have been kept since 1678, and in the days when copies had to be sent annually to the Bishop, “Bishop’s Transcripts” were duly sent in (only 1813-35 survive). But in other ways the Chapel is unlike a parish church, for it has no churchwardens, no Parochial Church Council and no Electoral Roll. It pays no “Quota” to diocesan funds. At any rate since 1858 the Master, although he has “cure of souls” (i.e. charge of spiritual welfare) has not had a “parson’s freehold”, as he can be required by the Governors to resign, for good cause, subject to appeal to the Bishop. The fabric of the Chapel is maintained, the furnishings and fittings are supplied, by the Governors, and paid for out of the funds of the Charity. The Governors also decide what services are to be held, even though out of the fifteen Governors only two, the Dean of Durham and the Archdeacon of Durham, are perforce members of the Church of England. It can probably be assumed that the Governor who is nominated by the Bishop will always be “C of E”. Neither the Master, who conducts the services, nor the members of the congregation have any right to decide upon the services. Presumably the Charity Commissioners, who laid down these arrangements, took for granted reasonable behaviour on the part of all concerned.

SHERBURN HOUSE or HOSPITAL, an extraparochial liberty, in the S. division of Easington ward, union, and N. division of the county, of Durham, 2½ miles (E. by S.) from Durham; containing, according to the last census, 86 inhabitants, but now about 200, owing to the increase of its pit population. This place is usually called Sherburn House, from the legal title of its hospital, Domus Hospitalis Christi de Sherburn. The hospital was founded by Hugh Pudsey, Bishop of Durham, about 1181, and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, to Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha; its revenue, in the reign of Henry VIII., was certified as of the value of £142. 0. 4., the society consisting of a master, several priests, and sixty-five lepers. The leprosy becoming extinct in England, the hospital was incorporated in 1585, by Queen Elizabeth, for a master and thirty brethren; and at present this is one of the most richly endowed charitable foundations in the north of England, its income amounting to several thousand pounds per annum. It is governed by a body of statutes given by Bishop Chandler in 1735, but the Bishop of Durham, as visiter, has full power to alter the statutes as he may think expedient. Fifteen of the persons on the establishment are inbrethren, and must be single men; fifteen are out-brethren, and may, at the option of the master, be married men. The qualification is, the non-possession of property worth more than £20, birth in the county of Durham, and membership of the Church of England. The brethren are all nominated by the master, except one, who is appointed by a private family. The in-brethren have clothing and comfortable maintenance, and by the act of Elizabeth were to receive a small money payment; but this, and the larger pensions of the out-brethren, have from time to time been augmented, so as to keep pace with the value of money. The appointment of the master is vested in the visiter, and the office is not tenable with any ecclesiastical benefice which has the cure of souls; he must be at the least M.A. of Oxford or Cambridge, and by the act of 1585 is required to be in holy orders, though, by a dispensation from the crown, he may be a layman, as the appointment is now held to be lay preferment. The chaplain is also vice master, and to him the discipline of the hospital is ordinarily assigned. The livings of Bishopton, Grindon, Ebchester, and Sockburn, are in the patronage of the master, and the present master has augmented the income of each. The hospital stands on the eastern side of the small river Pidding, one of the feeders of the Wear; and forms three sides of a spacious court, the fourth being occupied by the wall of the ancient clausum and the entrance gateway. The chapel has been thoroughly restored; the dilapidated master's house has been rebuilt, and a separate house erected for the chaplain. On the re-incorporation of the hospital, it was dedicated to Christ.

From: 'Shenfield - Shere', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 69-74. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51269 Date accessed: 21 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/2/225 Date: 1813-1835 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 Registers for the period 1678-1905 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/ShH).

Baptism and/or marriage registers for the period 1692-1812 are indexed in the International Genealogical Index. Marriages for the period 1695-1763 are indexed in Boyd's Marriage Index.

Poor Law Unions
Durham 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.